AUTOMATED AREA INSPECTION AND RECORDKEEPING SYSTEM AND METHOD
First Claim
1. A premises inspection method comprising:
- accessing, by a user, an inspection tour stored on a portable data terminal, the inspection tour comprising a plurality of location descriptions associated with a plurality of locations of a premises;
displaying on the portable data terminal a location description from the plurality of location descriptions;
scanning a machine readable location identifier with the portable data terminal upon arrival at a location of the premises associated with the displayed location description, the location identifier comprising inspection data associated with the displayed location description the premises;
inspecting an area adjacent to the location of the premises to determine whether a hazardous condition exists;
in response to determining an existence of a hazardous condition at the area adjacent to the location of the premises, remedying the hazardous condition, wherein remedying the hazardous condition comprising;
identifying at least one hazardous condition from a predetermined list of hazardous conditions;
accessing a set of instructions for resolving the at least one hazardous condition;
selecting one of;
resolving the at least one hazardous condition immediately or resolving the at least one hazardous condition at a later time; and
repeating the steps of identifying at least one hazardous condition from a predetermined list of hazardous conditions;
accessing a set of instructions for resolving the at least one hazardous condition; and
resolving the at least one hazardous condition immediately or resolving the at least one hazardous condition at a later time until each identified hazardous condition is selected for immediate or later resolution;
repeating the steps of identifying at least one hazardous condition from a predetermined list of hazardous conditions;
accessing a set of instructions for resolving the at least one hazardous condition; and
resolving the at least one hazardous condition immediately or resolving the at least one hazardous condition at a later time for each respective location associated with the plurality of location descriptions;
storing the scanned identification data and inspection information associated with each location description of the plurality of location descriptions; and
transmitting the stored inspection data contemporaneously to a communications network.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An automated inspection tour includes a sequence and location of multiple inspection points marked with a unique identifier. User performs inspection tours by proceeding to each inspection point in the sequence indicated, and operating a portable data terminal (PDT) to read each unique identifier. PDT may include a handheld mobile computer including an integrated laser barcode scan engine. RFID, or other electronic scanning devices. User must be physically located proximate the unique identifier to obtain an electronic reading. Each unique identifier is encoded with data including a location of its associated inspection point. PDT is used to perform an inspection tour of the premises for reporting and resolving hazards. The software application enables user to record location response parameters and enables user to record store conditions during an inspection tour. Inspection data is transferred continuously during a tour via wireless network communication.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A premises inspection method comprising:
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accessing, by a user, an inspection tour stored on a portable data terminal, the inspection tour comprising a plurality of location descriptions associated with a plurality of locations of a premises; displaying on the portable data terminal a location description from the plurality of location descriptions; scanning a machine readable location identifier with the portable data terminal upon arrival at a location of the premises associated with the displayed location description, the location identifier comprising inspection data associated with the displayed location description the premises; inspecting an area adjacent to the location of the premises to determine whether a hazardous condition exists; in response to determining an existence of a hazardous condition at the area adjacent to the location of the premises, remedying the hazardous condition, wherein remedying the hazardous condition comprising; identifying at least one hazardous condition from a predetermined list of hazardous conditions; accessing a set of instructions for resolving the at least one hazardous condition; selecting one of;
resolving the at least one hazardous condition immediately or resolving the at least one hazardous condition at a later time; andrepeating the steps of identifying at least one hazardous condition from a predetermined list of hazardous conditions; accessing a set of instructions for resolving the at least one hazardous condition; and
resolving the at least one hazardous condition immediately or resolving the at least one hazardous condition at a later time until each identified hazardous condition is selected for immediate or later resolution;repeating the steps of identifying at least one hazardous condition from a predetermined list of hazardous conditions;
accessing a set of instructions for resolving the at least one hazardous condition; and
resolving the at least one hazardous condition immediately or resolving the at least one hazardous condition at a later time for each respective location associated with the plurality of location descriptions;storing the scanned identification data and inspection information associated with each location description of the plurality of location descriptions; and transmitting the stored inspection data contemporaneously to a communications network. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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16. A system for automated premises inspection comprising:
a portable data terminal in communication with a data network, a web interface for accessing an internet or intranet connection to a remote data storage device, a plurality machine readable location identifiers comprising inspection data associated with a plurality of locations, and a local memory device, the portable data terminal comprising a software application configured to; access an inspection tour by a user, the inspection tour comprising a plurality of location descriptions associated with a plurality of locations within a premises; display on the portable data terminal a plurality of location descriptions; scan with the portable data terminal the machine readable location identifier; prompt the user with inspection criteria for an area of the premises adjacent to each location description of the plurality of location descriptions to determine whether a hazardous condition exists; in response to determining an existence of a hazardous condition at the first location, provide selection options comprising; identify at least one hazardous condition from a predetermined plurality of possible hazardous conditions; store the scanned identification data associated with each location of the plurality of location descriptions; and automatically transmit the stored inspection data contemporaneously to a communications network.
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21. A vehicle for use in association with an automated inspection system, the vehicle comprising:
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a frame portion at least one wheel rotatably attached to the frame; a plurality of brackets attached to the frame, each bracket of the plurality of brackets comprising an opening for receiving a container, at least one container removably supported by at least one of the plurality of brackets; and a machine readable device identifier affixed to the vehicle.
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Specification