Maintenance readiness management system, maintenance readiness management program, and maintenance readiness management method

Abstract

This invention provides a maintenance readiness management system, a maintenance readiness management program, and a maintenance readiness management method to effectively support the provision of information regarding maintenance services. [Solution] In the maintenance readiness management device, the registration unit registers contract information related to maintenance services in a database, linking it to the user of the maintenance service and the target product that is the subject of the maintenance service, and registers readiness information indicating the readiness status of the configuration used for product maintenance in the database. The identification unit identifies the target product of the maintenance service contracted by the user based on the contract information in response to an inquiry request specifying the user, identifies the configuration corresponding to the target product by referring to the configuration information registered for each product which includes the configurations included in the product, and identifies the readiness status corresponding to each identified configuration based on the readiness information. The display unit processes the identification results by the identification unit and displays a readiness status screen that lists the readiness status for each configuration for the target product corresponding to the user.

Description

Technical Field

[0007] , ,

[0001] The present invention relates to a maintenance preparation status management system, a maintenance preparation status management program, and a maintenance preparation status management method.

Background Art

[0002] Generally, manufacturers of new products provide maintenance services such as repairs for a certain period to purchasers of the products. On the other hand, for products whose period has ended, the maintenance services by manufacturers and the like end, and users cannot receive support. There are also products that are not subject to maintenance services by manufacturers and the like, such as used products.

[0003] Therefore, a service called third-party maintenance is provided for maintenance work. Third-party maintenance refers to maintenance provided by a third party different from manufacturers and the like. In third-party maintenance, it is necessary to identify and prepare parts, materials, etc. required for maintenance.

[0004] Patent Document 1 describes a technique for checking the inventory of failed maintenance parts regarding maintenance after the suspension of device manufacturing.

[0005] Also, Patent Document 2 describes a technique for identifying parts constituting a device based on a device code and performing an inventory search of the parts.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0006]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0007] <However, the technology described in Patent Document 1 requires specifically identifying and searching for parts, and if the required parts themselves are unknown, it is not possible to check inventory.

[0008] Furthermore, in the technology described in Patent Document 2, it was not possible to search for parts inventory unless the equipment code was specified.

[0009] In view of the above circumstances, the present invention aims to provide a novel technology for effectively supporting the provision of information regarding maintenance services. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] [1] A maintenance readiness management system comprising a registration unit, an identification unit, and a display unit, wherein the registration unit registers contract information relating to maintenance services in a database, linked to users of maintenance services and target products that are the subject of the maintenance services used by the users, and registers readiness information indicating the readiness status of the configurations used for product maintenance in the database, the identification unit identifies the target products of the maintenance services contracted by the users in response to an inquiry request specifying the users, based on the contract information, identifies the configurations corresponding to the target products by referring to configuration information registered for each product which includes the configurations included in the products, and identifies the readiness status corresponding to each identified configuration based on the readiness information, and the display unit displays the results of the identification by the identification unit and displays a readiness status screen that lists the readiness status for each configuration for the target products corresponding to the users.

[0011] This configuration allows the system to identify and display a list of the preparation status of the configurations used for the maintenance of the target product, according to the user's contract. This allows the user to see a list of the contracted product, the configuration required for its maintenance, and its preparation status. In this way, even if the user is not familiar with the configuration of the target product, they can check the preparation status of each individual product.

[0012] [2] The maintenance readiness management system according to [1], wherein the configuration information is information indicating the components that make up the product, the readiness information includes a readiness number indicating the number of each component prepared for maintenance, and the identification unit identifies the readiness status for each configuration based on the readiness number.

[0013] This configuration allows us to present a more concrete status of preparations based on the actual number of components that have been prepared.

[0014] [3] The maintenance readiness management system according to [2], wherein the readiness status screen displays the number of prepared components for each configuration for the target product corresponding to the user.

[0015] [4] The maintenance readiness management system according to [3], wherein the readiness status screen displays, for the target product corresponding to the user, a standard number indicating the number of components to be prepared in advance for each configuration, and the number of components to be prepared, in correspondence.

[0016] This configuration allows users to easily see whether there are sufficient quantities of each component, enabling them to receive maintenance services with greater peace of mind.

