Business improvement support apparatus and business improvement support method

Abstract

To propose a design content which allows continuation of business even during business improvement when supporting the design of the business.SOLUTION: A maintenance improvement support apparatus 1 has an HMI 16, and an improvement path generator 15 configured to generate an improvement path reaching from a current business state to a target business state via a midway business state, as a business state formed by combinations of a plurality of business design parameters. The improvement path generator 15 receives an input of a target KPI defined with one or more KPI parameters that are indices for evaluating the business state, refers, when generating an improvement path to a target business state included in a set of target business states that optimizes the target KPI, to simulation results for each business state, and generates an improvement path that satisfies an allowable range indicated in constraint condition data 17 in each business state from the current business state to the target business state. The HMI 16 displays the improvement path.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a business improvement support device and a business improvement support method.

Background Art

[0002] In many fields such as infrastructure, railways, industrial equipment, and medical equipment, after introducing equipment (assets) to be maintained, workers need to continuously perform maintenance to maintain predetermined performance. Designers need to analyze the state of target assets and the execution status of maintenance, and formulate and execute appropriate maintenance business designs. In addition, designers need to design including maintenance organizations and maintenance facilities so that maintenance operations are carried out as planned in actual business.

[0003] However, in the maintenance business, it is necessary to perform various maintenance operations on a large number and various types of assets and assets arranged over a wide area, so it is not easy to design the scale and layout of an appropriate maintenance organization. Especially in recent years, it is necessary to introduce a maintenance process different from the conventional one based on the effects and operation of IoT (Internet of Things) technology. With the introduction of the maintenance process, the complexity of maintenance business design has increased, such as a large change in maintenance business resources such as the number of personnel, required skills, and tools.

[0004] If an appropriate maintenance business design is not formulated, there is a concern that necessary work may not be performed due to a shortage of workers, inappropriate maintenance execution intervals, or inappropriate diagnosis of asset status. Or, there is also a concern that the profitability of the business deteriorates due to an increase in costs due to excessive maintenance. Therefore, a technology for supporting an appropriate maintenance business design is required.

[0005] Technologies for supporting the operation of assets and the formulation and effect estimation of maintenance business improvement plans have been proposed as follows. Patent Document 1 describes a plant operation management support system that simulates future operation costs and the like from past operation data in order to formulate an asset introduction plan in a plant and is used for formulating a plant introduction plan. This plant operation management support system notifies users and the like of inappropriate data in plant behavior by means such as alarms and screen displays.

[0006] Patent Document 2 describes a life cycle cost management support system for a plant that predicts operation costs and maintenance costs based on the combination of operation conditions for operating an asset in a plant and the operator, and presents an optimal combination. This life cycle cost management support system for a plant displays the predicted life cycle costs, the operation costs at that time, and the maintenance costs for each operator.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0007]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0008] In business design such as maintenance business design, specific numbers of personnel in the maintenance organization, items and details of execution work, and maintenance contents such as the content and scale of IoT introduction are determined. In the maintenance business design, it is necessary to determine the maintenance contents at an appropriate scale so that the maintenance work can be reliably executed in accordance with this maintenance content and profitability can also be ensured. However, in the maintenance business, there is a high degree of contingency such as the occurrence of failures and delays during maintenance work, and the effect of the introduced IoT is determined by the balance within a large number of operations. Therefore, it is difficult to actually perform an appropriate business design.

[0009] Here, it is insufficient to simply design the result as the optimal maintenance content that can surely execute the necessary maintenance content at low cost. Since there are many options for the execution order and execution speed of various improvement measures, consideration for continuing the maintenance work is also required even in the "improvement path" that shows the process of transitioning from the current business state to the target business state.

[0010] Note that it is difficult to verify the validity of the maintenance business plan in the real world due to costs, safety, and reasons related to business execution. Therefore, it is conceivable to simulate and verify the maintenance business plan. In particular, since changes in business design generally require a long period of time, it is necessary to appropriately plan not only the target business state after the transition but also the process of the improvement path during the transition (such as the transition order and the investment scale for each period). If an inappropriate improvement plan is formulated, it may cause obstacles to the execution of maintenance due to a shortage of personnel or insufficient IT proficiency during the process, leading to problems such as a decrease in equipment operation rate and customer satisfaction, and the improvement may come to a standstill. However, conventional technologies such as Patent Documents 1 and 2 only output the results of planning and do not consider the risks that occur in the state during improvement along the improvement path.

[0011] Therefore, the main problem of the present invention is to propose a design content that enables the business to continue even during business improvement when assisting in the design of the business.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0012] In order to solve the above problems, the business improvement support device of the present invention has the following features. The present invention includes an improvement path generator that generates an improvement path from the current business state via an intermediate business state to the target business state as a business state constituted by a combination of a plurality of business design parameters, and a display controller that displays the improvement path generated by the improvement path generator. The improvement path generator When receiving an input of a target KPI defined by one or more KPI parameters that are evaluation indicators of a business state, and generating an improvement path leading to the target business state included in the set of target business states for optimizing the target KPI, referring to simulation results for each business state, and generating the improvement path that satisfies the allowable range shown in the constraint condition data in each business state from the current business state to the target business state. Other means will be described later.

