Device, method and program for maintaining facility

Abstract

To provide a device, a method and a program for maintaining a facility.SOLUTION: A device 100 includes: a database connection unit 140 connected to a database 130 storing a plurality of groups including abnormality information for an abnormality occurring in a facility and work results in coping with the abnormality; a report acquisition unit 120 that acquires a report of the abnormality occurring in the facility; a work plan acquisition unit 165 that acquires a work plan in coping with the abnormality occurring in the facility; a similarity calculation unit 155 that calculates similarity between the abnormality information in the report and the abnormality information included in each of the plurality of groups; a selection unit 160 that selects at least one group from among the plurality of groups on the basis of the similarity calculated by the similarity calculation unit; a difference detection unit 174 that detects a difference between the work plan and the work result of at least one group; and a display processing unit 180 that performs display processing of indicating the difference.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus, a method, and a program for maintaining equipment. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 states that "the present invention relates to a maintenance work support system that supports maintenance work for food manufacturing plants, and in particular to a maintenance work support system that can present appropriate recommended maintenance times to plant users when performing maintenance on constituent equipment of the plant" (paragraph 0001), and that it is equipped with "an experimental result data confirmation means that, when there is a discrepancy between the operable period of constituent equipment of the food manufacturing plant and the maintenance record, determines whether the difference is within an acceptable range by referring to the experimental result database, and a maintenance plan corrective action planning means that, when the difference exceeds the acceptable range as a result of the judgment made by the experimental result data confirmation means, plans corrective actions for the maintenance plan" (claim 3). [Prior art document] [Patent documents] [Patent Document 1] JP 2010-128607 A Summary of the Invention

[0003] In a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus comprising: a database connection unit connected to a database that stores a plurality of sets each containing anomaly information about an anomaly that has occurred in equipment and work results to deal with the anomaly; a report acquisition unit that acquires a report of an anomaly that has occurred in the equipment; a work plan acquisition unit that acquires a work plan to deal with the anomaly that has occurred in the equipment; a similarity calculation unit that calculates the similarity between the anomaly information in the report and the anomaly information contained in each of the plurality of sets; a selection unit that selects at least one set from the plurality of sets based on the similarity calculated by the similarity calculation unit; a difference detection unit that detects a difference between the work plan and the work results of at least one set; and a display processing unit that performs display processing to display the difference.

[0004] In the above device, the selection unit may select, from among the plurality of pairs, a pair including anomaly information with a higher degree of similarity, with higher priority.

[0005] Any of the above devices may include a related information acquisition unit that acquires related information related to a difference between the work plan and at least one set of work results, and the display processing unit may have a related information display processing unit that performs processing to display the related information on the display device.

[0006] In any of the above devices, the difference detection unit may detect a difference between the work plan and at least one set of work performance based on a difference for each item including at least one of the number of workers, work time, or tools used for the work, between the work plan and at least one set of work performance.

[0007] In any of the above devices, the display processing unit may have a risk display processing unit that performs processing to display on the display device the incident risk that may arise due to the difference in each item between the work plan and at least one set of work performance, for items where the difference in that item exceeds a predetermined threshold.

[0008] Any of the above devices may include a determination unit that determines an acceptable range for the work plan using at least one set selected by the selection unit, and a determination unit that determines whether the work plan is within the acceptable range.

[0009] Any of the above devices may include an error output unit that outputs an error in response to a mismatch between each item included in the work plan and each item included in at least one set of work results.

[0010] In any of the above devices, the display processing unit may have a difference display processing unit that performs processing to highlight items for which the difference for each item between the work plan and at least one set of work performance exceeds a predetermined threshold in comparison with other items and display them on the display device.

[0011] Any of the above devices may further include an adding unit that adds a set of anomaly information about an anomaly that has occurred in the equipment and a work plan used to deal with the anomaly to the database as a set of anomaly information and work performance.

[0012] A second aspect of the present invention provides a method including: a computer obtaining a report of an abnormality that has occurred in equipment; a computer obtaining a work plan to deal with the abnormality that has occurred in the equipment; a computer accessing a database that stores a plurality of sets, each of which includes abnormality information about the abnormality that has occurred in the equipment and work performance to deal with the abnormality; a computer calculating a similarity between the abnormality information in the report and the abnormality information included in each of the plurality of sets; a computer selecting at least one set from the plurality of sets based on the calculated similarity; a computer detecting a difference between the work plan and the work performance of the at least one set; and a display process that displays the difference.

[0013] In a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program that is executed by a computer and causes the computer to function as a database connection unit that is connected to a database that stores a plurality of sets, each of which includes anomaly information about an anomaly that has occurred in equipment and work performance to address the anomaly; a report acquisition unit that acquires a report of an anomaly that has occurred in equipment; a work plan acquisition unit that acquires a work plan to address the anomaly that has occurred in equipment; a similarity calculation unit that calculates the similarity between the anomaly information in the report and the anomaly information included in each of the plurality of sets; a selection unit that selects at least one set from the plurality of sets based on the similarity calculated by the similarity calculation unit; a difference detection unit that detects a difference between the work plan and the work performance of at least one set; and a display processing unit that performs display processing to display the difference.

[0014] The above summary of the invention does not list all of the features of the present invention, and subcombinations of these features may also be inventions. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] The configuration of the device 100 according to this embodiment is shown together with equipment 10 and the like. [Figure 2] An example of the data structure of DB 130 is shown below. [Figure 3A] 1 shows an operation flow of the device 100 according to this embodiment. [Figure 3B] 10 shows a continuation of the operation flow of the device 100 according to this embodiment. [Figure 4] 1 shows a first display example by the device 100 according to the present embodiment. [Figure 5] 10 shows a second display example by the device 100 according to the present embodiment. [Figure 6] 22 illustrates an example computer 2200 in which aspects of the present invention may be embodied, in whole or in part. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] The present invention will be described below through embodiments of the invention, but the following embodiments do not limit the scope of the invention according to the claims. Furthermore, not all of the combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the solution of the invention.

