Maintenance preparation status management system, maintenance preparation status management program, and maintenance preparation status management method

Abstract

To provide a new technique for effectively supporting the provision of information regarding maintenance services. [Solution] A maintenance preparation status management system comprising a registration unit, an identification unit, and a display unit, in which the registration unit registers contract information regarding maintenance services in a database by linking it to a user of the maintenance service and the target product that is the subject of the maintenance service used by the user, and registers preparation information in the database that indicates the preparation status of the configuration used in maintaining the product, the identification unit identifies the target product of the maintenance service contracted by the user based on the contract information in response to a query request specifying a user, identifies the configuration corresponding to the target product by referring to configuration information in which the configurations included in the product are registered for each product, and identifies the preparation status corresponding to each identified configuration based on the preparation information, and the display unit displays the results of identification by the identification unit, and displays a preparation status screen that lists the preparation status for each configuration for the target product corresponding to the user.

Description

[Technical field]

[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 technology]

[0002] Generally, manufacturers of new products provide repair and other maintenance services for a certain period of time to purchasers of the product. However, once the period has expired, the manufacturer's maintenance service ends and users are no longer able to receive support. There are also products, such as second-hand products, that are not covered by manufacturer's maintenance services.

[0003] Therefore, a service called third-party maintenance is provided for maintenance work. Third-party maintenance refers to maintenance provided by a third party other than the manufacturer. In third-party maintenance, it is necessary to identify and prepare the parts and materials required for maintenance.

[0004] Patent Document 1 describes a technique for checking the inventory of broken maintenance parts in relation to maintenance after the production of a device is discontinued.

[0005] Furthermore, Patent Document 2 describes a technique for identifying parts that configure a device based on a device code and searching for inventory of the parts. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] JP 2011-107934 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2002-288370 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] However, with the technology described in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to specifically identify the part before conducting a search, and if the required part itself is unknown, it is not possible to check the stock.

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

[0009] In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a novel technique for effectively supporting the provision of information relating to maintenance services. [Means for solving the problem]

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

[0011] With this configuration, the preparation status of the configuration used for the maintenance of the target product can be identified and displayed in a list according to the user's contract. This allows the user to see the product covered by the contract, the configuration required for its maintenance, and its preparation status. In this way, even if the user does not know the configuration of the target product, for example, it is possible to check the individual preparation status.

[0012] [2] A maintenance preparation status management system as described in [1], wherein the configuration information is information indicating the components that constitute the product, the preparation information includes a preparation number indicating the number of each of the components prepared for maintenance, and the identification unit identifies the preparation status for each configuration based on the preparation number.

[0013] With this configuration, it is possible to present a more specific preparation status according to the number of components that are actually prepared.

[0014] [3] A maintenance preparation status management system as described in [2], wherein the preparation status screen displays the prepared quantity of the parts for each configuration for the target product corresponding to the user.

[0015] [4] The preparation status screen displays, for the target product corresponding to the user, a standard number indicating the number of the parts that should be prepared in advance for each configuration, in correspondence with the prepared number of the parts. The maintenance preparation status management system described in [3].

[0016] With this configuration, the user can tell at a glance whether a sufficient number of each component is available, and can receive maintenance services with greater peace of mind.

[0017] [5] A maintenance preparation status management system described in any of [2] to [4], wherein the identification unit identifies the preparation status by comparing a standard number indicating the number of the parts that should be prepared in advance with the prepared number.

[0018] With this configuration, it is possible to present the preparation status more clearly and accurately.

[0019] [6] A maintenance readiness status management system as described in [4] or [5], wherein the contract information includes a contract period, and the standard quantity is determined based on a remaining period determined from the contract period.

[0020] By configuring in this way, it is possible to provide more appropriate information that reflects the contract period. Specifically, for example, it is possible to reflect the amount of consumption expected in the remaining period, and it is possible to prevent the presentation of an amount that is actually larger than necessary.

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

[0022] By adopting such a configuration, it becomes possible to provide more appropriate information for each component.