[0017] [5] A maintenance readiness management system according to any one of [2] to [4], wherein the identifying unit compares a standard number indicating the number of members to be prepared in advance with the number of members to be prepared, and identifies the readiness status.

[0018] This structure makes it possible to present the preparation status in a clearer and more accurate manner.

[0019] [6] The maintenance readiness management system described in [4] or [5], wherein the contract information includes the contract period, and the standard number is determined based on the remaining period identified from the contract period.

[0020] This structure allows for the provision of more appropriate information that reflects the contract period. Specifically, it can reflect, for example, the expected consumption over the remaining period, preventing the presentation of unnecessarily large numbers.

[0021] [7] The standard number is determined based on the failure rate of each component in addition to the remaining period, as described in [6], the maintenance readiness management system.

[0022] This configuration makes it possible to provide more accurate information for each component.

[0023] [8] A maintenance readiness management program that causes a computer to function as a registration unit, an identification unit, and a display unit, wherein the registration unit registers contract information relating to maintenance services in a database, linked to users of maintenance services and target products that are the subject of the maintenance services used by the users, and registers readiness information indicating the readiness status of the configurations used for product maintenance in the database, the identification unit, in response to a query request specifying the user, identifies the target product of the maintenance service contracted by the user based on the contract information, identifies the configurations corresponding to the target product by referring to configuration information registered for each product which includes the configurations included in the product, identifies the readiness status corresponding to each identified configuration based on the readiness information, and the display unit processes the identification results by the identification unit and displays a readiness status screen that lists the readiness status for each configuration for the target product corresponding to the user.

[0024] [9]A maintenance preparation status management method, wherein a computer registers contract information regarding a maintenance service in a database by associating it with a user of the maintenance service and a target product that is the target of the maintenance service used by the user, registers preparation information indicating the preparation status of a configuration used for product maintenance in the database, and in response to an inquiry request designating the user, identifies the target product of the maintenance service contracted by the user based on the contract information, refers to configuration information in which configurations included in the product are registered for each product to identify the configuration corresponding to the target product, identifies the preparation status corresponding to each identified configuration based on the preparation information, performs display processing on the identification result, and displays a preparation status screen that displays a list of the preparation statuses for each configuration for the target product corresponding to the user.

Effect of the Invention

[0025] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a novel technique for effectively supporting the provision of information regarding a maintenance service.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0026] [Figure 1] A diagram showing the configuration of the present embodiment. [Figure 2] Hardware configuration diagram. [Figure 3] A diagram showing an example of registration data in the present embodiment. [Figure 4] A flowchart showing the display procedure of the preparation status screen in the present embodiment. [Figure 5] An example of screen display in the present embodiment. [Figure 6] An example of screen display in the present embodiment.

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0027] <1. Overview> The present invention relates to a technique for displaying the preparation status of a configuration used for maintenance. Hereinafter, when referring to "maintenance", it refers to support for continuously using a product, including responses to defects and failures.

[0028] In particular, this embodiment assumes a technology used in the provision of third-party maintenance services, and the following explanation will be given accordingly. In this embodiment, an example is provided of a system that displays to users of third-party maintenance services the preparation status for maintenance work on the target product (in particular, the preparation status of the configuration necessary for repair or replacement).

[0029] Further details will be provided below with reference to the attached drawings. While preferred embodiments are shown in the drawings, many different forms are possible and the embodiments are not limited to those described herein.

[0030] For example, in this embodiment, the configuration and operation of a maintenance readiness management system are described, but similar effects can be achieved by devices having similar functions, methods performed by such devices, or computer programs that cause a computer device to perform the methods. The program may be provided as a non-transient recording medium readable by a computer, or it may be provided so that it can be downloaded from an external server.

[0031] In the following embodiments, "part" may include, for example, hardware resources implemented by a circuit in a broad sense, and information processing of software that can be specifically realized by these hardware resources. In this embodiment, "information" can be represented, for example, by the physical value of a signal value representing voltage or current, the high or low value of a signal value as a set of binary bits composed of 0s or 1s, or by a quantum superposition (so-called qubit), and communication and calculations can be performed on a circuit in a broad sense.

