System and Method for Monitoring Equipment Maintenance

• US 20120005107A1
• Filed: 07/02/2010
• Published: 01/05/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/02/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Technologies Holdings Corporation (Teleflex Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Technologies Holdings Corporation (Teleflex Incorporated)
• Inventors: Lowden, James J., Slattery, Jerome
• Application Number:
  US12/829,966
• Publication Number:
  US 20120005107A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/305
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/20 Administration of product repair or maintenance

Abstract

A method comprises storing maintenance data associated with a particular maintenance task for a particular type of equipment, where the maintenance data includes calendar maintenance data and usage maintenance data. The method further comprises storing calendar tracking data and usage tracking data. The method further comprises determining if the calendar tracking data equals or exceeds a first predetermined threshold associated with the calendar maintenance data, determining if the usage tracking data equals or exceeds a second predetermined threshold associated with the usage maintenance data, and in response to either the first or the second predetermined thresholds being met, generating an alert associated with the maintenance task for the instance of the particular type of equipment that has been deployed.

Claims

1. An equipment maintenance system, comprising:

a memory operable to;

store a plurality of maintenance tasks for a particular type of equipment;

for a particular maintenance task of a particular type of equipment, store maintenance data that comprises at least one of;

calendar maintenance data that is associated with a first period of time since the particular maintenance task was last performed; and

usage maintenance data that is associated with a second period of time that the particular type of equipment has been in use since the particular maintenance task was last performed; and

store tracking data associated with the particular maintenance task for an instance of the particular type of equipment that has been deployed, wherein the tracking data comprises at least one of;

calendar tracking data associated with an accumulated time since the particular maintenance task of the instance of the particular type of equipment was last performed; and

usage tracking data associated with an accumulated time that the instance of the particular type of equipment has been in use since

the particular maintenance task was last performed; and

a processor operable to;

perform at least one of;

determine if the calendar tracking data equals or exceeds a first predetermined threshold associated with the calendar maintenance data; and

determine if the usage tracking data equals or exceeds a second predetermined threshold associated with the usage maintenance data; and

in response to either the first or the second predetermined threshold being met, generate an alert associated with the maintenance task for the instance of the particular type of equipment that has been deployed.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the memory is further operable to:

store a plurality of types of equipment;

for each particular type of equipment, store a plurality of maintenance tasks; and

for each particular maintenance task, store maintenance data that comprises at least one of calendar maintenance data and usage maintenance data, and tracking data that comprises at least one of calendar tracking data and usage tracking data.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the memory is further operable to store second tracking data associated with the maintenance task for a second instance of the particular type of equipment that has been deployed, wherein the tracking data comprises at least one of;

second calendar tracking data associated with an accumulated time since the particular maintenance task of the second instance of the particular type of equipment was last performed; and

second usage tracking data associated with an accumulated time that the second instance of the particular type of equipment has been in use since the particular maintenance task was last performed; and

the processor is further operable to;

perform at least one of;

determine if the second calendar tracking data equals or exceeds the first predetermined threshold associated with the calendar maintenance data; and

determine if the second usage tracking data equals or exceeds the second predetermined threshold associated with the usage maintenance data; and

in response to either the first or the second predetermined threshold being met, generate a second alert associated with the maintenance task for the second instance of the particular type of equipment that has been deployed.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the second instance of the particular type of equipment that has been deployed is located at a location remote from the first instance of the particular type of equipment that has been deployed.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the memory is further operable to:

store additional maintenance data associated with a second particular maintenance task for a particular type of equipment, wherein the additional maintenance data comprises at least one of;

calendar maintenance data, wherein the calendar maintenance data is associated with a first period of time since the particular maintenance task was last performed; and

usage maintenance data, wherein the usage maintenance data is associated with a second period of time that the particular type of equipment has been in use since the second particular maintenance task was last performed.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the particular type of equipment is associated with a dairy farm.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the system further comprises a controller, wherein the controller is operable to capture usage tracking data associated with the instance of the particular type of equipment that has been deployed.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the particular type of equipment comprises at least one of:

a controller;

equipment associated with a vacuum system;

equipment associated with transporting milk;

equipment associated with cleaning;

equipment associated with milking animals;

equipment associated with cooling milk;

equipment associated with identifying animals; and

equipment associated with controlling the crowding of animals.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising a graphical user interface operable to:

display a percentage for each of the maintenance tasks associated with the instance of the particular type of equipment, wherein the percentage represents the percentage of time until each of the maintenance tasks for the instance of the particular type of equipment is recommended;

display a calendar date associated with when each maintenance task of the instance of the particular type of equipment is recommended;

display an action to be performed by an end user, wherein the action is associated with the maintenance task for the instance of the particular type of equipment;

display costs associated with each maintenance task for the instance of the particular type of equipment; and

receive input from the end user, wherein the received input represents that the maintenance task for the instance of the particular type of equipment was performed.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further operable to:

send the alert in one or more emails to one or more recipients;

send the alert in one or more instant messages to one or more recipients; and

send the alert in one or more text messages to one or more recipients.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the calendar maintenance data comprises at least one of the following units:

years;

months;

days;

hours;

minutes; and

seconds.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the calendar tracking data comprises at least one of the following units:

years;

months;

days;

hours;

minutes; and

seconds.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the first predetermined threshold is a user defined percentage of the calendar maintenance data and the second predetermined threshold is a user defined percentage of the usage maintenance data.

