System and Method for Virtual Benchmarking
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A system for virtually benchmarking the performance of at least one component comprising:
- a plurality of reporting computers, wherein each reporting computer receives information regarding at least one component;
a server configured to receive at least one report from each of the plurality of reporting computers, wherein the report includes a value reflective of an operating performance of the at least one component;
a communications medium connecting each of the plurality of reporting computers with the server; and
a database operably connected to the server and configured to store, upon receipt, each of the values provided by each of the plurality of reporting computers in a database wherein each component of the process is separately and uniquely identified such that a virtual benchmark for substantially similar components can be generated by the server and utilized to compare a cost value associated with a performance of the component at a given facility against a virtually benchmarked cost based performance.
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Abstract
The various embodiments of the present invention include systems and methods for monitoring, analyzing and virtually benchmarking system, process and/or assets. By breaking down each of a plurality of similarly configured processes, systems or assets into a desired level of component specificity and appropriately identifying such specificity in one or more databases, each component in each of the process, systems and/or assets can be compared separately and or in a group to similarly situated components and to a virtual benchmark obtained by a combination of each of the individually reported components.
54 Citations
39 Claims
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1. A system for virtually benchmarking the performance of at least one component comprising:
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a plurality of reporting computers, wherein each reporting computer receives information regarding at least one component;
a server configured to receive at least one report from each of the plurality of reporting computers, wherein the report includes a value reflective of an operating performance of the at least one component;
a communications medium connecting each of the plurality of reporting computers with the server; and
a database operably connected to the server and configured to store, upon receipt, each of the values provided by each of the plurality of reporting computers in a database wherein each component of the process is separately and uniquely identified such that a virtual benchmark for substantially similar components can be generated by the server and utilized to compare a cost value associated with a performance of the component at a given facility against a virtually benchmarked cost based performance. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A method for monitoring a process using a computer comprising:
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receiving first information from each of a plurality of first facilities executing a process;
wherein the information indicates the performance characteristics of each of the first facilities at a respective and desired level of specificity;
storing the first information in a database;
analyzing the first information received from each of the plurality of facilities, wherein a result of the analysis indicates a cost based virtual benchmark for an optimal facility at the desired level of specificity;
receiving second information associated with a second facility, wherein the second information indicates a performance characteristic of the second facility at the desired level of specificity; and
virtually benchmarking the second facility to the optimal facility at the desired level of specificity by comparing the second information to the result. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A computer readable medium containing a computer data structure accessible by a server comprising:
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a data structure stored in the computer readable medium, the data structure including information resident in a database accessible by a server and including;
a first entry in the database, wherein the first entry specifies a performance characteristic for a facility at a given level of specificity;
a second entry in the database, wherein the second entries specifies a performance characteristic for a second facility at the given level of specificity; and
an addressing system identifying the first entry and the second entry as both referring to the given level of specificity. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39)
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Specification