[0017] FIG. 1 shows the configuration of an apparatus 100 according to this embodiment, together with equipment 10 and the like. The equipment 10 is installed in a plant or the like. Such a plant may be, for example, an industrial plant for chemicals or metals, a plant that manages and controls wellheads or surrounding areas of gas or oil fields, a plant that manages and controls hydroelectric, thermal, or nuclear power generation, a plant that manages and controls energy generation such as solar or wind power, or a plant that manages and controls water supply and sewage systems or dams. The equipment 10 may also be installed in buildings, various factories, transportation facilities, or the like. Such equipment 10 may include one or more process devices, one or more power generation devices, and one or more other devices, such as one or more equipment devices 20-1 to 20-N (also referred to as "equipment devices 20").

[0018] Each of the one or more facility devices 20 may include a field device. The field device may be, for example, a sensor device such as a pressure gauge, flow meter, or temperature sensor; a valve device such as a flow control valve or an on-off valve; an actuator device such as a fan or motor; an imaging device such as a camera or video camera that captures the status of a plant or an object of the facility; an audio device such as a microphone or speaker that collects abnormal sounds from the plant or facility or emits alarm sounds; a position detection device that outputs position information of devices in the facility 10; or other devices. Each of the one or more facility devices 20 may be provided with one or more sensors that function as sensor devices, imaging devices, audio devices, or the like that monitor the status of the facility devices.

[0019] One or more inspectors 30 inspect each piece of equipment 20 in the facility 10. When an abnormality occurs in the facility 10, the inspector 30 provides a report of the abnormality that has occurred in the facility 10 to the device 100.

[0020] The manager 35 manages the maintenance of the equipment 10. When an abnormality occurs in the equipment 10, the manager 35 receives a report of the abnormality. The manager 35 formulates a work plan to deal with the abnormality that has occurred in the equipment 10 and provides it to the device 100.

[0021] In response to receiving the anomaly report and the work plan, the device 100 evaluates the work plan using the work history of work previously performed on similar anomalies. The device 100 may be implemented by a computer such as a personal computer (PC), tablet computer, smartphone, workstation, server computer, or general-purpose computer, or may be implemented by a computer system in which multiple computers are connected. Such a computer system is also considered a computer in the broad sense. The device 100 may be a dedicated computer designed for monitoring the facility 10, or may be dedicated hardware implemented using dedicated circuits.

[0022] The display device 105 is connected to the device 100 by wire or wirelessly. The display device 105 displays the evaluation results of the work plan output by the device 100 to the manager 35. The display device 105 may be a computer used by the manager 35, such as a PC (personal computer). Alternatively, the display device 110 may be a computer such as a tablet computer or smartphone that the manager 35 can carry with him / her. The device 100 acquires a work plan that has been appropriately modified by the manager 35 in accordance with the evaluation results displayed on the display device 105.

[0023] The display device 110 is connected to the device 100 by wire or wirelessly. The display device 110 displays the work plan output by the device 100. The display device 110 may be a computer used by the worker 40, such as a PC (personal computer). Alternatively, the display device 110 may be a computer such as a tablet computer or smartphone that the worker 40 can carry with him or her.

[0024] One or more workers 40 prepare for maintenance work on the equipment 10 (maintenance preparation work) and maintain the equipment 10 (maintenance work) in accordance with the work plan displayed on the display device 110. In this way, the workers 40 solve the abnormality reported by the inspector 30.

[0025] The device 100 according to this embodiment includes a report acquisition unit 120, a database 130 (DB130), a DB connection unit 140, a work performance output unit 150, a work plan acquisition unit 165, a work plan evaluation unit 170, a display processing unit 180, a work plan display processing unit 190, and an adding unit 195. The report acquisition unit 120 acquires a report of an abnormality that has occurred in the equipment 10. The report acquisition unit 120 according to this embodiment receives the report input to a computer such as a PC, tablet computer, or smartphone used by the inspector 30 via wired or wireless communication. The report acquisition unit 120 may receive a notification of an abnormality detected by a sensor provided in one or more facility devices 20 from a monitoring device or the like that monitors the equipment 10 as the abnormality report.

[0026] DB 130 is an external storage device of apparatus 100, such as a semiconductor memory or a hard disk. Alternatively, DB 130 may be a cloud storage or a NAS (Network Attached Storage) that is provided outside apparatus 100 and connected to apparatus 100 via a wired or wireless network. DB 130 stores a plurality of pairs each including anomaly information about an anomaly that has occurred in equipment 10 and work records to deal with the anomaly. DB 130 may store pairs of anomaly information and work records for anomalies that have occurred in the past. Furthermore, in addition to or instead of pairs of anomaly information and work records, DB 130 may store pairs of anomaly information and work records for various anomalies that are predefined as being capable of occurring in equipment 10, and work plans to be implemented in the event of the anomaly occurring, for each type of anomaly that is predefined as being capable of occurring in equipment 10.

[0027] The DB connection unit 140 is connected to the DB 130. The DB connection unit 140 accesses the DB 130 in response to a request from each component in the device 100.

[0028] The work record output unit 150 is connected to the report acquisition unit 120 and the DB connection unit 140. The work record output unit 150 outputs the work record for dealing with an abnormality indicated as anomaly information in the report acquired by the report acquisition unit 120. In this embodiment, the work record output unit 150 searches for work records for an abnormality that is the same as or similar to the abnormality indicated in the report from the work records for each abnormality stored in DB 130, and outputs the work records.

[0029] The work result output unit 150 has a similarity calculation unit 155 and a selection unit 160. The similarity calculation unit 155 accesses the DB 130 via the DB connection unit 140 and calculates the similarity between the anomaly information in the report acquired by the report acquisition unit 120 and the anomaly information included in each of the multiple sets stored in the DB 130. The selection unit 160 selects one or more sets from the multiple sets stored in the DB 130 based on the similarity calculated by the similarity calculation unit 155.