Advantages of the Invention

[0013] According to the present invention, when assisting in the design of a business, it is possible to propose a design content that enables the business to continue even during business improvement.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0014]

Figure 1

Figure 2

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Figure 9

Figure 10

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0015] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0016] FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a maintenance improvement support device 1. The maintenance improvement support device (business improvement support device) 1 includes, as a processing unit, a setting generator 12, a simulator 13, an improvement path generator 15, an HMI (Human Machine Interface) 16 as a display controller, and an improvement path evaluator 18. In the storage unit of the maintenance improvement support device 1, business design data 11, a maintenance work log 14a, maintenance KPI data 14b, and constraint condition data 17 are stored. Hereinafter, the configuration and functions of each unit will be described according to the processing flow.

[0017] Note that the maintenance improvement support device 1 is not limited to a specific asset or a maintenance business form. In the following description, an example in which the maintenance improvement support device 1 is applied to the maintenance business of precision machinery and electrical equipment such as ATMs and network devices will be described. In this example, it is assumed that maintenance is performed by dispatching workers from a regional base to buildings and offices where ATMs and network devices are installed.

[0018] The business design data 11 is data that records existing business designs such as the existing state (current business state) as exemplified below. · Data regarding assets. For example, the type, individual ID, installation location, failure rate, lifespan, inspection and failure response tasks of the equipment to be maintained (condition monitoring). · Data regarding workers. For example, the number of workers, list information recording their arrangements and skills. · Data regarding the IT system. For example, information on the IT system in use, the usage status of the diagnostic support system, etc.

[0019] Based on the business design data 11, the setting generator 12 generates the setting data used by the simulator 13. The generated setting data includes not only the data for reproducing the current business state but also various data for reproducing other arbitrary business states (such as the target business state and intermediate business state described later). Although the data content of the generated setting data varies depending on the execution method of the simulation, for example, agent-based simulation can be considered. In agent-based simulation, actual assets, personnel, or the IT systems to be used are reproduced as agents within the simulation.

[0020] The simulator 13 performs a maintenance operation simulation (reproduction of maintenance operations) by having each agent execute the operations defined by the setting data. · The "asset agent" for reproducing assets shall reproduce the behavior of failing at the failure rate associated with the deterioration progress described during business design, and generate the same number of such behaviors as in the real world. It is assumed that each asset agent is assigned attributes such as an individual identification ID and an installation location. · The "worker agent" for reproducing workers is based on the real-world worker roster and reproduces the available working hours, executable operations, and resident bases of the workers. · The "IT system agent" for reproducing the IT system becomes, for example, a "management system agent" when the IT system is a management system.

[0021] In addition, the worker agent moves to the installation location of the asset agent in response to the instruction of the maintenance task, diagnoses the type of failure of the asset agent, and based on this, restores the failure state. Also, it consumes the time corresponding to inspection work and repair work and moves back to the resident base. There may also be a setting of the responsible scope based on the assets and location information assigned to each worker agent. These make it possible to reproduce the execution of maintenance operations.

[0022] The IT system agent is also implemented to reproduce the behavior of real-world IT systems, as exemplified below. · When an asset fails, the management system agent issues a repair request to the worker agent or issues an instruction for regular inspection to the worker agent. · If it is a prognostic diagnosis agent that reproduces a prognostic diagnosis system, it monitors the deterioration progress of each asset and issues a maintenance work request to the management system agent when the probability of failure exceeds a certain value. · If it is a diagnostic support agent that reproduces a diagnostic support system for assisting workers in identifying the location of a failure, it intervenes when the worker executes a failure diagnosis and increases the success rate of the worker's failure diagnosis to prevent overlooking or misdiagnosing a failure.

[0023] Also, the operations of various agents record the timing, content, and results of the operations. As a result, the simulator 13 reproduces the maintenance work and the accompanying maintenance work log 14a through agent simulation based on the business design data 11, and calculates the KPI of the maintenance work as the maintenance KPI data 14b in the same way as in the real world. The maintenance KPI data 14b includes various KPI parameters in line with the improvement objectives, as exemplified below. · "Worker operation rate" obtained by dividing the working and moving execution time of a worker by the working hours · "Asset operation rate" obtained by dividing the time when the asset is not in a failure state or under maintenance by the total time · "Maintenance response time" which is the average of the time from when the system management agent issues a work request to the worker agent until the worker actually starts the maintenance work

[0024] In the series of simulations and KPI calculations up to this point, the simulator 13 uses those based on the current business state recorded in the business design data 11. As a result, the calculated maintenance KPI data 14b is the same as the maintenance KPI data 14b calculated from the records of maintenance work in the real world. Here, the setting generator 12 generates setting data in which at least one of the business design parameters exemplified below is changed (improved) from the setting data indicating the simulation settings in the current business state. The business design parameters are parameters indicating the characteristic quantities of various business designs. · The number of workers, skill allocation, and the arrangement of workers · The number of assets and the number of workers to which the prognostic diagnosis IT and the diagnostic support IT are applied Accordingly, the setting generator 12 creates setting data for the maintenance business design after various patterns of changes from the current business state according to the combinations of the possible values of the business design parameters. Then, the simulator 13 executes simulations based on the setting data of various patterns, and stores various simulation results (maintenance business log 14a, maintenance KPI data 14b) for various maintenance designs in the storage unit.

