Management device, management method, and management program

Abstract

SOLUTION: A management apparatus includes a communication unit, a storage unit, and a control unit. The communication unit receives first data and second data, the first data including at least one of main input data including the amount of production target objects to be supplied, sub input data including the amount of materials for production used, and sub output data including the amount of by-products generated, the second data including main output data including the amount of products produced, the first data and the second data being stored in the storage unit. The control unit includes a designation receiving unit and a display control unit. The designation receiving unit receives a designation of periods for the first data and the second data to be displayed. The display control unit performs control to display the first data in the period at intervals of first time, and display the second data at intervals of second time.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a management device, a management method, and a management program.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a greenhouse gas emission management device. [Prior Art Document] [Patent Document]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2012-247954 A

Summary of the Invention

Means for Solving the Problems

[0004] A management device according to an aspect of the present invention includes a communication unit, a storage unit, and a control unit. The communication unit receives first data including at least one of main input data including the input amount of a production target, sub-input data including the usage amount of production materials, and sub-output data including the generation amount of production by-products, and second data including main output data including the production amount of production products. The first data and the second data are stored in the storage unit. The control unit includes a designation reception unit and a display control unit. The designation reception unit receives a designation of a period of the first data and the second data to be displayed. The display control unit performs control to display the first data in the period at a first time interval and the second data at a second time interval.

[0005] In the above management device, the control unit further includes a derivation unit. The derivation unit uses conversion data stored in the storage unit to convert the usage amount of the sub-input data included in the first data into the generation amount of sub-output data and adds it to the generation amount of the sub-output data included in the first data. The display control unit performs control to display the totaled generation amount at the first time interval.

[0006] In the above-described management device, the communication unit receives third data relating to the production equipment. The display control unit performs control to display the third data in a manner that allows comparison with the first data and the second data.

[0007] In the above-described management device, the first data includes the usage of at least one of electricity, water, oil, and gas. The second data includes the production volume of the product. Both the first and second time intervals are 10-minute intervals.

[0008] In the above-described management device, the designation reception unit accepts at least one designation from among the target factory, product, process, aggregation method, and type of first data. The display control unit controls the display of the first data and the second data according to at least one of the designated factory, product, process, aggregation method, and type of first data.

[0009] In the above-described management device, the control unit further comprises a specification unit and a response instruction unit. The specification unit identifies some data based on a predetermined flow or user operation in response to the display by the display control unit or the derivation result by the derivation unit. The response instruction unit transmits a signal instructing the specification unit to respond to the specification based on a predetermined flow or user operation.

[0010] A management method according to one aspect of the present invention involves a computer receiving first data including at least one of main input data including the amount of material to be produced, sub-input data including the amount of materials used, and sub-output data including the amount of by-products generated, as well as second data including main output data including the amount of production output. The first data and the second data are stored in a storage unit. The computer accepts a specification of the period for which the first data and the second data to be displayed are displayed. Control is performed to display the first data at first time intervals and the second data at second time intervals during the specified period.

[0011] A management program according to one aspect of the present invention causes a computer to execute the above-described management method.

[0012] It should be noted that the above summary of the invention does not enumerate all of its features. Furthermore, subcombinations of these features may also constitute an invention. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0013] [Figure 1] This figure shows an example of the overall configuration of the management system according to this embodiment. [Figure 2] This figure shows an example of a functional block of the management device according to this embodiment. [Figure 3] This figure shows an example of the operation flow of the management device according to this embodiment. [Figure 4] This figure shows an example of the relationship between input, process, and output according to this embodiment. [Figure 5] This figure shows examples of the first and second data received according to this embodiment. [Figure 6] This figure shows an example of the designated reception screen according to this embodiment. [Figure 7] This figure shows an example of a display screen according to this embodiment. [Figure 8] This figure shows an example of the display of the first data, second data, first time interval, and second time interval according to this embodiment. [Figure 9] This figure shows another example of the display of the first data, second data, first time interval, and second time interval according to this embodiment. [Figure 10] This figure shows another example of the display screen according to this embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0014] The present invention will be described below through embodiments, but these embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the claims. Furthermore, not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the solution of the invention.

