Technician Management Device

Abstract

To arrange engineers who perform maintenance work on a mounted apparatus of a ship more easily.SOLUTION: The present invention relates to an engineer management device for determining an engineer to perform maintenance work on a mounted apparatus mounted on a ship, comprises: a ship management part which manages ship information associating a ship ID uniquely indicating the ship and a schedule port of call of the ship with each other; an apparatus management part which manages apparatus information associating an apparatus ID uniquely indicating the mounted apparatus with a ship ID indicating the ship mounted with the mounted apparatus; an engineer management part which manages engineer information associating an engineer ID uniquely indicating an engineer with a ship visitable area that the engineer can visit; and a determination processing part which determines an engineer to be sent as an engineer who is to perform the maintenance work based upon the ship information, the apparatus information and the engineer information at a maintenance request including the apparatus ID indicating the mounted apparatus as an object of maintenance.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] An embodiment of the present invention relates to a technique for managing engineers who perform maintenance work on onboard equipment installed on a ship. [Background technology]

[0002] Maintenance work, including repairs and inspections of onboard equipment such as radios and radar, is carried out by engineers with the skills and qualifications to operate the equipment. Furthermore, the engineers must visit the ship when it calls at port to perform maintenance work on the equipment. Therefore, arranging for engineers is a complicated process, as it is necessary to consider the location and date of the ship's call, the skills and qualifications required to operate the equipment, and the engineers' schedules. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Application No. 2001-221860 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a technology that can more easily arrange for engineers to perform maintenance work on equipment installed on a ship. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the engineer management device of this embodiment is an engineer management device that determines an engineer who will perform maintenance work on onboard equipment installed on a ship, and is equipped with a ship management unit that manages ship information that matches a ship ID that uniquely identifies the ship with the planned port of call of the ship, an equipment management unit that manages equipment information that matches an equipment ID that uniquely identifies the onboard equipment with the ship ID that indicates the ship on which the onboard equipment is installed, an engineer management unit that manages engineer information that matches an engineer ID that uniquely identifies the engineer with ship visitable areas that are areas where the engineer can visit the ship, and a determination processing unit that, in response to a maintenance request that includes an equipment ID that indicates the onboard equipment to be maintained, determines a dispatched engineer who will perform the maintenance work based on the ship information, the equipment information, and the engineer information. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to more easily arrange for technicians to perform maintenance work on onboard equipment of a ship. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of an engineer management system according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of an engineer management device according to an embodiment. [Figure 3] 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of an engineer management device according to an embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing device information. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing maintenance information. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing engineer information. [Figure 8] FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing evaluation information. [Figure 10] FIG. [Figure 11] 10 is a flowchart showing the procedure up to when a repair request is made. [Figure 12] 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of a maintenance request acceptance process. [Figure 13] 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of an engineer selection process. [Figure 14] 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the ship visit history comparison process. [Figure 15] 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of a maintenance history comparison process. [Figure 16] 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of a recruitment process. [Figure 17] 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of a process for determining a technician with required skills. [Figure 18] 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the required skill ship visit history comparison process. [Figure 19] 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of a skill comparison process. [Figure 20] 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of a skill level update process. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0009] (Overall structure of the engineer management system) First, the engineer management system according to this embodiment will be described. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of the engineer management system according to this embodiment.

[0010] 1, the engineer management system according to this embodiment includes an ECDIS (Electronic Chart Display and Information System) 11, a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) sensor 12, an AIS (Automatic Identification System) 13, a ship information collection device 14, onboard equipment 16, a maintenance determination device 17, and a ship terminal device 19. The engineer management system further includes an agent terminal device 31, an engineer terminal device 32, a shipowner terminal device 33, a ship management company terminal device 34, a manufacturer terminal device 35, a shipyard terminal device 36, a system management terminal device 37, an engineer management device 2, and an AIS receiver 5, which are all located on land.

[0011] The ECDIS 11, GNSS sensor 12, AIS 13, ship information collection device 14, onboard equipment 16, maintenance determination device 17, and ship terminal device 19 are communicatively connected via an onboard LAN (Local Area Network). The onboard LAN is connected to the Internet via a ship-to-shore communication device (not shown). The multiple terminal devices 31-37, engineer management device 2, and AIS receiver 5 are also connected to the Internet. The ECDIS 11, GNSS sensor 12, AIS 13, ship information collection device 14, onboard equipment 16, maintenance determination device 17, and ship terminal device 19 may be communicatively connected by any means on the ship.

[0012] The GNSS sensor 12 measures the ship's position, course, and speed. The ECDIS 11 displays nautical chart information and the ship's position, course, speed, etc. measured by the GNSS sensor 12, and is a device into which the ship's planned route is input. The planned route includes the ship's planned port of call as its destination and the scheduled time of port call. Note that an ECS (Electronic Chart System) may be installed on the ship instead of the ECDIS 11. The AIS 13 is a device that transmits the ship's position, course, speed, and ports of call to other ships via VHF (Very High Frequency) and receives the positions, course, speed, and ports of call of other ships. The AIS 13 obtains the ship's position, course, and speed from the GNSS sensor 12, and the ship's planned port of call and scheduled time of port call are manually input.

[0013] The ship information collection device 14 acquires the ship's position, course, and speed measured by the GNSS sensor 12, as well as the planned port of call and planned time of port call input into the ECDIS 11 or AIS 13, and transmits this information to the engineer management device 2 via the Internet. The onboard equipment 16 is equipment repaired / maintained by engineers, and examples of such equipment include surveillance cameras, radar, and two-way radio telephones. The ship terminal device 19 is a terminal used by the ship's crew to input and view various information. The maintenance determination device 17 acquires equipment information indicating the status of the onboard equipment 16 and transmits it to the engineer management device 2 via the Internet. The maintenance determination device 17 acquires equipment information of the onboard equipment 16 that is automatically input by a self-diagnosis function executed in the onboard equipment 16 or manually input by the ship terminal device 19. The equipment information will be described in detail later.

[0014] As will be described in detail later, the engineer management device 2 manages equipment information, maintenance information, engineer information, evaluation information, and implementation information. Furthermore, based on this information, the engineer management device 2 presents engineers according to the requirements for repair / maintenance of the onboard equipment 16. Each of the terminal devices 31 to 37 is a device that can input and view information and can connect to the Internet. Examples of such devices include personal computers and tablet terminals. The agency terminal device 31 is used by an agency to which multiple engineers belong. The engineer terminal device 32 is used by engineers. The shipowner terminal device 33 is used by the shipowner who owns the ship. The shipmanagement company terminal device 34 is used by the shipmanagement company that manages the ship. The manufacturer terminal device 35 is used by the manufacturer of the onboard equipment 16. The shipyard terminal device 36 is used by the shipyard that builds the ship. The system management terminal device 37 is used by an administrator who manages the engineer management system. The AIS receiver 5 is a device that is installed on land and receives information transmitted from the ship's AIS 13, and is used to obtain information about the ship when the ship cannot connect to the Internet.