[0032] In a broad sense, a circuit is a set of circuits (Circuitry) that are realized by appropriately combining circuits, processors, and memory. For example, it includes circuits that contain any of the following: CPU (Central Processing Unit), GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), LSI (Large Scale Integration), ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), etc.

[0033] <2.Definition> First, the definitions of the main terms used in this embodiment will be explained. In the following, "product" refers to any product that includes multiple components. The product in this invention is an object that is subject to maintenance services. In this embodiment, electrical products are particularly assumed as products. For example, electrical products such as storage devices, server devices, and network devices are included in the products of this embodiment.

[0034] In this invention, "configuration" refers to a unit of objects that constitute the product to be maintained, and is used in maintenance services. For example, to constitute the power supply of a certain product to be maintained, "two specific redundant power supply units" is an example of "configuration" in this invention.

[0035] In this invention, "components" refer to items necessary for providing maintenance services for the above-described configuration. For example, in a configuration of "two specific redundant power supply units," the "specific redundant power supply units" correspond to the components of this invention. Furthermore, components may be used in common across multiple types of configurations.

[0036] In this invention, "preparation status" refers to the state of preparation for maintenance use for each component. For example, the inventory status of parts necessary for maintenance of each component, and the status of preparation (inspection, cleaning, deployment, etc.) of each part for use in maintenance services are included in the preparation status of this invention. More specifically, for example, the number of each part in each state can be considered as the preparation status.

[0037] <3. System Configuration> Next, the configuration of the maintenance readiness management system in this embodiment will be described. Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the maintenance readiness management system in this embodiment. As shown in Figure 1, the maintenance readiness management system comprises a maintenance readiness management device 1, an administrator terminal 2, and a user terminal 3. The maintenance readiness management device 1, the administrator terminal 2, and the user terminal 3 are configured to communicate with each other via a network NW.

[0038] Note that there may be multiple administrator terminals 2 and user terminals 3. By logging into their own accounts using any terminal device, the service provider and each user can be identified and exchange information with the maintenance readiness management device 1. In this embodiment, the network NW is an IP (Internet Protocol) network, but there are no restrictions on the type of communication protocol, network type, etc.

[0039] One or more general-purpose servers or personal computers, or other information processing devices 10 (computer devices), can be used as the maintenance readiness status management device 1. Furthermore, terminal devices 9 (computer devices), such as personal computers, smartphones, or tablet terminals, can be used as the administrator terminal 2 and user terminal 3. In this embodiment, the maintenance readiness status management device 1 is an information processing device 10 on which a computer program (maintenance readiness status management program) that executes the maintenance readiness status management method is installed.

[0040] Figure 2(a) is a hardware configuration diagram of the information processing device 10. As shown in Figure 2, the information processing device 10 has a control unit 101, a storage unit 102, and a communication unit 103, which are used to perform the functions of each unit and each process.

[0041] The control unit 101 has a processor such as a CPU that can execute instruction sets, and executes the OS and programs. The memory unit 102 has volatile memory such as RAM that can store instruction sets, and non-volatile recording media such as HDDs or SSDs that can store the OS, maintenance readiness management programs, DBMS, etc. The communication unit 103 has an interface for physically connecting to the network and performs communication control with the network NW to input and output information.

[0042] Figure 2(b) is a hardware configuration diagram of the terminal device 9. As shown in Figure 2, the terminal device 9 has a control unit 901, a storage unit 902, a communication unit 903, an input unit 904, and an output unit 905, which are used to perform the functions of each unit and each process.

[0043] The control unit 901 has a processor such as a CPU that can execute instruction sets, and executes the OS, application programs, etc. The memory unit 902 has volatile memory such as RAM that can store instruction sets, and non-volatile recording media such as HDDs and SSDs that can store the OS, arbitrary application programs, etc. The communication unit 903 has an interface for physically connecting to the network and performs communication control with the network NW to input and output information. The input unit 904 includes an operation input device capable of input processing such as a touch panel or keyboard, and an audio input device capable of voice input such as a microphone. The output unit 905 includes a display device capable of display processing, such as a display, and an audio output device, such as a speaker.