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

[0024] [9] A maintenance preparation status management method, comprising: registering in a database contract information regarding a maintenance service, linking the contract information to a user of the maintenance service and a target product that is the subject of the maintenance service used by the user; registering in a database preparation information indicating the preparation status of a configuration to be used in maintaining the product; identifying, in response to a query request specifying the user, the target product of the maintenance service contracted by the user based on the contract information; identifying a configuration corresponding to the target product by referring to configuration information in which configurations included in the product are registered for each product; identifying the preparation status corresponding to each identified configuration based on the preparation information; displaying the identification results; and displaying a preparation status screen that lists the preparation status 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 relating to maintenance services. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0026] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] Hardware configuration diagram. [Diagram 3] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of registration data according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] 10 is a flowchart showing a procedure for displaying a preparation status screen in the present embodiment. [Diagram 5] 4 shows an example of a screen display in this embodiment. [Figure 6] 4 shows an example of a screen display in this embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0027] <1. Overview> The present invention relates to a technology for displaying the readiness of a configuration used for maintenance. In the following, the term "maintenance" refers to support for the continued use of a product, including responses to defects and breakdowns.

[0028] In particular, in this embodiment, the following description is given assuming a technology used in providing third-party maintenance services. In this embodiment, a system is exemplified that displays the preparation status of the maintenance work for the target product (in particular, the preparation status of the configuration required for repair or replacement) to a user who uses a third-party maintenance service.

[0029] The present invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments are shown, but which may be embodied in many different forms and are not limited to the embodiments set forth herein.

[0030] For example, in the present embodiment, the configuration, operation, etc. of the maintenance preparation status management system will be described, but similar effects can be achieved by a device having similar functions, a method executed by the device, a computer program that causes a computer device to execute the method, etc. The program may be provided as a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium, or may be provided so as to be downloadable from an external server.

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

[0032] A circuit in the broad sense is a circuit realized by appropriately combining a circuit, a processor, a memory, etc. For example, it is a circuit including any of a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), an LSI (Large Scale Integration), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), etc.

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

[0034] In the present invention, a configuration is a unit of a set of things that make up a product to be maintained, and is used in maintenance services. For example, to configure the power supply of a product to be maintained, "two specific redundant power supply units" is an example of a "configuration" in the present invention.

[0035] In the present invention, a component is an object necessary for providing maintenance services for the above configuration. For example, for a configuration of "two specific redundant power supply units," a "specific redundant power supply unit" corresponds to a component of the present invention. Also, a component may be used in common for multiple types of configurations.

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

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

[0038] There may be multiple administrator terminals 2 and multiple user terminals 3. A maintenance service provider or each user can log in to their own account using any terminal device, thereby identifying each user and transmitting information to and from the maintenance preparation status management device 1. In this embodiment, the network NW is an IP (Internet Protocol) network, but there are no limitations on the type of communication protocol, the type of network, etc.

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

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

[0041] The control unit 101 has a processor such as a CPU capable of executing an instruction set, and executes an OS and programs. The storage unit 102 includes a volatile memory such as a RAM capable of storing an instruction set, and a non-volatile recording medium such as an HDD or SSD capable of recording an OS, a maintenance preparation status management program, a DBMS, and the like. The communication unit 103 has an interface for physically connecting to a network, and controls communication with the network NW to input and output information.

[0042] Fig. 2(b) is a hardware configuration diagram of the terminal device 9. As shown in Fig. 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 capable of executing an instruction set, and executes an OS, application programs, and the like. The storage unit 902 includes a volatile memory such as a RAM capable of storing an instruction set, and a non-volatile recording medium such as an HDD or SSD capable of recording an OS, any application program, and the like. The communication unit 903 has an interface for physically connecting to a network, and controls communications 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 a keyboard, and an audio input device capable of audio 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 Fig. 1, the maintenance preparation status management device 1 has a registration unit 11, an identification unit 12, a display unit 13, and a database DB. This is a concrete implementation of information processing by software using hardware. Note that these configurations do not need to be implemented by a single computer, and may be implemented by multiple computers working together. For example, the database DB may be provided in an external server.