[0015] In this embodiment, the engineer management device 2 has a web server function, and the terminal devices 19, 31 to 37 each view various information provided to the engineer management device 2 via a web browser or an application, and input various information to the engineer management device 2. In this embodiment, the terminal devices 19, 31, 33 to 37 are configured as personal computers, and the engineer terminal device 32 is configured as a smartphone.

[0016] Ship crew members, engineers, agents, shipowners, ship management companies, manufacturers, and shipyards must register as users in the engineer management device 2 before using the engineer management system, and when using the engineer management system, they must log in to the engineer management device 2 and authenticate. The ship information collection device 14 and the maintenance determination device 17 must also log in to the engineer management device 2 and authenticate. Users of the engineer management system are classified by user type, and the information that can be viewed, registered, and updated can be set for each user type. Examples of such user types include "ship" indicating a ship's crew member, "engineer" indicating an engineer, "agent" indicating an agent, "shipowner" indicating a shipowner, "shipmanagement company" indicating a shipmanagement company, "shipyard" indicating a shipyard, and "system administrator" indicating an administrator of the engineer management system.

[0017] (Hardware configuration) The hardware configuration of the engineer management device will now be described with reference to Fig. 2, which is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the engineer management device according to this embodiment.

[0018] 2, the engineer management device 2 includes, as main hardware components, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 21, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 22, a storage device 23, an external I / F (Interface) 24, and a network I / F 25. The ECDIS 11, the ship information collection device 14, the maintenance determination device 17, and the terminal devices 19, 31 to 37 are assumed to have substantially the same hardware components as the engineer management device 2.

[0019] The CPU 21 and RAM 22 work together to execute various functions, and the storage device 23 stores various data used in the processes executed by the various functions. The external I / F 24 inputs and outputs data to and from output devices such as a display, a mouse, a keyboard, and an input / output device such as a touch panel. The network I / F 25 is an interface for communicating with other devices. It is assumed that the external I / F 24 of the ECDIS 11 is connected to the GNSS sensor 12 and a steering device (not shown) that controls the rudder angle of the ship.

[0020] (Functional configuration) The functional configuration of the engineer management device will be described below: Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the engineer management device according to this embodiment.

[0021] As shown in Figure 3, the engineer management device 2 has the following functions: a ship management unit 201, an equipment management unit 202, a maintenance management unit 203, an engineer management unit 204, an evaluation management unit 205, a decision processing unit 206, a skill update unit 207, an implementation management unit 208, and a settlement processing unit 209.

[0022] The ship management unit 201 manages ship information indicating various information related to the ship. The equipment management unit 202 manages equipment information indicating various information related to the onboard equipment 16. The maintenance management unit 203 manages maintenance information indicating various information related to the maintenance of the onboard equipment 16. The engineer management unit 204 manages engineer information indicating various information related to the engineers. The evaluation management unit 205 manages evaluation information indicating the evaluation results of the engineers. The implementation management unit 208 manages implementation information indicating the results of maintenance work performed by the engineers on the onboard equipment 16. Ship information, equipment information, maintenance information, engineer information, evaluation information, and implementation information will be described in detail later.

[0023] The determination processing unit 206 determines an engineer in response to a maintenance request based on ship information, equipment information, maintenance information, engineer information, evaluation information, and implementation information. The skill update unit 207 updates the engineer's skill based on the number of maintenance work performed. The settlement processing unit 209 settles various fees related to the performed maintenance work.

[0024] (Ship information) The vessel information will now be described. Fig. 4 is a diagram showing the vessel information. In the table shown in Fig. 4, each column represents one record, and each row represents a field.

[0025] As shown in Figure 4, the ship information is information that associates a ship ID, ship name, current location, current location acquisition date and time, planned port of call, planned port of call date and time, desired repair location, desired repair date and time, desired inspection location, and desired inspection date and time. The ship ID is an identifier that uniquely identifies a ship, and is newly issued when the ship is registered. Ship registration is performed, for example, by the ship's crew, the shipowner who owns the ship, the ship management company that manages the ship, or the system administrator who manages the engineer management device 2.

[0026] The current position indicates the ship's current position using latitude and longitude coordinates. The current position acquisition date and time indicates the timing of updating the corresponding current position using the year, month, date, and time. The planned port of call indicates the ship's planned port of call. The planned port of call date and time indicates the planned timing of arrival at the corresponding planned port of call using the year, month, date, and time. The current position, current position acquisition date and time, planned port of call, and planned port of call date and time are obtained from the ship information collection device 14 installed on the ship, but if the ship is not connected to the Internet, they may also be obtained from the AIS receiver 5 installed on land.

[0027] The desired repair location indicates the location where the ship's onboard equipment 16 is desired to be repaired, and the desired repair date and time indicates the time range in which the ship's onboard equipment 16 is desired to be repaired. Similarly, the desired inspection location indicates the location where the ship's onboard equipment 16 is desired to be inspected, and the desired inspection date and time indicates the time range in which the ship's onboard equipment 16 is desired to be inspected. The desired repair location, desired repair date and time, desired inspection location, and desired inspection date and time are updated based on repair requests from the ship's crew, ship owner, or ship management company.

[0028] Users whose user type is "ship," "ship owner," "ship management company," or "shipyard" are associated with a specific ship ID. Specifically, a "ship" user is associated with a ship ID indicating the ship they are aboard, a "ship owner" user is associated with a ship ID indicating the ship they own, a "ship management company" user is associated with a ship ID indicating the ship they manage, and a "shipyard" user is associated with a ship ID indicating the ship they built.

[0029] (Device information) The device information will now be described. Fig. 5 is a diagram showing the device information. In the table shown in Fig. 5, each column indicates one record, and each row indicates a field.

[0030] As shown in FIG. 5, the equipment information is information in which an equipment ID, a ship ID, a manufacturer, a product name, a model number, a serial number, an installation date, a repair history, a regular inspection history, an operating time, an operating status, a repair request date and time, a repair progress status, a regular inspection deadline, a regular inspection request date and time, a regular inspection progress status, and remarks are associated with each other. The equipment ID is an identifier that uniquely identifies the onboard equipment 16, and is newly issued when the onboard equipment 16 is registered. The ship ID indicates the ship on which the onboard equipment 16 identified by the equipment ID is installed. The onboard equipment 16 is registered, for example, by the ship's crew, the shipowner who owns the ship, the ship management company that manages the ship, the manufacturer that manufactures the onboard equipment 16, or a system administrator who manages the engineer management device 2.