[0030] Here, the selection unit 160 may preferentially select a set including anomaly information with a higher degree of similarity calculated by the similarity calculation unit 155 from among the anomaly information included in each of the multiple sets stored in the DB 130, as a set including a work record that dealt with the anomaly indicated in the report. This allows the selection unit 160 to select at least one work record that dealt with an anomaly similar to the current anomaly.

[0031] The work history output unit 150 may include a determination unit 163. The determination unit 163 determines an allowable range for the work plan, such as the number of workers required to deal with the current abnormality, using at least one set selected by the selection unit 160. Note that if it is not necessary to confirm that the work plan is within the allowable range, the work history output unit 150 does not need to include the determination unit 163.

[0032] The work plan acquisition unit 165 acquires a work plan to deal with the current abnormality that has occurred in the equipment 10 and whose report has been acquired by the report acquisition unit 120. The work plan acquisition unit 165 according to this embodiment receives, via wired or wireless communication, the report that has been input into a computer such as a PC, tablet computer, or smartphone by the manager 35 who has received the abnormality report.

[0033] The work plan evaluation unit 170 is connected to the work result output unit 150 and the work plan acquisition unit 165. The work plan evaluation unit 170 evaluates the current work plan acquired by the work plan acquisition unit 165, using at least one work result selected by the work result output unit 150. The work plan evaluation unit 170 has an error output unit 172, a difference detection unit 174, a determination unit 176, and a related information acquisition unit 178.

[0034] The error output unit 172 outputs an error in response to a mismatch between each item included in the work plan and each item included in at least one set of work performance selected by the selection unit 160. In this way, when there is a discrepancy not only in the content of an item but also in the item itself between the work plan and the work performance, the error output unit 172 can notify the manager 35 of this and urge them to update the data format in DB 130, etc.

[0035] The difference detection section 174 detects the difference between the work plan and at least one set of work performance selected by the selection section 160. The difference detection section 174 may detect the difference for each of one or more items included in the work plan and the work performance.

[0036] The determination unit 176 determines whether or not the work plan is within the allowable range, using the allowable range determined by the determination unit 163. Note that if it is not necessary to confirm that the work plan is within the allowable range, the work plan evaluation unit 170 does not need to include the determination unit 176.

[0037] The related information acquisition unit 178 acquires related information relating to the difference between the work plan and at least one selected set of work performance. The related information may be an explanation, advice, or caution about an item with a difference. Note that if presentation of the related information is not necessary, the work plan evaluation unit 170 does not need to include the related information acquisition unit 178.

[0038] The display processing unit 180 is connected to the work plan evaluation unit 170. The display processing unit 180 performs display processing to display the evaluation results of the work plan, such as the difference between the work plan and the selected work performance, on the display device 105. Here, performing processing to display a screen is not limited to actually displaying a screen on the display device of the device 100 itself, but also includes generating display data for displaying a screen on a remote display device such as the display device 105. The display processing unit 180 has a difference display processing unit 182, a related information display processing unit 184, and a risk display processing unit 186.

[0039] The difference display processing unit 182 performs display processing to display the differences detected by the difference detection unit 174 on the display device 105. The related information display processing unit 184 performs processing to display the related information acquired by the related information acquisition unit 178 on the display device 105. Note that if presentation of the related information is not necessary, the display processing unit 180 does not need to include the related information display processing unit 184.

[0040] The risk display processing unit 186 performs processing to display on the display device 105 an incident risk that may occur due to the difference in an item between the work plan and at least one set of work performance, for which the difference for that item exceeds a predetermined threshold. In this way, the risk display processing unit 186 can warn the manager 35 of the possibility of a problem occurring due to an item that is significantly different between the work plan and the work performance. Note that if it is not necessary to present an incident risk, the display processing unit 180 does not need to have the risk display processing unit 186.

[0041] The display processing unit 180 provides the manager 35 with the difference between the work plan and the work results, related information related to the difference, and the incident risk associated with the difference, thereby allowing the manager 35 to revise the work plan as necessary.

[0042] The work plan display processing unit 190 is connected to the work plan acquisition unit 165. The work plan display processing unit 190 receives from the work plan acquisition unit 165 a work plan that has been created by the manager 35, appropriately modified, and confirmed. The work plan display processing unit 190 performs display processing to display the received work plan on the display device 110. In response to this, the worker 40 can perform maintenance work or the like to deal with the current abnormality that has occurred in the equipment 10.

[0043] The adding unit 195 is connected to the work plan acquiring unit 165. The adding unit 195 adds a set of anomaly information about the current anomaly that has occurred in the equipment 10 and the work plan used to deal with the anomaly to the DB 130 via the DB connecting unit 140 as a set of anomaly information and work performance. As a result, the adding unit 195 registers the current work performance in the DB 130, making it possible to use it for the next and subsequent anomalies.

[0044] 2 shows an example of the data structure of the DB 130. The DB 130 according to this embodiment includes, for each of a plurality of sets (records), information on an abnormal state ID, registration date and time, abnormality information, and work performance.

[0045] The abnormal condition ID is abnormality identification information that identifies the abnormality indicated by the abnormality information in the record. Each time the report acquisition unit 120 receives a report of an abnormality that has occurred in the equipment 10, it assigns an abnormal condition ID to the reported abnormality. The adding unit 195 associates the abnormality information and work performance with the abnormality condition ID assigned to the abnormality indicated by the abnormality information and adds them to the DB 130. The registration date and time indicates the date and time when the record was registered in the DB 130.

[0046] The anomaly information indicates details of the anomaly indicated in the report. The anomaly information includes equipment information that identifies the equipment 20 in which the anomaly has occurred and the details of the anomaly. The equipment information includes information on one or more items related to the equipment 20 in which the anomaly has occurred, such as at least one of the product name, product identification information, type (e.g., pump, reactor, power supply), specifications, installation location, and installation status.

[0047] The abnormality details indicate the details of the abnormality that has occurred in the facility device 20 indicated in the device information. The abnormality details may include information indicating whether or not each abnormality, such as at least one of a liquid leak, abnormal vibration, abnormal noise, or fire, has occurred (e.g., check by the inspector 30). The abnormality details may also include, for example, information specifying the type of abnormality or a specialized department or team that should handle the abnormality. The abnormality details may also include information indicating the priority of measures to be taken against the abnormality. The abnormality details may also include a detailed text description of the abnormality entered by the inspector 30.