[0025] FIG. 9 is a screen diagram for allowing the user 2 to select the KPI parameters, which are the target KPIs set by the HMI 16 in the improvement path generator 15. Here, the user 2 sets the target KPI in the improvement path generator 15 via the HMI 16. As a method for setting the target KPI, there is a method of allowing the user 2 to select one or more KPI parameters to be adopted as the target KPI from among a plurality of candidate KPI parameters such as "worker operation rate", "asset operation rate", and "maintenance response time". The HMI 16 displays the plurality of KPI parameters as a list, and accepts the set of KPI parameters selected from the list as the input of the target KPI.

[0026] Returning to FIG. 1, the improvement path generator 15 generates candidates for improvement paths for optimizing the target KPI from the calculation results (maintenance business log 14a, maintenance KPI data 14b) of the simulator 13. The improvement path is a maintenance design for transitioning from the current business state to the target business state. That is, the improvement path generator 15 generates an improvement path that reaches the target business state via an intermediate business state from the current business state as a business state constituted by a combination of a plurality of business design parameters. Specifically, when the improvement path generator 15 receives an input of a target KPI defined by one or more KPI parameters that are evaluation indicators of the business state and generates an improvement path leading to a target business state included in a set of target business states that optimize the target KPI, it refers to the simulation results for each business state and generates an improvement path that satisfies the allowable range shown in the constraint condition data 17 in each business state from the current business state to the target business state.

[0027] The HMI 16 displays the improvement path generated by the improvement path evaluator 18. Further, the improvement path evaluator 18 displays at least one of the time-series value and the cumulative value of the KPI parameter as an evaluation value for each business state on the improvement path from the HMI 16 (details are shown in FIG. 8).

[0028] FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of the maintenance improvement support device 1. The maintenance improvement support device 1 is configured as a computer 900 having a CPU 901, a RAM 902, a ROM 903, an HDD 904, a communication I / F 905, an input / output I / F 906, and a media I / F 907. The communication I / F 905 is connected to an external communication device 915. The input / output I / F 906 is connected to an input / output device 916. The media I / F 907 reads and writes data from a recording medium 917. Further, the CPU 901 executes a program (also called an application or an app for short) read into the RAM 902 to improve the control of each processing unit. And this program can also be distributed via a communication line or recorded and distributed on a recording medium 917 such as a CD-ROM.

[0029] FIG. 3 is a graph showing the improvement path generated by the improvement path generator 15. In this graph 300, a two-dimensional graph is used with the horizontal axis = number of workers and the vertical axis = adequacy of the diagnostic support system as two business design parameters as an example. On the other hand, it is also possible to search for an improvement path in a multi-dimensional space with three or more business design parameters as axes. The business states defined by the combined values of the business design parameters (in Figure 3, the combination of the number of workers and the adequacy of the diagnostic support system) are located on the improvement path 304 as follows. · The current business state 302 is the state that serves as the starting point of the improvement path 304 and represents the design details of the current (before change) maintenance business. · The target business state 303 is the state that serves as the end point of the improvement path 304 and represents the design details of the (after change) maintenance business that optimizes the target KPI specified by User 2. · The intermediate business state 305 represents the design details of the maintenance business during improvement (during change) that is located between the current business state 302 and the target business state 303.

[0030] The improvement path generator 15 calculates the KPI parameters corresponding to the business design at each point in Figure 3. Generally, in business improvement, an overall evaluation is performed on whether the multiple KPI parameters included in the target KPI are improved in a well-balanced manner. For example, if the number of workers is extremely reduced to minimize the maintenance cost, the response time to repair requests will become extremely long due to a shortage of personnel, and deterioration (trade-off) of other important KPI parameters such as the occurrence of penalties for equipment downtime and the decline in customer satisfaction may occur. Generally, the overall score for the business design X is set as T(X) as shown in (Equation 1). T(X)=Σ(W[i]×K[X,i]) …(Equation 1)

[0031] Here, Σ in (Equation 1) is the summation for the i-th KPI parameter, K[X,i] is the realized value of the i-th KPI parameter for the business design X, and W[i] is the weight for the overall score. The value of the weight is determined based on the importance of each KPI parameter to the user and relevant standards, etc. At this time, X that maximizes T(X) becomes the target business state 303.

[0032] The X that maximizes T(X) defined in this way is generally not uniquely determined, and it becomes the optimization surface 301 in the multi-dimensional space of the business design parameters that make up X. Therefore, the optimization surface 301 is an approximation (modeling) of the set of values of the business design parameters that satisfy (optimize) the target KPI, in the form of a surface. Therefore, in FIG. 3, the set of optimal X is shown as a curve in the example of the two-axis case. The improvement path generator 15 causes the user 2 to appropriately select the improvement path 304 (illustrated by a dashed line) by displaying one or more proposals for the improvement path 304 generated to lead from the current business state 302 to the target business state 303.

[0033] The HMI 16 displays the set of target business states that optimize the target KPI as the optimization surface 301, and causes the improvement path generator 15 to generate an improvement path leading to the target business state selected from that set.