[0015] In recent years, companies and organizations have been required to take various measures toward sustainable growth, in addition to reducing costs related to the production of goods and provision of services through efficient operation of equipment, use of materials and energy, and service provision. These measures include addressing urgent environmental issues such as climate change, biodiversity conservation, and the transition to a circular economy; addressing social issues such as working conditions, human rights, gender equality, and human capital; and addressing governance issues such as corporate ethics and accountability. In addressing these various issues, there is a growing need to utilize data related to the activities of companies and organizations, such as the production of goods and provision of services.

[0016] The management device 100 according to this embodiment realizes management that facilitates the utilization of data.

[0017] Figure 1 shows an example of the overall configuration of the management system 10 according to this embodiment. The management system 10 comprises a management device 100, terminals 200, and a plurality of transmitting devices 300. The management device 100 communicates with the terminals 200 and the transmitting devices 300 via a network 50. The management device 100 may accept operations directly or through the terminals 200. The management device 100 manages data received from at least one of the plurality of transmitting devices 300. In this embodiment, an example in which the management system 10 comprises one management device 100 is described. However, the management system 10 may, for example, have a management device 100 for each different company. Data may be exchanged between multiple management devices 100. Furthermore, the management system 10 may be configured within a single facility or between different facilities (different organizations).

[0018] FIG. 2 shows an example of the functional blocks of the management device 100. The management device 100 may be configured as a computer as hardware. Further, the computer may execute the management method described in this specification by a management program. The management device 100 includes a control unit 110, a communication unit 120, and a storage unit 130. The control unit 110 may be configured by a microprocessor such as a CPU or MPU, a microcontroller such as a MCU, or the like. The communication unit 120 manages communication between each component within the management device 100. In addition, the communication unit 120 communicates with external computers such as the terminal 200 and the transmission device 300 via a network 50 such as the Internet. The storage unit 130 stores information received from each terminal 200, data received from the transmission device 300, and the like.

[0019] The control unit 110 includes a designation reception unit 112, a display control unit 114, and a derivation unit 116. The designation reception unit 112 receives a designation regarding the display of data and stores information regarding the designation in the storage unit 130. The display control unit 114 causes the data received from the transmission device 300 to be displayed on an output device such as a display connected to the management device 100 or an output device of an external computer such as the terminal 200 with which the management device 100 communicates according to the designation. The derivation unit 116 derives other data from the data received from the transmission device 300 and the data stored in the storage unit 130 as described later and stores it in the storage unit 130. The derivation unit 116 may use the conversion data stored in the storage unit 130 to convert the usage amount of the sub-input data included in the first data described later into the generation amount of the sub-output data and add it to the generation amount of the sub-output data included in the first data.

[0020] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the operation flow of the management device 100 according to the present embodiment.

[0021] The communication unit 120 receives first data including at least one of main input data including the input amount of the production target, sub-input data including the usage amount of production materials, and sub-output data including the generation amount of production by-products, and second data including main output data including the production amount of production products. The first data and the second data are stored in the storage unit 130 (S100).

[0022] Here, referring to FIG. 4, specific examples of the main input data, sub-input data, main output data, and sub-output data will be described. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the relationship between input, process, and output according to the present embodiment.

[0023] FIG. 4 shows production processes 1 to 3 of product A. Equipment 401 to 403 for performing processing, assembly, etc. are installed in each process. In this figure, it is assumed that equipment 401 and 402 perform processing to manufacture parts from materials, and equipment 403 performs assembly to assemble products from parts. The equipment may include various mechanical appliances attached to the manufacturing equipment such as clean rooms and belt conveyors in addition to the manufacturing equipment used for processing and assembly.

[0024] In process 1, materials a1, a2, etc. are input into equipment 401 (main input 1). By using electricity, gas, water, etc. (sub-input 1), processed part a6 (main output 1) is produced. At the same time, it is shown that greenhouse gas (GHG), waste, by-products, etc. (sub-output 1) are generated during the processing. Similarly, in process 2, materials a3 to a5, etc. are input into equipment 402 (main input 2). By using electricity, gas, water, etc. (sub-input 2), processed part a7 (main output 2) is produced. At the same time, it is shown that greenhouse gas (GHG), waste, by-products, etc. (sub-output 2) are generated during the processing. In process 3, parts a6 (main output 1) and part a7 (main output 2) produced in process 1 and process 2 are input into equipment 403 as main input 3. Similar to process 1 and process 2, by using electricity, gas, water, etc. (sub-input 3), assembled product A (main output 3) is produced. At the same time, it is shown that greenhouse gas (GHG), waste, by-products, etc. (sub-output 3) are generated during the assembly.