[0048] The work performance is information (also referred to as "work record") about the work performance to deal with the abnormality indicated in the abnormality information. DB 130 may store the work performance including the maintenance work and the maintenance preparation work performed before the maintenance work for each of the plurality of pairs.

[0049] The information related to the maintenance preparation work may include information indicating the necessity of each preparation item, such as at least one of whether various tools are required, whether safety equipment is required, whether scaffolding is required, or whether a notification is required. The maintenance preparation work information may also include numerical information related to the maintenance preparation work, such as at least one of the number of workers required for the maintenance preparation work, work time, or cost.

[0050] The information related to maintenance work may include, for example, information indicating the necessity of each work item, such as the necessity of various maintenance work processes (such as line shutdown, repair, replacement, cleaning, and adjustment). The maintenance work information may also include numerical information related to the maintenance work, such as at least one of the number of workers required for the maintenance work, the required skills of the workers, work time, and cost.

[0051] 3A and 3B show the operation flow of the device 100 according to this embodiment. Every time the device 100 receives a report of an abnormality, it executes the operation flow shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B. In S300 (step 300), the report acquisition unit 120 acquires a report of an abnormality that has occurred in the equipment 10. In S305, the work plan acquisition unit 165 acquires a work plan created by the manager 35 to deal with the current abnormality.

[0052] In S310, the similarity calculation unit 155 calculates the similarity between the anomaly information in the report acquired by the report acquisition unit 120 and the anomaly information included in each of the multiple sets stored in the DB 130. In this embodiment, when the value of each item of the anomaly information (device information and anomaly details) in the report matches (or is included in) the value of the corresponding item in the anomaly information to be compared, the similarity calculation unit 155 assigns a higher similarity score than when there is no match. Then, the similarity calculation unit 155 calculates the sum of the similarity scores for each item, or otherwise combines them to determine the similarity.

[0053] When the anomaly information includes anomaly content described in text, the similarity calculation unit 155 may calculate the similarity of the anomaly information between the anomaly information being reported and the anomaly information included in each of the multiple sets based on the similarity of the device information and the similarity of the text recorded as the anomaly content. For example, for an item entered as text, such as a detailed description of the anomaly, the similarity calculation unit 155 may convert the text into a feature vector using whether each of multiple words (e.g., predetermined registered words) appears in the text or the frequency of each of the multiple words, and calculate the similarity between the feature vectors (e.g., the inner product of unit vectors). Here, the similarity calculation unit 155 may calculate the similarity between the text included in the anomaly information being reported and the text included in the anomaly information being compared using the feature vector including the TF-IDF for each of the multiple words. The similarity calculation unit 155 may calculate the similarity between the anomaly information being reported and the anomaly information stored in the DB 130 by combining the similarity of the non-text portion of the anomaly information and the similarity of the text portion by, for example, adding or calculating the sum of squares.

[0054] In S315, the selection unit 160 selects at least one work record that addressed the anomaly indicated in the report, based on the similarity calculated by the similarity calculation unit 155. The selection unit 160 according to this embodiment preferentially selects work records associated with anomaly information having a higher similarity to the anomaly information in the report. The selection unit 160 may select k work records associated with a predetermined k number of anomaly information (k is an integer of 1 or 2 or more) selected in descending order of similarity calculated by the similarity calculation unit 155 from each set stored in the DB 130 (k is an integer of 1 or 2 or more) (k-nearest neighbor method).

[0055] Here, "selecting with higher priority" means that, when other conditions are the same, the required number of work records are selected in descending order of priority, but when other conditions are different, it is possible that a work record with a lower priority is selected instead of a work record with a higher priority. For example, when probability is used in the selection of work records, the selection unit 160 may select a work record with a higher probability the higher the similarity calculated by the similarity calculation unit 155.

[0056] In S320, the determination unit 163 determines the tolerance range for the work plan using at least one set selected by the selection unit 160. For example, with respect to an item indicating the necessity of a specific preparation or process in maintenance preparation work or maintenance work, if the item is recorded as necessary (or not necessary) in work performance that exceeds a predetermined standard rate (e.g., 90%) of the work performance selected by the selection unit 160, the determination unit 163 may determine that only "necessary" (or not necessary) is the tolerance range for the item.

[0057] Furthermore, for an item that indicates a numerical value, such as the number of workers, the determination unit 163 may determine the allowable range of the item based on the distribution of values ​​of the item in at least one work record selected by the selection unit 160. For example, the determination unit 163 may determine the range from the minimum value to the maximum value of the value of the item in at least one work record as the allowable range. Furthermore, the determination unit 163 may determine, for example, a 3-sigma range as the allowable range (allowable error margin) using the average value and variance of the value of the item in at least one work record. The determination unit 163 may determine the allowable range for an item that is expressed by a numerical value using any other predetermined method.

[0058] In S325, the error output unit 172 determines whether there is a mismatch between each item included in the work plan and each item included in at least one set of work results selected by the selection unit 160. For example, the error output unit 172 may determine that there is a mismatch between the items when the work results in DB 130 include an item for "number of workers" but the work plan acquired by the work plan acquisition unit 165 does not include an item for "number of workers" (for example, the number of workers is not entered). Furthermore, for example, the error output unit 172 may determine that there is a mismatch between the items if the work plan acquired by the work plan acquisition unit 165 includes an item indicating that a certain tool needs to be prepared, but the work results in DB 130 do not include an item indicating whether the tool is necessary.

[0059] If it is determined that there is a mismatch between the items ("Y" in S325), in S330, the error output unit 172 outputs an error indicating that there is a mismatch between the items of the work plan and the work results. Then, the device 100 proceeds to S305 to acquire a work plan whose items match the work results. Here, the device 100 may perform processing to add a new item to each work result in the DB 130 in response to an instruction from the administrator 35 or the like. If there is no mismatch between the items ("N" in S325), the device 100 proceeds to S335 in FIG. 3B.

