Intelligent computer integrated maintenance system and method

• US 5,216,612 A
• Filed: 07/16/1990
• Issued: 06/01/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 07/16/1990
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: R J Reynolds Tobacco Company (R. J. Reynolds Tobacco)
• Original Assignee: R J Reynolds Tobacco Company (R. J. Reynolds Tobacco)
• Inventors: Willard, Ronald S., Johnston, Michael Z., Saluta, Jaime P., Cornett, Rickey R., Tylak, Daniel J., Walsh, R. Victor, Bird, Michael J.
• Primary Examiner(s): RUGGIERO, JOSEPH F
• Application Number:
  US07/552,728
• Time in Patent Office: 1,051 Days
• Field of Search: 364/468, 364/478, 364/401-403, 364/131-135, 364/550, 364/551.01, 364/551.02, 364/DIG. 1, 364/DIG. 2, 364/469-473 , 364/474.01-474.37, 364/476, 364/477, 364/149-151, 364/156
• US Class Current: 700/96
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/4184 characterised by fault tolerance, reliability of production system
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/23047 Operating, repair manual stored in memory
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/24019 Computer assisted maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/32028 Electronic catalog, to select material, resources, make lists with prices
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/32088 Master production planning, highest level
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/32226 Computer assisted repair, maintenance of system components
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/32234 Maintenance planning
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/32235 Sharing of data between process control and maintenance management computers
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/32256 Due dates, pieces must be ready, priority of dates, deadline
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/32294 Maximize throughput of cell
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0875 Itemisation or classification of parts, supplies or services, e.g. bill of materials
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/80 Management or planning

Abstract

An intelligent computer integrated maintenance system and method includes an electronically stored parts manual which contains a hierarchical listing of all parts in production machines, and a maintenance operations computer controller which includes a maintenance schedule management subsystem, an engineering change control subsystem, a parts manual management subsystem and a spares inventory management subsystem. The maintenance schedule management subsystem obtains a schedule of actual and planned production, and groups maintenance activities in order to minimize lost production time. The engineering change control subsystem integrates engineering change activities with maintenance activities to maximize production time. The automated parts manual is also updated to account for engineering changes. The spare parts inventory management subsystem orders spare parts based on predicted maintenance rather than on prescribed inventory levels. Production efficiency is thereby maximized, as is the use of available maintenance manpower. Engineering changes are easily accommodated and spare parts inventory is kept to a minimum.

Claims

1. A computer integrated maintenance system for use with a computer integrated manufacturing system, the computer integrated manufacturing system including a computer controller for controlling a plurality of production complexes each of which includes a plurality of production machines, the manufacturing system computer controller including an electronically stored master schedule file having therein a schedule of actual production and planned production for the plurality of complexes, the manufacturing system computer controller controlling the plurality of production machines based upon the planned production in the master schedule file;

said computer integrated maintenance system comprising;

an electronically stored parts manual, containing a hierarchical listing of parts in the plurality of production machines in the plurality of production complexes; and

,

maintenance operations computer controlling means, communicatively connected to said electronically stored parts manual and adapted to be communicatively connected to the master schedule file, comprising;

first means for obtaining a schedule of actual production and planned production for the plurality of complexes from the master schedule file;

second means for identifying parts in the hierarchical listing to be maintained during a predetermined time period, and a corresponding maintenance time during the predetermined time period for each identified part, based upon the obtained schedule;

third means for reassigning the corresponding maintenance times for the identified parts, based upon the hierarchical listing of parts in the electronically stored parts manual, to reduce lost production time for each of the plurality of complexes;

fourth means for generating a revised schedule of planned production based upon the reassigned maintenance times for the identified parts; and

fifth means for communicating the revised schedule of planned production to the master schedule file;

whereby the plurality of complexes are controlled based upon the revised schedule of planned production to allow for maintenance activities while maximizing production.

2. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 1 wherein said third means comprises;

means for determining when a complex is inactive, based upon the obtained schedule; and

,

means for reassigning the corresponding maintenance times for at least some of the identified parts to the time when the complex including the a least some of the identified parts is inactive.

3. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 1 wherein said third means comprises means for grouping at least some of the corresponding maintenance times for identified parts in a complex, to reduce lost production time for that complex.

4. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 3 wherein said third means further comprises means for identifying a critical part to be maintained in a complex and a corresponding critical maintenance time, and means for reassigning at least some of the corresponding maintenance times for other parts in the complex to the critical maintenance time.

5. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 1 wherein said third means further comprises means for determining manpower needed to perform maintenance according to the reassigned maintenance times, and means for further reassigning the reassigned maintenance times to permit maintenance to be performed with available manpower.

6. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 1 wherein said electronically stored parts manual further includes an end of life indicator for selected ones of the production machines, the end of life indicator indicating that the associated production machine is scheduled to be replaced or modified;

and wherein said third means comprises means for eliminating the corresponding maintenance for parts in machines having an associated end of life indicator, to thereby reduce lost production time.

7. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 1 wherein said electronically stored parts manual further contains means for identifying the type of maintenance for a part to be one of time dependent maintenance or usage dependent maintenance;

and wherein said second means comprises means for identifying parts to be maintained and a corresponding maintenance time for identified parts having usage dependent maintenance, based upon the obtained schedule.

8. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 1 wherein said second means further comprises means for accepting a user selection of said predetermined time period.

9. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 1 wherein said electronically stored parts manual further contains an image file, including a corresponding image for parts in the hierarchical listing.

10. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 1 wherein said hierarchical listing comprises a complete bill of materials for each complex.

11. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 1 wherein said electronically stored parts manual identifies each of the parts as being one of a consumable, replaceable, generic or non-stocked part.

12. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 1 wherein said electronically stored parts manual further includes an associated part number for each of the parts.

13. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 12 wherein said electronically stored parts manual further includes a replacement part number for selected ones of the parts.

14. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 12 wherein said electronically stored parts manual further includes an industry standard part number for selected ones of the parts.

15. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 1 wherein said electronically stored parts manual comprises a plurality of electronically stored parts manuals, a respective one of which contains a hierarchical listing of parts in the plurality of production machines in a respective one of said plurality of complexes.

16. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 1 wherein said maintenance operations computer controller further comprises:

sixth means for generating a list of the identified parts, to facilitate ordering of the identified parts.

17. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 16 wherein said sixth means further comprises means for generating a list of corresponding maintenance times for the identified parts, to facilitate ordering of the identified parts to be available for the corresponding maintenance times.

18. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 16 wherein said sixth means further comprises means for generating orders for the identified parts.

19. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 17 wherein said sixth means further comprises means for generating orders for the identified parts.

20. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 1:

wherein the manufacturing system computer controller further includes an engineering change file having therein a schedule of engineering changes to be made on the production machines;

wherein said maintenance operations computer controller is further adapted to be communicatively connected to the engineering change file;

wherein said first means further obtains a schedule of engineering changes from the engineering change file; and

,

wherein said second means further comprises means for identifying the parts to be maintained and the corresponding maintenance time based upon the obtained schedule of actual production and planned production and based upon the obtained schedule of engineering changes.

21. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 1 wherein said third means further comprises:

means for accepting an indication that unplanned maintenance is performed on a broken part at a predetermined time; and

means for reassigning at least some of the corresponding maintenance times for identified parts in the same complex as the first part, to correspond to said predetermined time;

whereby at least some planned maintenance is rescheduled to occur during unplanned maintenance.

42. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance system of claim 1 wherein said third means further comprises:

means for accepting an indication that unplanned maintenance is performed on a first part at a predetermined time; and

means for reassigning at least some of the corresponding maintenance times for identified parts in the same complex as the first part, to correspond to said predetermined time;

whereby at least some planned maintenance is rescheduled to occur during unplanned maintenance.

22. A computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance system for controlling manufacturing and maintenance of a plurality of production complexes each of which includes a plurality of production machines, said computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance system comprising:

an electronically stored master schedule file having therein a schedule of actual production and planned production for the plurality of complexes;

means for controlling the plurality of production machines based upon the schedule of planned production in the master schedule file;

an electronically stored parts manual, containing a hierarchical listing of parts in the plurality of production machines in the plurality of production complexes;

first means, communicatively connected to said master schedule file, for obtaining a schedule of actual production and planned production for the plurality of complexes from the master schedule file;

second means, communicatively connected to said first means and said electronically stored parts manual, for identifying parts in the hierarchical listing to be maintained during a predetermined time period, and a corresponding maintenance time during the predetermined time period for each identified part, based upon the obtained schedule;

third means, communicatively connected to said second means, for reassigning the corresponding maintenance times for the identified parts, based upon the hierarchical listing of parts in the electronically stored parts manual, to reduce lost production time for each of the plurality of complexes;

fourth means, communicatively connected to said third means, for generating a revised schedule of planned production based upon the reassigned maintenance times for the identified parts; and

fifth means, communicatively connected to said fourth means and said master schedule file, for communicating the revised schedule of planned production to the master schedule file;

whereby the plurality of complexes are controlled based upon the revised schedule of planned production to allow for maintenance activities while maximizing production.

23. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance system of claim 22 wherein said third means comprises;

means for determining when a complex is inactive, based upon the obtained schedule; and

,

means for reassigning the corresponding maintenance times for at least some of the identified parts to the time when the complex including the at least some of the identified parts is inactive.

24. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance system of claim 22 wherein said third means comprises means for grouping at least some of the corresponding maintenance times for identified parts in a complex, to reduce lost production time for that complex.

25. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance system of claim 24 wherein said third means further comprises means for identifying a critical part to be maintained in a complex and a corresponding critical maintenance time, and means for reassigning at least some of the corresponding maintenance times for other parts in the complex to the critical maintenance time.

26. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance system of claim 22 wherein said third means further comprises means for determining manpower needed to perform maintenance according to the reassigned maintenance times, and means for further reassigning the reassigned maintenance times to permit maintenance to be performed with available manpower.

27. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance system of claim 22 wherein said electronically stored parts manual further includes an end of life indicator for selected ones of the production machines, the end of life indicator indicating that the associated production machine is scheduled to be replaced or modified;

and wherein said third means comprises means for eliminating the corresponding maintenance for parts in machines having an associated end of life indicator, to thereby reduce lost production time.

28. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance system of claim 22 wherein said electronically stored parts manual further contains means for identifying the type of maintenance for a part to be one of time dependent maintenance or usage dependent maintenance;

and wherein said second means comprises means for identifying parts to be maintained and a corresponding maintenance time for identified parts having usage dependent maintenance, based upon the obtained schedule.

29. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance system of claim 22 wherein said second means further comprises means for accepting a user selection of said predetermined time period.

30. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance system of claim 22 wherein said electronically stored parts manual further contains an image file, including a corresponding image for parts in the hierarchical listing.

31. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance system of claim 22 wherein said hierarchical listing comprises a complete bill of materials for each complex.

32. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance system of claim 22 wherein said electronically stored parts manual identifies each of the parts as being one of a consumable, replaceable, generic or non-stocked part.

33. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance system of claim 22 wherein said electronically stored parts manual further includes an associated part number for each of the parts.

34. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance system of claim 33 wherein said electronically stored parts manual further includes a replacement part number for selected ones of the parts.

35. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance system of claim 33 wherein said electronically stored parts manual further includes an industry standard part number for selected ones of the parts.

36. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance system of claim 22 wherein said electronically stored parts manual comprises a plurality of electronically stored parts manuals, a respective one of which contains a hierarchical listing of parts in the plurality of production machines in a respective one of said plurality of complexes.

37. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance system of claim 22 further comprising:

sixth means, communicatively connected to said third means, for generating a list of the identified parts, to facilitate ordering of the identified parts.

38. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance system of claim 37 wherein said sixth means further comprises means for generating a list of corresponding maintenance times for the identified parts, to facilitate ordering of the identified parts to be available for the corresponding maintenance times.

39. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance system of claim 37 wherein said sixth means further comprises means for generating orders for the identified parts.

40. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance system of claim 38 wherein said sixth means further comprises means for generating orders for the identified parts.

41. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance system of claim 22 further comprising:

an engineering change file having therein a schedule of engineering changes to be made on the production machines;

said first means being communicatively connected to said engineering change control file to obtain a schedule of engineering changes from the engineering change file; and

,

said second means further comprising means for identifying the parts to be maintained and the corresponding maintenance time based upon the obtained schedule of actual production and planned production and based upon the obtained schedule of engineering changes.

43. A computer integrated maintenance method for use with a computer integrated manufacturing system, the computer integrated manufacturing system including a computer controller for controlling a plurality of production complexes each of which includes a plurality of production machines, the manufacturing system computer controller including an electronically stored master schedule file having therein a schedule of actual production and planned production for the plurality of complexes, the manufacturing system computer controller controlling the plurality of production machines based upon the planned production in the master schedule file;

said computer integrated maintenance method being practiced on a maintenance operations computer controller and comprising the steps of;

generating an electronically stored parts manual, containing a hierarchical listing of parts in the plurality of production machines in the plurality of production complexes;

obtaining a schedule of actual production and planned production for the plurality of complexes from the master schedule file;

identifying parts in the hierarchical listing to be maintained during a predetermined time period, and a corresponding maintenance time during the predetermined time period for each identified part, based upon the obtained schedule;

reassigning the corresponding maintenance times for the identified parts, based upon the hierarchical listing of parts in the electronically stored parts manual, to reduce lost production time for each of the plurality of complexes;

generating a revised schedule of planned production based upon the reassigned maintenance times for the identified parts; and

communicating the revised schedule of planned production to the master schedule file;

whereby the plurality of complexes are controlled based upon the revised schedule of planned production to allow for maintenance activities while maximizing production.

44. The computer integrated maintenance method of claim 43 wherein said reassigning step comprises the steps of:

determining when a complex is inactive, based upon the obtained schedule; and

,

reassigning the corresponding maintenance times for at least some of the identified parts to the time when the complex including the at least some of the identified parts is inactive.

45. The computer integrated maintenance method of claim 43 wherein said reassigning step comprises the step of grouping at least some of the corresponding maintenance times for identified parts in a complex, to reduce lost production time for that complex.

46. The computer integrated maintenance method of claim 45 wherein said reassigning step further comprises the steps of:

identifying a critical part to be maintained in a complex and a corresponding critical maintenance time; and

reassigning at least some of the corresponding maintenance times for other parts in the complex to the critical maintenance time.

47. The computer integrated maintenance method of claim 43 wherein said reassigning step further comprises the steps of:

determining manpower needed to perform maintenance according to the reassigned maintenance times; and

further reassigning the reassigned maintenance times to permit maintenance to be performed with available manpower.

48. The computer integrated maintenance method of claim 43 wherein said electronically stored parts manual further includes an end of life indicator for selected ones of the production machines, the end of life indicator indicating that the associated production machine is scheduled to be replaced or modified;

and wherein said reassigning step comprises the step of eliminating the corresponding maintenance for parts in machines having an associated end of life indicator, to thereby reduce lost production time.

49. The computer integrated maintenance method of claim 43 wherein said electronically stored parts manual further contains means for identifying the type of maintenance for a part to be one of time dependent maintenance or usage dependent maintenance;

and wherein said identifying step comprises the step of identifying parts to be maintained and a corresponding maintenance time for identified parts having usage dependent maintenance, based upon the obtained schedule.

50. The computer integrated maintenance method of claim 43 wherein said identifying step further comprises the step of accepting a user selection of said predetermined time period.

51. The computer integrated maintenance method of claim 43 wherein said generating step further comprises the step of generating an electronically stored parts manual containing an image file, including a corresponding image for parts in the hierarchical listing.

52. The computer integrated maintenance method of claim 43 wherein said hierarchical listing comprises a complete bill of materials for each complex.

53. The computer integrated maintenance method of claim 43 wherein said generating step further comprises the step of generating an electronically stored parts manual which identifies each of the parts as being one of a consumable, replaceable, generic or non-stocked part.

54. The computer integrated maintenance method of claim 43 wherein said generating step further comprises the step of generating an electronically stored parts manual including an associated part number for each of the parts.