[0025] In Figure 4, the terms "material," "part," and "product" are used for the main input and main output, but the embodiment is not limited to these. For example, "material" may also be "raw material" or "main component," "part" may be "single part," "component," "processed product," or "intermediate material," and "product" may be "finished product," "final material," "composite," or "compound." Information on the various raw materials, materials, parts, etc. to be manufactured may be obtained by linking with databases of each industry. For example, IMDS (trademark), a materials database for the automotive industry, may be used as such a database. Also, in Figure 4, equipment 401-403 are shown as machinery and equipment that perform processing and assembly, but the embodiment is not limited to these. For example, in this embodiment, equipment 401-403 may be instruments and media used in chemistry, biotechnology, etc., and processes 1-3 may be carried out by methods such as chemical reactions or cell culture. Similarly, in Figure 4, some examples of machinery and equipment are shown for the secondary input and secondary output, but the embodiment is not limited to these. In other embodiments, each input and output may relate to other activities. For example, each input and output may be the input (movement of people or vehicles, working hours, etc.) and output (service content such as transportation, wages, fees, etc.) of activities in service provision. Hereinafter, "production" will mainly describe the production of goods, but will also include organizational activities that do not involve the production of goods, such as the provision of services.

[0026] Here, the main input data, secondary input data, main output data, and secondary output data may be obtained by measurement using measuring instruments installed on the equipment, values ​​predetermined as performance of the equipment, or input by the operator. The main input data is data relating to the objects (production objects) such as materials and raw materials that are processed or assembled. In particular, the main input data may include the input amount of production objects such as materials put in over a certain period of time. The secondary input data is data relating to power sources such as electricity, gas, water, steam, or oil, energy, and other materials used in production (production materials) used in the equipment that performs processing or assembly. In particular, the secondary input data may include the amount of production materials such as energy used over a certain period of time. The main output data is data relating to the parts, intermediate materials, products, final materials, etc. (production outputs) that are produced by the processing or assembly of the equipment and are directly related to the production of the product. In particular, the main output data may include the production volume of production outputs produced over a certain period of time. The production volume may include predetermined quantities relating to the produced goods, such as the number of units produced or the number of production lots. The secondary output data pertains to materials other than the production output, such as greenhouse gases, waste, and by-products (production by-products), generated during the processing and assembly of equipment. In particular, the secondary output data may include the amount of production by-products generated over a certain period of time. The terms input, usage, production, and generation are used interchangeably for convenience, but even if, for example, "usage" would be more appropriate than "input" for the production target, the term "input" will be used in this specification.

[0027] Furthermore, each data set may also include offsetting data, which is calculated by subtracting or offsetting inputs, usages, productions, emissions, etc. For example, if the amount of greenhouse gas emissions is included as secondary output data, the secondary output data may also include the measured amount or the amount recovered as a predetermined performance by equipment that recovers, absorbs, stores, or fixes the generated greenhouse gases, and the amount of emissions and recovered may be displayed individually in the secondary output data, or they may be displayed as the value obtained by subtracting the amount of recovered from the amount of emissions.

[0028] Returning to S100 in Figure 3, the first data and the second data are stored in the storage unit 130.

[0029] Referring to Figure 5, an example of the received first and second data is shown. In this embodiment, the first and second data may be transmitted from the transmitting device 300. In Figure 5, the "Reception Date and Time" column represents the date and time when the communication unit 120 of the management device 100 received the data for each row transmitted from the transmitting device 300. "Source" indicates how the data for each row was acquired. For example, "Meter 1-10" indicates that the data was acquired from measuring instruments numbered as meter 1, meter 2, ... meter 10 among various measuring instruments installed in each facility (e.g., smart meters, ammeters, voltmeters, clocks, frequency meters, barometers, thermometers, spectrophotometers, semiconductor detectors, radar, etc.). On the other hand, "(Manual Input)" indicates that, for example, the number of items produced was visually confirmed by a worker and the result was acquired and entered as data. "Acquisition Interval" indicates how often the data for each row was acquired. For example, "10 minutes" indicates that each data was acquired at 10-minute intervals.