[0045] The registration unit 11 registers contract information regarding the maintenance service in the database DB by linking it with the user of the maintenance service and the target product that is the subject of the maintenance service. In this embodiment, the contents of the contract 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 in accordance with the contents. The registration unit 11 registers the contract information in the database DB based on the information received from the administrator terminal 2.

[0046] Furthermore, the registration unit 11 registers in the database DB preparation information indicating the preparation status of a configuration used in maintaining the product. In this embodiment, a maintenance service provider inputs information related to the preparation status via the manager terminal 2. The registration unit 11 registers the preparation information in the database DB based on the information received from the manager terminal 2. The registered information in the database DB will be described later.

[0047] In response to a reference request that specifies a user, the identification unit 12 refers to the database DB and identifies the target product of the maintenance service that the user has contracted for based on the contract information.Then, referring to configuration information described later, the identification unit 12 identifies the configuration corresponding to the identified target product and identifies the preparation status corresponding to each configuration.The reference 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 preparation for maintenance using each configuration. For example, the preparation status includes the inventory status of parts corresponding to each configuration and the preparation status for providing the parts to the target users. More specifically, examples of the preparation status include the preparation number indicating the number of each part prepared for maintenance, the standard number indicating the number of parts that should be prepared for maintenance, and the comparison results between them.

[0049] The number of preparations can be, for example, simply the number of parts secured for the user, the number of secured parts that have been prepared for use through inspection, cleaning, etc., and further, the number of those parts that are stored at the location nearest to the user. The standard number may be arbitrarily determined for each component and registered in advance in the database DB, or may be calculated for each contract according to the contract information. In this embodiment, the standard number is calculated individually, and the calculation method will be described later.

[0050] The display unit 13 performs display processing of the identification result by the identification unit 12, and displays a preparation status screen. Specifically, the display processing result is transmitted to the terminal that transmitted the inquiry request (the administrator terminal 2 or the user terminal 3), and the display device of the terminal that received it displays it to the operator of the terminal that transmitted the inquiry request (the person in charge of the service provider, or the user). The preparation status screen is a screen that displays a list of the preparation status for each configuration of the target product in the contract information linked to the user specified in the inquiry request. A specific example will be described later.

[0051] <5. Registration Information> 3 is a diagram showing an example of various information stored in the database DB of this embodiment. The database DB of this embodiment stores contract information related to maintenance services, product master, material master, configuration information, and material individual information. An example of this embodiment will be specifically described below.

[0052] The contract information includes information indicating the content of the maintenance service, the user, and the product. Specifically, the contract information includes a contract number, a user ID, a product ID, a contract period, a type, and a location. The contract information is associated with the user of the maintenance service and the target product by the user ID and the product ID. Here, the target product is an individual product that is the subject of maintenance. The product ID identifies the product information, and the product information is linked to the product master.

[0053] The contract number may be a unique value for each piece of contract information, or in the case where similar contracts are made collectively for a plurality of products, the same contract number may be assigned to those contracts.

[0054] The contract period is the period during which the maintenance service is provided as stipulated in the contract. The type indicates the type of the provided maintenance service. For example, if a maintenance service provider prepares a specific plan for each service content, the type is information that identifies the plan. The location is the location where the maintenance service is provided, for example, the location where the target product is used.

[0055] The product master shows 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. In addition, product information for each product is linked to the product master and registered separately.

[0056] The configuration information is information that indicates the configuration included in each product by linking it to the individual product. The configuration information includes the configuration name, the individual product ID (information that uniquely identifies the individual product information), the component ID, and the number of components (the number of components). In other words, the configuration information indicates the correspondence between the individual product, the configuration, and the components and their numbers required for that configuration.

[0057] The material master is information about the material that constitutes the product. The material master includes the material ID, the material name, and the model number of the material.

[0058] The component individual information is information showing information on individual components managed by the maintenance service provider. The component individual information includes a component individual ID, a component ID, a product ID, a status, and a location. The component individual information is linked to the component master by the component ID, and is also linked to the product master by the product ID.

