Detecting construction equipment process failure

• US 7,898,403 B2
• Filed: 05/07/2007
• Issued: 03/01/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/05/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Trimble Navigation Limited (Trimble Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Trimble Navigation Limited (Trimble Inc.)
• Inventors: Ritter, Michael, Taylor, Arthur J.
• Primary Examiner(s): POPE, DARYL C
• Application Number:
  US11/801,088
• Publication Number:
  US 20080084332A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,394 Days
• Field of Search: 340/506, 340/517, 340/521, 340/524, 340/525, 340/3.1, 340/825.36, 340/825.49, 340/686.1, 340/989, 340/522, 701/1, 701/66, 701/207
• US Class Current: 340/439
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 3/00 Registering or indicating the condition or the working of machines or other apparatus, other than vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences

Abstract

A method and system for detecting construction equipment process failure are disclosed. According to one embodiment, information about a construction equipment asset from a reporting source is received. A database is then populated with the information. A process failure report is provided if the construction equipment asset is operated in a manner which violates a process norm assigned to the construction equipment asset.

Claims

1. A method for detecting construction equipment process failure, said method comprising:

receiving information from a reporting source about a construction equipment asset, said construction equipment asset comprising a material moving type asset, and said information comprising;

position fixing coordinate location information regarding said construction equipment asset, operation information regarding said construction equipment asset, and time information regarding said construction equipment asset;

populating a database with said information; and

based on an analysis of said received information populated in said database, providing a process failure report if said construction equipment asset is operated in a manner which violates a process norm assigned to said construction equipment asset, wherein violation of said process norm indicates improper use of said construction equipment asset in performance of a material moving process.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said receiving information from a reporting source about a construction equipment asset comprises:

receiving information from a first reporting source about said construction equipment asset; and

receiving information from a second reporting source about said construction equipment asset.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said providing a process failure report if said construction equipment asset is operated in a manner which violates an process norm assigned to said construction equipment asset comprises:

issuing said process failure report to a recipient device.

4. The method as recited in claim 3, wherein said issuing said process failure report to a recipient device comprises:

issuing said process failure report to a recipient device selected from the list of recipient devices consisting of;

a telephone, a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant, a pager, a computer, a computer network, a webpage, and an email account.

5. The method as recited in claim 3, wherein said issuing said process failure report to a recipient device comprises:

issuing said process failure report to a recipient device in a format selected from the list of formats consisting of;

voice, synthesized voice, text, email, and video.

6. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said process norm comprises an operational norm derived from observed data about said construction equipment asset.

7. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said process norm comprises a site norm for use of said construction equipment asset at a specific job site.

8. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said process norm comprises a global norm derived from an accepted standard of operation for said construction equipment asset.

9. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said construction equipment asset comprises a construction equipment asset selected from the group of construction equipment assets consisting of:

dozer, grader, excavator, scraper, compactor loader, articulated dump truck, haul truck, dump truck, paver, and staker.

10. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said providing a process failure report if said construction equipment asset is operated in a manner which violates a process norm assigned to said construction equipment asset comprises:

providing said process failure report when said construction equipment asset is an incorrect asset for performing a particular process according to said process norm.

11. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said providing a process failure report if said construction equipment asset is operated in a manner which violates a process norm assigned to said construction equipment asset comprises:

providing said process failure report when said construction equipment asset performs a particular process improperly according to said process norm.

12. An asset management system, said system comprising:

a database configured to be populated with a first portion of information about a construction equipment asset received from a first reporting source and a second portion of information about said construction equipment asset received from a second reporting source, said construction equipment asset comprising a material moving type asset, and said first and second portions of information together comprising;

position fixing coordinate location information regarding said construction equipment asset, operation information regarding said construction equipment asset, and time information regarding said construction equipment asset; and

a process failure detector configured to communicatively couple with said database for monitoring said information and, based on an analysis of said received first and second portions of information populated in said database, generating a process failure report if said information indicates said construction equipment asset has violated a process norm assigned to said construction equipment asset, wherein violation of said process norm indicates improper use of said construction equipment asset in performance of a material moving process.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein said process failure detector comprises a notification module configured to communicatively couple with a recipient device.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein said recipient device is selected from the list of recipient devices consisting of:

a telephone, a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant, a pager, a computer, a computer network, a webpage, and an email account.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein said process failure report is issued to said recipient device in a format selected from the list of formats consisting of:

voice, synthesized voice, text, email, and video.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein said process failure detector comprises an operational norm module configured to assign an operational norm to said construction equipment asset, said operational norm derived from said information about said construction equipment asset in said database.

