Diagnostic method and apparatus for configuration errors

• US 5,815,395 A
• Filed: 06/29/1995
• Issued: 09/29/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Interface Definition Systems Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Interface Definition Systems Incorporated
• Inventors: McCray, Richard C., Hart, Drew R., Kreager, Kenneth W.
• Primary Examiner(s): RAO, SHEELA S
• Assistant Examiner(s): Oakes, Brian C.
• Application Number:
  US08/496,334
• Time in Patent Office: 1,188 Days
• Field of Search: 395/600, 395/157, 395/500, 395/207, 395/228, 395/229, 364/401, 364/468, 364/403, 364/402, 364/552, 364/476.05, 364/490, 364/468.13, 364/468.14, 364/468.15, 364/468.16, 364/468.17, 371/16.1
• US Class Current: 700/110
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0875 Itemisation or classification of parts, supplies or services, e.g. bill of materials

Abstract

Metric values derived from levels of indenture are used by producers to address statistically critical errors effecting producibility. The invention provides a machine implemented diagnostic method for determining the severity of an initial failure, predicts the severity of side effects of the failure and its correction, and gauges the overall effect the failure has on producibility.

Claims

1. A method for product configuration management in controlling the manufacture of a product structure formed by assembled, multiple component configuration items represented by data arranged in a hierarchical, bill of material stored in a computer information processing system having a processor, a memory, a nonvolatile storage device and user interface apparatus, the method comprising the steps in the computer information processing system:

(a) storing a hierarchical bill of material component data file defining and representing occurrences of and the arrangement of the assembled component configuration items of a product structure with a plurality of levels, each occurrence of each configuration item having a stored level code representing the assembled relationship of the item to other items in the assembled product structure, the occurrences and associated level codes being arranged in increasing detail and numerically higher code in proceeding from the most generic parent occurrence of a configuration item at the highest level in the product structure to the most detailed lowest level occurrence of a configuration item in the product structure;

(b) storing in memory an occurrence of a failed configuration item included in said component data file;

(c) retrieving and storing in memory the level code of the occurrence of the failed configuration item;

(d) storing in memory an occurrence of an effecting configuration item included in said component data file;

(e) retrieving and storing in memory the level code of the stored occurrence of the effecting configuration item;

(f) differencing the level code of the occurrence of the failed configuration item and the level code of the occurrence of the effecting configuration item;

(g) storing, as an initial error value, the level code difference from the preceding step;

(h) storing a selected initial error value confidence limit in association with said initial error value;

(i) comparing said initial error value confidence limit to its associated error value; and

(j) signalling an alarm condition if said error value exceeds said associated confidence limit.

2. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein the hierarchical bill of material component data file is arranged in an indented structure list.

7. A method in accordance with claim 1 or claim 3 or claim 5 further comprising:

signalling an alarm condition for each error value which exceeds its associated confidence limit.

3. A method for product configuration management in controlling the manufacture of a product structure formed by assembled, multiple component configuration items represented by data arranged in a hierarchical, bill of material stored in a computer information processing system having a processor, a memory, a nonvolatile storage device and user interface apparatus, the method comprising the steps in the computer information processing system:

(a) storing a hierarchical bill of material component data file defining and representing occurrences of and the arrangement of the assembled component configuration items of a product structure with a plurality of levels, each occurrence of each configuration item having a stored level code representing the assembled relationship of the item to other items in the assembled product structure, the occurrences and associated level codes being arranged in increasing detail and numerically higher code in proceeding from the most generic parent occurrence of a configuration item at the highest level in the product structure to the most detailed lowest level occurrence of a configuration item in the product structure;

(b) storing in memory an occurrence of a failed configuration item included in said component data file;

(c) retrieving and storing in memory the level code of the occurrence of the failed configuration item;

(d) storing in memory an occurrence of an effecting configuration item included in said component data file;

(e) retrieving and storing in memory the level code of the stored occurrence of the effecting configuration item;