[0034] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the process by which the improvement path generator 15 generates an improvement path. First, the HMI 16 displays a start screen (not shown) for the user 2 to select whether to manually or automatically set the target business state (S11). The improvement path generator 15 proceeds to S12 if manual setting is selected in S11 (manual in S11), and proceeds to S13 if automatic setting is selected in S11 (automatic in S11).

[0035] When performing the manual target setting process (S12), the HMI 16 selects the target business state 303 to be adopted from the candidates for the target business state 303 on the optimization surface 301 in FIG. 3. As a method for selecting the target business state 303, in addition to directly inputting numerical values for business design, the UI provided by the HMI 16 (FIG. 5 below) may be used.

[0036] FIG. 5 is a diagram of the input screen for the target business state. This input screen diagram is configured by linking a goal setting field 110 and a selection item graph 120. That is, the display content of the selection item graph 120 is updated according to the value of the target work state inputted in the goal setting field 110. Also, the display content of the goal setting field 110 is updated according to the input content of the selection item graph 120.

[0037] Moreover, selected item graph 120 corresponds to graph 300 in Fig. 3. That is, optimization surface 301 in Fig. 3 corresponds to optimization surface 127B in Fig. 5. Target task state 303 in Fig. 3 corresponds to target task state 127 in Fig. 5. Optimization surface 127B is defined by combined values ​​of each task design parameter, and the range that the combined values ​​can take is constrained on optimization surface 127B. 5 is movable, and the range of movement is set to a range along optimization surface 127B. For example, when user 2 inputs an operation (drag operation) to move the icon of target task state 127 to the left, HMI 16 controls the icon of target task state 127 to move to the upper left along optimization surface 127B. In this way, by imposing constraints on the input value from user 2, an appropriate target task state value can be set efficiently.

[0038] The goal setting field 110 will now be described. The HMI 16 allows the user to set the value of each task design parameter in the list display 111 using a slider 112 or a numerical value input field 114. Also, a triangular icon 113 displays the current task state as a reference value. Also, as explained in the selection item graph 120, the combination of values ​​that the target task state 127 can take is limited on the optimization surface 127B. Similarly, in the target setting field 110, when the HMI 16 changes the value of a certain task design parameter, it also changes the values ​​of the other task design parameters in conjunction with each other. That is, when the HMI 16 receives a request to change one of the business design parameters that make up the target business state, it modifies the remaining business design parameters so that the target business state composed of the changed business design parameter and the remaining business design parameters in the combination falls within the set of target business states.

[0039] Furthermore, the HMI 16 may also display the value range 118 that each business design parameter can take, together with the slider 112, so that the user can recognize the settable range and prevent impossible settings. Also, for business design parameters other than numerical values, the HMI 16 may be made settable by transitioning from the setting button 119 to an individual setting screen (not shown). In the design of, for example, the placement of maintenance bases, the HMI 16 can be considered to enable setting the positions of the bases on a map and the employees to be placed at each base.

[0040] Furthermore, the HMI 16 displays a selection item graph 120 with some business design parameters (in the figure, "number of employees" and "diagnostic support system") selected by the checkbox 115 as axes. When the "Determine" button is pressed from the selection item graph 120, the improvement path generator 15 sets the target business state input in the target setting field 110 (or the icon of the linked target business state 127) as a manual target (S12 in FIG. 4).

[0041] On the other hand, when the user 2 selects automatic target setting, the HMI 16 automatically executes the setting of the target business state (S13). Furthermore, the HMI 16 may read the result of executing the automatic target setting (S13) as the initial value of the manual target setting (S12) and allow the initial value to be modified from an input screen such as that in FIG. 5.

[0042] Examples of the method of automatic target setting (S13) are as follows. · Among the overall score optimization surfaces, select the point with the smallest change from the current business state. By doing so, when formulating an improvement route plan with the improvement route generator 15, an improvement route closer to the optimum can be selected from the beginning, and the improvement plan can be formulated efficiently. · Select the point reached when selecting the improvement route with the minimum integrated value of the cost during the journey among the improvement routes from the current business state to the overall score optimization surface. As the cost, it is conceivable to consider the costs of employment, dismissal, and transfer of personnel, the integrated value of IT investments such as diagnostic support systems, and the installation and abolition costs of maintenance bases.

[0043] In this way, for the target business state set in S12 or S13, the improvement route generator 15 generates an improvement route plan for reaching from the current business state in the improvement route generation process (S14). Here, in the improvement route generation process (S14), the improvement route generator 15 confirms that the route passing on the improvement route 304 as shown in FIG. 3 continues to satisfy the allowable range during the passage. This allowable range is shown as a constraint condition in the constraint condition data 17 (FIG. 6), and is the allowable range of business design parameters and the allowable range of KPI parameters.

[0044] FIG. 6 is a table showing the constraint condition data 17. In this table, for each constraint condition number (#), the allowable range that the business state during the passage (during improvement) of the improvement route should comply with is defined as a constraint condition. The constraint condition may be the allowable range of KPI parameters (for example, "response time" of #1), or the allowable range of business design parameters (for example, "annual employment number (of employees)" of #3). Also, the user 2 may set a new constraint condition not registered in the constraint condition data 17 or select something to use from the constraint condition data 17.