[0044] <4. Functional Configuration> As shown in Figure 1, the maintenance readiness status management device 1 includes a registration unit 11, a specification unit 12, a display unit 13, and a database DB. This represents a concrete implementation of software-based information processing through hardware. These components do not necessarily need to be implemented by a single computer; they may be implemented through the collaboration of multiple computers. For example, the database (DB) may be located on an external server.

[0045] The registration unit 11 registers contract information related to maintenance services in the database DB, linking it to the user of the maintenance service and the target product covered by the maintenance service. In this embodiment, the contract details are determined between the maintenance service provider and the user, and the user on the provider side inputs the contract information via the administrator terminal 2 according to the details. The registration unit 11 registers the contract information in the database DB based on the information received from the administrator terminal 2.

[0046] The registration unit 11 also registers preparation information in the database DB, indicating the readiness status of the configuration used for product maintenance. In this embodiment, the provider of maintenance services inputs information regarding the readiness status via the administrator terminal 2. The registration unit 11 registers the preparation information in the database DB based on the information received from the administrator terminal 2. The registered information in the database DB will be described later.

[0047] The identification unit 12, in response to a query request specifying a user, refers to the database DB and identifies the products covered by the maintenance service contracted by that user based on the contract information. Then, referring to the configuration information described later, it identifies the configuration corresponding to the identified target product and identifies the preparation status corresponding to each configuration. The query request may be sent from the user terminal 3 or from the administrator terminal 2.

[0048] Here, "preparation status" broadly refers to the status of preparations for maintenance using each configuration. For example, the inventory status of components corresponding to each configuration and the status of preparations for providing those components to the target users are included in the preparation status. More specifically, examples of preparation status include the number of components prepared for maintenance (e.g., the number of each component available), the standard number of components that should be prepared for maintenance, and the results of comparisons between these.

[0049] The number of items to be prepared can be arbitrarily determined and may include, for example, the number of parts simply reserved for users, the number of parts that have been prepared for provision, such as those that have been inspected or cleaned, or the number of those parts that are stored at the location nearest to the user. Furthermore, the standard number may be arbitrarily determined for each component and registered in a database beforehand, or it may be calculated for each contract according to the contract information. In this embodiment, it is calculated individually, and the calculation method will be described later.

[0050] The display unit 13 processes the results of the identification unit 12 and displays the preparation status screen. Specifically, the display processing result is sent to the terminal that sent the inquiry request (administrator terminal 2 or user terminal 3), and the display device of the receiving terminal shows it to the operator of the terminal that sent the inquiry request (the service provider's representative or the user). The readiness status screen is a screen that displays a list of the readiness status for each configuration of the target product in the contract information associated with the user specified in the inquiry request. Specific examples will be described later.

[0051] <5. Registration Information> Figure 3 shows an example of the various types of information stored in the database DB of this embodiment. The database DB of this embodiment stores contract information related to maintenance services, product master data, component master data, configuration information, and individual component information. The following describes specific examples of this embodiment.

[0052] Contract information includes details of the maintenance service, user, and product. Specifically, contract information includes the contract number, user ID, product ID, contract period, type, and location. The contract information is associated with the user and product of the maintenance service, respectively, using the user ID and product ID. Here, the product is the individual product that is subject to maintenance. The product ID identifies the individual product information, which is then linked to the product master.

[0053] The contract number may be a unique value for each piece of contract information, or if similar contracts are made for multiple products, those contracts may be assigned the same contract number.

[0054] The contract period is the period during which the maintenance services are provided as stipulated in the contract. Furthermore, the "type" indicates the content of the maintenance service provided. For example, if a maintenance service provider offers specific plans for each service, the "type" is the information that identifies the plan. Furthermore, the location is where the maintenance service is provided. For example, it is where the product in question is used.

[0055] The product master contains information for each type of product that may be subject to maintenance. The product master includes the product ID, product name, and product model number. Individual product information is also registered separately and linked to the product master.

[0056] Configuration information is information that links the components included in an individual product to that specific product. Configuration information includes the component name, the product ID (information that uniquely identifies the product), the component ID, and the component count (number of components). In other words, configuration information shows the correspondence between the product, the component, and the components and their quantities required for that component.

[0057] The component master contains information about the components that make up a product. The component master includes the component ID, component name, and component part number.