14. A method for equipment maintenance, comprising:

storing a plurality of maintenance tasks for a particular type of equipment;

for a particular maintenance task of a particular type of equipment, storing maintenance data that comprises at least one of;

calendar maintenance data that is associated with a first period of time since the particular maintenance task was last performed; and

usage maintenance data that is associated with a second period of time that the particular type of equipment has been in use since the particular maintenance task was last performed; and

storing tracking data associated with the particular maintenance task for an instance of the particular type of equipment that has been deployed, wherein the tracking data comprises at least one of;

calendar tracking data associated with an accumulated time since the particular maintenance task of the instance of the particular type of equipment was last performed; and

usage tracking data associated with an accumulated time that the instance of the particular type of equipment has been in use since the particular maintenance task was last performed; and

performing at least one of;

determining if the calendar tracking data equals or exceeds a first predetermined threshold associated with the calendar maintenance data; and

determining if the usage tracking data equals or exceeds a second predetermined threshold associated with the usage maintenance data; and

in response to either the first or the second predetermined threshold being met, generating an alert associated with the maintenance task for the instance of the particular type of equipment that has been deployed.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

storing a plurality of types of equipment;

for each particular type of equipment, storing a plurality of maintenance tasks. store a plurality of types of equipment; and

for each particular maintenance task, storing maintenance data that comprises at least one of calendar maintenance data and usage maintenance data, and tracking data that comprises at least one of calendar tracking data and usage tracking data.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

storing second tracking data associated with the maintenance task for a second instance of the particular type of equipment that has been deployed, wherein the tracking data comprises at least one of;

second calendar tracking data associated with an accumulated time since the particular maintenance task of the second instance of the particular type of equipment was last performed; and

second usage tracking data associated with an accumulated time that the second instance of the particular type of equipment has been in use since the particular maintenance task was last performed; and

performing at least one of;

determining if the second calendar tracking data equals or exceeds the first predetermined threshold associated with the calendar maintenance data; and

determining if the second usage tracking data equals or exceeds the second predetermined threshold associated with the usage maintenance data; and

in response to either the third or the fourth predetermined threshold being met, generating a second alert associated with the maintenance task for the second instance of the particular type of equipment that has been deployed.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the second instance of the particular type of equipment that has been deployed is located at a location remote from the first instance of the particular type of equipment that has been deployed.

18. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

storing additional maintenance data associated with a second particular maintenance task for the particular type of equipment, wherein the additional maintenance data comprises at least one of;

calendar maintenance data, wherein the calendar maintenance data is associated with a first period of time since the second particular maintenance task was last performed; and

usage maintenance data, wherein the usage maintenance data is associated with a second period of time that the particular type of equipment has been in use since the second particular maintenance task was last performed.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein the particular type of equipment is associated with a dairy farm.

20. The method of claim 14, further comprising capturing usage tracking data associated with the instance of the particular type of equipment that has been deployed.

21. The method of claim 14, wherein the particular type of equipment comprises at least one of:

a controller;

equipment associated with a vacuum system;

equipment associated with transporting milk;

equipment associated with cleaning;

equipment associated with milking animals;

equipment associated with cooling milk;

equipment associated with identifying animals; and

equipment associated with controlling the crowding of animals.

22. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

displaying a percentage for each of the maintenance tasks associated with the first instance of the particular type of equipment, wherein the percentage represents the percentage of time until each of the maintenance tasks for the instance of the particular type of equipment is recommended;

displaying a calendar date associated with when each maintenance task of the instance of the particular type of equipment is recommended;

displaying an action to be performed by an end user, wherein the action is associated with the maintenance task for the instance of the particular type of equipment;

displaying costs associated with each maintenance task for the instance of the particular type of equipment; and

receiving input from the end user, wherein the received input represents that the maintenance task for the instance of the particular type of equipment was performed.

23. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

sending the alert in one or more emails to one or more recipients;

sending the alert in one or more instant messages to one or more recipients; and

sending the alert in one or more text messages to one or more recipients.

24. The method of claim 14, wherein the calendar maintenance data comprises at least one of the following units:

years;

months;

days;

hours;

minutes; and

seconds.

25. The method of claim 14, wherein the calendar tracking data comprises at least one of the following units:

years;

months;

days;

hours;

minutes; and

seconds.