[0045] That is, the improvement path generator 15 adopts an improvement path in which each state on the improvement path (current business state → intermediate business state → target business state) passes through a space within the allowable range. On the other hand, for example, in a state where the number of employees is small and the introduction of an IT system has not progressed, and there are problems in performing maintenance operations, such a state is outside the allowable range of the business design parameter space, so such an improvement path is not adopted.

[0046] Figure 7 is a table showing an example of the generated improvement path plan. This table holds the amount of change in the business design parameters. The improvement path generator 15 generates an improvement path plan for business design. The improvement path generator 15 may generate one improvement path plan, or may generate a plurality of improvement paths from the selection patterns of the constraint conditions. Furthermore, the improvement path generator 15 may generate a large number of improvement path plans in which the overall score R of the improvement path is optimal or within a range where the score turns from the optimal. The generated improvement path plan is delivered from the improvement path generator 15 to the improvement path evaluator 18.

[0047] The improvement path evaluator 18 evaluates the improvement path (path within the allowable range) generated by the improvement path generator 15 from the viewpoint of whether it meets the target KPI. The target KPI may include the KPI parameters specified by the constraint conditions. Then, the improvement path evaluator 18 selects an improvement path to adopt from at least one of the various indicators (such as the target KPI) of the individually calculated (indicator 1) to (indicator 5). For example, the improvement path evaluator 18 calculates the overall score R of the individually calculated (indicator 1) to (indicator 5) and selects an improvement path that optimizes (maximizes the score) the overall score R. (Indicator 1) Select an interval where the integral value of the cost calculated by the improvement path generator 15 is minimized. As the cost, it is conceivable to consider the integral value of personnel employment, dismissal, transfer costs, IT investment such as a diagnostic support system, and the installation and abolition costs of maintenance bases. (Indicator 2) In addition to the cost calculated by the improvement path generator 15, select an improvement path where the combined score with the sales of the maintenance business on the improvement path calculated by the improvement path generator 15 is maximized. (Indicator 3) Select the improvement path that maximizes customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction is calculated from indicators that have a significant impact on customer operations, such as the average repair time from the occurrence of a failure to the completion of the repair. For example, taking the average repair time in the current business state as the standard value, the customer satisfaction is the sum of the difference between this and the average repair time on the improvement path along the improvement path.

[0048] (Indicator 4) Select the most robust improvement path that minimizes the stability value. Note that from the partial derivative of the change in the business design parameters of the KPI on the improvement path, when the absolute value of the derivative value is large, it can be judged that the deviation from the business plan caused by a slight deviation from the improvement plan is large, so it can be considered inappropriate as a business plan. Therefore, the integral of the absolute value of the derivative value along the improvement path is defined as the stability value of the improvement path (the smaller the value, the more stable it is as a business plan).

[0049] (Indicator 5) Select the improvement path that minimizes the risk of personnel changes. Here, when the change in the business design parameters for each period described later is obtained, the number of personnel changes in each period multiplied by the weight of measures such as dismissal, transfer, and employment is defined as the risk of personnel changes for each period, and the sum of these is defined as the risk of personnel changes for the improvement path. Note that the greater the scale of personnel changes, the higher the possibility of unexpected problems occurring in the organization.

[0050] Then, based on the selected improvement path, the improvement path evaluator 18 determines the change amount of each parameter in terms of the period from the constraint conditions recorded in the constraint condition data 17 regarding the change amount of business design parameters such as the investment amount and the number of employees in terms of the period. The improvement path evaluator 18 discretizes the improvement path into units of time by determining the business design X for each unit of time so that the amount of movement in each unit of time on the improvement path satisfies the constraint conditions, thereby generating a business design plan for each period. Here, assuming the unit period is one year, the improvement path evaluator 18 shall generate a business design plan on an annual basis. Also, the improvement path evaluator 18 may hold the business design parameter values for each case in the improvement path plan. Since the current business state is given, it may also hold the amount of change in the business design parameters for each period.

[0051] On the other hand, instead of the improvement path evaluator 18 selecting an improvement path, the HMI 16 may display on the screen various indicators (Indicator 1) to (Indicator 5) calculated by the improvement path evaluator 18 or their comprehensive score R (explained in Fig. 8) and let the user 2 select a desired improvement path. That is, while presenting the improvement path plan and the evaluation of the improvement path generated by the improvement path generator 15 to the user through the HMI 16, the improvement path evaluator 18 may execute the formulation of the improvement path.

[0052] Fig. 8 is a diagram of the evaluation screen for the improvement path. The evaluation screen 200 has various input fields at the upper part of the screen, a KPI / score column 207, a business design parameter setting column 212, and an improvement path score column 215. The various input fields at the upper part of the screen are composed of a pull-down menu 201, a checkbox 202, a target reset button 203, a decision button 204, and a path plan re-creation button 205.

[0053] The user 2 first selects the improvement path plan created by the improvement path generator 15 from the pull-down menu 201 and executes the improvement path formulation by making corrections based on it. At this time, the evaluation screen 200 may also be able to perform filter settings and selections, such as an improvement path that is completed in the specified number of years.

