Method, software and/or process for optimizing the distribution of labor in a manufacturing environment
First Claim
1. A method for optimizing a workforce by executing a computer program configured to cause a computer to perform a process comprising the steps of:
- (A) querying one or more databases, said one or more databases storing, in a non-transitory computer readable medium, information related to a plurality of workers, to determine a first set of workers, each worker in said first set of workers being qualified to perform at least one task from a set of predetermined tasks associated with operation of a production line at a particular time to produce a product;
(B) querying said one or more databases to determine a second set of workers that are available to work on said production line at said particular time, wherein determining the second set of workers includes determining whether a worker will be present at said particular time using an expected arrival time for said worker to arrive at a location where a particular task is to be performed based upon an estimate called in by said worker and historical data regarding accuracy of previous estimates from said worker;
(C) querying said one or more databases to determine a third set of workers that have not already been assigned to a task at said particular time;
(D) determining, by the computer, a fourth set of workers to perform said set of predetermined tasks associated with operation of said production line at said particular time by selecting workers belonging to said first set, said second set, and said third set;
(E) assigning, by the computer, each worker in said fourth set of workers to a respective position on said production line associated with one of said tasks in said set of predetermined tasks associated with operation of said production line, wherein (i) in a first mode, said fourth set of workers are automatically assigned to the respective positions, taking into account said expected arrival times of one or more workers to minimize a total delay associated with starting up said production line by avoiding assignment of a high-skill worker to a low skill job when a low-skill worker is expected to be present, (ii) in a second mode, a report is displayed to a supervisor and the supervisor assigns each worker to the respective position, and (iii) one or more workers can be re-assigned to different positions and associated tasks on said production line during performance of the associated tasks in order to improve a match between skills of said one or more workers and the tasks associated with the one or more positions; and
(F) generating one or more reports for presentation to the supervisor or a manager, said one or more reports containing information about one or more of assignments, replacements, critical positions, absent stations, quality training, overtime equalization, identification of one or more of stations for which more operators should be trained, and operators who could be cross trained.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method for optimizing a workforce. The method includes the steps of: (A) querying a pool of workers to determine a first set of workers qualified to perform a particular task at a particular time, (B) querying the pool of workers to determine a second set of workers that are present to work at the particular time, (C) querying the pool of workers to determine a third set of workers that have not already been assigned a task at the particular time and (D) determining a fourth set of workers to perform the task at the particular time by selecting workers belonging to each of the first set, the second set, and the third set.
36 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method for optimizing a workforce by executing a computer program configured to cause a computer to perform a process comprising the steps of:
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(A) querying one or more databases, said one or more databases storing, in a non-transitory computer readable medium, information related to a plurality of workers, to determine a first set of workers, each worker in said first set of workers being qualified to perform at least one task from a set of predetermined tasks associated with operation of a production line at a particular time to produce a product; (B) querying said one or more databases to determine a second set of workers that are available to work on said production line at said particular time, wherein determining the second set of workers includes determining whether a worker will be present at said particular time using an expected arrival time for said worker to arrive at a location where a particular task is to be performed based upon an estimate called in by said worker and historical data regarding accuracy of previous estimates from said worker; (C) querying said one or more databases to determine a third set of workers that have not already been assigned to a task at said particular time; (D) determining, by the computer, a fourth set of workers to perform said set of predetermined tasks associated with operation of said production line at said particular time by selecting workers belonging to said first set, said second set, and said third set; (E) assigning, by the computer, each worker in said fourth set of workers to a respective position on said production line associated with one of said tasks in said set of predetermined tasks associated with operation of said production line, wherein (i) in a first mode, said fourth set of workers are automatically assigned to the respective positions, taking into account said expected arrival times of one or more workers to minimize a total delay associated with starting up said production line by avoiding assignment of a high-skill worker to a low skill job when a low-skill worker is expected to be present, (ii) in a second mode, a report is displayed to a supervisor and the supervisor assigns each worker to the respective position, and (iii) one or more workers can be re-assigned to different positions and associated tasks on said production line during performance of the associated tasks in order to improve a match between skills of said one or more workers and the tasks associated with the one or more positions; and (F) generating one or more reports for presentation to the supervisor or a manager, said one or more reports containing information about one or more of assignments, replacements, critical positions, absent stations, quality training, overtime equalization, identification of one or more of stations for which more operators should be trained, and operators who could be cross trained. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 19)
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8. A non-transitory computer readable medium having computer executable instructions for causing a computer to execute a method for managing a work force comprising the steps of:
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determining workers available to perform a plurality of predetermined tasks associated with a plurality of stations of a production line, wherein determining whether a worker is available includes determining whether a worker will be present at a particular time using an expected arrival time for said worker to arrive at a location where a particular task is to be performed based upon an estimate called in by said worker and historical data regarding accuracy of previous estimates from said worker; automatically assigning each worker who is available to a particular station of said production line based on predetermined qualifications of each worker and one or more predetermined parameters of said plurality of predetermined tasks, wherein said expected arrival time of one or more workers is taken into account to minimize a total delay associated with starting up said production line by avoiding assignment of a high-skill worker to a low skill job when a low-skill worker is expected to be present; and automatically re-assigning at least one worker from the particular station to which the worker is assigned to another of said plurality of stations as additional workers become available based upon said predetermined qualifications of said at least one worker and said one or more predetermined parameters of the tasks associated with the other stations, wherein said at least one worker is re-assigned prior to or during performance of the task associated with the particular station. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification