Facility sanitization management

• US 8,866,608 B2
• Filed: 08/03/2012
• Issued: 10/21/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/2012
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Balinski, Peter A., Musial, John G., Patil, Sandeep R., Shiraguppi, Riyazahamad M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Tai T
• Application Number:
  US13/566,198
• Publication Number:
  US 20140022074A1
• Time in Patent Office: 809 Days
• Field of Search: 340/539.13, 340/539.12, 340/539.26, 340/571.1, 3405721-5728, 340/540, 340/541
• US Class Current: 340/539.13
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/245 Reminder of hygiene compliance policies, e.g. of washing hands
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/00 Traffic control systems for road vehicles arrangement of road signs or traffic signals E01F9/00 ; automatic vehicle control B62D
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/20 for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities, e.g. managing hospital staff or surgery rooms

Abstract

Facility sanitization management includes receiving a condition of an individual and determining the condition is on a pre-defined list of conditions, and receiving tracking information indicative of locations in a facility traversed by the individual. The facility sanitization management also includes retrieving, from a first database, at least one solution for eliminating elements of the condition, and retrieving, from a second database, pre-defined structures and materials disposed in the locations, and identifying prescribed cleaning methods for the pre-defined structures and materials. The facility sanitization management further includes creating a clean-up job for each of the locations using the solution and based on the prescribed cleaning methods.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving a condition of an individual and determining the condition is on a pre-defined list of conditions;

receiving, at a computer processor, tracking information indicative of locations in a facility traversed by the individual, the locations monitored via a tracking device associated with the individual;

retrieving, from a first database, at least one solution for eliminating elements of the condition;

retrieving, from a second database, pre-defined structures and materials disposed in the locations, and identifying prescribed cleaning methods for the pre-defined structures and materials; and

creating a clean-up job for each of the locations using the at least one solution and based on the prescribed cleaning methods.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the condition is an infectious disease.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the tracking device includes at least one of:

a medical bracelet embedded with an antenna and a microchip; and

a medical card embedded with an antenna and a microchip;

wherein the tracking device wirelessly communicates with at least one reader device disposed in at least one of the locations, the computer processor receiving the tracking information from the at least one reader device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the tracking device includes a global positioning system-enabled communication device;

wherein the computer processor receives the location information from coordinates provided via the global positioning system-enabled communication device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the creating a clean-up job for each of the locations includes:

calculating a risk value for the condition with respect to each of the locations;

assigning a priority value to each of the clean-up jobs based on the priority value; and

dispatching at least one automated cleaning device based on the priority value.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

assigning an identifier of an automated cleaning device to a defined area of the facility; and

storing the identifier in the second database;

wherein creating the clean-up job includes scheduling the automated cleaning device for the clean-up job when the defined area is within at least one of the locations.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the structures include at least one of furniture, flooring, walls, sinks, showers, vents, and equipment.

8. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory storage medium having instructions embodied thereon, which when executed by a computer processor, causes the computer processor to implement a method, the method comprising:

receiving a condition of an individual and determining the condition is on a pre-defined list of conditions;

receiving tracking information indicative of locations in a facility traversed by the individual, the locations monitored via a tracking device associated with the individual;

retrieving, from a first database, at least one solution for eliminating elements of the condition;

retrieving, from a second database, pre-defined structures and materials disposed in the locations, and identifying prescribed cleaning methods for the pre-defined structures and materials; and

creating a clean-up job for each of the locations using the at least one solution and based on the prescribed cleaning methods.

9. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the condition is an infectious disease.

10. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the tracking device includes at least one of:

a medical bracelet embedded with an antenna and a microchip; and

a medical card embedded with an antenna and a microchip;

wherein the tracking device wirelessly communicates with at least one reader device disposed in at least one of the locations, the computer processor receiving the tracking information from the at least one reader device.

11. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the tracking device includes a global positioning system-enabled communication device;

wherein the computer processor receives the location information from coordinates provided via the global positioning system-enabled communication device.

12. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the creating a clean-up job for each of the locations includes:

calculating a risk value for the condition with respect to each of the locations;

assigning a priority value to each of the clean-up jobs based on the priority value; and

dispatching at least one automated cleaning device based on the priority value.

13. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the method further comprises:

assigning an identifier of an automated cleaning device to a defined area of the facility; and

storing the identifier in the second database;

wherein creating the clean-up job includes scheduling the automated cleaning device for the clean-up job when the defined area is within at least one of the locations.

14. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the structures include at least one of furniture, flooring, walls, sinks, showers, vents, and equipment.