Methods and systems for generating a financial report

• US 8,744,864 B2
• Filed: 07/29/2003
• Issued: 06/03/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Bacon, Douglas Carl, Faour, David Anthony, Ruddy, Thomas Aloysius, Hamilton, Jeffrey Scott, Heuser, Leigh-Ann Darden, Scherluebbe, Mark Kurt Wilhelm
• Primary Examiner(s): JOSEPH, TONYA S
• Application Number:
  US10/629,295
• Publication Number:
  US 20050027586A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,962 Days
• Field of Search: 705/1
• US Class Current: 705/1.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0631 Resource planning, allocation, distributing or scheduling for enterprises or organisations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/20 Administration of product repair or maintenance

Abstract

A method for generating a financial report indicative of estimated turbine maintenance costs is provided. The method includes receiving, at a database, turbine operational history data and turbine inspection data from a user for a pre-identified turbine, receiving, at the database, turbine replacement part costs, turbine part repair costs, and vendor service costs associated with the pre-identified turbine, inputting a pre-determined turbine operational forecast into the database, analyzing turbine maintenance information including at least one of turbine operational history data, turbine inspection data, replacement part costs, part repair costs, vendor service costs, and turbine operational forecast, and automatically generating a financial report including at least one schedule of turbine maintenance events and costs associated with each event based on the turbine maintenance information analysis.

Claims

1. A network based system for maintaining at least one component, said system comprising:

a client system;

a centralized database for storing information;

a server system configured to be coupled to said client system and said database, said server system further configured to;

receive, at the database, component operational history data and component inspection data from a user for a pre-identified component;

receive, at the database, a customer expectation of contingency fees and service prices from a user;

receive, at the database, costs comprising at least one of component replacement part costs, component part repair costs, and vendor service costs, the costs are associated with the pre-identified component and are determined using pre-stored costs related to the pre-identified component;

prompt a user to input a pre-determined component operational forecast into the database;

receive, from the user, a number of inspection intervals for component parts, and based on the number of inspection intervals for each component part, adjust a quantity of input entries for repair work for each component part;

determine whether the user input all information necessary to generate a financial report;

present an error message to the user and halt execution if it is determined that not all information necessary to generate a financial report was input;

analyze component maintenance information including component inspection data and at least one of component operational history data, customer expectation of contingency fees and service prices, replacement part costs, part repair costs, vendor service costs, and component operational forecast; and

automatically generate a financial report including at least one schedule of component maintenance events and costs associated with each event based on the component maintenance information analysis.

2. A network based system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said server system is configured to receive component replacement part costs, component part repair costs, and vendor service costs associated with the identified component from an on-line catalog selected based on the component identification, the online catalog comprising pre-stored data for a plurality of pre-identified components.

3. A network based system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said server system is configured to:

determine component maintenance event contingency fees;

determine a customer cost discount level for replacement parts and vendor fees.

4. A network based system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said server system is configured to compute a schedule for maintenance events based on at least one of estimated life of replacement parts, estimated life of repaired parts, component operational history, component operational forecast and a predetermined maintenance event interval.

5. A network based system in accordance with claim 4 wherein said server system is configured to determine a part repair cycle.

6. A network based system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said server system is configured to:

prompt a user to input an age of a plurality of parts installed in the component;

prompt a user to input an age of the component parts in inventory;

determine, from the schedule of maintenance events, the age of each of the plurality of installed parts and the age of each of the plurality of inventory parts at each maintenance event; and

display an identification of each part whose age at each scheduled maintenance event exceeds a predetermined age.

7. A network based system in accordance with claim 6 wherein the identification of the component includes a frame size and a combustion type, said server system is configured to:

access a predetermined on-line catalog using the frame size and combustion type, the catalog including new parts costs, parts repair costs, and part expected life; and

recommend an inspection interval and an estimate of remaining parts life based on an inputted gas component frame size and combustion type.

8. A network based system in accordance with claim 1 wherein the component is one of a plurality of components in a fleet of components, said server system is configured to:

automatically compute a projected rotation of component parts through a fleet of components;

remove selected parts from an inventory;

repair the component using the selected parts;

automatically orders replacement parts for purchase; and

replenish the inventory using the replacement parts.

9. A network based system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said server system is configured to automatically compute the financial charges accrued during the maintenance event using the component replacement part costs, the component part repair costs, and the vendor service costs associated with the maintenance event.

10. A computer program embodied on a non-transitory computer readable medium for maintaining at least one component, said program comprising a code segment that receives, at a database, component operational history data and component inspection data from a user for a pre-identified component and then:

receives, at the database, a customer expectation of contingency fees and service prices from a user;

receives, at the database, costs comprising at least one of component replacement part costs, component part repair costs, and vendor service costs, the costs are associated with the pre-identified component and are determined using pre-stored costs related to the pre-identified component;

prompts a user to input a pre-determined component operational forecast into the database;

receives, from the user, a number of inspection intervals for component parts, and based on the number of inspection intervals for each component part, adjust a quantity of input entries for repair work for each component part;

determines whether the user has input all necessary information in order to generate a financial report;

presents an error message to the user and halts execution if it is determined that not all necessary information to generate a financial report was input;

analyzes component maintenance information including component inspection data and at least one of component operational history data, customer expectation of contingency fees and service prices, replacement part costs, part repair costs, vendor service costs, and component operational forecast; and

automatically generates a financial report including at least one schedule of component maintenance events and costs associated with each event based on the component maintenance information analysis.

11. A computer program in accordance with claim 10, said program comprising a code segment that receives component replacement part costs, component part repair costs, and vendor service costs associated with the identified component from an on-line catalog selected based on the component identification, the online catalog comprising pre-stored data for a plurality of pre-identified components.

12. A computer program in accordance with claim 10, said program comprising a code segment that:

determines component maintenance event contingency fees;

determines a customer cost discount level for replacement parts and vendor fees.

13. A computer program in accordance with claim 10, said program comprising a code segment that computes a schedule for maintenance events based on at least one of estimated life of replacement parts, estimated life of repaired parts, component operational history, component operational forecast and a predetermined maintenance event interval.

14. A computer program in accordance with claim 13, said program comprising a code segment that determines a part repair cycle.

15. A computer program in accordance with claim 10, said program comprising a code segment that:

prompts a user to input an age of a plurality of parts installed in the component;

prompts a user to input an age of the component parts in inventory;

determines, from the schedule of maintenance events, the age of each of the plurality of installed parts and the age of each of the plurality of inventory parts at each maintenance event; and

displays an identification of each part whose age at each scheduled maintenance event exceeds a predetermined age.

16. A computer program in accordance with claim 15, said program comprising a code segment that:

accesses a predetermined on-line catalog using the component frame size and combustion type, the catalog including new parts costs, parts repair costs, and part expected life; and

recommends an inspection interval and an estimate of remaining parts life based on an inputted gas component frame size and combustion type.

17. A computer program in accordance with claim 10 wherein the component is one of a plurality of components in a fleet of components, said program comprising a code segment that:

automatically computes a projected rotation of component parts through a fleet of components;

removes selected parts from an inventory;

repairs the component using the selected parts;

automatically orders replacement parts for purchase; and

replenishes the inventory using the replacement parts.

18. A computer program in accordance with claim 10 wherein said server system is configured to automatically compute the financial charges accrued during the maintenance event using the component replacement part costs, the component part repair costs, and the vendor service costs associated with the maintenance event.