[0030] "Acquired Data 1" and "Acquired Data 2" indicate the content of the data. Here, "Acquired Data 1" represents the data for Meter 1 from the "Meter 1-10" data, or the data for "(Manual Input)". "Acquired Data 2" represents the data for Meter 2 from the "Meter 1-10" data. Although omitted in this diagram, the data for Meters 3-10 is also acquired as Acquired Data 3-10 in each row. Comparing the "Reception Date and Time" and "Source", the data acquired from "Meters 1-10" and "(Manual Input)" are all received approximately every hour, and the "Acquisition Interval" for both is 10 minutes. Therefore, "Acquired Data 1" shows the data acquired every 10 minutes in the hour immediately preceding the reception date and time as an array. For example, the acquired data 1 [13, 15, 14, 16, 18, 10] for "Meter 1~10" with a reception date and time of "2023-04-01 14:01:12" indicates that the data acquired by meter 1 at 10-minute intervals starting from 13:00 on April 1, 2023 (i.e., 13:00, 13:10, 13:20, 13:30, 13:40, and 13:50, in 6 segments) were 13, 15, 14, 16, 18, and 10, respectively. Although the units of each data are not shown in this figure, the units of the data acquired by various measuring instruments may be added to each data when sending and receiving, or if the units of the data to be sent and received are predetermined, only the numerical values ​​may be sent and received as described above, and the units may be added on the receiving end.

[0031] Returning to Figure 3, the designation reception unit 112 accepts the designation of the period for the first and second data to be displayed (S102).

[0032] The operation of the designation reception unit 112 will now be explained with reference to Figure 6. Figure 6 is a diagram showing an example of the designation reception screen according to this embodiment. The screen may be displayed on a display device connected to the management device 100, or on a display device of a terminal 200 connected to the management device 100 via the network 50. The designation reception unit 112 may then accept the designation entered through the screen.

[0033] In Figure 6, the designated reception unit 112 accepts the display period for displaying the first and second data by specifying the "start date" and "end date". In Figure 6, both the start date and end date are specified as "April 1, 2023", so the designated reception unit 112 accepts the display period as April 1, 2023 (display of one day's worth of data).

[0034] Figure 6 also shows other items that the designated reception unit 112 accepts. "Aggregation method" indicates the aggregation method for data displayed at the same time intervals within the display period. For example, if "Total" is specified, the data displayed at the same time intervals within the display period will be shown as the total value. Similarly, if "Average" is selected, the data displayed at the same time intervals within the display period will be shown as the average value. Statistical methods such as median, mode, minimum, maximum, standard deviation, and variance may also be specified as aggregation methods. "Factory," "Product," and "Process" indicate the factory, product, and process that will display the first and second data, respectively. For example, Figure 6 shows that process F of product P in factory K is specified. Although Figure 6 shows one factory, one product, and one process specified, multiple factories, products, and processes may be specified. A factory may be represented as a facility, operating on any number of working days in a month, and may produce different products on each working day, or a single product. A product can be any product, such as daily necessities, electrical appliances, chemical products, industrial products, vehicles, or food products. The process may include processing, assembly, firing, sorting, packaging, etc., and in fields such as chemistry and biotechnology, it may also include generation, reaction, separation, seeding, cultivation, storage, etc.

[0035] Furthermore, although not shown in Figure 6, the designation acceptance unit 112 may also accept designations for other items. For example, "organizations" that own the above-mentioned factories, etc. (including companies or organizations, each company or organization may include group companies, affiliated companies, etc., and organizations may include public organizations (government, ministries, local governments, etc.) or private organizations, and relationships between organizations constituting the supply chain may be suppliers and buyers, Tier 0, Tier 1, Tier 2, etc.), "locations" (for example, units when multiple divisions are made within one factory, or location units such as power supply points or power receiving points, etc.), "manufacturing lines" (for example, units where common processes are grouped together), "process classifications" (production processes, ancillary processes, preparation processes, etc.), "activity classifications" (classifications directly related to production, indirectly related to production, etc.) The following may be specified: classification, product allocation (e.g., which product each process or production line was used for), product status (e.g., good product, defective product, test product), operating status (e.g., operation (including test operation, actual operation), pause, stop (including temporary stop, planned stop, etc.), preparation, setup, cooling, maintenance, replacement, etc.), data quality (primary data, secondary data, directly measured data, calculated data, data specific to the calculater or item, alternative data, etc.), cutoff (whether to exclude input / output below a certain percentage of the acquired data from aggregation), and as explained in Figure 7, the first time interval and the second time interval.