[0060] In S335, the difference detection unit 174 detects a difference between the work plan and at least one set of work performance selected by the selection unit 160. The difference detection unit 174 may detect a difference between the work plan and at least one set of work performance based on a difference between the work plan and at least one set of work performance for each item including at least one of the number of workers, work time, or tools used for the work.

[0061] For items expressed numerically, such as the number of workers or working hours, the difference detection unit 174 may detect the difference by subtracting the value of that item in the work plan from the value of that item in the work results. When two or more work results are selected, the difference detection unit 174 may calculate the minimum and maximum differences by subtracting the value of that item in the work plan from the minimum and maximum values ​​of that item in the two or more work results. Alternatively, the difference detection unit 174 may calculate the difference by subtracting the value of that item in the work plan from the average value of that item in the two or more work results.

[0062] For items represented by flags that take values ​​such as 1 (necessary) or 0 (not required), such as whether a process is required, when the value of that item in the work plan is "necessary" and the value of that item in the work results is "not required," the difference detection unit 174 may detect, as a difference, "-process," or the like, indicating that the process does not exist in the work results.Furthermore, when the value of that item in the work plan is "not required" and the value of that item in the work results is "necessary," the difference detection unit 174 may detect, as a difference, "+process," or the like, indicating that the process exists in the work results.

[0063] When two or more work records are selected, if the value of that item in the work plan is "required" and the value of that item in any of the two or more work records is "unnecessary," the difference detection unit 174 may detect, as a difference, "-process" or the like indicating that the work record does not contain that process. Also, if the value of that item in the work plan is "unnecessary" and the value of that item in any of the work records is "required," the difference detection unit 174 may detect, as a difference, "+process" or the like indicating that the work record contains that process.

[0064] Alternatively, the difference detection unit 174 may detect the difference between the value of the item in the work plan and the representative value of the item in the work results by setting the representative value of the item in the work results to "required" if the number of work results for which the value of the item is "required" is greater than the number of work results for which the value is "not required," and setting the representative value of the item in the work results to "not required" if the number of work results for which the value of the item is "not required" is greater than the number of work results for which the value is "required."

[0065] Alternatively, the difference detection unit 174 may detect the difference by subtracting the value of an item in the work results from the value of the item in the work plan. Alternatively, the difference detection unit 174 may detect the difference by identifying items whose values ​​differ between the work plan and the work results, without calculating the difference between the items in the work plan and the work results.

[0066] In S340, the determination unit 176 determines whether the work plan is within the allowable range using the allowable range determined in S320. In S345, the related information acquisition unit 178 acquires related information related to the difference between the work plan and at least one selected set of work results. The related information acquisition unit 178 may access a related information database that stores related information such as explanations, advice, or precautions related to each item of the work plan and work results, and acquires from the database the related information associated with the item where there is a difference between the work plan and work results. The related information acquisition unit 178 may also acquire more detailed information about the work results, such as photos taken during work, associated with the selected work results, as related information from DB 130 or another database.

[0067] In S350, the difference display processing unit 182 in the display processing unit 180 performs display processing to display the differences detected by the difference detection unit 174 on the display device 105. Here, the difference display processing unit 182 may perform processing to highlight items whose differences for each item between the work plan and at least one set of work results exceed a predetermined threshold compared to other items and display them on the display device 105. Such highlighting may include displaying the highlighted items in bold or italic, changing the color (e.g., in red), making the text larger, or adding an underline or frame. Furthermore, the difference display processing unit 182 may use the determination result in S340 to distinguish whether the differences for each item are within an acceptable range, for example, by highlighting items that are outside the acceptable range. The related information display processing unit 184 in the display processing unit 180 performs processing to display the related information acquired by the related information acquisition unit 178 on the display device 105.

[0068] The risk display processing unit 186 in the display processing unit 180 performs processing to display on the display device 105, for items where the difference between the work plan and at least one set of work results for each item exceeds a predetermined threshold, the incident risk that may occur due to the difference in the item. Here, the threshold (also referred to as the "first threshold") used to determine whether to display the incident risk and the threshold (also referred to as the "second threshold") used to determine whether to highlight the difference in the item may be different for each item or may be the same. The first threshold is greater than the second threshold for the same item. That is, when the difference in an item becomes large enough to exceed the second threshold, the display processing unit 180 highlights the item to alert the manager 35. When the difference in an item becomes even larger and exceeds the first threshold, the display processing unit 180 displays the incident risk that may occur due to the difference in the item, thereby explaining the specific risk to the manager 35.

[0069] The risk display processing unit 186 may obtain an explanation of the incident risk corresponding to an item whose difference exceeds a first threshold value by accessing a risk database that stores an explanation of the incident risk when the difference between each item of the work plan and work performance exceeds a first threshold value.

[0070] The manager 35 takes into consideration the difference between the work plan and work performance displayed on the display device 105, related information related to the difference, and the incident risk associated with the difference, and instructs the work plan acquisition unit 165 to revise the work plan as necessary. In S360, the work plan acquisition unit 165 determines whether or not an instruction to revise the work plan has been input, and if an instruction to revise the work plan has been input, proceeds to S305 and acquires the revised work plan.

[0071] If the work plan is finalized without inputting an instruction to modify the work plan ("N" in S360), the work plan display processing unit 190 performs display processing in S370 to display the work plan on the display device 110, in order to instruct the worker 40 to start work in accordance with the work plan. In response to this, the worker 40 can perform the maintenance preparation work and maintenance work specified in the work plan.

[0072] In S375, the adding unit 195 adds a set of anomaly information about the current anomaly that has occurred in the equipment 10 and the work plan used to deal with the anomaly as a set of anomaly information and work performance to the DB 130 via the DB connecting unit 140. The adding unit 195 may add the confirmed work plan to the DB 130. If the work plan is revised while the worker 40 is working, the adding unit 195 may receive the revised work plan from the work plan acquiring unit 165 and add it to the DB 130.

