Equipment maintenance assisting method and equipment maintenance assisting server

• US 20030093309A1
• Filed: 02/26/2002
• Published: 05/15/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 11/09/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Tanikoshi, Koichiro, Sato, Yasuo, Suzuki, Hideaki, Fukui, Chihiro
• Application Number:
  US10/084,834
• Publication Number:
  US 20030093309A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/7.13
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06311 Scheduling, planning or task assignment for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/80 Management or planning

Abstract

The system includes: an equipment data recording block 313 for recording one or more than one equipment information; a profile recording block 312 for storing a customer profile describing a customer request; an analysis block 311 for analyzing the equipment data recorded in the equipment data recording block 313, according to the customer profile, and creating a maintenance service assisting program and a maintenance enterprise assisting program; and a communication block 314 for transmitting the maintenance service assisting program to the customer, and the maintenance enterprise assisting program to the maintenance enterprise.

Claims

1. An equipment maintenance work assisting method using a maintenance work assisting server which can be connected to customer systems via a network so as to assist the customer systems, said method comprising the steps of:

accepting and storing a maintenance service content which a customer has specified from the customer system and information indicating a range that can be disclosed about a customer equipment;

fetching and analyzing equipment information about the customer equipment according to a maintenance service content which has been loaded from the customer system, to decide whether a condition for performing maintenance is satisfied; and

when it is decided that the maintenance is required, creating a maintenance service assisting program that can be used for maintenance order and that includes information serving as a basis to determine that the maintenance is required and information required for maintenance order, and transmitting the program to the customer via the network.

4. The equipment maintenance work assisting method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

accepting, in addition to the maintenance service content to be received by the customer, further equipment information of the customer equipment that can be disclosed, and creating and storing statistical data about the equipment maintenance; and

transmitting the statistical data to a customer system which has made a request for the data.

2. An equipment maintenance work assisting method using a maintenance work assisting server which can be connected to equipment maintenance service enterprise systems via a network so as to assist the equipment maintenance service enterprise systems, said method comprising the steps of:

accepting and storing an available maintenance work menu from the respective equipment maintenance service enterprise systems; and

when a maintenance order from a customer system to an equipment maintenance service enterprise is accepted, creating a maintenance enterprise assisting program that includes information required for fetching the equipment information of the customer which has made the maintenance order and can be used for maintenance work and transmitting the program to the equipment maintenance service enterprise via the network.

5. The equipment maintenance work assisting method according to claim 2, further comprising the steps of:

accepting, in addition to the maintenance service content to be received by the customer, equipment information of the of the customer equipment which can be disclosed as information and creating statistical data concerning the equipment maintenance; and

upon reception of a request from an equipment maintenance service enterprise, transmitting the statistical data to the equipment maintenance service enterprise system.

3. An equipment maintenance work assisting method using a maintenance work assisting server which can be connected to customer systems and equipment maintenance service enterprise systems via a network so as to assist the customer system and equipment maintenance service enterprise systems, said method comprising the steps of:

accepting and storing a maintenance service content which a customer has specified from the customer system and information indicating a range that can be disclosed about a customer equipment;

accepting and storing an available maintenance work menu from the respective equipment maintenance service enterprises;

fetching and analyzing equipment information about the customer equipment according to a maintenance service content which has been loaded from the customer system, and deciding whether a condition for performing maintenance is satisfied;

when it is decided that the maintenance is required, creating a maintenance service assisting program that includes information necessary for maintenance order including identification of an equipment maintenance service enterprise and that can be used for maintenance order and, and transmitting the program to the customer system via the network; and

upon acceptance of a maintenance order from a customer system to an equipment maintenance service enterprise, creating a maintenance enterprise assisting program that includes information necessary for fetching the equipment information of the customer which has made the order and that can be used for maintenance work, and transmitting the program to the equipment maintenance service enterprise system via the network.

6. A maintenance work assisting server for connecting to respective customer systems via a network and assisting via the network the customers in an equipment maintenance work, the server comprising:

a communication block for communication with customer systems via the network;

a profile storage block for accepting and storing a maintenance service content requested by a customer via a customer system;

an equipment data storage block for storing equipment information concerning the customer equipment of the customers registered (loaded) in the profile recording block according to the maintenance service content; and

an analysis block for analyzing the equipment information recorded in the equipment data recording block, deciding whether the equipment should be subjected to maintenance, and when maintenance is required, creating a maintenance service assisting program for use in maintenance order and transmitting the program to a corresponding customer system via the communication block.