[0054] The KPI / score column 207 displays the target KPI (individual KPI parameters such as the above-mentioned (Indicator 1) to (Indicator 5) or their comprehensive score R) selected from the pull-down menu 206 for each unit period (illustrated as an annual unit in the figure). Fig. 8 shows an example where the average repair time is selected as the target KPI to be displayed, and the time-series change of the KPI values for each period is shown. Inside the KPI / Score column 207, in addition to the black marks 208 indicating the numerical values of the target KPIs for each year, a width display 209 indicating the allowable range thereof, a stability range 209A indicating the range within which stability can be ensured within the width display 209, and an instability range 209B indicating outside the range of the stability range 209A are also displayed together. That is, the improvement path evaluator 18 displays together the statistical value (black mark 208) for each unit period and the width display 209 indicating the allowable range thereof for the time-series values of the KPI parameters to be displayed from the HMI 16.

[0055] The display content of the KPI / Score column 207 can be switched by the check box 202 between the designated "stability" for displaying the stability range 209A and the instability range 209B and the designated "value range" for displaying the width display 209. When "stability" is displayed, the KPI / Score column 207 can determine the display content based on the magnitude of the differential value with respect to the change in the KPI parameters on the improvement path. In particular, the KPI / Score column 207 may be limited to the display related to the stability with respect to the business design parameters of the design object selected in the pull-down menus 210, 211.

[0056] Thereby, in the modification of the business design parameters, the target KPI can be visualized and the user 2 can select a more stable plan. Also, for the width display 209, the value range (allowable range) of the target KPI for each year is indicated from among a plurality of improvement path plans generated by the improvement path generator 15. In this way, by displaying the display of the time change of the KPI (black mark 208), the width display 209, the stability range 209A, and the instability range 209B in the KPI / Score column 207, the user 2 can formulate a plan while checking the actual values (intermediate business states) of the KPI parameters for each year.

[0057] Here, it is also conceivable to fix the KPI parameters for a certain period and formulate a plan only from the improvement paths that achieve them. For example, such an operation is necessary when determining the investment amount and the number of employees in accordance with the intermediate management goals. Therefore, after the user 2 moves the black mark 208 indicating the KPI value within the width display 209, the user 2 presses the route plan recalculation button 205. The HMI 16 reversely displays the moved black mark 208 as a white mark 208B. Thereby, the improvement route generator 15 recalculates an improvement route plan passing through the white mark 208B and redisplaysthe result in the business design parameter setting field 212. That is, the KPI / score field 207 is an input field for allowing the user to edit business design parameters within an allowable range. The improvement route generator 15 recalculates an improvement route plan according to the edited allowable range. That is, when the improvement route evaluator 18 receives an input to change the time-series values of the displayed KPI parameters, the improvement route evaluator 18 updates the allowable range based on the changed time-series values and causes the improvement route generator 15 to generate an improvement route that satisfies the updated allowable range.

[0058] Next, the business design parameter setting field 212 will be described. The business design parameter setting field 212 has an input field for allowing the user 2 to edit an improvement route plan calculated by the improvement route generator 15 as a time-series graph. The business design parameter setting field 212 enables the formulation of a final business improvement plan by determining the business design parameters for each period. The business design parameters to be displayed in the business design parameter setting field 212 are selected by the user 2 from the pull-down menus 210 and 211. In FIG. 7, an example in which two parameters are selected is illustrated, but other numbers may be displayed. FIG. 7 shows a case where the number of workers and the investment amount in the diagnostic support system are selected from the business design parameters.

[0059] The business design parameter setting field 212 displays a black mark 213 indicating the business state of the business design parameter and a width display 214 indicating the value range thereof on the time-series graph. Note that, in order from the left of the time-series graph, the current business state (X-axis = current state), the intermediate business state (X-axis = the first year to the fourth year), and the target business state (X-axis = the fifth year) are obtained. Even in the business design parameters, the business design parameter setting field 212 fixes the black mark 213 in each period as the white mark 213B after moving it to User 2. Then, the improvement path generator 15 recalculates the improvement path that passes through the white mark 213B and is within the allowable range indicated by the KPI / score field 207, and presents the recalculation result to User 2 by updating the screen of the business design parameter setting field 212. That is, when the improvement path evaluator 18 displays the statistical value for each unit period regarding the time-series values of the business design parameters that make up each business state on the improvement path and accepts an input to change the displayed time-series values of the business design parameters, it updates the improvement path based on the changed time-series values of the business design parameters and also updates the time-series values of the KPI parameters displayed from the HMI16 based on the updated improvement path.

[0060] The improvement path score field 215 displays the evaluation value calculated by the improvement path evaluator 18 for the improvement path selected as the business design parameter setting field 212. This enables User 2 to grasp the overall situation of the improvement path. The display content of the improvement path score field 215 is as follows. · "Path Comprehensive Score" indicating the comprehensive score of the improvement path (similar to the comprehensive score R calculated by the improvement path generator 15) · "Personnel Expenses" with personnel transfer, resignation, and recruitment expenses recorded at the time of personnel changes · "Total IT Investment Amount" which is the total amount of IT investment · "IT Investment Amount Variance" which is the variance of the IT investment amount · "Total Improvement Expenses" which is the total amount of investment expenses including personnel expenses, total IT investment amount, and other equipment investments · "Personnel Risk" calculated by adding up the scores set for each type of organizational operation risk due to resignation or transfer · "Path Stability" representing the sensitivity of the change in the comprehensive score to the change in the improvement path · "Customer Satisfaction" calculated from the average repair time and the number of failures during improvement execution along the improvement path In addition to the "IT Investment Amount Variance", the variance of personnel expenses may also be displayed. Also, regarding the "total improvement cost", it is easier to create a funding plan if the investment cost is leveled annually.