[0058] Individual component information is information that describes the details of individual components managed by the maintenance service provider. This information includes the individual component ID, component ID, product ID, status, and location. The individual component information is linked to the component master via the component ID and to the product master via the product ID.

[0059] Here, even for products of the same model, multiple product masters may be registered by issuing different product IDs. By registering individual product information linked to these product masters, these groups of individual products can be distinguished. Similarly, for component masters, multiple component IDs may be issued for the same component, and configuration information may be registered for each combination of these IDs. By doing so, it becomes possible to differentiate between products (or product groups) of the same model and manage the corresponding components, enabling contractual responses such as preparing dedicated components for specific customers.

[0060] "Condition" refers to information indicating the state of a component. Especially in third-party maintenance, it is often difficult to obtain parts because the product manufacturer has discontinued supplying them. In such cases, the available parts are not necessarily new; they may be obtained from discarded products. Therefore, the condition of each component may differ. Possible conditions include, for example, "before inspection," "inspected and repaired," etc.

[0061] Furthermore, "location" refers to the place where the component is stored. When the scale of maintenance services is large, there may be multiple warehouses for storing components and multiple maintenance service locations. In this case, in order to provide maintenance services to users, the necessary components must be deployed at the responsible base. Therefore, in this embodiment, the location of the component is stored as individual component information in order to check whether it is stored at the nearest (responsible) deployment location as part of the preparation status.

[0062] Furthermore, although not shown in the diagram, the component information may be configured to include a contract ID so that individual components can be assigned to each user. If a specific contract ID is registered, the component indicated by that component information indicates that it is assigned for maintenance under the relevant contract.

[0063] These configurations are merely examples, and can be modified as needed, such as by adding or deleting registration items in various types of information. For example, configuration information may be included in the product master. Also, for example, in this embodiment, preparation information is obtained by aggregating individual component information, but preparation information may be stored separately from individual component information.

[0064] <6. Calculation of Standard Numbers> In this embodiment, a "standard number" is used to indicate the number of components that should be prepared for maintenance when determining the readiness status. The standard number can be determined arbitrarily; for example, a specific standard number may be set for each configuration. In this embodiment, as an example, an example of calculating the standard number for each contract (for each combination of user and target product) taking contract information into consideration will be described.

[0065] In this embodiment, the standard number is calculated based on the failure rate of each component and the contract period included in the contract information. More specifically, the number of components to be consumed considering the failure rate during the remaining period specified from the contract period, i.e., the period from the present to the end of the contract period, is calculated, and the standard number is determined based on the result.

[0066] The standard number determined in this manner can be used as the "preparation status" of the present invention. For example, a combination of the standard number and the prepared number, or the result of comparing the standard number and the prepared number, can be used as the preparation status. When the comparison result is used as the preparation status, the difference between the prepared number and the standard number (prepared number - standard number), or a multi-stage evaluation according to the magnitude of that difference, may be displayed for each configuration on the preparation status screen.

[0067] In this embodiment, the readiness status of a component is determined based on individual component information of the same (or compatible) component. More specifically, the number of components is aggregated according to the state (readiness status) and deployment status of each individual component, and the readiness status is determined based on the results. For example, the total number of components in stock, the number of components in stock for each condition, the number of components stored at the nearest deployment location to the user's address (the place where the product is used) (the number of components deployed) may be used as indicators of the readiness status.

[0068] <7. Procedure for displaying the preparation status> Next, we will explain the procedure for identifying the preparation status of the target and displaying the preparation status screen. Figure 4 is a flowchart showing the procedure for displaying the preparation status screen in this embodiment. Here, we will explain assuming a case where a user of the maintenance service checks whether sufficient preparations (especially the preparation of parts) have been made for the maintenance of the service they are using.

[0069] In step S1, the user terminal 3 first sends a request to the maintenance readiness status management device 1 in response to the user's input. Specifically, for example, the user accesses the maintenance service site using a browser application and logs in. This identifies the user. Then, by inputting a request to display the readiness status from My Page or similar, the user terminal 3 sends a request to the maintenance readiness status management device 1 including the user ID. In the maintenance readiness status management device 1, the identification unit 12 identifies the user by the user ID.