[0073] The device 100 described above can detect differences between a work plan formulated in response to a report of an abnormality in the equipment 10 and past work results for dealing with the same or similar abnormality, and present the differences to the manager 35. Therefore, the device 100 can prompt the manager 35 to improve or review the work plan when there is an error in the work plan or when the work plan can be improved. This allows the device 100 to recover the equipment 10 from an abnormal state more quickly and efficiently, thereby improving the productivity of the equipment 10.

[0074] Furthermore, according to the device 100, when the difference between the work plan and the work results for an item satisfies a predetermined condition, at least one of related information or incident risk is presented to the manager 35. For items where there is a large difference between the work plan and the work results, the device 100 displays related information to encourage the manager 35 to consider it, and for items where there is a particularly large difference between the work plan and the work results and an incident risk may occur, the device 100 can display an explanation of the incident risk to request a review by the manager 35. In this way, the device 100 can guide the manager 35 to create an appropriate work plan so that problems do not occur in the facility 10.

[0075] The device 100 may be used as a maintenance management / maintenance activity proposal system integrated with a CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management System). The CMMS may have functions such as a report acquisition unit 120, a work plan acquisition unit 165, and a work plan display processing unit 190. In this case, the CMMS acquires a report of an abnormality that has occurred in the equipment 10 and provides it to the manager 35, and acquires a work plan to deal with the abnormality from the manager 35. The device 100 receives the abnormality report and the work plan from the CMMS, selects work performance, and evaluates the work plan.

[0076] If there is a difference between the work plan and the work results, the related information acquisition unit 178 may acquire related information stored in the CMMS. Furthermore, the device 100 may acquire and re-evaluate a revised work plan input into the CMMS by the manager 35 in response to outputting the evaluation result of the work plan. The CMMS provides the confirmed work plan to the worker 40, causing the worker 40 to perform work in accordance with the work plan. In this way, the device 100 operates in cooperation with the CMMS to perform maintenance management and improve the work plan to deal with any newly occurring abnormalities.

[0077] 4 shows a first example of a display by the device 100 according to this embodiment. The display processing unit 180 in the device 100 may perform display processing to display a display screen 400 on the entire screen or in a window of the display device 105 in response to a reported abnormality. The display screen 400 has an abnormality display field 410 and a work plan input field 420.

[0078] 3A, the display processing unit 180 performs a display process to display an abnormality included in the report acquired by the report acquisition unit 120 in an abnormality display field 410 in order to prompt the manager 35 to input a work plan. The abnormality display field 410 includes displays of the date the abnormality occurred, the abnormal state ID, and the abnormality information (device information and abnormality content).

[0079] The display processing unit 180 also performs display processing to display a work plan input field 420 for inputting a work plan. The work plan input field 420 accepts input of a work plan, including plans for maintenance preparation work and maintenance work, from the manager 35. In the example shown in the figure, the work plan input field 420 contains a work plan indicating that, for maintenance preparation work, tasks 1a and 1c are required, that the number of workers is N1, and that the work time is T1. The work plan input field 420 also contains a work plan indicating that, for maintenance work, tasks 2a, 2b, and 2d are required, that the number of workers is N2, and that the work time is T2. In response to this, the work plan acquisition unit 165 acquires the work plan entered in the work plan input field 420.

[0080] When the work plan acquisition unit 165 detects that the "Evaluate" button on the work plan input screen 400 has been pressed, the device 100 proceeds to S310 in Fig. 3A, evaluates the work plan (S310 to S345 in Fig. 3A), and displays the evaluation results (S350 in Fig. 3A). Also, when the work plan acquisition unit 165 detects that the "Confirm" button on the work plan input screen 400 has been pressed, the device 100 proceeds to S360 to S370 in Fig. 3B, and performs display processing to display the confirmed work plan to the worker 40.

[0081] Fig. 5 shows a second display example by the device 100 according to this embodiment. In response to the evaluation of a work plan by pressing the "Evaluate" button on the work plan input screen 400 of Fig. 4, the display processing unit 180 in the device 100 updates the display to the difference display screen 500 of this figure. The difference display screen 500 of this figure has an abnormality display field 410, a work performance field 510, and a work plan display field 520.

[0082] The abnormality display field 410 is the same as that in Fig. 4, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted. The work performance field 510 displays at least one work performance selected by the selection unit 160.

[0083] 4, the work plan display field 520 additionally displays difference displays 525-1 to 525-2 indicating the difference between the work plan and the work results, and related information displays 530-1 to 530-2 indicating related information related to items with differences. The difference display processing unit 182 in the display processing unit 180 performs display processing to display the work plan display fields 520-1 to 520-2. In the example shown in the figure, the work plan entered in the maintenance preparation work field of the work plan input field 420 does not include (is deemed unnecessary as) task 1d, which is included in at least one of the work results displayed in the work results field 510, so the difference display processing unit 182 performs display processing to display task 1d as a difference.

[0084] Furthermore, since the work plan entered for maintenance work in the work plan input field 420 includes work 2d that is not included in any of the work results displayed in the work results field 510, the difference display processing unit 182 performs display processing to display, as a difference, the absence of work 2d in the work results. The difference display processing unit 182 also displays differences for items expressed in numerical values, such as the number of workers.

[0085] The related information display processing unit 184 in the display processing unit 180 performs display processing of related information displays 530-1 to 530-2 that show related information for items for which there is a difference between the work plan and the work results. In the example shown in the figure, the related information display processing unit 184 pops up related information display 530-1 within the work plan input screen 400, and displays related information about task 1d for which there is a difference in the maintenance preparation work and the number of workers. In addition, the related information display processing unit 184 pops up related information display 530-2 within the work plan input screen 400, and displays related information about task 2d for which there is a difference in the maintenance work and the work time. In response to determining that an incident risk exists, the risk display processing unit 186 may perform display processing to display an explanation of the incident risk in the same manner as the related information displays 530-1 to 530-2.