26. The method of claim 14, wherein the first predetermined threshold is a user defined percentage of the calendar maintenance data and the second predetermined threshold is a user defined percentage of the usage maintenance data.

39. The method of claim 14, wherein the first predetermined threshold is a user defined percentage of the calendar maintenance data and the second predetermined threshold is a user defined percentage of the usage maintenance data.

27. Software for equipment maintenance, the software being embodied in a computer-readable medium and when executed operable to:

store a plurality of maintenance tasks for a particular type of equipment;

for a particular maintenance task of a particular type of equipment, store maintenance data that comprises at least one of;

calendar maintenance data that is associated with a first period of time since the particular maintenance task was last performed; and

usage maintenance data that is associated with a second period of time that the particular type of equipment has been in use since the particular maintenance task was last performed; and

store tracking data associated with the particular maintenance task for an instance of the particular type of equipment that has been deployed, wherein the tracking data comprises at least one of;

calendar tracking data associated with an accumulated time since the particular maintenance task of the instance of the particular type of equipment was last performed; and

usage tracking data associated with an accumulated time that the instance of the particular type of equipment has been in use since the particular maintenance task was last performed; and

perform at least one of;

determine if the calendar tracking data equals or exceeds a first predetermined threshold associated with the calendar maintenance data; and

determine if the usage tracking data equals or exceeds a second predetermined threshold associated with the usage maintenance data; and

in response to either the first or the second predetermined threshold being met, generate an alert associated with the maintenance task for the instance of the particular type of equipment that has been deployed.

28. The software of claim 27, wherein the software is further operable to:

store a plurality of types of equipment;

for each particular type of equipment, store a plurality of maintenance tasks; and

for each particular maintenance task, store maintenance data that comprises at least one of calendar maintenance data and usage maintenance data, and tracking data that comprises at least one of calendar tracking data and usage tracking data.

29. The software of claim 27, wherein the software is further operable to:

store second tracking data associated with the maintenance task for a second instance of the particular type of equipment that has been deployed, wherein the tracking data comprises at least one of;

second calendar tracking data associated with an accumulated time since the particular maintenance task of the second instance of the particular type of equipment was last performed; and

second usage tracking data associated with an accumulated time that the second instance of the particular type of equipment has been in use since the particular maintenance task was last performed; and

perform at least one of;

determine if the second calendar tracking data equals or exceeds the first predetermined threshold associated with the calendar maintenance data; and

determine if the second usage tracking data equals or exceeds the second predetermined threshold associated with the usage maintenance data; and

in response to either the third or the fourth predetermined threshold being met, generate a second alert associated with the maintenance task for the instance of the particular type of equipment that has been deployed.

30. The software of claim 29, wherein the second instance of the particular type of equipment that has been deployed is located at a location remote from the first instance of the particular type of equipment that has been deployed.

31. The software of claim 27, wherein the software is further operable to:

store additional maintenance data associated with a second particular maintenance task for the particular type of equipment, wherein the additional maintenance data comprises at least one of;

calendar maintenance data, wherein the calendar maintenance data is associated with a first period of time since the second particular maintenance task was last performed; and

usage maintenance data, wherein the usage maintenance data is associated with a second period of time that the particular type of equipment has been in use since the second particular maintenance task was last performed.

32. The software of claim 27, wherein the particular type of equipment is associated with a dairy farm.

33. The software of claim 27, wherein the software is further operable to capture usage tracking data associated with the instance of the particular type of equipment that has been deployed.

34. The software of claim 27, wherein the particular type of equipment comprises at least one of:

a controller;

equipment associated with a vacuum system;

equipment associated with transporting milk;

equipment associated with cleaning;

equipment associated with milking animals;

equipment associated with cooling milk;

equipment associated with identifying animals; and

equipment associated with controlling the crowding of animals.

35. The software of claim 27, wherein the software is further operable to:

display a percentage for each of the maintenance tasks associated with the instance of the particular type of equipment, wherein the percentage represents the percentage of time until each of the maintenance tasks for the instance of the particular type of equipment is recommended;

display a calendar date associated with when each maintenance task of the instance of the particular type of equipment is recommended;

display an action to be performed by an end user, wherein the action is associated with the maintenance task for the instance of the particular type of equipment;

display costs associated with each maintenance task for the instance of the particular type of equipment; and

receive input from the end user, wherein the received input represents that the maintenance task for the instance of the particular type of equipment was performed.

36. The software of claim 27, wherein the software is further operable to:

send the alert in one or more emails to one or more recipients;

send the alert in one or more instant messages to one or more recipients; and

send the alert in one or more text messages to one or more recipients.

37. The software of claim 27, wherein the calendar maintenance data comprises at least one of the following units:

years;

months;

days;

hours;

minutes; and

seconds.

38. The software of claim 27, wherein the calendar tracking data comprises at least one of the following units:

years;

months;

days;

hours;

minutes; and

seconds.