17. The system of claim 12, wherein said process failure detector comprises a site norm module configured to assign a job site specific norm to said construction equipment asset.

18. The system of claim 12, wherein said process failure detector comprises a global norm module configured to assign a global norm to said asset from an accepted standard of operation for said construction equipment asset.

19. The system of claim 12, wherein said construction equipment asset comprises a construction equipment asset selected from the group of construction equipment assets consisting of:

dozer, grader, excavator, scraper, compactor loader, articulated dump truck, haul truck, dump truck, paver, and staker.

20. A computer-usable medium having computer-readable program code embodied therein for causing a computer to perform a method for detecting construction equipment process failure, said method comprising:

receiving information from a reporting source about a construction equipment asset, said construction equipment asset comprising a material moving type asset, and said information comprising;

position fixing coordinate location information regarding said construction equipment asset, operation information regarding said construction equipment asset, and time information regarding said construction equipment asset;

populating a database with said information; and

based on an analysis of said received information populated in said database, providing a process failure report if said construction equipment asset is operated in a manner which violates a process norm assigned to said construction equipment asset, wherein violation of said process norm indicates improper use of said construction equipment asset in performance of a material moving process.

21. The computer-usable medium having computer-readable program code embodied therein of claim 20, wherein said receiving information from a reporting source about a construction equipment asset comprises:

receiving information from a first reporting source about said construction equipment asset; and

receiving information from a second reporting source about said construction equipment asset.

22. The computer-usable medium having computer-readable program code embodied therein of claim 20, wherein said providing a process failure report if said construction equipment asset is operated in a manner which violates an process norm assigned to said construction equipment asset comprises:

issuing said process failure report to a recipient device.

23. The computer-usable medium having computer-readable program code embodied therein of claim 22, wherein said issuing said process failure report to a recipient device comprises:

issuing said process failure report to a recipient device selected from the list of recipient devices consisting of;

a telephone, a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant, a pager, a computer, a computer network, a webpage, and an email account.

24. The computer-usable medium having computer-readable program code embodied therein of claim 22, wherein said issuing said process failure report to a recipient device comprises:

issuing said process failure report to a recipient device in a format selected from the list of formats consisting of;

voice, synthesized voice, text, email, and video.

25. The computer-usable medium having computer-readable program code embodied therein of claim 20, wherein said process norm comprises an operational norm derived from observed data about said construction equipment asset.

26. The computer-usable medium having computer-readable program code embodied therein of claim 20, wherein said process norm comprises a site norm for use of said construction equipment asset.

27. The computer-usable medium having computer-readable program code embodied therein of claim 20, wherein said process norm comprises a global norm derived from an accepted standard of operation for said construction equipment asset.

28. The computer-usable medium having computer-readable program code embodied therein of claim 20, wherein said construction equipment asset comprises a construction equipment asset selected from the group of construction equipment assets consisting of:

dozer, grader, excavator, scraper, compactor loader, articulated dump truck, haul truck, dump truck, paver, and staker.

29. The computer-usable medium having computer-readable program code embodied therein of claim 20, wherein said providing a process failure report if said construction equipment asset is operated in a manner which violates a process norm assigned to said construction equipment asset comprises:

providing said process failure report when said construction equipment asset is an incorrect asset for performing a particular process according to said process norm.

30. The computer-usable medium having computer-readable program code embodied therein of claim 20, wherein said providing a process failure report if said construction equipment asset is operated in a manner which violates a process norm assigned to said construction equipment asset comprises:

providing said process failure report when said construction equipment asset performs a particular process improperly according to said process norm.