[0036] The display control unit 114 may control the display according to the above specifications. Here, the display control unit 114 may control the display to show quantitative relationships using various pictograms, bar graphs, histograms, line graphs, curve graphs, box plots, scatter plots, radar charts, etc. for quantitative data, and may control the display to show qualitative relationships using various pie charts, band graphs, etc. for qualitative data. In addition, the display control unit 114 may control the display of each data using a specified graph, regardless of whether it is quantitative or qualitative data. As an example, in response to the above specification of "product status", the display control unit 114 may control the display to show the percentage of "product status" received as the first data or third data over a predetermined period as the yield rate in a stacked bar graph at the first time interval, or as the percentage of product status in a pie chart.

[0037] Returning to Figure 3, the display control unit 114 controls the display of the first data for the specified period at first time intervals and the second data at second time intervals (S104).

[0038] Here, an example of display control by the display control unit 114 will be explained with reference to Figures 7 to 10. Figure 7 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen according to this embodiment. This screen may be displayed on a display device connected to the management device 100, or on a display device of a terminal 200 connected to the management device 100 via the network 50. The display control unit 114 controls the display device to display the data stored in the storage unit 130. In Figure 7, the upper graph 702 represents the graph of the first data, and the lower graph 704 represents the graph of the second data. In Figure 7, the values ​​of the first and second data are shown as histograms, but this is not limited to that. In this embodiment, the first and second data may be shown in other graphs that show quantitative relationships, qualitative relationships, or both, or they may be shown as in the table shown in Figure 5, or their respective values ​​may be shown in other comparable forms. Also, in Figure 7, the first and second data are displayed side by side in a comparable manner, but this is not limited to that. In this embodiment, the first and second data may be shown in other comparable forms, such as within the same display, left / right, front / back, or over time. The same applies to Figures 8 to 10 below.

[0039] In Figure 7, the first time interval for the first data set and the second time interval for the second data set are both set to 1 hour. The numbers written below the horizontal axis of each graph in Figure 7 represent time, where "0" represents 0:00, "1" represents 1:00, ... "23" represents 23:00 ("..." indicates that there are other similar times / occasions, etc. The same applies below). In addition, the data (values) of each graph are shown as histograms, but for example, the histogram between 0 and 1 shows the data values ​​between 0:00 and 1:00 (height is the direct value of each data, and area is the total value of each data at each time interval, etc.). Although not shown in the illustration, the period specified in Figure 7 may be one day or multiple days. If the specified period is one day, the data between 0:00 and 1:00, 1:00 and 2:00, ... 23:00 and 24:00 (0:00) show the data values ​​obtained for that day. On the other hand, if the specified period consists of multiple days, each data point between 0:00 and 1:00, 1:00 and 2:00, ... 23:00 and 24:00 (0:00) may represent a value processed using statistical methods such as the sum, mean, median, mode, minimum, maximum, standard deviation, and variance of the data obtained for those multiple days.

[0040] In Figure 7, the first time interval for the first data and the second time interval for the second data are both set to 1 hour, but in this embodiment, the first and second time intervals are not limited to this. For example, the first and second time intervals can be 0.X seconds (with any decimal places; the following intervals can also include any decimal places), ...1 second, ...2 seconds, ...3 seconds, ...4 seconds, ...5 seconds, ...6 seconds, ...10 seconds, ...30 seconds, ...1 minute, ...2 minutes, ...3 minutes, ...4 minutes, ...5 minutes, ...6 minutes, ...10 minutes, ...20 minutes, ...30 minutes, ...40 minutes, ...50 minutes, ...1 hour, ...2 hours, ...3 hours, ...4 hours, ...5 hours, ...6 hours, ...8 hours, ...10 hours, ...12 hours, ...24 hours, ...2 days, ...3 days, ...4 days, ...5 days, ...6 days, ...7 days, ...10 days, ...20 days, ...30 days, ...1 month, ...2 months, ...1 year, ...2 years, or any other time intervals. Furthermore, although the first time interval for the first data and the second time interval for the second data are set to the same time interval in Figure 7, they may be set to different time intervals as shown in Figures 8 and 9. Although not shown, the first and second time intervals may be set by direct operation on the management device 100, or they may be set by the designation reception unit 112 receiving designations for each time interval from the designation reception screen shown in Figure 6.