[0031] The manufacturer indicates the name of the manufacturer of the onboard equipment 16. The product name indicates the name of the product type to which the onboard equipment 16 belongs. The model number is an identifier that uniquely indicates the product type to which the onboard equipment 16 belongs. The serial number is an identifier that uniquely indicates each individual onboard equipment 16, and is issued when the onboard equipment 16 is manufactured or shipped. The installation date indicates the date on which the onboard equipment 16 was installed on the ship, expressed as year, month, and day. The manufacturer, product name, model number, serial number, and installation date are entered when the onboard equipment 16 is registered.

[0032] The repair history indicates, by date, the date on which repairs have already been performed on the onboard equipment 16. The regular inspection history indicates, by date, the date on which regular inspections have already been performed on the onboard equipment 16. The repair history and regular inspection history are updated by the ship's crew, the shipowner who owns the ship, or the ship management company that manages the ship as repair / inspection work is completed.

[0033] The operating time indicates the cumulative total time that the onboard equipment 16 has been operating, and is periodically notified to the engineer management device 2 by the maintenance judgment device 17. The operating status indicates whether the onboard equipment 16 is normal or not, with "good" indicating that the onboard equipment 16 is normal and "bad" indicating that the onboard equipment 16 is abnormal. If the onboard equipment 16 is abnormal, the operating status indicates whether the abnormality determination was made automatically and the type of abnormality. In the operating status, "bad (manual)" indicates that the abnormality determination was made manually, for example, indicating that the abnormality was notified to the engineer management device 2 via the shipboard terminal device 19. Furthermore, "bad (automatic)" indicates that the abnormality determination was made automatically, for example, indicating that the abnormality was notified to the engineer management device 2 via the maintenance judgment device 17.

[0034] The repair request date and time indicates the date and time when repair of the onboard equipment 16 was requested, using the date and time. The repair progress status indicates the progress status regarding the repair of the onboard equipment 16. The regular inspection deadline indicates the deadline for the regular inspection of the onboard equipment 16, using the date and time. The regular inspection request date and time indicates the date and time when the regular inspection of the onboard equipment 16 was requested, using the date and time. The regular inspection progress status indicates the progress status regarding the regular inspection of the onboard equipment 16. The repair request date and time, regular inspection request date and time, repair progress status, and regular inspection progress status are updated by the engineer management device 2 in response to a request for repair or inspection of the onboard equipment 16 in the engineer management system. The remarks field is for entering information regarding the onboard equipment 16 that is not included in the equipment information field, and in Figure 5, contact information regarding the onboard equipment 16 is entered.

[0035] (Maintenance information) The maintenance information will now be described. Fig. 6 is a diagram showing the maintenance information. In the table shown in Fig. 6, each column indicates one record, and each row indicates a field.

[0036] 6, the maintenance information is information in which the model number, manufacturer, product name, inputter, skill required flag, warranty period, manual document number, manual URL, FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) document number, FAQ URL, regularly replaced parts, regular inspection interval, and contact information are associated with each other. The maintenance information is registered for each product type of onboard equipment 16 by the manufacturer, crew, shipowner, or ship management company, but is preferably registered by the manufacturer.

[0037] The model number is an identifier that uniquely indicates the product type to which the onboard equipment 16 belongs. The manufacturer indicates the name of the manufacturer of the onboard equipment 16. The product name indicates the name of the product type to which the onboard equipment 16 belongs. The inputter indicates the person who input the maintenance information. The skill required flag indicates whether or not skill is required to perform maintenance on the onboard equipment 16, with "TRUE" indicating that skill is required and "FALSE" indicating that skill is not required. The warranty period indicates the warranty period set for the product type. The manual document number is an identifier that uniquely indicates a manual document that describes information regarding the operation / maintenance of the product type. The manual URL indicates the URL of a manual document published on the network. The FAQ document number uniquely indicates a document that contains anticipated questions about the product type and answers to those questions. The FAQ URL indicates the URL of a FAQ document published on the network. The regularly replaced parts indicate parts that are recommended to be replaced regularly for the product type and the usage time during which they should be replaced. The regular inspection interval indicates the interval between regular inspections recommended for the product type. The contact information indicates the contact point for inquiries regarding the product type.

[0038] (Engineer information) The engineer information will now be described. Fig. 7 is a diagram showing the engineer information. Fig. 8 is a diagram showing a report. In the table shown in Fig. 7, each column indicates one record, and each row indicates a field.

[0039] As shown in Figure 7, the engineer information is information that associates the engineer ID, name, company, area where ship visits are possible, notification request flag, repair skills, inspection skills, maintainable equipment, qualifications, ship visit schedule, and ship visit history. The engineer ID is an identifier that uniquely identifies the engineer and is newly issued when the engineer is registered. Engineers are registered by the system administrator who manages the engineer management device 2. In addition, the name, company, area where ship visits are possible, maintainable equipment, and ship visit schedule can be updated by the engineer himself, the agency to which the engineer belongs, or the manufacturer to which the engineer belongs. Furthermore, the system administrator and the manufacturer can set repair skills and inspection skills. Repair skills and inspection skills are updated by the skill level update process described below.

[0040] The name indicates the name of the engineer. The company indicates the name of the company to which the engineer belongs, and in this embodiment, indicates the name of the agency or manufacturer. The ship visit area indicates the areas in prefectures where the engineer can visit ships. The notification request flag sets whether or not to notify the engineer management device 2 to the engineer terminal device 32, with "TRUE" indicating that notification will be made and "FALSE" indicating that notification will not be made. The repair skill indicates the product type, the skill level indicating the level of skill related to repairing the equipment indicated by the product type, and the expiration date set for the skill level. The inspection skill indicates the product type, the skill level indicating the level of skill related to inspecting the equipment indicated by the product type, and the expiration date set for the skill level. In this embodiment, the skill level is indicated by 1 to 5, with the higher number indicating a higher skill level.

[0041] Maintainable equipment indicates the product type of equipment that the engineer can maintain. Qualifications held indicate the qualifications held by the engineer. Ship visit schedule indicates the schedule for the engineer's maintenance work, and includes the date the maintenance work will be performed, the prefecture where the ship will be visited, the ship to be visited, the model number indicating the product type to be maintained, and the type of maintenance work. Ship visit history indicates the history of maintenance work that has already been performed, and includes the date the maintenance work was performed, the ship to be visited, the manufacturer and product type of the product to be maintained, the type of maintenance work, and a document number that uniquely identifies the maintenance work report.

[0042] As shown in FIG. 8, the maintenance work report is a document for reporting the results of the maintenance work, and describes an outline of the maintenance work. FIG. 8 shows an example of a report on repair work for a radar. The format of the report may differ depending on the manufacturer of the onboard equipment 16. Furthermore, although the report is assumed to be issued to the engineer management device 2, it may also be issued by another system used by the manufacturer and registered in the engineer management device 2.