[0061] Also, since the indicators in these improvement path score columns 215 can be calculated on an annual basis, they can also be displayed inside the KPI / score column 207. This enables the formulation of a business improvement plan while confirming that no major business improvement risks occur across the entire improvement path.

[0062] Also, if there seems to be a problem with setting the target business state from the display contents of these evaluation screens 200, by pressing the target reset button 203, it may return to the target setting process (S12 or S13 in FIG. 4) of the improvement path generator 15 and be re-executed. On the other hand, if the user 2 is satisfied with the current improvement path displayed on the evaluation screen 200, the user presses the decision button 204. Thereby, the improvement path evaluator 18 determines the current improvement path and stores its business design parameters in the storage unit of the maintenance improvement support device 1, or displays or prints them from the HMI 16.

[0063] The maintenance improvement support device 1 of the present embodiment described above supports the business design of the improvement path from the current business state to the target business state for the maintenance operations that are the subject of formulating the maintenance business plan. The maintenance improvement support device 1 performs a risk assessment based on the KPI parameters for the intermediate business states on the improvement path and generates an appropriate improvement path plan within the allowable range of the KPI parameters. By presenting the generated improvement path and its evaluation results to the user 2, it supports the formulation of the improvement path. This enables the formulation of an appropriate business improvement plan that not only ultimately results in an optimal business design but also takes into account the business risks and investment scale during improvement execution.

[0064] Furthermore, the maintenance improvement support device 1 supports the formulation of a business improvement plan that realizes an appropriate improvement process by enabling the setting of intermediate business states of KPI parameters and business design parameters within the range that can reach the target business state via the screen in FIG. 8. As a result, business improvement becomes possible without causing interruption of maintenance operations or a decrease in asset operation rate due to forced improvement execution.

[0065] Through the above processing, the user can formulate an appropriate business improvement plan considering not only the quality of the final improvement result but also risk avoidance in the intermediate improvement process for the improvement path. For example, it is possible to support the design of an improvement path that enables continuous maintenance operations as in the following cases. (Case 1) In #3 of the constraint condition data 17 in FIG. 6, there is an item of "within 5 annual employees", and in the improvement path score column 215 in FIG. 8, there are items of "personnel expenses" and "personnel risk". Thus, the user can grasp an unreasonable improvement path that involves a large-scale change of personnel at one time from the display content of the evaluation screen 200. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a maintenance business design that makes organizational operation difficult and a maintenance business design that is impossible due to regulations or the convenience of employees.

[0066] (Case 2) In #4 of the constraint condition data 17 in FIG. 6, there is an item of "maximum education cost of 500 million yen / year". Thus, it is possible to prevent a hasty maintenance business design that does not consider the education time for assigning new roles and the decrease in employee performance during that time.

[0067] (Case 3) In #5 of the constraint condition data 17 in FIG. 6, there is an item of "maximum IT investment of 100 million yen / year", and in the improvement path score column 215 in FIG. 8, there are items of "personnel expenses", "total IT investment", and "IT investment amount dispersion". Thus, the user can grasp an unbalanced improvement path of human resources and physical resources in which only IoT is introduced on a large scale in advance without organizational change progressing. As a result, it is possible to prevent the situation where the cost reduction effect due to organizational change cannot be obtained while the introduction cost increases. In addition, due to obstacles in maintenance operations accompanying such organizational changes, the operation rate of assets may decrease, causing disadvantages to equipment users.

[0068] FIG. 10 is a screen diagram which is a modified example of the evaluation screen diagram of the improvement path described in FIG. 8. First, in the evaluation screen diagram of FIG. 8, the business design parameter setting column 212 for modifying business design parameters and the KPI / score column 207 for modifying KPI parameters were each provided in the form of a time series graph. By allowing the user to edit each mark within this time series graph format from the HMI 16, it was decided to update the business design parameters and KPI parameters used by the improvement path evaluator 18.

[0069] On the other hand, in the screen diagram of FIG. 10, similar to the graph shown in FIG. 3, taking two business design parameters of the horizontal axis = number of workers and the vertical axis = adequacy of the diagnostic support system as an example, it is a two-dimensional graph. And as shown below, each screen element shown in the business design parameter setting column 212 of FIG. 8 provides the same function as each screen element of FIG. 10, so that the same function can be provided in FIGS. 8 and 10. · The information indicating the time series of FIG. 8 (X-axis = first year to fifth year) is displayed as a position series (positions 401 to 406) in FIG. 10. The current state is at position 401, and the target state in the fifth year is at position 406, and the interval therebetween is represented by a position series (positions 402 to 405). · The width display 214 showing the value range of the business state of the business design parameters in FIG. 8 is displayed as a range 410 in FIG. 10. · The white mark 213B in the third year selected as the operation target in FIG. 8 is represented in FIG. 10 as position 404 (an unfilled circle), in a different display form from the other positions 402, 403, 405 (filled circles).