[0086] 4 and 5, the display processing unit 180 generates a display screen that displays the abnormality display column 410, the work plan input column 420, the work performance column 510, the work plan display columns 520-1 to 520-2, and the related information display columns 530-1 to 530-2 in the same window. Alternatively, the display processing unit 180 may display these columns in separate windows.

[0087] Various embodiments of the present invention may be described with reference to flowcharts and block diagrams, where the blocks may represent (1) stages of a process in which operations are performed or (2) sections of an apparatus responsible for performing the operations. Particular stages and sections may be implemented by dedicated circuitry, programmable circuitry provided with computer-readable instructions stored on a computer-readable medium, and / or a processor provided with computer-readable instructions stored on a computer-readable medium. Dedicated circuitry may include digital and / or analog hardware circuitry, and may include integrated circuits (ICs) and / or discrete circuits. Programmable circuitry may include reconfigurable hardware circuitry, including logical AND, OR, XOR, NAND, NOR, and other logical operations, flip-flops, registers, memory elements such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic arrays (PLAs), and the like.

[0088] A computer-readable medium may include any tangible device capable of storing instructions that are executed by an appropriate device, such that the computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon comprises an article of manufacture containing instructions that can be executed to create means for performing the operations specified in the flowcharts or block diagrams. Examples of computer-readable media may include electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, and semiconductor storage media. More specific examples of computer-readable media may include floppy disks, diskettes, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), static random access memory (SRAM), compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), digital versatile disc (DVD), Blu-ray disc, memory stick, integrated circuit card, and the like.

[0089] The computer readable instructions may include either assembler instructions, Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine-dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state-setting data, or source or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including object-oriented programming languages ​​such as Smalltalk®, JAVA®, C++, etc., and conventional procedural programming languages ​​such as the “C” programming language or similar programming languages.

[0090] The computer-readable instructions may be provided to a processor or programmable circuitry of a programmable data processing apparatus, such as a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, or other computer, either locally or over a wide-area network (WAN) such as a local area network (LAN), the Internet, etc., which executes the computer-readable instructions to create means for performing the operations specified in the flowcharts or block diagrams. Examples of processors include computer processors, processing units, microprocessors, digital signal processors, controllers, microcontrollers, etc.

[0091] 6 illustrates an example of a computer 2200 in which aspects of the present invention may be embodied, in whole or in part. Programs installed on the computer 2200 may cause the computer 2200 to function as or perform operations associated with an apparatus or one or more sections of the apparatus according to embodiments of the present invention, and / or to perform a process or steps of a process according to embodiments of the present invention. Such programs may be executed by the CPU 2212 to cause the computer 2200 to perform specific operations associated with some or all of the blocks in the flowcharts and block diagrams described herein.

[0092] A computer 2200 according to this embodiment includes a CPU 2212, a RAM 2214, a graphics controller 2216, and a display device 2218, which are interconnected by a host controller 2210. The computer 2200 also includes input / output units such as a communication interface 2222, a hard disk drive 2224, a DVD-ROM drive 2226, and an IC card drive, which are connected to the host controller 2210 via an input / output controller 2220. The computer also includes legacy input / output units such as a ROM 2230 and a keyboard 2242, which are connected to the input / output controller 2220 via an input / output chip 2240.

[0093] The CPU 2212 operates according to programs stored in the ROM 2230 and RAM 2214, thereby controlling each unit. The graphics controller 2216 acquires image data generated by the CPU 2212 into a frame buffer or the like provided in the RAM 2214 or into the graphics controller 2216 itself, and causes the image data to be displayed on the display device 2218.

[0094] The communications interface 2222 communicates with other electronic devices via a network. The hard disk drive 2224 stores programs and data used by the CPU 2212 in the computer 2200. The DVD-ROM drive 2226 reads programs or data from the DVD-ROM 2201 and provides the programs or data to the hard disk drive 2224 via the RAM 2214. The IC card drive reads programs and data from an IC card and / or writes programs and data to an IC card.

[0095] The ROM 2230 stores therein a boot program or the like that is executed by the computer 2200 upon activation, and / or programs that depend on the hardware of the computer 2200. The input / output chip 2240 may also connect various input / output units to the input / output controller 2220 via a parallel port, a serial port, a keyboard port, a mouse port, etc.

[0096] The programs are provided by a computer-readable medium such as a DVD-ROM 2201 or an IC card. The programs are read from the computer-readable medium, installed in the hard disk drive 2224, RAM 2214, or ROM 2230, which are also examples of computer-readable media, and executed by the CPU 2212. Information processing described in these programs is read by the computer 2200, and brings about cooperation between the programs and the various types of hardware resources described above. An apparatus or method may be configured by realizing information manipulation or processing in accordance with the use of the computer 2200.

[0097] For example, when communication is performed between the computer 2200 and an external device, the CPU 2212 may execute a communication program loaded into the RAM 2214 and instruct the communication interface 2222 to perform communication processing based on the processing described in the communication program. Under the control of the CPU 2212, the communication interface 2222 reads transmission data stored in a transmission buffer processing area provided in the RAM 2214, the hard disk drive 2224, the DVD-ROM 2201, or a recording medium such as an IC card, and transmits the read transmission data to the network, or writes reception data received from the network to a reception buffer processing area or the like provided on the recording medium.

[0098] The CPU 2212 may also cause all or a necessary portion of a file or database stored on an external recording medium such as the hard disk drive 2224, the DVD-ROM drive 2226 (DVD-ROM 2201), an IC card, etc. to be read into the RAM 2214, and perform various types of processing on the data on the RAM 2214. The CPU 2212 then writes back the processed data to the external recording medium.

