System for managing regulated entities

• US 6,067,549 A
• Filed: 12/11/1998
• Issued: 05/23/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 12/11/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: CGI Technologies and Solutions Incorporated (CGI Group)
• Original Assignee: American Management Systems, Incorporated (CGI, Inc.)
• Inventors: Smalley, Donald A., Fein, Todd, Gerber, Jeffrey, Singer, Gary
• Primary Examiner(s): Alam, Hosain T.
• Application Number:
  US09/209,282
• Time in Patent Office: 529 Days
• Field of Search: 707/9, 707/10, 705/2-4, 705/8, 705/7, 705/1, 705/11, 705/9, 705/28, 345/329, 345/331-332
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06395 Quality analysis or management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image

Abstract

A regulatory agency with the responsibility of administering regulations uses a system with joint-usage capabilities, including data about regulated entities that are subject to the laws and rules administered by the agency and software for accessing the data. The joint-usage capabilities are preferably used by all subdivisions or departments of the agency that have similar functions or administer regulations on the same regulated entities. Variations in the ways that the departments administer regulations are handled two ways. First, each regulated entity may have several subject items defined in the joint-usage data with each subject item related to the regulations that a single department administers. Thus, if two departments are responsible for a single regulated entity, each may create one or more subject items in the joint-usage data describing the regulated objects, activities, or other aspects of that regulated entity. Second, when one department'"'"'s regulations require storage of data that is inconsistent with how the majority of departments administer their regulations, department- or program-specific capabilities are used to store the program-specific data. The system merges the program-specific data with the joint-usage data, so that the users have a seamless view of the data related to administering regulations applicable to the regulated entities. This enables the regulatory agency to produce "multimedia" permits, inspections and enforcement orders. The system is flexible enough to be used equally as well by separated program areas.

Claims

1. A method of managing information on regulated entities, comprising:

creating a joint-usage database with a primary data level identifying the regulated entities, optionally associable with a geographic location, and a secondary data level identifying subject items of the regulated entities;

adding permit data to the joint-usage database, by referencing at least one of the subject items for one of the regulated entities for generating a permit for the at least one of the subject items;

adding operational performance data to the joint-usage database with reference to the at least one of the subject items for the one of the regulated entities, the operational performance data obtained from monitoring reports of operation of the at least one of the subject items; and

accessing the joint-usage database when necessary to enforce the permit.

2. A method as recited in claim 1,

wherein the information is maintained by a regulatory agency having jurisdiction over a plurality of program areas, and

wherein said creating of the joint-usage database creates unique records for the regulated entities in the joint-usage database as unique for all of the program areas over which the regulatory agency has jurisdiction.

3. A method as recited in claim 1,

wherein the information is maintained by an environmental regulatory agency, and

wherein said creating of the joint-usage database creates for a single regulated entity multiple subject items identifying different environmental program areas regulating the single regulated entity.

4. A method as recited in claim 3, wherein the information in said primary data level identifies the regulated entities as one of

a fixed operation having a single geographic location associated therewith;

an occurrence having a single geographic location associated therewith;

a mobile operation that changes geographic location periodically; and

an organization responsible for transport of potentially hazardous materials, either in vehicles or conduits, across a geographic area.

5. A method as recited in claim 3, wherein said creating of the joint-usage database includes storing in each record at the secondary level one of a single subject item and a list of subject item identifiers for related subject items.

6. A method as recited in claim 5, wherein said creating of the list of subject item identifiers is performed at discretion of a user for any subject items regardless of the environmental program areas associated with the subject items identified by the subject item identifiers.

7. A method as recited in claim 3,

further comprising creating program-specific tables, separately identifiable from and supplementing joint-usage data in the joint-usage database,

wherein said creating of the joint-usage database creates unique records for the regulated entities regulated by the environmental regulatory agency, including records in all of the program-specific tables, and

wherein said adding of the permit data and the operational data adds data to any of the program-specific tables only when the data is of a type not accommodated by the joint-usage database.

8. A method as recited in claim 1,

wherein said creating of the database includes defining in the subject items, characteristics applicable to requirements for regulating the regulated entities, and

wherein said method further comprises creating in the joint-usage database, separate from tables containing the information identifying the regulated entities and the subject items, a requirements library specifying the requirements for regulating the regulated entities, providing inspection checklist language corresponding to the requirements in fewer words, providing default descriptions of noncompliance for use when requirements are violated, and providing default corrective action requirements for use in enforcement orders addressing violations of requirements.