[0070] In addition, various input columns (pull-down menu 201, check box 202, target reset button 203, decision button 204, route plan re-creation button 205) at the upper part of the screen in FIG. 8 and the improvement path score column 215 are not shown in FIG. 10, but are also displayed from the HMI 16 in FIG. 10 in the same manner as in FIG. 8. Also, a graph of the KPI parameters corresponding to the KPI / Score column 207 in FIG. 8 is also displayed from the HMI 16 in the same manner as the screen diagram in FIG. 10. In FIG. 10, a two-dimensional graph dealing with two parameters is illustrated. However, when there are three or more parameters, the screen display can be arbitrarily deformed, such as displaying a two-dimensional graph showing only two of those parameters.

[0071] Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and it goes without saying that various other application examples and modification examples can be taken as long as the gist of the present invention described in the claims is not deviated from. For example, the above-described embodiments have described the configuration of the preservation improvement support device 1 in detail and specifically in order to explain the present invention in an easy-to-understand manner, and are not necessarily limited to those having all the components described. Also, a part of the configuration of one embodiment can be replaced with a component of another embodiment. Also, a component of another embodiment can be added to the configuration of one embodiment. Also, for a part of the configuration of each embodiment, it is also possible to add, replace, or delete other components.

[0072] Also, each of the above configurations, functions, processing units, etc. may be realized in hardware by designing a part or all of them, for example, by using an integrated circuit. As the hardware, a processor device in a broad sense such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) may be used. Also, each component of the preservation improvement support device 1 according to the above-described embodiment may be mounted on any hardware as long as the respective hardware can transmit and receive information to and from each other via a network. Also, the processing executed by a certain processing unit may be realized by one hardware or may be realized by distributed processing by a plurality of hardwares.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0073] 1 Preservation improvement support device (Business improvement support device) 2 User 11 Business design data 12 Setting generator 13 Simulator 14a Maintenance operation log 14b Maintenance KPI data 15 Improvement path generator 16 HMI (display controller) 17 Constraint condition data 18 Improvement path evaluator

Claims

1. A business improvement support device, comprising: an improvement path generator that generates an improvement path leading from a current business state to a target business state via an intermediate business state as a business state constituted by a combination of a plurality of business design parameters; and a display controller that displays the improvement path generated by the improvement path generator. The improvement path generator: When receiving an input of a target KPI defined by one or more KPI parameters which are evaluation indicators of a business state, and generating the improvement path leading to the target business state included in the set of the target business states for optimizing the target KPI, refers to the simulation results for each business state, and generates the improvement path that satisfies the allowable range shown in the constraint condition data in each business state from the current business state to the target business state. Business improvement support device.

2. The business improvement support device further includes an improvement path evaluator. The improvement path evaluator is characterized in that, as an evaluation value for each business state on the improvement path, at least one of the time series value and the cumulative value of the KPI parameter is displayed from the display controller. The business improvement support device according to Claim 1.

3. The display controller is characterized in that a plurality of the KPI parameters are displayed as a list, and a set of the KPI parameters selected from the list is received as an input of the target KPI. The business improvement support device according to Claim 2.

4. The display controller is characterized in that a set of the target business states for optimizing the target KPI is displayed, and the improvement path generator is caused to generate the improvement path leading to the target business state selected from the set. The business improvement support device according to Claim 2.

5. When the display controller receives an instruction to change one of the business design parameters in the combination of the business design parameters constituting the target business state, the remaining business design parameters are corrected so that the target business state constituted by the changed business design parameter and the remaining business design parameters in the combination falls within the set of the target business states. The business improvement support device according to Claim 2.

6. The improvement path evaluator is characterized in that statistical values for each unit period are displayed for the time series value of the KPI parameter displayed from the display controller. The business improvement support device according to Claim 2.

7. The improvement path evaluator is characterized in that, for the time-series values of the KPI parameters to be displayed by the display controller, it also displays a width display indicating the allowable range thereof The business improvement support device according to claim 6.

8. When the improvement path evaluator receives an input to change the time-series values of the displayed KPI parameters, it updates the allowable range based on the changed time-series values, and causes the improvement path generator to generate the improvement path that satisfies the updated allowable range. The business improvement support device according to claim 6.

9. For the time-series values of the business design parameters that constitute each business state on the improvement path, the improvement path evaluator displays statistical values for each unit period from the display controller, and when it receives an input to change the displayed time-series values of the business design parameters, it updates the improvement path based on the changed time-series values of the business design parameters, and also updates the time-series values of the KPI parameters to be displayed by the display controller based on the updated improvement path. The business improvement support device according to claim 6.

10. The business improvement support device includes an improvement path generator that generates an improvement path from the current business state through an intermediate business state to a target business state as a business state constituted by a combination of a plurality of business design parameters, and a display controller that displays the improvement path generated by the improvement path generator. The improvement path generator When receiving an input of a target KPI defined by one or more KPI parameters that are evaluation indicators of the business state and generating the improvement path to the target business state included in the set of target business states that optimize the target KPI, it refers to the simulation results for each business state, and generates the improvement path that satisfies the allowable range shown in the constraint condition data in each business state from the current business state to the target business state. Business improvement support method.

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