[0059] Here, even for products of the same model, multiple product masters may be registered by issuing different product IDs. Then, by linking product individual information to these product masters and registering them, these product individual groups can be distinguished. Similarly, multiple component masters may be issued for the same component by issuing different component IDs, and configuration information may be registered for each combination of these. In this way, it is possible to distinguish between products (or product groups) of the same model and manage the corresponding parts, making it possible to comply with contracts such as preparing special parts for specific customers.

[0060] "Status" is information that indicates the condition of a part. Particularly in third-party maintenance, there are often cases where the product manufacturer has stopped providing parts, making it difficult to obtain them. In such cases, the parts that can be obtained are not necessarily new, and parts may be obtained from discarded products. Therefore, situations may arise where the condition of each part differs. Possible statuses include, for example, "before inspection," "inspected and repaired," etc.

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

[0062] Furthermore, although not shown, the component individual information may be configured to include a contract ID so that individual components can be allocated to each user. When a specific contract ID is registered, it indicates that the component individual information indicates that the component is allocated for maintenance under the target contract.

[0063] Note that these configurations are merely examples, and can be changed as desired, such as adding or deleting registered items in the various information. For example, the configuration information may be included in the product master. Also, for example, in this embodiment, the preparation information is obtained by aggregating the component individual information, but the preparation information may be stored separately from the component individual information.

[0064] <6. Calculation of standard number> In this embodiment, in determining the preparation status, a "standard number" is used as the number of parts that should be prepared for maintenance. The standard number may be determined arbitrarily, and for example, a specific standard number may be set for each configuration. As an example, this embodiment will explain an example in which the standard number is calculated for each contract (for each combination of user and target product) taking into account contract information.

[0065] In this embodiment, the standard quantity 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 during the remaining period specified by the contract period, i.e., the period from the present time to the end of the contract period, is calculated taking into account the failure rate, and the standard quantity 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 preparation number, or a comparison result between the standard number and the preparation number can be used as the preparation status. When the comparison result is used as the preparation status, the difference between the preparation number and the standard number (preparation number - standard number), a multi-level evaluation according to the magnitude of the difference, etc. 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 information of identical (or compatible) components. More specifically, the number of components is tallied according to their individual states (readiness status) and deployment statuses, and the readiness status is determined based on the results. For example, the total number of parts in stock, the number in stock for each state, the number stored at the location nearest to the user's address (place where the target product is used) (number deployed), etc. may be used as the preparation status.

[0068] <7. Preparation status display procedure> Next, the procedure for identifying the target preparation status and displaying the preparation status screen will be described. Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing the procedure for displaying the preparation status screen in this embodiment. Here, the explanation is based on the assumption that a user of a maintenance service checks whether or not sufficient preparation for maintenance (particularly preparation of parts) has been made for the service that the user uses.

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

[0070] Note that the same process may be performed by the administrator terminal 2 instead of the user terminal 3. In this case, instead of the user logging in, the user who uses the administrator terminal 2 designates the user.

[0071] Next, in step S2, the identification unit 12 refers to the contract information linked to the user identified in step S1, and further identifies the target product linked to the contract information. Then, the information of the identified target product is transferred to the display unit 13, which processes it for display and transmits the processing result to the user terminal 3. On the user terminal, a list screen of the target products is displayed.

[0072] The user terminal 3 accepts the selection of a target product from the user based on the displayed target product list screen. Note that step S3 is not essential, and 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 refers to the configuration information in the database DB to identify the configuration of the selected target product. Specifically, a product master is identified from a product ID in the product individual information of the target product, and the identification unit 12 refers to multiple pieces of configuration information linked to the product master. In this embodiment, the configuration name, the component, and the number of components (the number of components) are identified for each of the multiple configurations included in the target product.

[0074] Furthermore, in step S5, the identification unit 12 identifies the prepared quantity by referring to the component individual information. In this embodiment, the following four types are identified as examples of the prepared quantity: the total stock quantity, the number of components in the total stock quantity that are in a state indicating that they are ready for deployment (inspection, etc., has been completed) (hereinafter referred to as the secured number), the number of components that have been deployed to the deployment destination according to the location of the contract information (hereinafter referred to as the deployed number), and the sum of the secured number and the deployed number.