9. The maintenance work assisting server according to claim 6, wherein

the profile storage block further stores equipment information of the customer equipment transmitted from the customer system which can be disclosed;

and

the analysis block generates statistic data concerning the equipment maintenance according to the equipment information of the customer equipment which has been recorded and can be disclosed; and

the equipment data recording block further stores the statistic data and upon request from a customer system, transmits the statistic data to the customer system via the communication block.

11. The maintenance work assisting server according to claim 6, wherein

the maintenance service assisting program generated by the analysis block is a program causing a computer to execute the following:

a reason present function for presenting a reason according which the maintenance requiring decision has been made;

a service enterprise present function for displaying a service enterprise appropriate for providing the maintenance service;

a basis present function for presenting the basis upon request;

a profile modification input acceptance function for accepting modification input when a request for modifying the customer profile is received; and

an order specifying function for accepting an order specification.

12. The maintenance work assisting server according to claim 6, wherein

the maintenance service assisting program displays characteristic values, inspection cycle and inspection content of the customer equipment in comparison to an average value of the identical apparatus and standard deviation data.

7. A maintenance work assisting server connected to equipment maintenance service enterprise systems via a network for assisting the equipment maintenance service enterprise systems via the network;

the server comprising;

a communication block for communicating via the network with the respective equipment maintenance service enterprises;

a profile recording block for accepting available maintenance work menu loaded by the respective equipment maintenance service enterprises and storing the menu; and

an analysis block for accepting a maintenance order from a customer system to a maintenance service enterprise and creating a maintenance enterprise assisting program that includes information for fetching equipment information of the customer which has ordered the maintenance and that can be used for performing the maintenance, and transmitting the program via the communication block to the corresponding maintenance service enterprise system.

10. The maintenance work assisting server according to claim 7, wherein

the profile recording block further stores the equipment information of the customer equipment that is transmitted from the customer system and can be disclosed;

the analysis block generates statistic data concerning the equipment maintenance according to the equipment information of the respective customer equipment that is recorded and that can be disclosed; and

the equipment data recording block further stores the statistic data, and when a request is made from a maintenance service enterprise system, the equipment data recording block transmits the statistic data to the maintenance service enterprise via the communication block.

13. The maintenance work assisting server according to claim 7, wherein

the maintenance enterprise assisting program created by the analysis block is a program causing a computer to execute the following:

a reason present function for presenting a reason according which the maintenance requiring decision has been made;

an object customer/equipment display function for displaying a customer and equipment to receive the maintenance service;

a basis present function to display a basis when requested to display the basis;

a stop/start procedure display function for fetching and displaying information indicating the stop procedure and start procedure of the object equipment; and

an access allow processing function for processing about the accessing the customer data.

8. A maintenance work assisting server connected to respective customer systems and respective equipment maintenance service enterprise systems via a network for assisting the customer system and equipment maintenance service enterprises in an equipment maintenance work, the server comprising:

a communication block for communicating with the customer systems and the equipment maintenance service systems via a network;

a profile recording block for accepting an equipment maintenance service content requested from a customer system and storing a maintenance service content, and accepting an available maintenance work menu loaded by the equipment maintenance service enterprise and storing the menu; and

an analysis block for fetching equipment information concerning the customer equipment according to the maintenance service content from the customer system and analyzing the information,

wherein when a maintenance condition is satisfied and a corresponding maintenance is decided to be performed, a maintenance service assisting program is created that includes information serving as a basis for requiring the maintenance and information required for maintenance order including identification of a maintenance service enterprise and the program is transmitted via the communication block to the corresponding customer system, and

upon acceptance of a maintenance order from a customer to a maintenance service enterprise via the communication block, a maintenance enterprise assisting program is created that includes information necessary for fetching the customer equipment information ordered by the customer and that can be used for performing maintenance, and the program is transmitted via the communication block to the maintenance service enterprise system.

14. The maintenance work assisting server according to one of claims 8, wherein

the analysis block adds at least one of the following to the maintenance service assisting program and the maintenance enterprise assisting program:

customer equipment replacement timing, advice to select a type for replacement, and a maintenance enterprise and maintenance menu of the maintenance enterprise.

15. The maintenance work assisting server according to claims 8, wherein

the analysis block includes a transmission decision block for deciding a transmission destination, a transmission timing, and a transmission frequency of the maintenance service assisting program of the maintenance enterprise assisting program by using at least one of the following:

the customer profile, the maintenance enterprise profile, equipment design information, repair information, and parts lot information.

16. The maintenance work assisting server according to claims 8, wherein

the analysis block decides a fee of the maintenance service assisting program or the maintenance enterprise assisting program transmitted, according to the contents of the customer profile or the maintenance enterprise profile.