[0043] Engineers are registered through the system management terminal device 37. For engineers who belong to a manufacturer, the manufacturer inputs the name, repair skills, inspection skills, and maintainable equipment fields in the engineer information, while the engineers themselves input the other fields. On the other hand, for engineers who do not belong to a manufacturer, the engineers themselves can input only the fields in the engineer information other than repair skills, inspection skills, and maintainable equipment fields.

[0044] (Evaluation information) The evaluation information will be described below. Fig. 9 is a diagram showing the evaluation information. In the table shown in Fig. 9, each column indicates one record, and each row indicates a field.

[0045] As shown in Figure 9, the evaluation information is information that associates a ship ID, ship name, favorite company, favorite engineer, and engineer evaluation result. The ship ID is an identifier that uniquely identifies a ship. The ship name indicates the name of the ship. The favorite company indicates a manufacturer or agent designated by the shipowner who owns the ship, the ship management company that manages the ship, or the ship's crew. The favorite engineer indicates an engineer designated by the shipowner who owns the ship, the ship management company that manages the ship, or the ship's crew. The engineer evaluation result indicates an evaluation of the engineer who performed maintenance work on onboard equipment 16, and includes the evaluation date and time, model number, type of maintenance work, document number, engineer ID, and evaluation level indicated on a five-point scale.

[0046] (Implementation information) The implementation information will be described below. Fig. 10 is a diagram showing the implementation information. In the table shown in Fig. 10, each column indicates one record, and each row indicates a field.

[0047] As shown in Figure 10, the implementation information is information that associates a case ID, manufacturer, product name, model number, serial number, work type, start date, work time, necessary expenses, document number, and captain's signature. The case ID is an identifier that uniquely identifies the maintenance work. The manufacturer, product name, model number, and serial number relate to the onboard equipment 16 that is the target of the maintenance work. The work type indicates the type of maintenance work. The start date indicates the start date of the maintenance work. The work time indicates the time required for the maintenance work. The necessary expenses indicate the expenses required for the maintenance work. The document number indicates the maintenance work report. The captain's signature indicates the digital signature of the captain of the ship on which the onboard equipment 16 that is the target of the maintenance work indicated by the corresponding case ID is installed.

[0048] (Procedure for requesting repairs) The procedure up to when a repair request for an onboard device is made will now be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

[0049] 11 , first, the equipment management unit 202 of the engineer management device 2 determines whether or not an abnormality in the onboard equipment 16 has been detected by the maintenance determination device 17 (S101). If the onboard equipment 16 has a self-diagnosis function, the onboard equipment 16 transmits information indicating the type of abnormality in the onboard equipment 16 to the maintenance determination device 17, and the maintenance determination device 17 transmits an abnormality notification including a device ID indicating the onboard equipment 16 and the abnormality type to the engineer management device 2. When the engineer management device 2 receives the abnormality notification transmitted by the maintenance determination device 17, the equipment management unit 202 determines that an abnormality in the onboard equipment 16 has been detected by the maintenance determination device 17.

[0050] If the maintenance determination device 17 detects an abnormality in the onboard equipment 16 (S101, YES), the equipment management unit 202 updates the operation status in the equipment information, including the equipment ID included in the abnormality notification, to "bad (automatic)" (S102). The ship's crew performs recovery work for the onboard equipment 16 (S103). At this time, the ship's crew can refer to the "manual document," "manual URL," "FAQ document number," "FAQ URL," etc. in the maintenance information, including the model number of the model to which the onboard equipment 16 belongs, via the ship's terminal device 19. After the recovery work, the ship's crew determines whether the onboard equipment 16 has been recovered (S104).

[0051] If the onboard equipment 16 is recovered (S104, YES), the equipment management unit 202 updates the operating status in the equipment information to "good" based on the recovery notification sent by the ship terminal device 19 (S105), and this procedure is terminated.

[0052] On the other hand, if the onboard equipment 16 is not restored (S104, NO), a repair request is sent from the ship terminal device 19, the shipowner terminal device 33, or the ship management company terminal device 34 to the engineer management device 2 (S107), and this procedure is terminated. The repair request includes an equipment ID indicating the onboard equipment 16 to be repaired and a ship ID indicating the ship on which the onboard equipment 16 is installed. Similarly, the inspection request also includes an equipment ID and a ship ID.

[0053] Furthermore, in step S101, if the maintenance determination device 17 does not detect an abnormality in the onboard equipment 16 (S101, NO), the equipment management unit 202 determines whether or not an abnormality in the onboard equipment 16 has been discovered by the crew of the ship (S108). If the crew of the ship discovers an abnormality in the onboard equipment 16, the crew sends an abnormality notification to the engineer management device 2 via the ship terminal device 19. If the engineer management device 2 receives the abnormality notification sent by the ship terminal device 19, the equipment management unit 202 determines that an abnormality in the onboard equipment 16 has been discovered by the crew of the ship.

[0054] If the ship's crew discovers an abnormality in the onboard equipment 16 (S108, YES), the equipment management unit 202 updates the operating status in the equipment information including the equipment ID included in the abnormality notification to "bad (manual)" (S109), and the ship's crew performs recovery work for the onboard equipment 16 (S103).

[0055] On the other hand, if the crew of the ship finds no abnormality in the onboard equipment 16 (S108, NO), this procedure is terminated.

[0056] (Maintenance request acceptance process) The maintenance request acceptance process will now be described. Fig. 12 is a flowchart showing the operation of the maintenance request acceptance process. In the flowchart shown in Fig. 12, it is assumed that a maintenance request, which is a repair request or an inspection request, has already been received by the engineer management device.

[0057] As shown in FIG. 12, first, the decision processing unit 206 refers to the installation date and model number associated with the device ID included in the maintenance request in the device information, and also refers to the warranty period associated with the referenced model number in the maintenance information, and determines whether the on-board device 16 to be maintained is within the warranty period based on the installation date, warranty period, and current date and time (S201).

[0058] If the maintenance target is not within the warranty period (S201, NO), the decision processing unit 206 refers to the ship ID associated with the equipment ID in the equipment information, and also refers to the evaluation information including the ship ID, and determines whether a favorite engineer or agent has been set (S202).

[0059] If a favorite engineer or agent shop has not been set (S202, NO), an engineer determination process, which will be described later, is executed (S203), and the maintenance request acceptance process is terminated.

[0060] On the other hand, if a favorite engineer or agency has been set (S202, YES), the determination processing unit 206 sends a response request to the agency to which the engineer set as a favorite belongs, or to the agency terminal device 31 to which the agency set as a favorite logs in (S204). The response request requests the notification destination to respond as to whether or not to accept the maintenance request. Next, the determination processing unit 206 determines whether or not the agency has accepted the maintenance request (S205).

[0061] If the agent accepts the maintenance request (YES in S205), the maintenance request acceptance process is terminated. On the other hand, if the agent does not accept the maintenance request (NO in S205), the engineer selection process is executed (S203).