9. A method as recited in claim 1,

wherein said adding permit data includes setting requirement data for the permit, and

wherein said method further comprises preparing enforcement orders based on violations detected by comparing the operation performance data with the requirement data based on selection by a user for each enforcement order to include one of program-specific violations and multimedia violations of requirements from different regulatory programs.

10. A method for regulation of regulated entities, comprising:

maintaining information on the regulated entities, including a joint-usage database with the regulated entities at a primary data level and subject items of the regulated entities at a secondary data level;

generating a permit for at least one of the subject items of each of the regulated entities by accessing the joint-usage database;

obtaining operational data from monitoring operation of the subject items;

storing the operational data in the joint-usage database; and

enforcing each permit based on the information stored in the joint-usage database.

11. A method as recited in claim 10,

wherein said maintaining includes

defining for the subject items characteristics applicable to requirements for regulating the regulated entities, and

maintaining in the joint-usage database, a requirements library specifying requirements for regulating the regulated entities, and

wherein said generating includes

receiving a request from a user specifying the at least one subject item of a selected regulated entity to be covered by the permit, and

automatically accessing the requirements library in response to the request from the user to determine the requirements applicable to the permit based on the characteristics of the at least one subject item.

12. A method as recited in claim 11, wherein said maintaining includes storing in each record in the secondary data level one of a single subject item and a list of subject item identifiers selected by a user from the subject items related to one of the regulated entities without any limitation to the characteristics of the subject items.

13. A method as recited in claim 12,

wherein said maintaining of the requirements library includes maintaining checklist language corresponding to the requirements for operation of the subject items, and

wherein said method further comprises generating inspection checklists using the checklist language stored in the requirements library.

14. A method as recited in claim 10,

wherein the regulated entities are subject to regulation under a plurality of program areas,

wherein said maintaining includes creating program-specific tables, separately identifiable from and supplementing joint-usage data in the joint-usage database, for each of the programs requiring additional data not included in the joint-usage data and of a type used by only one of the program areas, and

wherein said generating of each permit is performed using joint-usage software accessing the joint-usage database supplemented, as needed, with information in the program-specific tables.

15. A method as recited in claim 14, wherein said generating includes

receiving a request from a user specifying a selected regulated entity and a plurality of the subject items related thereto and corresponding to different program areas to be covered by the permit, and

automatically producing a single permit in response to the request from the user to regulate operation of the subject items under all of the different program areas.

16. A method as recited in claim 10, wherein said method is performed by an environmental regulatory agency,

wherein said obtaining includes obtaining the operational data on activities that have environmental impact, including pollutant releases, and

wherein said storing includes storing the operational data describing violations of applicable requirements, including pollutant releases, in the joint-usage database.

17. A method of managing information on regulated entities, comprising:

maintaining a joint-usage database with a primary data level identifying the regulated entities, a secondary data level identifying subject items of the regulated entities and typical permit requirements for each of the subject items, the permit requirements for all subject items including permit requirements in a plurality of program areas;

displaying the typical permit requirements for all of the subject items of a selected regulated entity;

selecting permit data from among the typical permit requirements in response to user input received after said displaying;

generating a permit based on the permit data selected, whereby said method can generate any one of a multimedia permit, a program-specific permit and a custom permit excluding specified subject items.

18. A method of managing information on regulated entities, comprising:

maintaining a joint-usage database with a primary data level identifying the regulated entities, a secondary data level identifying subject items of the regulated entities and checklist language for typical permit requirements for each of the subject items, the checklist language for all subject items including checklist language for the typical permit requirements in a plurality of program areas;

displaying the checklist language for all of the subject items of a selected regulated entity;

selecting from among the checklist language in response to user input received after said displaying;

generating an inspection checklist based on said selecting of the checklist language, whereby the inspection checklist generated by said method can exclude the checklist language for any of the subject items, including limiting the inspection checklist to a single program area.

19. A system for regulation of regulated entities, comprising:

a memory unit to store information on the regulated entities, including a joint-usage database storing regulated entity identifiers at a primary data level, subject items of the regulated entities at a secondary data level and operational data of the subject items at a lower level below the secondary level;

a processor, coupled to said memory unit, to generate a permit for at least one of the subject items of each of the regulated entities by accessing the joint-usage database in said memory unit;

an input unit, coupled to said processor and said memory unit, to input the operational data obtained from monitoring operation of the subject items; and

an output unit, coupled to said processor, to output the permit.