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

[0076] <8. Display Examples> An example of a screen display in this embodiment will be described below. 5 is a display example of the target product list screen displayed in step S2 above. Hereinafter, it will be referred to as the product list screen W1. The product list screen W1 comprises a search section W11 and a list display section W12. In the search section W11, search conditions for the target product can be input, and when the "Search" button is selected, a list of target products that match the input search conditions is displayed in the list display section W12.

[0077] The list display unit W12 displays, for each target product, a list of the product ID ("Device ID" in FIG. 5), manufacturer, product name, serial number, maintenance start date, maintenance end date, system name, and the presence or absence of configuration information. Note that the product ID is an ID unique to this system, and the serial number is a code given to the product by the manufacturer, etc. Only one of these may be displayed. The manufacturer and product name are identified by a 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, a preparation status disclosure screen for the selected product is displayed. Fig. 6 shows an example of the display of the preparation status disclosure screen in this embodiment.

[0079] The preparation status disclosure screen W2 includes a contract information display section W21, a product information individual display section W22, and a preparation status display section W23. In the preparation status display section W23, the configurations of the product are displayed in a list, and the configuration name, the number of components corresponding to the configuration (the number of components), the component name, and the preparation status are displayed for each configuration.

[0080] In this embodiment, the standard number, secured number, deployed number, the total number of secured numbers and deployed numbers, and the total stock number are displayed for each configuration as the preparation status. The total stock number indicates the total number of stocks held by the maintenance service provider, regardless of whether it is secured for the user. In addition to these, in this embodiment, a "status" is displayed that indicates the preparation status in multiple stages such as O, X, and △. The "status" is determined according to the difference or ratio between the secured number, deployed number, or the total number of these, and the standard number. Note that it is also possible to display only the "status" without displaying specific numerical values.

[0081] The number of parts that the maintenance service provider has procured for maintenance, more specifically, the number of parts that are in preparation, including parts that have not yet been obtained from stock but will be procured in the future, may also be displayed.

[0082] In addition to these, the predicted number of failures for each configuration may be displayed. The predicted number of failures is a predicted number of failures during the remaining period, determined from the failure rate registered in advance in association with the component master and the remaining period of the contract. This allows the user to know a more specific estimate of the number of components required.

[0083] As described above, the maintenance preparation status management system of this embodiment can specifically present the maintenance preparation status according to the status of the parts used for maintenance. This makes it possible to provide reassuring information to users about whether they can receive sufficient maintenance service in the event of a breakdown, which was previously unclear to users. [Explanation of symbols]

[0084] 1: Maintenance preparation status management device 11: Registration section 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 disclosure screen W21: Contract information display section W22: Product information individual display section W23: Preparation status display section

Claims

1. A maintenance preparation status management system including a registration unit, an identification unit, and a display unit, The registration unit is The contract information regarding the maintenance service is registered in a database in association with a user of the maintenance service and a target product that is the target of the maintenance service used by the user; registering, in a database, preparation information including a preparation number indicating the number of each part prepared for maintenance, for parts corresponding to a configuration used in maintenance of the product; The identification unit is In response to a request for inquiry specifying the user, the product for which the user has contracted for a maintenance service is identified based on the contract information; Identifying a configuration corresponding to the target product by referring to configuration information in which the members constituting the product are registered for each product; Identifying a readiness status corresponding to each identified configuration based on the readiness information; The display unit processes and displays the results of the identification by the identification unit, and displays a preparation status screen that lists a standard number indicating the number of parts that should be prepared in advance for each configuration for the target product corresponding to the user, in association with the number of parts prepared.

2. A maintenance preparation status management system including a registration unit, an identification unit, and a display unit, The registration unit is The contract information regarding the maintenance service is registered in a database in association with a user of the maintenance service and a target product that is the target of the maintenance service used by the user; registering, in a database, preparation information including a preparation number indicating the number of each part prepared for maintenance, for parts corresponding to a configuration used in maintenance of the product; The identification unit is In response to a request for inquiry specifying the user, the product for which the user has contracted for a maintenance service is identified based on the contract information; Identifying a configuration corresponding to the target product by referring to configuration information in which the members constituting the product are registered for each product; Identifying a preparation status corresponding to each of the identified configurations by comparing a standard number indicating the number of the components to be prepared in advance with the preparation number; The display unit displays the results of the identification by the identification unit, and displays a preparation status screen that lists the preparation status for each configuration of the target product corresponding to the user.

