Method for tracking procedures performed on personal protection equipment and actions of individuals

• US 9,721,407 B2
• Filed: 08/16/2016
• Issued: 08/01/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company (3M Company)
• Original Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company (3M Company)
• Inventors: Farioli Brioschi, Luca D., Ramirez Chaidez, Luis V., Ptasienski, Lawrence J., Anderson, Mark T., Hamerly, Michael E.
• Primary Examiner(s): McNally, Kerri
• Assistant Examiner(s): Akhter, Sharmin
• Application Number:
  US15/237,695
• Publication Number:
  US 20170032598A1
• Time in Patent Office: 350 Days
• Field of Search: 340 31, 340 52- 57, 340 592, 340 103, 340571-5731, 3405733, 3405734
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/22 Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2455 Query execution
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10009 sensing by radiation using wavelengths larger than 0.1 mm, e.g. radio-waves or microwaves
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10415 the interrogation device being fixed in its position, such as an access control device for reading wireless access cards, or a wireless ATM banking machines in general G07F19/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10544 by scanning of the records by radiation in the optical part of the electromagnetic spectrum
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06398 Performance of employee with respect to a job function
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/018 Certifying business or products
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/257 electronically G07C9/26 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/28 the pass enabling tracking or indicating presence
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/02 Alarms for ensuring the safety of persons
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/77 for interrogation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 999/99 dummy group
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 10/50 Systems or methods supporting the power network operation or management, involving a certain degree of interaction with the load-side end user applications

Abstract

A method for tracking procedures performed on personal protection equipment (PPE) and actions of individuals includes the following steps. An article of PPE configured with a smart tag is provided to an individual prior to performance of a task. After the individual performs the task, the article of PPE is processed. Information is retrieved from the smart tag during at least one of: before, during and after processing the article of PPE. After the performance of the task, the individual'"'"'s data is read and the individual enters into a designated area.

Claims

1. A system for tracking procedures performed on personal protection equipment (PPE), the system comprising:

a plurality of articles of PPE, with a smart tag attached to at least one article of PPE, wherein the smart tag carries an identifier of the at least one article of PPE and maintenance information related to the article of PPE;

a scanner configured to read the smart tag that is attached to the at least one article of PPE, wherein when the scanner detects the smart tag the scanner receives the identifier of the at least one article of PPE; and

a computing device communicatively coupled to the scanner, wherein the computing device;

receives, from the scanner, the identifier of the at least one article of PPE;

queries, based at least in part on the identifier, a database to determine whether the article of PPE requires maintenance at an upcoming date; and

in response to a determination by the computing device that the article of PPE requires maintenance at the upcoming date, sends updated maintenance information related to the article of PPE that is written to the smart tag.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the computing device maintains historical information about the at least one article of PPE and a requirement determined by the computing device to perform maintenance at the upcoming date is based at least in part on the historical information.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the historical information comprises an association between the identifier of the at least one article of PPE and one or more of a date or time that maintenance was previously performed on the at least one article of PPE.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the computing device generates a notification based at least in part on a determination that the worker failed to perform the maintenance at the upcoming date.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein to generate the notification based at least in part on the determination that the worker failed to perform the maintenance at the upcoming date the computing device sends a warning to a remote computing device associated with the at least one of the worker, or associated with a supervisor of the worker.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the warning is at least one of an audible of visual notification.

7. A method comprising:

receiving, by a computing device and from a scanner, an identifier of at least one article of PPE included in a plurality of articles of PPE, wherein a smart tag is attached to the at least one article of PPE, wherein the smart tag carries the identifier of the at least one article of PPE and maintenance information related to the article of PPE, wherein the scanner is configured to receive the identifier of the at least one article of PPE when the scanner detects the smart tag;

querying, based at least in part on the identifier, a database to determine whether the article of PPE requires maintenance at an upcoming date; and

in response to determining that the article of PPE requires maintenance at the upcoming date, sending updated maintenance information related to the article of PPE that is written to the smart tag.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising maintaining historical information about the at least one article of PPE and a requirement determined by the computing device to perform maintenance at the upcoming date is based at least in part on the historical information.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the historical information comprises an association between the identifier of the at least one article of PPE and one or more of a date or time that maintenance was previously performed on the at least one article of PPE.

10. The method of claim 7, further comprising generating a notification based at least in part on a determination that the worker failed to perform the maintenance at the upcoming date.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein generating the notification based at least in part on the determination that the worker failed to perform the maintenance at the upcoming date further comprises sending a warning to a remote computing device associated with the at least one of the worker, or associated with a supervisor of the worker.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the warning is at least one of an audible of visual notification.

13. A computing device comprising:

one or more computer processors; and

a memory comprising instructions that when executed by the one or more computer processors cause the one or more computer processors to;

receive, from a scanner, an identifier of at least one article of PPE included in a plurality of articles of PPE, wherein a smart tag is attached to the at least one article of PPE, wherein the smart tag carries the identifier of the at least one article of PPE and maintenance information related to the article of PPE, wherein the scanner is configured to receive the identifier of the at least one article of PPE when the scanner detects the smart tag;

query, based at least in part on the identifier, a database to determine whether the article of PPE requires maintenance at an upcoming date; and

send updated maintenance information related to the article of PPE that is written to the smart tag in response to determining that the article of PPE requires maintenance at the upcoming date.

14. The computing device of claim 13, wherein the memory comprises instructions that when executed by the one or more computer processors cause the one or more computer processors to maintain historical information about the at least one article of PPE and a requirement determined by the computing device to perform maintenance at the upcoming date is based at least in part on the historical information.

15. The computing device of claim 14, wherein the historical information comprises an association between the identifier of the at least one article of PPE and one or more of a date or time that maintenance was previously performed on the at least one article of PPE.

16. The computing device of claim 13, wherein the memory comprises instructions that when executed by the one or more computer processors cause the one or more computer processors to generate a notification based at least in part on a determination that the worker failed to perform the maintenance at the upcoming date.

17. The computing device of claim 16, wherein the memory comprises instructions that when executed by the one or more computer processors cause the one or more computer processors to send a warning to a remote computing device associated with the at least one of the worker, or associated with a supervisor of the worker.

18. The computing device of claim 17, wherein the warning is at least one of an audible of visual notification.