(f) differencing the level code of the occurrence of the failed configuration item and the level code of the occurrence of the effecting configuration item;

(g) storing, as an initial error value, the level code difference from the preceding step;

(h) storing a list of all configuration items which are to be altered as part of a correction of the failed configuration item;

(i) retrieving and differencing the level code for each configuration item in the list of the preceding step and the level code for the occurrence of said effecting configuration item,

(j) storing, as a side effect error value, the largest level code difference resulting from completion of the preceding step;

(k) storing a selected confidence limit in association with each error value;

(l) comparing each confidence limit to its associated error value; and

(m) signalling an alarm condition for an error value which exceeds its associated confidence limit.

4. A method in accordance with claim 3 wherein the hierarchical bill of material component data file is arranged in an indented structure list.

5. A method in accordance with claim 3 further comprising:

summing the stored side effect error value with the stored initial error value and storing the sum as a total event error value.

6. A method in accordance with claim 5 wherein the hierarchical bill of material component data file is arranged in an indented structure list.

8. A diagnostic apparatus for detecting and displaying the magnitude of a failure of a component of a product for use in product configuration management in controlling the manufacture of a product structure formed by assembled, multiple component configuration items represented by data arranged in a hierarchical bill of material stored in a computer information processing system having a processor, a memory, a nonvolatile storage device and user interface apparatus, the apparatus comprising:

(a) means for storing a hierarchical bill of material component data file defining and representing occurrences of and the arrangement of the assembled component configuration items of a product structure with a plurality of levels, each occurrence of each configuration item having a stored level code representing the assembled relationship of the item to other items in the assembled product structure, the occurrences and associated level codes being arranged in increasing detail and numerically higher code in proceeding from the most generic parent occurrence of a configuration item at the highest level in the product structure to the most detailed lowest level occurrence of a configuration item in the product structure;

(b) means for storing in memory an occurrence of a failed configuration item;

(c) means for retrieving and storing in memory the level code of the occurrence of a failed configuration item;

(d) means for storing in memory an occurrence of an effecting configuration item;

(e) means for retrieving and storing in memory the level code of the stored occurrence of the effecting configuration item;

(f) means for differencing the level code of the occurrence of the failed configuration item and the level code of the occurrence of the effecting configuration item; and

(g) means for storing in memory, as an initial error value, the level code difference of the level code of the occurrence of the failed configuration item and the level code of the occurrence of the effecting configuration item;

(h) means for storing a selected initial error value confidence limit in association with said initial error value;

(i) means for comparing said initial error value confidence limit to its associated error value; and

(j) means for signalling an alarm condition if said error value exceeds said associated confidence limit.

9. A apparatus in accordance with claim 8 wherein the hierarchical bill of material component data file is arranged in an indented structure list.

10. An apparatus in accordance with claim 8 and further comprising;

(a) means for storing in memory a list of all occurrences of all configuration items which are to be altered as part of a correction of the failed configuration item;

(b) means for traversing the hierarchical bill of material data file downwardly to lower levels from the stored occurrence of the effecting configuration item through every occurrence of every subservient configuration item at a lower level than the occurrence of the effecting configuration item and while traversing,

(i) comparing each encountered occurrence of each configuration item to the list from step (a) and, for each encountered occurrence which is on the list, differencing the level code of the encountered occurrence and the level code for the occurrence of the effecting configuration item, and

(ii) storing the level difference from the preceding step if it exceeds the level difference from a previous performance of the preceding step; and

(c) means for storing, as a side effect error value, the remaining level code difference resulting from completion of the preceding step.

11. An apparatus in accordance with claim 10 wherein the hierarchical bill of material component data file is arranged in an indented structure list.

12. An apparatus in accordance with claim 10 and further comprising:

means for summing the stored side effect error value with the stored initial error value and for storing in memory the sum as a total event error value.

13. An apparatus in accordance with claim 12 wherein the hierarchical bill of material component data file is arranged in an indented structure list.