[0062] Also, in step S201, if the maintenance target is within the warranty period (S201, YES), the decision processing unit 206 notifies the shipyard terminal device 36 of a message urging the shipyard to make a maintenance request to the manufacturer of the maintenance target (S206), and the maintenance request acceptance process is terminated.

[0063] (Engineer Determination Processing) The technician selection process will now be described with reference to a flowchart of FIG.

[0064] As shown in FIG. 13, first, the decision processing unit 206 determines whether or not the skill requirement flag associated with the device ID of the device to be maintained in the device information is TRUE (S301).

[0065] If the skill requirement flag is not TRUE (S301, NO), the decision processing unit 206 selects an unselected engineer ID from all engineer IDs managed by the engineer management unit 204 (S302), and determines whether the maintainable equipment associated with the selected engineer ID in the engineer information includes any maintenance targets (S303).

[0066] If the maintenance target is included in the maintainable equipment (S303, YES), the decision processing unit 206 refers to the planned port of call associated with the ship ID on which the maintenance target is installed in the ship information, and determines whether the area to which the referenced planned port of call belongs is included in the ship visitable areas associated with the selected engineer ID in the engineer information (S304).

[0067] If the planned port of call is included in the ship visitable area (S304, YES), the determination processing unit 206 determines whether the schedule of the engineer indicated by the selected engineer ID is available (S305). Here, the determination processing unit 206 refers to the planned port call date and time associated with the ship ID on which the maintenance target is installed in the ship information, and also refers to the ship visit schedule associated with the selected engineer ID in the engineer information, and determines that the schedule is available if there is no ship visit schedule that matches the planned port call date and time.

[0068] If the engineer's schedule is available (S305, YES), the decision processing unit 206 adds the selected engineer ID to the dispatch engineer candidates (S306). The dispatch engineer candidates indicate candidates for dispatch engineers who will notify the accepted maintenance request. Next, the decision processing unit 206 determines whether all engineer IDs managed by the engineer management unit 204 have been selected (S307).

[0069] If all engineer IDs have been selected (S307, YES), the determination processing unit 206 determines whether the number of engineer IDs added to the dispatch engineer candidates is 0 (S308).

[0070] If the number of engineer IDs added to the dispatch engineer candidates is not 0 (S308, NO), the decision processing unit 206 determines whether the number of engineer IDs added to the dispatch engineer candidates is 2 or more (S309).

[0071] If the number of engineer IDs added to the dispatch engineer candidates is not two or more (S309, NO), that is, if there is only one engineer ID added to the dispatch engineer candidates, the determination processing unit 206 determines the engineer indicated by this engineer ID as the dispatch engineer, and notifies the engineer terminal device 32 into which the dispatch engineer logs in, or the agency terminal device 31 into which the agency to which the dispatch engineer belongs logs in, of a maintenance request (S310), and the engineer determination process is terminated.

[0072] On the other hand, if the number of engineer IDs added to the dispatch engineer candidates is two or more (S309, YES), the ship visit history comparison process described below is executed (S311), and the engineer determination process is terminated.

[0073] Furthermore, in step S308, if the number of engineer IDs added to the dispatch engineer candidates is 0 (S308, YES), the recruitment process described below is executed (S312), and the engineer determination process is terminated.

[0074] Also, in step S307, if all engineer IDs have not been selected (S307, NO), the decision processing unit 206 again selects an unselected engineer ID from among all engineer IDs managed by the engineer management unit 204 (S302).

[0075] Furthermore, in step S305, if the schedule of the engineer is not available (S305, NO), the decision processing unit 206 determines whether all the engineer IDs managed by the engineer management unit 204 have been selected (S307).

[0076] Also, in step S304, if the planned port of call is not included in the area where the ship can visit (S304, NO), the decision processing unit 206 determines whether all engineer IDs managed by the engineer management unit 204 have been selected (S307).

[0077] Also, in step S303, if the maintenance target is not included in the maintainable devices (S303, NO), the decision processing unit 206 determines whether all engineer IDs managed by the engineer management unit 204 have been selected (S307).

[0078] Furthermore, in step S301, if the skill requirement flag is TRUE (S301, YES), a skill requirement technician determination process, which will be described later, is executed (S313), and the technician determination process is terminated.

[0079] (Ship visit history comparison processing) The ship visit history comparison process will now be described with reference to a flowchart of FIG.

[0080] 14, first, the determination processing unit 206 selects an unselected engineer ID from among the engineer IDs added to the dispatch engineer candidates (S401). Next, the determination processing unit 206 refers to the ship visit history associated with the selected engineer ID in the engineer information, and determines whether the ship on which the maintenance target is installed is included in this ship visit history (S402).

[0081] If the ship visit history includes a ship on which a maintenance target is installed (S402, YES), the determination processing unit 206 determines whether a dispatched engineer has not yet been determined (S403).

[0082] If the dispatched engineer has not been decided (S403, YES), the decision processing unit 206 decides the selected engineer ID as the dispatched engineer (S404) and determines whether all engineer IDs added to the dispatched engineer candidates have been selected (S406).

[0083] When all the engineer IDs added to the dispatch engineer candidates have been selected (S406, YES), the decision processing unit 206 determines whether or not a dispatch engineer has yet to be decided (S407).

[0084] If the dispatched engineer is not yet determined (S407, NO), the determination processing unit 206 notifies the engineer terminal device 32 logged in by the dispatched engineer using the engineer ID determined for the dispatched engineer, or the agency terminal device 31 logged in by the agency to which the dispatched engineer belongs, of the maintenance request (S408), and the ship visit history comparison process is terminated.

[0085] On the other hand, if a dispatched engineer has not been decided (S407, YES), the maintenance history comparison process described below is executed (S409), and the ship visit history comparison process is terminated.

[0086] Also, in step S406, if all engineer IDs added to the dispatch engineer candidates have not been selected (S406, NO), the decision processing unit 206 again selects unselected engineer IDs from the engineer IDs added to the dispatch engineer candidates (S401).

[0087] Also, in step S403, if the dispatched engineer is not yet determined (S403, NO), the determination processing unit 206 refers to the ship visit history associated with the selected engineer ID and the ship visit history associated with the engineer ID determined for the dispatched engineer in the engineer information, and determines whether the ship visit date of the selected engineer is later than the ship visit date of the dispatched engineer (S405).

[0088] If the ship arrival date of the selected engineer is later than the ship arrival date of the dispatched engineer (S405, YES), the decision processing unit 206 determines the selected engineer ID as the dispatched engineer instead of the engineer ID that has been determined as the dispatched engineer (S410), and determines whether all engineer IDs added to the dispatched engineer candidates have been selected (S406).

[0089] Also, in step S402, if the ship visit history does not include a ship on which the maintenance target is installed (S402, NO), the decision processing unit 206 determines whether all engineer IDs added to the dispatch engineer candidates have been selected (S406).