55. The computer integrated maintenance method of claim 54 wherein said generating step further comprises the step of generating an electronically stored parts manual including a replacement part number for selected ones of the parts.

56. The computer integrated maintenance method of claim 54 wherein said generating step further comprises the step of generating an electronically stored parts manual including an industry standard part number for selected ones of the parts.

57. The computer integrated maintenance method of claim 43 wherein said generating step further comprises the step of generating a plurality of electronically stored parts manuals, a respective one of which contains a hierarchical listing of parts in the plurality of production machines in a respective one of said plurality of complexes.

58. The computer integrated maintenance method of claim 43 further comprising the step of:

generating a list of the identified parts, to facilitate ordering of the identified parts.

59. The computer integrated maintenance method of claim 58 wherein said list generating step further comprises the step of generating a list of corresponding maintenance times for the identified parts, to facilitate ordering of the identified parts to be available for the corresponding maintenance times.

60. The computer integrated maintenance method of claim 58 wherein said list generating step further comprises the step of generating orders for the identified parts.

61. The computer integrated maintenance method of claim 59 wherein said list generating step further comprises the step of generating orders for the identified parts.

62. The computer integrated maintenance method of claim 43:

wherein the manufacturing system computer controller further includes an engineering change file having therein a schedule of engineering changes to be made on the production machines;

wherein said schedule obtaining step further comprises the step of obtaining a schedule of engineering changes from the engineering change file; and

,

wherein said identifying step further comprises the step of identifying the parts to be maintained and the corresponding maintenance time based upon the obtained schedule of actual production and planned production and based upon the obtained schedule of engineering changes.

63. The computer integrated maintenance method of claim 43 wherein said reassigning step further comprises the steps of:

accepting an indication that unplanned maintenance is performed on a first part at a predetermined time; and

reassigning at least some of the corresponding maintenance times for identified parts in the same complex as the first part, to correspond to said predetermined time;

whereby at least some planned maintenance is rescheduled to occur during unplanned maintenance.

64. A compute integrated manufacturing and maintenance method for controlling manufacturing and maintenance of a plurality of production complexes each of which includes a plurality of production machines, the computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance method comprising the steps of:

generating an electronically stored master schedule file having therein a schedule of actual production and planned production for the plurality of complexes;

controlling the plurality of production machines based upon the planned production in the master schedule file;

generating an electronically stored parts manual, containing a hierarchical listing of parts in the plurality of production machines in the plurality of production complexes;

obtaining a schedule of actual production and planned production for the plurality of complexes from the master schedule file;

identifying parts in the hierarchical listing to be maintained during a predetermined time period, and a corresponding maintenance time during the predetermined time period for each identified part, based upon the obtained schedule;

reassigning the corresponding maintenance times for the identified parts, based upon the hierarchical listing of parts in the electronically stored parts manual, to reduce lost production time for each of the plurality of complexes;

generating a revised schedule of planned production based upon the reassigned maintenance times for the identified parts; and

communicating the revised schedule of planned production to the master schedule file;

whereby the plurality of complexes are controlled based upon the revised schedule of planned production to allow for maintenance activities while maximizing production.

65. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance method of claim 64 wherein said reassigning step comprises the steps of;

determining when a complex is inactive, based upon the obtained schedule; and

,

reassigning the corresponding maintenance times for at least some of the identified parts to the time when the complex including the at least some of the identified parts is inactive.

66. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance method of claim 64 wherein said reassigning step comprises the step of grouping at least some of the corresponding maintenance times for identified parts in a complex, to reduce lost production time for that complex.

67. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance method of claim 66 wherein said reassigning step further comprises the steps of identifying a critical part to be maintained in a complex and a corresponding critical maintenance time, and reassigning at least some of the corresponding maintenance times for other parts in the complex to the critical maintenance time.

68. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance method of claim 64 wherein said reassigning step further comprises the steps of determining manpower needed to perform maintenance according to the reassigned maintenance times, and further reassigning the reassigned maintenance times to permit maintenance to be performed with available manpower.

69. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance method of claim 64 wherein said electronically stored parts manual further includes an end of life indicator for selected ones of the production machines, the end of life indicator indicating that the associated production machine is scheduled to be replaced or modified;

and wherein said reassigning step comprises the step of eliminating the corresponding maintenance for parts in machines having an associated end of life indicator, to thereby reduce lost production time.

70. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance method of claim 64 wherein said electronically stored parts manual further contains means for identifying the type of maintenance for a part to be one of time dependent maintenance or usage dependent maintenance;

and wherein said identifying step comprises the step of identifying parts to be maintained and a corresponding maintenance time for identified parts having usage dependent maintenance, based upon the obtained schedule.

71. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance method of claim 64 wherein said identifying step further comprises the step of accepting a user selection of said predetermined time period.

72. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance method of claim 64 wherein said generating step further comprises the step of generating an electronically stored parts manual further containing an image file, including a corresponding image for parts in the hierarchical listing.

73. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance method of claim 64 wherein said hierarchical listing comprises a complete bill of materials for each complex.

74. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance system of claim 64 wherein said generating step further comprises the step of generating an electronically stored parts manual identifies each of the parts as being one of a consumable, replaceable, generic or non-stocked part.

75. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance method of claim 64 wherein said generating step further comprises the step of generating an electronically stored parts manual which includes an associated part number for each of the parts.

76. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance method of claim 75 wherein said generating step further comprises the step of electronically stored parts manual which includes a replacement part number for selected ones of the parts.

77. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance method of claim 75 wherein said generating step further comprises the step of electronically stored parts manual which includes an industry standard part number for selected ones of the parts.

78. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance method of claim 64 wherein said generating step further comprises the step of generating a plurality of electronically stored parts manuals, a respective one of which contains a hierarchical listing of parts in the plurality of production machines in a respective one of said plurality of complexes.

79. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance method of claim 64 further comprising the step of:

generating a list of the identified parts, to facilitate ordering of the identified parts.

80. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance method of claim 79 wherein said list generating step further comprises the step of generating a list of corresponding maintenance times for the identified parts, to facilitate ordering of the identified parts to be available for the corresponding maintenance times.

82. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance method of claim 80 wherein said list generating step further comprises the step of generating orders for the identified parts.

83. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance method of claim 64 further comprising the step of:

generating an engineering change file having therein a schedule of engineering changes to be made on the production machines; and

obtaining a schedule of engineering changes from the engineering change file; and

,

wherein said identifying step further comprises the step of identifying the parts to be maintained and the corresponding maintenance time based upon the obtained schedule of actual production and planned production and based upon the obtained schedule of engineering changes.

84. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance method of claim 64 wherein said reassigning step further comprises the steps of

accepting an indication that unplanned maintenance is performed on a first part at a predetermined time;

and

reassigning at least some of the corresponding maintenance times for identified parts in the same complex as the first part, to correspond to said predetermined time;

whereby at least some planned maintenance is rescheduled to occur during unplanned maintenance.

81. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance method of 79 wherein said list generating step further comprises the step of generating orders for the identified parts.

85. A computer integrated maintenance system for use with a computer integrated manufacturing system, the computer integrated manufacturing system including a computer controller for controlling a plurality of production complexes each of which includes a plurality of production machines, the manufacturing system computer controller including an electronically stored master schedule file having therein a schedule of actual production and planned production for the plurality of complexes, the manufacturing system computer controller controlling the plurality of production machines based upon the planned production in the master schedule file, said computer integrated maintenance system comprising:

an electronically stored parts manual, containing a hierarchical listing of parts in the plurality of production machines in the plurality of production complexes;

maintenance operations computer controlling means, adapted to be communicatively connected to the manufacturing system computer controller, and communicatively connected to the electronically stored parts manual, said maintenance operations computer controlling means comprising;

maintenance schedule management means, for identifying parts in the hierarchical listing to be maintained during a predetermined time period based upon the planned production in the master schedule file, and for scheduling maintenance activities for the identified parts to reduce disruption of production;

engineering change control management means, for integrating engineering change control activities into the scheduled maintenance activities;

parts manual management means, for updating the hierarchical listing in response to maintenance activities and engineering change control activities; and

,

spares inventory management means, for generating requirements to order replacement parts for the identified parts to be available for use in the scheduled maintenance activities.

86. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 85 wherein said maintenance schedule management means further comprises:

means for accepting an indication that unplanned maintenance will be performed during said predetermined time period; and

,

means for scheduling maintenance activities for the identified parts based upon the planned production in the master schedule file and the indication of unplanned maintenance, to reduce disruption of production.

87. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 85 wherein said maintenance schedule management means identifies parts to be maintained during the predetermined time period based upon one of projected use or the elapsed time since last replacement.

88. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 85 wherein said maintenance schedule management means minimizes disruption of production by scheduling non-critical maintenance in a predetermined complex to occur concurrently with critical maintenance in the predetermined complex.

89. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 85 wherein said maintenance schedule management means further comprises means for scheduling maintenance activities for the identified parts to allow scheduled maintenance activities to be performed using predetermined manpower levels.

90. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 85 wherein said hierarchical listing of parts in said electronically stored parts manual comprises a plurality of parts levels from a lowest level to a highest level, and wherein each part in the lowest level is identified as being one of a consumable part which is consumed by the production process, a replaceable part which has an extended life but is subject to wear or failure, a generic part which is a common part used in large numbers on many of the production machines, and a non-stocked part which does not normally require replacement.

91. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 85 wherein said electronically stored parts manual further includes an associated part number for each of the parts.

92. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 91 wherein said electronically stored parts manual further includes a replacement part number for selected ones of the parts.

93. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 91 wherein said electronically stored parts manual further includes an industry standard part number for selected ones of the parts.

94. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 85 wherein said electronically stored parts manual comprises a plurality of electronically stored parts manuals, a respective one of which contains a hierarchical listing of parts in the plurality of production machines in a respective one of said plurality of complexes.

95. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 85 wherein said engineering change control management means comprises means for integrating engineering change control activities into the scheduled maintenance activities based upon one of a specified engineering control implementation date, consumption of spare parts, or a specified maintenance activity.

96. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 85 wherein said maintenance schedule management means further comprises means for generating a daily maintenance schedule to identify maintenance activities to be performed each day to reduce disruption of production.

97. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 85 further comprising:

an electronically stored spares inventory file for identifying generic parts used in said plurality of production machines and replaceable parts used in said plurality of production machines; and

said spares inventory management means further comprising means for generating requirements to order a generic part when an inventory quantity falls below a predetermined quantity and for identifying requirements to order a replacement part to be available for use in the scheduled maintenance activities.

98. A computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance system for controlling manufacturing and maintenance of a plurality of production complexes each of which includes a plurality of production machines, said computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance system comprising:

an electronically stored master schedule file having therein a schedule of actual production and planned production for the plurality of complexes;

means for controlling the plurality of production machines based upon the planned production in the master schedule file;

an electronically stored parts manual, containing a hierarchical listing of parts in the plurality of production machines in the plurality of production complexes;

maintenance schedule management means, for identifying parts in the hierarchical listing to be maintained during a predetermined time period based upon the planned production in the master schedule file, and for scheduling maintenance activities for the identified parts to reduce disruption of production;

engineering change control management means, for integrating engineering change control activities into the scheduled maintenance activities;

parts manual management means, for updating the hierarchical listing in response to maintenance activities and engineering change control activities; and

,

spares inventory management means, for generating requirements to order replacement parts for the identified parts to be available for use in the scheduled maintenance activities.

99. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance system of claim 98 wherein said maintenance schedule management means further comprises:

means for accepting an indication that unplanned maintenance will be performed during said predetermined time period; and

,

means for scheduling maintenance activities for the identified parts based upon the planned production in the master schedule file and the indication of unplanned maintenance, to minimize disruption of production.

100. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance system of claim 98 wherein said maintenance schedule management means identifies parts to be maintained during the predetermined time period based upon projected use or the elapsed time since last replacement.

101. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance system of claim 98 wherein said maintenance schedule management means minimizes disruption of production by scheduling non-critical maintenance in a predetermined complex to occur concurrently with critical maintenance in the predetermined complex.

102. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance system of claim 98 wherein said maintenance schedule management means further comprises means for scheduling maintenance activities for the identified parts to allow scheduled maintenance activities to be performed using predetermined manpower levels.

103. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance system of claim 98 wherein said hierarchical listing of parts in said electronically stored parts manual comprises a plurality of parts levels from a lowest level to a highest level, and wherein each part in the lowest level is identified as being one of a consumable part which is consumed by the production process, a replaceable part which has an extended life but is subject to wear or failure, a generic part which is a common part used in large numbers on many of the production machines, and a non-stocked part which does not normally require replacement.

104. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance system of claim 98 wherein said electronically stored parts manual further includes an associated part number for each of the parts.

105. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance system of claim 104 wherein said electronically stored parts manual further includes a replacement part number for selected ones of the parts.

106. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance system of claim 104 wherein said electronically stored parts manual further includes an industry standard part number for selected ones of the parts.

107. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance system of claim 98 wherein said electronically stored parts manual comprises a plurality of electronically stored parts manuals, a respective one of which contains a hierarchical listing of parts in the plurality of production machines in a respective one of said plurality of complexes.

108. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance system of claim 98 wherein said engineering change control management means comprises means for integrating engineering change control activities into the scheduled maintenance activities based upon one of a specified engineering control implementation date, consumption of spare parts, or a specified maintenance activity.

109. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance system of claim 98 wherein said maintenance schedule management means further comprises means for generating a daily maintenance schedule to identify maintenance activities to be performed each day to reduce disruption of production.

110. The computer integrated manufacturing and maintenance system of claim 98 further comprising:

an electronically stored spares inventory file for identifying generic parts used in said plurality of production machines and replaceable parts used in said plurality of production machines; and

said spares inventory management means further comprising means for generating requirements to order a generic part when an inventory quantity falls below a predetermined quantity and for identifying requirements to order a replacement part to be available for use in the scheduled maintenance activities.

111. A computer integrated maintenance system for a complex including a plurality of machines used to perform a primary function and which also require maintenance;

said computer integrated maintenance system comprising;

an electronically stored parts manual, containing a hierarchical listing of parts in the plurality of machines in the complex; and

,

maintenance operations computer controlling means, communicatively connected to said electronically stored parts manual comprising;

first means for obtaining a schedule of actual and planned use for the plurality of machines;

second means for identifying parts in the hierarchical listing to be maintained during a predetermined time period, and a corresponding maintenance time during the predetermined time period for each identified part, based upon the obtained schedule;

third means for reassigning the corresponding maintenance times for the identified parts, based upon the hierarchical listing of parts in the electronically stored parts manual, to reduce lost use time for the complex; and

fourth means for generating a revised schedule of planned use based upon the reassigned maintenance times for the identified parts;

whereby use of the complex may be controlled based upon the revised schedule of planned use to allow for maintenance activities.

112. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 111 wherein said third means comprises;

means for determining when a machine is inactive, based upon the obtained schedule; and

,

means for reassigning the corresponding maintenance times for at least some of the identified parts to the time when the machine including the at least some of the identified parts is inactive.

113. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 111 wherein said third means comprises means for grouping at least some of the corresponding maintenance times for identified parts in a machine, to reduce lost use time for that machine.

114. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 113 wherein said third means further comprises means for identifying a critical part to be maintained in a machine and a corresponding critical maintenance time, and means for reassigning at least some of the corresponding maintenance times for other parts in the machine to the critical maintenance time.

115. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 111 wherein said third means further comprises means for determining manpower needed to perform maintenance according to the reassigned maintenance times, and means for further reassigning the reassigned maintenance times to permit maintenance to be performed with available manpower.

116. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 111 wherein said electronically stored parts manual further includes an end of life indicator for selected ones of the machines, the end of life indicator indicating that the associated machine is scheduled to be replaced or modified;

and wherein said third means comprises means for eliminating the corresponding maintenance for parts in machines having an associated end of life indicator, to thereby reduce lost use time.

117. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 111 wherein said electronically stored parts manual further contains means for identifying the type of maintenance for a part to be one of time dependent maintenance or usage dependent maintenance;

and wherein said second means comprises means for identifying parts to be maintained and a corresponding maintenance time for identified parts having usage dependent maintenance, based upon the obtained schedule.

118. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 111 wherein said second means further comprises means for accepting a user selection of said predetermined time period.

119. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 111 wherein said electronically stored parts manual further contains an image file, including a corresponding image for parts in the hierarchical listing.

120. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 111 wherein said hierarchical listing comprises a complete bill of materials for each machine.

121. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 111 wherein said electronically stored parts manual identifies each of the parts as being one of a consumable, replaceable, generic or non-stocked part.

122. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 111 wherein said electronically stored parts manual further includes an associated part number for each of the parts.

123. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 122 wherein said electronically stored parts manual further includes a replacement part number for selected one of the parts.

124. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 122 wherein said electronically stored parts manual further includes an industry standard part number for selected ones of the parts.

125. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 111 wherein said electronically stored parts manual comprises a plurality of electronically stored parts manuals, a respective one of which contains a hierarchical listing of parts in a respective one of the machines.

126. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 111 wherein said maintenance operations computer controller further comprises:

fifth means for generating a list of the identified parts, to facilitate ordering of the identified parts.

127. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 126 wherein said fifth means further comprises means for generating a list of corresponding maintenance times for the identified parts, to facilitate ordering of the identified parts to be available for the corresponding maintenance times.

128. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 126 wherein said fifth means further comprises means for generating orders for the identified parts.

129. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 127 wherein said fifth means further comprises means for generating orders for the identified parts.

130. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 111 further comprising an engineering change file having therein a schedule of engineering changes to be made on the machines;

wherein said maintenance operations computer controller is communicatively connected to the engineering change file;

wherein said first means further obtains a schedule of engineering changes from the engineering change file; and

,

wherein said second means further comprises means for identifying the parts to be maintained and the corresponding maintenance time based upon the obtained schedule of actual and planned use and based upon the obtained schedule of engineering changes.

131. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 111 wherein said third means further comprises:

means for accepting an indication that unplanned maintenance is performed on a broken part at a predetermined time; and

means for reassigning at least some of the corresponding maintenance times for identified parts in the same machine as the first part, to correspond to said predetermined time;

whereby at least some planned maintenance is rescheduled to occur during unplanned maintenance.

132. A computer integrated maintenance method for a complex including a plurality of machines used to perform a primary function and which also require maintenance;

said computer integrated maintenance method being practiced on a maintenance operations computer controller and comprising the steps of;

generating an electronically stored parts manual, containing a hierarchical listing of parts in the plurality of machines in the complex;

obtaining a schedule of actual and planned use for the plurality of machines;

identifying parts in the hierarchical listing to be maintained during a predetermined time period, and a corresponding maintenance time during the predetermined time period for each identified part, based upon the obtained schedule;

reassigning the corresponding maintenance times for the identified parts, based upon the hierarchical listing of parts in the electronically stored parts manual, to reduce lost use time for complex; and

generating a revised schedule of planned use based upon the reassigned maintenance times for the identified parts;

whereby use of the complex may be controlled based upon the revised schedule of planned use to allow for maintenance activities.

133. The computer integrated maintenance method of claim 132 wherein said reassigning step comprises the steps of:

determining when a machine is inactive, based upon the obtained schedule; and

,

reassigning the corresponding maintenance times for at least some of the identified parts to the time when the machine including the at least some of the identified parts is inactive.

134. The computer integrated maintenance method of claim 132 wherein said reassigning step comprises the step of grouping at least some of the corresponding maintenance times for identified parts in a machine, to reduce lost use time for that machine.

135. The computer integrated maintenance method of claim 134 wherein said reassigning step further comprises the steps of:

identifying a critical part to be maintained in a machine and a corresponding critical maintenance time; and

reassigning at least some of the corresponding maintenance times for other parts in the machine to the critical maintenance time.

136. The computer integrated maintenance method of claim 132 wherein said reassigning step further comprises the steps of:

determining manpower needed to perform maintenance according to the reassigned maintenance times; and

further reassigning the reassigned maintenance times to permit maintenance to be performed with available manpower.

137. The computer integrated maintenance method of claim 132 wherein said electronically stored parts manual further includes an end of life indicator for selected ones of the machines, the end of life indicator indicating that the associated machine is scheduled to be replaced or modified;

and wherein said reassigning step comprises the step of eliminating the corresponding maintenance for parts in machines having an associated end of life indicator, to thereby reduce lost use time.

138. The computer integrated maintenance method of claim 132 wherein said electronically stored parts manual further contains means for identifying the type of maintenance for a part to be one of time dependent maintenance or usage dependent maintenance;

and wherein said identifying step comprises the step of identifying parts to be maintained and a corresponding maintenance time for identified parts having usage dependent maintenance, based upon the obtained schedule.

139. The computer integrated maintenance method of claim 132 wherein said identifying step further comprises the step of accepting a user selection of said predetermined time period.

140. The computer integrated maintenance method of claim 132 wherein said generating step further comprises the step of generating an electronically stored parts manual containing an image file, including a corresponding image for parts in the hierarchical listing.

141. The computer integrated maintenance method of claim 132 wherein said hierarchical listing comprises a complete bill of materials for each machine.