3. The contract information includes a contract period. The maintenance preparation status management system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the standard number is determined based on a remaining period specified from the contract period.

4. The maintenance readiness management system according to claim 3 , wherein the standard number is determined based on a failure rate of each of the components in addition to the remaining period.

5. A maintenance preparation status management program that causes a computer to function as a registration unit, an identification unit, and a display unit, The registration unit is The contract information regarding the maintenance service is registered in a database in association with a user of the maintenance service and a target product that is the target of the maintenance service used by the user; registering, in a database, preparation information including a preparation number indicating the number of each part prepared for maintenance, for parts corresponding to a configuration used in maintenance of the product; The identification unit is In response to a request for inquiry specifying the user, the product for which the user has contracted for a maintenance service is identified based on the contract information; Identifying a configuration corresponding to the target product by referring to configuration information in which the members constituting the product are registered for each product; Identifying a readiness status corresponding to each identified configuration based on the readiness information; The display unit displays the results of the identification by the identification unit, and displays a preparation status screen that lists, in association with each other, a standard number indicating the number of parts that should be prepared in advance for each configuration for the target product corresponding to the user, and the number of parts prepared.

6. A maintenance preparation status management program that causes a computer to function as a registration unit, an identification unit, and a display unit, The registration unit is The contract information regarding the maintenance service is registered in a database in association with a user of the maintenance service and a target product that is the target of the maintenance service used by the user; registering, in a database, preparation information including a preparation number indicating the number of each part prepared for maintenance, for parts corresponding to a configuration used in maintenance of the product; The identification unit is In response to a request for inquiry specifying the user, the product for which the user has contracted for a maintenance service is identified based on the contract information; Identifying a configuration corresponding to the target product by referring to configuration information in which the members constituting the product are registered for each product; Identifying a preparation status corresponding to each of the identified configurations by comparing a standard number indicating the number of the components to be prepared in advance with the preparation number; The display unit displays the results of the identification by the identification unit, and displays a preparation status screen that lists the preparation status for each configuration of the target product corresponding to the user.

7. A maintenance readiness management method, comprising: The contract information regarding the maintenance service is registered in a database in association with a user of the maintenance service and a target product that is the target of the maintenance service used by the user; registering, in a database, preparation information including a preparation number indicating the number of each part prepared for maintenance, for parts corresponding to a configuration used in maintenance of the product; In response to a request for inquiry specifying the user, the product for which the user has contracted for a maintenance service is identified based on the contract information; Identifying a configuration corresponding to the target product by referring to configuration information in which the members constituting the product are registered for each product; Identifying a readiness status corresponding to each identified configuration based on the readiness information; A maintenance preparation status management method, which displays the identification results, and displays a preparation status screen that lists a standard number indicating the number of parts that should be prepared in advance for each configuration for the target product corresponding to the user, in association with the prepared number of the parts.

8. A maintenance readiness management method, comprising: The contract information regarding the maintenance service is registered in a database in association with a user of the maintenance service and a target product that is the target of the maintenance service used by the user; registering, in a database, preparation information including a preparation number indicating the number of each part prepared for maintenance, for parts corresponding to a configuration used in maintenance of the product; In response to a request for inquiry specifying the user, the product for which the user has contracted for a maintenance service is identified based on the contract information; Identifying a configuration corresponding to the target product by referring to configuration information in which the members constituting the product are registered for each product; Identifying a preparation status corresponding to each of the identified configurations by comparing a standard number indicating the number of the components to be prepared in advance with the preparation number; A maintenance preparation status management method, comprising: displaying a result of the identification process; and displaying a preparation status screen that displays a list of the preparation status for each configuration of the target product corresponding to the user.

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