[0090] (Maintenance history comparison processing) The maintenance history comparison process will now be described with reference to a flowchart of FIG.

[0091] As shown in Figure 15, first, the decision processing unit 206 selects an engineer ID that has not been selected in the maintenance history comparison process from among the engineer IDs added to the dispatch engineer candidates (S501), and determines whether the engineer indicated by the selected engineer ID has previously performed maintenance work on onboard equipment 16 with the same model number as the maintenance target (S502). Here, the decision processing unit 206 references the ship visit history associated with the selected engineer ID in the engineer information and determines whether the same model number as the maintenance target is included. Furthermore, if the maintenance request is a repair request, the decision processing unit 206 references only the ship visit history where repair work was performed, and if the maintenance request is an inspection request, it references only the ship visit history where inspection work was performed.

[0092] If the engineer has previously performed maintenance work on the on-board equipment 16 with the same model number as the maintenance target (S502, YES), the decision processing unit 206 determines whether or not a dispatched engineer has yet to be decided (S503).

[0093] If the dispatched engineer has not been decided (S503, YES), the decision processing unit 206 decides the selected engineer ID as the dispatched engineer (S504) and determines whether all engineer IDs added to the dispatched engineer candidates have been selected in the maintenance history comparison process (S505).

[0094] When all the engineer IDs added to the dispatch engineer candidates are selected in the maintenance history comparison process (S505, YES), the determination processing unit 206 determines whether or not a dispatch engineer has yet to be determined (S506).

[0095] If the dispatched engineer is not yet determined (S506, NO), the determination processing unit 206 notifies the engineer terminal device 32 logged in by the dispatched engineer using the engineer ID determined for the dispatched engineer, or the agency terminal device 31 logged in by the agency to which the dispatched engineer belongs, of the maintenance request (S507), and the maintenance history comparison process is terminated.

[0096] On the other hand, if the dispatched engineer has not been decided (S506, YES), the decision processing unit 206 notifies a response request to the engineer terminal device 32 logged in with all engineer IDs included in the dispatched engineer candidates (S508), and determines whether a response to this response request has been made (S509).

[0097] If a response is made to the response request (S509, YES), the decision processing unit 206 determines the engineer indicated by the engineer ID who responded first as the dispatched engineer, and notifies the engineer terminal device 32 logged in using this engineer ID, or the agency terminal device 31 logged in by the agency to which the dispatched engineer belongs, of a maintenance request (S510), and the maintenance history comparison process is terminated.

[0098] On the other hand, if no response to the response request has been made (S509, NO), the decision processing unit 206 again determines whether or not a response to the response request has been made (S509).

[0099] Also, in step S505, if all engineer IDs added to the dispatch engineer candidates have not been selected in the maintenance history comparison process (S505, NO), the decision processing unit 206 again selects engineer IDs from the engineer IDs added to the dispatch engineer candidates that have not been selected in the maintenance history comparison process (S501).

[0100] Furthermore, in step S503, if the dispatched engineer is not yet determined (S503, NO), the determination processing unit 206 determines whether the selected engineer has performed a greater number of maintenance tasks for onboard equipment 16 with the same model number as the maintenance target than the dispatched engineer (S511). Here, the determination processing unit 206 compares, in the engineer information, the number of model numbers that are the same as the maintenance target included in the ship visit history corresponding to the selected engineer ID with the number of model numbers that are the same as the maintenance target included in the ship visit history corresponding to the engineer ID determined for the dispatched engineer.

[0101] If the selected engineer has more maintenance tasks than the dispatched engineer (S511, YES), the decision processing unit 206 determines the selected engineer ID as the dispatched engineer instead of the engineer ID that has been determined as the dispatched engineer (S512), and determines whether all engineer IDs added to the dispatched engineer candidates have been selected in the maintenance history comparison process (S505).

[0102] (Public offering process) The operation of the recruitment process will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

[0103] As shown in Figure 16, first, the decision processing unit 206 selects an engineer ID that has not been selected in the public recruitment process from all engineer IDs managed by the engineer management unit 204 (S601), references the planned port of call associated with the ship ID on which the maintenance target is installed in the ship information, and determines whether the area to which the referenced planned port of call belongs is included in the ship visitable areas associated with the selected engineer ID in the engineer information (S602).

[0104] If the planned port of call is included in the ship visitable area (S602, YES), the decision processing unit 206 determines whether the selected engineer has an open schedule (S603).

[0105] If the selected engineer's schedule is available (YES in S603), the decision processing unit 206 determines whether the notification request flag associated with the selected engineer ID in the engineer information is TRUE (S604).

[0106] If the notification request flag is TRUE (S604, YES), the decision processing unit 206 adds the selected engineer ID to the list of dispatched engineer candidates (S605) and determines whether all engineer IDs managed by the engineer management unit 204 have been selected in the recruitment process (S606).

[0107] If all engineer IDs have been selected (S606, YES), the determination processing unit 206 determines whether the number of engineer IDs added to the dispatch engineer candidates is 0 (S607).

[0108] If the number of engineer IDs added to the dispatch engineer candidates is not 0 (S607, NO), the decision processing unit 206 notifies a response request to the engineer terminal device 32 logged in with all engineer IDs added to the dispatch engineer candidates, or to the agency terminal device 31 logged in by the agency to which the engineers added to the dispatch engineer candidates belong (S608), and determines whether a response to this response request has been made (S609).

[0109] If a response to the request is made (S609, YES), the decision processing unit 206 determines the engineer indicated by the engineer ID who responded first as the dispatched engineer, and notifies the maintenance request to the engineer terminal device 32 logged in using this engineer ID, or the agency terminal device 31 logged in by the agency to which the dispatched engineer belongs (S610), and the public recruitment process is terminated.

[0110] On the other hand, if no response to the response request has been made (S609, NO), the decision processing unit 206 again determines whether or not a response to the response request has been made (S609).

[0111] Also, in step S607, if the number of engineer IDs added to the dispatch engineer candidates is 0 (S607, YES), the decision processing unit 206 notifies the terminal device that sent the maintenance request of a message urging it to contact the manufacturer of the object to be maintained (S611).

[0112] Also, in step S606, if all engineer IDs have not been selected (S606, NO), the decision processing unit 206 again selects engineer IDs that have not been selected in the public recruitment process from among all engineer IDs managed by the engineer management unit 204 (S601).

[0113] Also, in step S604, if the notification request flag is not TRUE (S604, NO), the decision processing unit 206 determines whether all engineer IDs managed by the engineer management unit 204 have been selected in the recruitment process (S606).

[0114] Also, in step S603, if the selected engineer's schedule is not available (S603, NO), the decision processing unit 206 determines whether all engineer IDs managed by the engineer management unit 204 have been selected in the recruitment process (S606).