[0041] As shown in Figure 7, the display control unit 114 can control the display to show the relationship between the two data sets in a visually clear manner by displaying a histogram of the first data set over a first time interval (Graph 702 above) and a histogram of the second data set over a second time interval (Graph 704 below). This allows, for example, to check whether there is any waste in the values ​​shown by the first data set during the period from 1:00 to 7:00 when there are no values ​​for the second data set. Also, for example, if the first data set peaks between 16:00 and 17:00, while the second data set does not have a peak, including before and after that period, it is possible to check whether there are any abnormal values ​​in the values ​​shown by either the first or second data set during that time period. As will be described later, the control unit may further include a specification unit (not shown), which may specify the first data set during the period when there are no values ​​for the second data set, or the first data set at the peak, or the time intervals of these first data sets (and second data sets) according to a predetermined flow or user operation.

[0042] Figure 8 shows examples of the display of the first data, second data, first time interval, and second time interval according to this embodiment. In Figure 8(a), the first time interval and the second time interval are the same, and the first data and the second data are each shown as histograms of a single value. This allows for easy visual confirmation of the relationship between the first data and the second data using the same first and second time intervals. On the other hand, in Figure 8(b), the first time interval is set to 1 / 2 of the second time interval. This allows for confirmation of the first data at a finer granularity relative to the second data. In Figure 8(c), the first time interval is set to twice the second time interval. This allows for confirmation of the first data at a larger granularity relative to the second data. Note that while 1 / 2 and 2 times are used as examples in Figures 8(b) and 8(c), respectively, the magnification is not limited to these in this embodiment. For example, it may be set to any magnification such as 1 / 3, 1 / 4, ... and 3 times, 4 times, ...

[0043] Figure 8(d) shows an example where the first and second time intervals are the same, but the start (and end) points are different. For example, if both the first and second time intervals are 10 minutes, the first data may start at 0:00, 0:10, ..., while the second data may start at 0:05, 0:15, .... Although Figure 8(d) shows an example where the first and second time intervals are the same, they may be different. If the acquisition time and time interval of the first and second data are different, the display control unit 114 can control the display of both data at their respective acquisition times and time intervals.

[0044] Figure 9 shows another example of the display of the first data, second data, first time interval, and second time interval according to this embodiment. Figure 9(e) shows the first data and second data in a single graph. For example, Figure 9(e) may show the value obtained by dividing the value of the first data by the value of the second data (the value of the first data per unit of the value of the second data). Alternatively, Figure 9(e) may also show the value obtained by adding, subtracting, or multiplying the values ​​of the first data and the second data, or by processing them using statistical methods such as the mean, median, mode, minimum, maximum, standard deviation, variance, etc., or a combination thereof. The first time interval and the second time interval may be the same or different. If the first time interval and the second time interval are different, either the first time interval or the second time interval may be used as the basis for setting the interval. For example, if the first time interval is 10 minutes and the second time interval is 5 minutes, and the time interval in Figure 9(e) is set to the first time interval of 10 minutes, and the ratio of the second data to the first data is shown in a graph, the ratio of the sum of the two time intervals (5 minutes x 2 = 10 minutes) of the second data to one time interval (10 minutes) of the first data can be calculated and displayed in the graph. This makes it easier to understand the relationship between the first and second data.

[0045] Figure 9(f) shows an example where the first time interval of the first data is set to a very small time or point in time. The first data is shown as a curve, but in other examples it may be shown in other forms such as a linear function. Here, it is assumed that the first data in Figure 9(f) has been processed to show the acquired first data values ​​as continuous values ​​(for example, by calculating a relational expression and plotting a graph as a function), but the first data may also be shown as discrete values ​​(dot plot) instead of continuous values. In this case, the value of the first data is shown only for the time of the acquired first data. Also, in Figure 9(f), only the first time interval of the first data is set to a very small time or point in time, but only the second time interval of the second data, or both the first time interval of the first data and the second time interval of the second data, may be set similarly. This allows for a visual confirmation of the relationship between the first and second data, taking into account the continuity or discreteness of the data.