[0099] Various types of information, such as various types of programs, data, tables, and databases, may be stored on the recording medium and may undergo information processing. The CPU 2212 may perform various types of processing on data read from the RAM 2214, including various types of operations, information processing, conditional judgment, conditional branching, unconditional branching, information search / replacement, etc., as described throughout this disclosure and specified by the instruction sequences of the programs, and write the results back to the RAM 2214. The CPU 2212 may also search for information in a file, database, etc. on the recording medium. For example, if multiple entries each having an attribute value of a first attribute associated with an attribute value of a second attribute are stored on the recording medium, the CPU 2212 may search for an entry that matches a condition specified by the attribute value of the first attribute from among the multiple entries, read the attribute value of the second attribute stored in the entry, and thereby obtain the attribute value of the second attribute associated with the first attribute that satisfies a predetermined condition.

[0100] The above-described programs or software modules may be stored in a computer-readable medium on or near the computer 2200. A recording medium such as a hard disk or RAM provided in a server system connected to a dedicated communication network or the Internet can also be used as a computer-readable medium, thereby providing the programs to the computer 2200 via the network.

[0101] Although the present invention has been described above using embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and improvements can be made to the above embodiments. It is clear from the claims that such modifications and improvements can also be included within the technical scope of the present invention.

[0102] It should be noted that the execution order of each process, such as operations, procedures, steps, and stages, in the devices, systems, programs, and methods shown in the claims, specifications, and drawings is not specifically stated as "before," "prior to," etc., and that the processes can be performed in any order unless the output of a previous process is used in a subsequent process. Even if the operational flow in the claims, specifications, and drawings is described using "first," "next," etc. for convenience, this does not mean that the processes must be performed in this order. [Explanation of symbols]

[0103] 10 Equipment, 20 Equipment and devices, 30 Inspector, 35 Manager, 40 Worker, 100 Device, 105 Display device, 110 Display device, 120 Report acquisition unit, 130 DB, 140 DB connection unit, 150 Work performance output unit, 155 Similarity calculation unit, 160 Selection unit, 163 Decision unit, 165 Work plan acquisition unit, 170 Work plan evaluation unit, 172 Error output unit, 174 Difference detection unit, 176 Judgment unit, 178 Related information acquisition unit, 180 Display processing unit, 182 Difference display processing unit, 184 Related information display processing unit, 186 Risk display processing unit, 190 Work plan display processing unit, 195 Addition unit, 400 Work plan input screen, 410 Abnormality display column, 420 Work plan input column, 500 Difference display screen, 510 Work performance column, 520 Work plan display column, 525-1~2 difference display, 530-1~2 related information display, 2200 computer, 2201 DVD-ROM, 2210 host controller, 2212 CPU, 2214 RAM, 2216 graphic controller, 2218 display device, 2220 input / output controller, 2222 communication interface, 2224 hard disk drive, 2226 DVD-ROM drive, 2230 ROM, 2240 input / output chip, 2242 keyboard

Claims

1. a database connection unit connected to a database that stores a plurality of pairs of abnormality information regarding an abnormality that has occurred in the equipment and work results for dealing with the abnormality; a report acquisition unit that acquires a report of an abnormality that has occurred in the equipment; a work plan acquisition unit that acquires a work plan for dealing with an abnormality that has occurred in the equipment; a similarity calculation unit that calculates a similarity between the anomaly information in the report and the anomaly information included in each of the plurality of sets; a selection unit that selects at least one pair from the plurality of pairs based on the similarity calculated by the similarity calculation unit; a difference detection unit that detects a difference between the work plan and the at least one set of work results; a display processing unit that performs a display process to display the difference; An apparatus comprising:

2. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the selection unit selects, from the plurality of pairs, a pair including anomaly information having a higher degree of similarity with higher priority.

3. a related information acquisition unit that acquires related information related to the difference between the work plan and the at least one set of work results, The display processing unit has a related information display processing unit that performs processing to display the related information on a display device.

10. The apparatus of claim 1.

4. 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the difference detection unit detects the difference between the work plan and the at least one set of work performances based on a difference for each item including at least one of the number of workers, work time, and tools used for work, between the work plan and the at least one set of work performances.

5. The device described in claim 4, wherein the display processing unit has a risk display processing unit that performs processing to display on a display device incident risks that may arise due to differences in items between the work plan and at least one set of work performance, for items where the difference for each item exceeds a predetermined threshold.

6. a determination unit that determines an allowable range of the work plan using the at least one set selected by the selection unit; a determination unit that determines whether the work plan is within the allowable range; The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

7. The device according to claim 1 , further comprising an error output unit that outputs an error in response to a discrepancy between each item included in the work plan and each item included in the at least one set of work results.

8. The device according to claim 4, wherein the display processing unit includes a difference display processing unit that performs processing to highlight items for which the difference for each item between the work plan and the at least one set of work performance exceeds a predetermined threshold compared to other items and display the items on the display device.

9. 9. The device according to claim 1, further comprising an adding unit that adds a set of anomaly information about an anomaly that has occurred in the equipment and a work plan used to deal with the anomaly to the database as a set of anomaly information and work performance.

10. The computer acquires a report of an abnormality occurring in the equipment; The computer acquires a work plan for dealing with an abnormality that has occurred in the equipment; The computer accesses a database that stores a plurality of pairs each including anomaly information regarding an anomaly that has occurred in the equipment and work results for dealing with the anomaly; the computer calculates a similarity between the anomaly information in the report and the anomaly information included in each of the plurality of sets; the computer selecting at least one pair from the plurality of pairs based on the calculated similarity; The computer detects a difference between the work plan and the at least one set of work performance; performing a display process for displaying the difference; A method comprising:

11. The method is executed by a computer, causing the computer to: a database connection unit connected to a database that stores a plurality of pairs of abnormality information regarding an abnormality that has occurred in the equipment and work results for dealing with the abnormality; a report acquisition unit that acquires a report of an abnormality that has occurred in the equipment; a work plan acquisition unit that acquires a work plan for dealing with an abnormality that has occurred in the equipment; a similarity calculation unit that calculates a similarity between the anomaly information in the report and the anomaly information included in each of the plurality of sets; a selection unit that selects at least one pair from the plurality of pairs based on the similarity calculated by the similarity calculation unit; a difference detection unit that detects a difference between the work plan and the at least one set of work results; a display processing unit that performs a display process to display the difference; A program that makes it work.

Images