System for scheduling and monitoring a project

• US 7,113,915 B1
• Filed: 11/05/2004
• Issued: 09/26/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/09/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Robert Samuel Smith, Susanne Montemayor
• Original Assignee: Robert Samuel Smith, Susanne Montemayor
• Inventors: Montemayor, Susanne, Smith, Robert Samuel
• Primary Examiner(s): MEINECKE DIAZ, SUSANNA M
• Application Number:
  US10/982,599
• Time in Patent Office: 690 Days
• Field of Search: 705/8
• US Class Current: 705/7.13
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06311 Scheduling, planning or task assignment for a person or group

Abstract

A system for managing a project being a plurality of jobs including construction jobs wherein some of the jobs don'"'"'t require completion of other jobs and remaining jobs require completion of at least one of the independent jobs and/or completion of other jobs in the plurality of jobs. The system separates jobs into lists according to their dependency on other jobs and assigns manpower according to expense, expressed as man days, for completing the job withoin a list period. The system is preferably implemented in conjunction with a panoramic camera and computer. One section of the computer screen displays a 360° field of view of the project. Another section displays a table showing the interrelationship of the jobs. Alpha-numeric indicia, entered by a mouse/keyboard at job locations on the image section of the screen are indexed to jobs scheduled in the table which is entered in the text section of the screen.

Claims

1. A system for creating a schedule for executing a project of jobs and for monitoring compliance with said schedule, wherein completion of some of said jobs depends on completion of other ones of said jobs, said system comprising:

a camera means for recording an image of a site of said jobs;

said camera means arranged for including in said image, n time stamp denoting a time when said image is recorded;

a computer means including a keyboard communicable with said camera means programmed for displaying said image on a screen of said computer means including said time stamp in a format and for displaying on said screen a total list of said jobs from said keyboard, each job denoted by an alpha-numeric character on said list;

said computer means programmed for receiving from said keyboard and displaying on said screen a series of lists of jobs, a first one of said lists including only those jobs from said total list of said jobs that are performable without any other jobs being performed beforehand and each job of said following lists of said jobs requiring performance of only those jobs that are contained in earlier ones of said lists;

said computer means programmed for receiving from said key board and displaying on said screen an estimated expense required to execute each job wherein said estimated expense is expressed as at least any one of an estimated period of time and an estimated number of man-days required to execute said each job;

said computer means programmed for generating and displaying a list of estimated start times, each estimated start time being an estimated start time for a respective job, each estimated start time being an estimated finish time of any jobs that must be finished before starting said respective job;

said computer means programmed for generating and displaying a list of estimated finish times, one finish time for each one job.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein:

said computer means is programmed for entering from said keyboard and displaying a list of resources for each said job and a time when said resources are available;

said computer means is programmed for correcting said start times of each said job for any delay in obtaining said resource.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein said computer means is programmed for:

generating and displaying a bar chart having a job coordinate orthogonal to a time coordinate in which said total list of jobs is listed on said job coordinate and time is listed on said time coordinate; and

presenting a bar on said chart for each job, parallel to said time coordinate;

each said bar having a start end with a value of time coordinate;

corresponding to a start time and a finish end with a value of time coordinate corresponding to a finish time of said each job respectively.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein said start time and finish time is at least any one of:

(i) an estimated start time and finish time;

(ii) an actual start and finish time.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein said bars generated by applying estimated start times are interleaved with said bars generated by applying actual start and finish times whereby a user is conveniently enabled to compare actual job performance to estimated job performance.

6. The system of claim 4 wherein:

said computer means is programmed for presenting a time line parallel to said job coordinate and intersecting said time coordinate at a location corresponding to said time stamp data.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein:

each list of said series of lists is designated by a superscript V where V varies from 1 up to a total number, N, of said lists, a first cr e of said lists including only those jobs from said total list of jobs that are performable without any other jobs being performed beforehand and each job of said following list of said jobs requiring performance of only those jobs that are contained in earlier ones of said lists;

said computer means programmed for receiving from said keyboard and displaying a quantity of men, M^V, for performing that list of jobs denoted by index, V;

said computer means programmed for receiving from said key board and displaying on said screen an estimated expense, x^v_i, required to execute each job in list v and designated by i, wherein said estimated expense, x^v_i, is expressed as man days;

said computer means programmed to display a number of men M^V_i, to be assigned to each job, wherein

M^v_i=M^vx<sub>i/Σ

k</sub>x^v_k

and Σ

_kx^v_k is the sum of all expenses for all jobs of list, V, of which x^v_i is a member.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein said camera means comprises:

a panoramic camera, connected for generating on a screen of said computer,

a panoramic image of a 360°

field of view around a centerline of said panoramic camera;

a directional camera connected for generating on said computer, a directional image of a location of said field of view corresponding to a direction of focus of said directional camera;

said directional camera mounted on said panoramic camera to rotate about an axis of rotation wherein said direction of focus intersects and is perpendicular to said axis of rotation and said axis of rotation and is coincident to said centerline;

a motor coupled to said directional camera for rotating said direction of focus of said directional camera to a selected direction;

said computer means programmed for enabling movement of a cursor to a location of interest on said panoramic image, and energizing said motor to rotate said directional camera to where said direction of focus corresponds to said location of interest.