[0070] Alternatively, the same process may be performed using administrator terminal 2 instead of user terminal 3. In this case, instead of the user logging in, the user using administrator terminal 2 will specify the user.

[0071] Next, in step S2, the identification unit 12 refers to the contract information associated with the user identified in step S1, and further identifies the target product associated with that contract information. The information of the identified target product is then passed to the display unit 13, which processes it for display and transmits the processing result to the user terminal 3. The user terminal then displays a list screen of target products.

[0072] The user terminal 3 accepts the user's selection of a target product from the displayed list of target products. Step S3 is not mandatory; the processes from step S4 onward may be executed for all target products related to the user's contract information.

[0073] In step S4, the identification unit 12 identifies the configuration of the selected target product by referring to the configuration information in the database DB. Specifically, it identifies the product master from the product ID in the individual product information of the target product, and the identification unit 12 refers to multiple configuration information associated with that product master. In this embodiment, for multiple configurations included in the target product, the configuration name, components, and the number of components (number of configurations) are identified.

[0074] Furthermore, in step S5, the identification unit 12 refers to the individual component information to identify the number of items to be prepared. In this embodiment, four types of items are identified as examples of the number of items to be prepared: the total number of items in stock, the number of items in stock that are ready for deployment (inspection etc. has been completed) (hereinafter referred to as the number of items secured), the number of items that have been deployed to the deployment location according to the location in the contract information (hereinafter referred to as the number of items deployed), and the sum of the number of items secured and the number of items deployed.

[0075] Then, in step S6, the display unit 13 displays the preparation status based on the number of preparations identified in step S5 and the standard number, and transmits the processing result to the user terminal 3. Then, based on the received processing results, the user terminal 3 displays a preparation status screen on its display device.

[0076] <8. Example Display> The following describes an example of the screen display in this embodiment. Figure 5 shows an example of the product list screen displayed in step S2 described above. Hereinafter, this will be referred to as the product list screen W1. The product list screen W1 comprises a search unit W11 and a list display unit W12. In the search unit W11, the user can enter search criteria for the target product, and when the "Search" button is selected, a list of target products that match the entered search criteria is displayed in the list display unit W12.

[0077] The list display unit W12 displays a list of the following information for each target product: the individual product ID (the "device ID" in Figure 5), the manufacturer, the product name, the serial number, the maintenance start date, the maintenance end date, the system name, and whether or not configuration information is available. The individual product ID is a unique ID for this system, and the serial number is a code assigned to the product by the manufacturer, etc. Either one of these may be displayed. Furthermore, the manufacturer and product name are identified by the product master linked to the individual product information, and the maintenance start date and maintenance end date are the start and end dates of the contract period in the contract information.

[0078] When a target product is selected from the list displayed in this way, the readiness status disclosure screen for the selected product is displayed. Figure 6 shows an example of the readiness status disclosure screen in this embodiment.

[0079] The preparation status display screen W2 comprises a contract information display unit W21, a product information individual display unit W22, and a preparation status display unit W23. The preparation status display unit W23 displays a list of product configurations, showing the configuration name, the number of components corresponding to the configuration (number of components), the component names, and the preparation status for each configuration.

[0080] In this embodiment, the preparation status is displayed as follows: standard quantity, reserved quantity, deployed quantity, total reserved and deployed quantity, and total inventory quantity for each configuration. The total inventory quantity indicates the total number of items in stock held by the maintenance service provider, regardless of whether they are reserved for the user. In addition to these, this embodiment also displays a "status" indicating the preparation status in multiple stages such as ○, ×, and △. The "status" is determined according to the difference or ratio between the reserved quantity, deployed quantity, or their total, and the standard quantity. Note that specific numerical values ​​may not be displayed, and only the "status" may be shown.

[0081] Furthermore, the provider of maintenance services may also indicate the number of maintenance parts they have procured, or more specifically, the number of parts that are currently being prepared, including those that are not yet in stock but will be procured in the future.

[0082] In addition to the above, the predicted number of failures for each configuration may also be displayed. The predicted number of failures is a predicted value of the number of failures during the remaining contract period, determined from the failure rate registered in advance and linked to the component master, and the remaining period of the contract. This allows users to get a more concrete idea of ​​the number of components they will need.

[0083] As described above, the maintenance readiness management system of this embodiment can specifically present the maintenance readiness status according to the condition of the components used for maintenance. This makes it possible to provide reassuring information to users regarding the fact that it was previously unclear whether they would receive sufficient maintenance services in the event of a failure. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0084] 1: Maintenance readiness status management device 11: Registration Department 12: Specific part 13: Display section 2: Administrator terminal 3: User terminal 9: Terminal device 10: Information Processing Device 101: Control Unit 102: Storage section 103: Communications Department 901: Control Unit 902: Storage section 903: Communications Department 904: Input section 905: Output section NW: Network W1: Product list screen W11: Search section W12: List display section W2: Preparation status display screen W21: Contract Information Display Unit W22: Product Information Individual Display Section W23: Preparation status display unit

Claims

1. A maintenance readiness status management system comprising a registration unit, a specification unit, and a display unit, The aforementioned registration unit is Contract information regarding maintenance services is registered in a database, linked to the user of the maintenance service and the product covered by the said maintenance service used by that user. Preparation information indicating the readiness status of the configuration used for product maintenance is registered in the database. The specified part is, In response to an inquiry request specifying the user, the system identifies the product covered by the maintenance service contracted by that user based on the contract information. By referring to the configuration information registered for each product, the configurations included in the aforementioned product are identified to determine the configuration corresponding to the target product. The readiness status corresponding to each identified configuration is determined based on the readiness information, A maintenance readiness management system comprising: a display unit that processes the results of the identification unit to display the results of the identification, and displays a readiness status screen that lists the readiness status for each configuration of the target product corresponding to the user.

2. The aforementioned configuration information is information indicating the components that make up the product, The aforementioned preparation information includes a preparation number indicating the number of each component prepared for maintenance, The maintenance readiness management system according to claim 1, wherein the specified unit identifies the readiness status for each configuration based on the number of preparations.

3. The maintenance readiness management system according to claim 2, wherein the readiness status screen displays the number of prepared components for each configuration for the target product corresponding to the user.

4. The maintenance readiness management system according to claim 3, wherein the readiness status screen displays, for the target product corresponding to the user, a standard number indicating the number of components to be prepared in advance for each configuration, and the number of components to be prepared, in correspondence.

5. The maintenance readiness management system according to claim 2, wherein the specified unit compares a standard number indicating the number of members to be prepared in advance with the number of members prepared, to identify the readiness status.

6. The aforementioned contract information includes the contract period, The maintenance readiness management system according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the standard number is determined based on the remaining period specified from the contract period.

7. The maintenance readiness management system according to claim 6, wherein the standard number is determined based on the failure rate of each component in addition to the remaining period.

8. A maintenance readiness status management program that causes a computer to function as a registration unit, a specific unit, and a display unit, The aforementioned registration unit is Contract information regarding maintenance services is registered in a database, linked to the user of the maintenance service and the product covered by the said maintenance service used by that user. Preparation information indicating the readiness status of the configuration used for product maintenance is registered in the database. The specified part is, In response to an inquiry request specifying the user, the system identifies the product covered by the maintenance service contracted by that user based on the contract information. By referring to the configuration information registered for each product, the configurations included in the aforementioned product are identified to determine the configuration corresponding to the target product. The readiness status corresponding to each identified configuration is determined based on the readiness information, The display unit is a maintenance readiness management program that processes the results of the identification unit and displays a readiness status screen that lists the readiness status for each configuration for the target product corresponding to the user.

9. A maintenance readiness management method, in which a computer Contract information regarding maintenance services is registered in a database, linked to the user of the maintenance service and the product covered by the said maintenance service used by that user. Preparation information indicating the readiness status of the configuration used for product maintenance is registered in the database. In response to an inquiry request specifying the user, the system identifies the product covered by the maintenance service contracted by that user based on the contract information. By referring to the configuration information registered for each product, the configurations included in the aforementioned product are identified to determine the configuration corresponding to the target product. The readiness status corresponding to each identified configuration is determined based on the readiness information, A maintenance readiness management method that processes and displays specific results, and displays a readiness status screen that lists the readiness status for each configuration for the target product corresponding to the user.

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