[0115] Also, in step S602, if the planned port of call is not included in the area where the ship can visit (S602, NO), the decision processing unit 206 determines whether all engineer IDs managed by the engineer management unit 204 have been selected in the public recruitment process (S606).

[0116] (Process for determining required technicians) The process of determining a technician with required skills will now be described with reference to a flowchart of FIG.

[0117] 17, first, the decision processing unit 206 selects an unselected engineer ID from among the engineer IDs managed by the engineer management unit 204 (S701), and refers to the repair skill or inspection skill associated with the selected engineer ID in the engineer information to determine whether the skill level associated with the model number to which the target device belongs is within the expiration date (S702). Here, the decision processing unit 206 refers to the repair skill if the maintenance request is a repair request, and refers to the inspection skill if the maintenance request is an inspection request.

[0118] If the skill level is within the expiration date (S702, YES), the decision processing unit 206 adds the selected engineer ID to the repair-capable engineers (S703) and determines whether all engineer IDs managed by the engineer management unit 204 have been selected (S704).

[0119] If all the engineer IDs have been selected (S704, YES), the decision processing unit 206 determines whether the number of engineer IDs added to the engineers available for repair is 0 (S705).

[0120] If the number of engineer IDs added to the repairable engineers is not 0 (S705, NO), the decision processing unit 206 selects an unselected engineer ID from the engineer IDs added to the repairable engineers (S706), and determines whether the planned port of call of the ship on which the maintenance target is installed is included in the area where the selected engineer can visit the ship (S707).

[0121] If the planned port of call is included in the area in which the engineer can visit the ship (YES in S707), the decision processing unit 206 determines whether the schedule of the selected engineer is available (S708).

[0122] If the engineer's schedule is available (708, YES), the decision processing unit 206 adds the selected engineer ID to the list of dispatch engineer candidates (S709) and determines whether all engineer IDs added to the list of repair-capable engineers have been selected (S710).

[0123] When all the engineer IDs added to the list of available repair engineers have been selected (S710, YES), the decision processing unit 206 determines whether the number of engineer IDs added to the list of dispatch engineer candidates is 0 (S711).

[0124] If the number of engineer IDs added to the dispatch engineer candidates is not 0 (S711, NO), the decision processing unit 206 determines whether the number of engineer IDs added to the dispatch engineer candidates is 2 or more (S712).

[0125] If the number of engineer IDs added to the dispatch engineer candidates is not two or more (S712, NO), that is, if there is only one engineer ID added to the dispatch engineer candidates, the determination processing unit 206 determines the engineer indicated by this engineer ID as the dispatch engineer, and notifies the engineer terminal device 32 into which the dispatch engineer logs in, or the agency terminal device 31 into which the agency to which the dispatch engineer belongs logs in, of a maintenance request (S713), and the process of determining an engineer with required skills is terminated.

[0126] On the other hand, if the number of engineer IDs added to the dispatch engineer candidates is two or more (S712, YES), the required skill ship visit history comparison process described below is executed (S714), and the required skill engineer determination process is terminated.

[0127] Also, in step S711, if the number of engineer IDs added to the dispatch engineer candidates is 0 (S711, YES), the decision processing unit 206 notifies the terminal device that sent the maintenance request of a message encouraging the terminal device to make a maintenance request with the planned port of call and planned date and time of call changed (S715).

[0128] Also, in step S710, if all of the engineer IDs added to the repairable engineers have not been selected (S710, NO), the decision processing unit 206 again selects an unselected engineer ID from among the engineer IDs added to the repairable engineers (S706).

[0129] Furthermore, in step S708, if the engineer's schedule is not available (708, NO), the decision processing unit 206 determines whether all the engineer IDs added to the engineers available for repair have been selected (S710).

[0130] Also, in step S707, if the planned port of call is not included in the engineer's available ship visiting area (S707, NO), the decision processing unit 206 determines whether all engineer IDs added to the repair-capable engineers have been selected (S710).

[0131] Also, in step S705, if the number of engineer IDs added to the repair-capable engineers is 0 (S705, YES), the decision processing unit 206 notifies the terminal device that sent the maintenance request of a message urging it to contact the manufacturer that produced the item to be maintained (S716).

[0132] Also, in step S704, if all engineer IDs have not been selected (S704, NO), the decision processing unit 206 again selects an unselected engineer ID from among the engineer IDs managed by the engineer management unit 204 (S701).

[0133] Furthermore, in step S702, if the skill level is not within the expiration date (S702, NO), the decision processing unit 206 determines whether all the engineer IDs managed by the engineer management unit 204 have been selected (S704).

[0134] (Required Skills Visit Ship Comparison Processing) The required skill ship visit comparison process will now be described. Fig. 18 is a flowchart showing the operation of the required skill ship visit history comparison process.

[0135] As shown in Figure 18, the required skill ship visit history comparison process differs from the ship visit history comparison process described with reference to Figure 14 only in that skill comparison process is executed in step S409A instead of maintenance history comparison process in step S409.

[0136] (Skill comparison processing) The skill comparison process will now be described with reference to a flowchart of FIG.

[0137] As shown in Figure 19, first, the decision processing unit 206 selects an engineer ID that has not been selected in the skill comparison process from the engineer IDs added to the dispatch engineer candidates (S801), and determines whether the dispatch engineer has not been decided (S802).

[0138] If the dispatched engineer has not been decided (S802, YES), the decision processing unit 206 decides on the engineer indicated by the selected engineer ID as the dispatched engineer (S803), and determines whether all engineer IDs added to the dispatched engineer candidates have been selected in the skill comparison process (S804).

[0139] If all engineer IDs added to the dispatched engineer candidates are selected in the skill comparison process (S804, YES), a maintenance request is notified to the engineer terminal device 32 logged in using the engineer ID selected for the dispatched engineer, or to the agency terminal device 31 logged in by the agency to which the dispatched engineer belongs (S805), and the skill comparison process is terminated.

[0140] On the other hand, if all engineer IDs added to the dispatch engineer candidates have not been selected in the skill comparison process (S804, NO), the decision processing unit 206 again selects engineer IDs from among the engineer IDs added to the dispatch engineer candidates that have not been selected in the skill comparison process (S801).

[0141] Furthermore, in step S802, if a dispatched engineer has not yet been determined (S802, NO), the determination processing unit 206 determines whether the skill level of the selected engineer is higher than the skill level of the dispatched engineer (S806). Here, the determination processing unit 206 refers to the repair skill or inspection skill associated with the selected engineer ID in the engineer information and the repair skill or inspection skill associated with the engineer ID determined for the dispatched engineer, and compares the skill level of the product type to be maintained. Note that if the maintenance request is a repair request, the repair skill is referenced, and if the maintenance request is an inspection request, the inspection skill is referenced.

[0142] If the skill level of the selected engineer is not higher than the skill level of the dispatched engineer (S806, NO), the decision processing unit 206 determines whether all engineer IDs added to the dispatched engineer candidates were selected in the skill comparison process (S804).

[0143] On the other hand, if the skill level of the selected engineer is higher than the skill level of the dispatched engineer (S806, YES), the decision processing unit 206 decides that the engineer indicated by the selected engineer ID will be the dispatched engineer instead of the engineer ID that has been decided as the dispatched engineer (S807), and determines whether all engineer IDs added to the dispatched engineer candidates have been selected in the skill comparison process (S804).

[0144] (Skill level update process) The skill level update process will be described below. Fig. 20 is a flowchart showing the operation of the skill level update process. Note that the skill level update process is executed at predetermined intervals.

[0145] As shown in Figure 20, first, the skill update unit 207 selects an unselected engineer ID from the engineer IDs managed by the engineer management unit 204 (S901), and determines whether there is a maintenance skill (repair skill or inspection skill) associated with the selected engineer ID in the engineer information (S902).

[0146] If maintenance skills exist (S902, YES), the skill update unit 207 selects an unselected maintenance skill from the maintenance skills associated with the selected engineer ID (S903), and determines whether the remaining time until the expiration date of the selected maintenance skill is less than one month (S904).

[0147] If the remaining time until the expiration date is less than one month (YES in S904), the skill update unit 207 determines whether the skill level included in the selected maintenance skill is 5 (S905).

[0148] If the skill level is not 5 (S905, NO), the skill update unit 207 determines whether the number of maintenance tasks (repair tasks or inspection tasks) performed by the selected technician exceeds the set threshold (S906). Here, the skill update unit 207 refers to the evaluation information and counts the number of technician evaluation results that include the selected technician ID and the product type included in the selected maintenance skill as the number of repair tasks or inspection tasks. The set threshold differs depending on the current skill level, and is set to 100, 50, 20, and 10 for skill levels 4, 3, 2, and 1, respectively.

[0149] If the number of maintenance tasks performed by the selected technician exceeds the set threshold (S906, YES), the skill update unit 207 increases the skill level of the selected technician by 1 (S907) and determines whether all maintenance skills associated with the selected technician ID have been selected (S908).

[0150] If all the maintenance skills have been selected (S908, YES), the skill update unit 207 determines whether all the engineer IDs managed by the engineer management unit 204 have been selected (S909).

[0151] If all the engineer IDs have been selected (S909, YES), the skill level update process is terminated. On the other hand, if all the engineer IDs have not been selected (S909, NO), the skill update unit 207 again selects an unselected engineer ID from among the engineer IDs managed by the engineer management unit 204 (S901).

[0152] Also, in step S908, if all maintenance skills have not been selected (S908, NO), the skill update unit 207 again selects unselected maintenance skills from the maintenance skills associated with the selected engineer ID (S903).

[0153] Also, in step S906, if the number of maintenance tasks performed by the selected technician does not exceed the set threshold (S906, NO), the skill update unit 207 determines whether all maintenance skills associated with the selected technician ID have been selected (S908).

[0154] Furthermore, in step S905, if the skill level is 5 (S905, YES), the skill update unit 207 determines whether or not all maintenance skills associated with the selected engineer ID have been selected (S908).

[0155] Also, in step S904, if the remaining time until the expiration date is not less than one month (S904, NO), the skill update unit 207 determines whether all maintenance skills associated with the selected engineer ID have been selected (S908).

[0156] Furthermore, in step S902, if there is no maintenance skill (S902, NO), the skill update unit 207 determines whether all the engineer IDs managed by the engineer management unit 204 have been selected (S909).

[0157] As described above, the engineer management device 2 of this embodiment makes it possible to determine an engineer according to the conditions related to the maintenance request, and ultimately makes it easier to arrange for an engineer to perform maintenance work on the ship's onboard equipment.

[0158] The embodiments of the present invention are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. This novel embodiment can be embodied in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. This embodiment and its modifications are included within the scope and spirit of the invention, and are also included in the inventions described in the claims and their equivalents. [Explanation of symbols]

[0159] 2 Engineer management device 201 Ship Management Department 202 Equipment Management Department 203 Maintenance Management Department 204 Engineer Management Department 207 Skills Renewal Department

Claims

1. An engineer management device for determining an engineer who will perform maintenance work on onboard equipment installed on a ship, a ship management unit that manages ship information that associates a ship ID that uniquely identifies the ship with a planned port of call of the ship; an equipment management unit that manages equipment information that associates an equipment ID that uniquely identifies the onboard equipment with a ship ID that identifies the ship on which the onboard equipment is installed; an engineer management unit that manages engineer information that associates an engineer ID that uniquely identifies the engineer with a ship visitable area that is an area where the engineer can visit the ship; a determination processing unit that determines a dispatched engineer who will perform the maintenance work based on the ship information, the equipment information, and the engineer information in response to a maintenance request including an equipment ID that indicates an onboard equipment to be maintained, The engineer information further associates with the engineer ID a ship visit history indicating the ship visited by the engineer indicated by the engineer ID and the timing of the ship visit, The decision processing unit refers to the ship ID associated with the equipment ID included in the maintenance request in the equipment information, and based on the ship visit history in the engineer information, determines the engineer who will most recently visit the ship indicated by the referenced ship ID as the dispatched engineer, characterized by the engineer management device.

2. The engineer management device described in claim 1, characterized in that the determination processing unit determines the dispatched engineer to be an engineer associated with a ship-visitable area including the planned port of call associated with the referenced ship ID in the ship information.

3. The ship information further associates the ship ID with a scheduled port call timing of the ship indicated by the ship ID, The engineer information further associates the engineer ID with the scheduled time of the engineer's visit to the ship indicated by the engineer ID, The engineer management device described in claim 2, characterized in that the decision processing unit determines as the dispatched engineer an engineer whose planned ship visit timing in the engineer information does not match the planned port call timing associated with the referenced ship ID.

4. The device information further associates the device ID with a product type to which the installed device indicated by the device ID belongs, The engineer information further associates a skill level indicating a stepwise level of skill of the engineer indicated by the engineer ID for the product type with the engineer ID, a maintenance management unit that manages maintenance information that associates the product type with a skill flag that indicates whether or not skill is required for maintenance work on the product type; The engineer management device described in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the decision processing unit refers to a skill flag associated with the product type to which the installed equipment indicated by the equipment ID included in the maintenance request in the maintenance information belongs, and if the skill flag indicates that skill is required for the maintenance work, determines the dispatched engineer based on the skill level in the engineer information.

5. The engineer management device according to claim 4, further comprising a skill update unit that updates the skill level associated with the engineer ID indicating the engineer who performed the maintenance work based on the number of maintenance work performed on the installed equipment belonging to the product type.

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