142. The computer integrated maintenance method of claim 132 wherein said generating step further comprises the step of generating an electronically stored parts manual which identifies each of the parts as being one of a consumable, replaceable, generic or non-stocked part.

143. The computer integrated maintenance method of claim 132 wherein said generating step further comprises the step of generating an electronically stored parts manual including an associated part number for each of the parts.

144. The computer integrated maintenance method of claim 143 wherein said generating step further comprises the step of generating an electronically stored parts manual including a replacement part number for selected ones of the parts.

145. The computer integrated maintenance method of claim 143 wherein said generating step further comprises the step of generating an electronically stored parts manual including an industry standard part number for selected ones of the parts.

146. The computer integrated maintenance method of claim 132 wherein said generating step further comprises the step of generating a plurality of electronically stored parts manuals, a respective one of which contains a hierarchical listing of parts in a respective one of the machines.

147. The computer integrated maintenance method of claim 132 further comprising the step of:

generating a list of the identified parts, to facilitate ordering of the identified parts.

148. The computer integrated maintenance method of claim 147 wherein said list generating step further comprises the step of generating a list of corresponding maintenance times for the identified parts, to facilitate ordering of the identified parts to be available for the corresponding maintenance times.

149. The computer integrated maintenance method of claim 147 wherein said list generating step further comprises the step of generating orders for the identified parts.

150. The computer integrated maintenance method of claim 148 wherein said list generating step further comprises the step of generating orders for the identified parts.

151. The computer integrated maintenance method of claim 132 further comprising the step of obtaining an engineering change file having therein a schedule of engineering changes to be made on the machines;

wherein said schedule obtaining step further comprises the step of obtaining a schedule of engineering changes from the engineering change file; and

,

wherein said identifying step further comprises the step of identifying the parts to be maintained and the corresponding maintenance time based upon the obtained schedule of actual and planned use and based upon the obtained schedule of engineering changes.

152. The computer integrated maintenance method of claim 132 wherein said reassigning step further comprises the steps of:

accepting an indication that unplanned maintenance is performed on a first part at a predetermined time; and

reassigning at least some of the corresponding maintenance times for identified parts in the same machine as the first part, to correspond to said predetermined time;

whereby at least some planned maintenance is rescheduled to occur during unplanned maintenance.

153. A compute integrated maintenance system for a complex including a plurality of machines used to perform a primary function and which also require maintenance;

said computer integrated maintenance system comprising;

an electronically stored parts manual, containing a hierarchical listing of parts in the plurality of machines in the complex;

maintenance operations computer controlling means, communicatively connected to the electronically stored parts manual, said maintenance operations computer controlling means comprising;

maintenance schedule management means, for identifying parts in the hierarchical listing to be maintained during a predetermined time period based upon a planned use schedule for the machines, and for scheduling maintenance activities for the identified parts to reduce loss of use of the complex;

engineering change control management means, for integrating engineering change control activities into the scheduled maintenance activities;

parts manual management means, for updating the hierarchical listing in response to maintenance activities and engineering change control activities; and

,

spares inventory management means, for generating requirements to order replacement parts for the identified parts to be available for use in the scheduled maintenance activities.

154. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 153 wherein said maintenance schedule management means further comprises:

means for accepting an indication that unplanned maintenance will be performed during said predetermined time period; and

,

means for scheduling maintenance activities for the identified parts based upon the planned use schedule and the indication of unplanned maintenance, to reduce loss of use.

155. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 153 wherein said maintenance schedule management means identifies parts to be maintained during the predetermined time period based upon one of projected use or the elapsed time since last replacement.

156. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 153 wherein said maintenance schedule management means minimizes loss of use by scheduling non-critical maintenance in a predetermined machine to occur concurrently with critical maintenance in the predetermined machine.

157. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 153 wherein said maintenance schedule management means further comprises means for scheduling maintenance activities for the identified parts to allow scheduled maintenance activities to be performed using predetermined manpower levels.

158. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 153 wherein said hierarchical listing of parts in said electronically stored parts manual comprises a plurality of parts levels from a lowest level to a highest level, and wherein each part in the lowest level is identified as being one of a consumable part which is consumed by the machine, a replaceable part which has an extended life but is subject to wear or failure, a generic part which is a common part used in large numbers on many of the machines, and a non-stocked part which does not normally require replacement.

159. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 153 wherein said electronically stored parts manual further includes an associated part number for each of the parts.

160. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 159 wherein said electronically stored parts manual further includes a replacement part number for selected ones of the parts.

161. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 159 wherein said electronically stored parts manual further includes an industry standard part number for selected ones of the parts.

162. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 153 wherein said electronically stored parts manual comprises a plurality of electronically stored parts manuals, a respective one of which contains a hierarchical listing of parts in the plurality of machines.

163. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 153 wherein said engineering change control management means comprises means for integrating engineering change control activities into the scheduled maintenance activities based upon one of a specified engineering control implementation date, consumption of spare parts, or a specified maintenance activity.

164. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 153 wherein said maintenance schedule management means further comprises means for generating a daily maintenance schedule to identify maintenance activities to be performed each day to reduce loss of use.

165. The computer integrated maintenance system of claim 153 further comprising:

an electronically stored spares inventory file for identifying generic parts used in said plurality of machines and replaceable parts used in said plurality of machines; and

said spares inventory management means further comprising means for generating requirements to order a generic part when an inventory quantity falls below a predetermined quantity and for identifying requirements to order a replacement part to be available for use in the scheduled maintenance activities.