[0046] Figure 9(g) shows an example where the first data set contains two different types of values. For example, acquired data 1 and acquired data 2 shown in Figure 5 may be displayed overlaid on top of each other at the same first time interval. Figure 9(g) is an example where only the first data set contains two different types of values, but the second data set may also contain two different types of values, as shown in Figure 9(h). Furthermore, the number of different types of data is not limited to two; for example, 10 types of data may be shown at the same time interval, as shown by meters 1 to 10 in Figure 5, or any other number of types of data may be shown.

[0047] Figure 10 shows another example of a display screen according to this embodiment. Here, the communication unit 120 may receive data (third data) relating to the production equipment, and the display control unit 114 may perform control to display the third data in a manner comparable to the first data and the second data. The third data may include data on items received by the designated reception unit 112 described above in relation to Figure 6. The third data may include, for example, the organization, factory, base, manufacturing line, and activity category to which the production equipment belongs, the content of the products to be produced, product assignment, product status, and data quality, the processes used, cutoff, operating status, first time interval, and second time interval. For example, the communication unit 120 may receive third data including the operating status of the production equipment, and the display control unit 114 may perform control to display the percentage of the equipment operating during the period. Figure 10 includes a pie chart 1002 showing the percentage of the equipment operating during a specified period. As shown in Figure 10, during the period of the upper graph 702 showing the first data and the lower graph 704 showing the second data, the equipment is mostly in operation, but approximately two-thirds is idle. The display control unit 114 may perform various display controls on the third data. For example, as described above, for quantitative data, the display control may show quantitative relationships using various pictograms, bar graphs, histograms, line graphs, curve graphs, box plots, scatter plots, radar charts, etc., and for qualitative data, the display control may show qualitative relationships using various pie charts, bar graphs, etc. Furthermore, the display control unit 114 may perform display control on each data using a specified graph, regardless of whether it is quantitative or qualitative data. In this way, according to this embodiment, the first data and second data and information on production equipment for a specified period can be easily viewed and confirmed.

[0048] The present invention can also be realized in the following multiple other embodiments in addition to those described above.

[0049] In another embodiment, the derivation unit 116 may derive sub-output data by multiplying the usage amount of at least one of the electricity, water, oil, and gas included in the first data by the conversion data stored in the storage unit 130. For example, when deriving greenhouse gas emissions as sub-output data, the greenhouse gas emissions may be derived by multiplying each usage amount in the first data by a unit factor (conversion data) that indicates the greenhouse gas emissions per unit of each usage amount. Also, when deriving waste amount as sub-output data, the waste amount may be derived by multiplying each usage amount in the first data by a unit factor (conversion data) that indicates the amount of waste per unit of each usage amount. Furthermore, when deriving by-product amount as sub-output data, the by-product amount may be derived by multiplying each usage amount in the first data by a unit factor that indicates the amount of waste per unit of each usage amount. In addition, the derivation unit 116 may derive the amount of each sub-output data by using as conversion data units that indicate the amount per unit of usage for each sub-output, such as the amount of substances like CO2, SO2, NOx, BOD, and COD, the impact areas such as air pollution, air pollution, hazardous chemical substances, ozone layer depletion, acidification, noise, global warming, photochemical oxidants, eutrophication, resource consumption, ecotoxicity, fuel consumption, land use, and other impact areas, as well as protected targets such as human health, social projections, biodiversity, and primary production based on damage assessment.

[0050] Furthermore, the above sub-inputs may include fuel consumption for the operation of the equipment. Activities carried out in connection with the manufacture of products in which fuels may include solid fuels (coking coal, general coal, anthracite, coke, petroleum coke, briquettes or charcoal, wood, charcoal, and other solid fuels), liquid fuels (coal tar, petroleum asphalt, condensate, crude oil (excluding condensate (NGL)), gasoline, naphtha, jet fuel oil, kerosene, diesel fuel, heavy oil A, heavy oil B and C, lubricating oil, and other liquid fuels), and gaseous fuels (liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), petroleum hydrocarbon gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG), natural gas (excluding liquefied natural gas (LNG)), coke oven gas, blast furnace gas, converter gas, city gas, and other gaseous fuels) may be activities that consume at least one of heat and steam.

[0051] Furthermore, the data managed by the control device 100 may include at least one of the following: greenhouse gas emissions related to production, human rights measures, and disaster risk measures. Human rights measures may indicate, for example, whether or not measures are taken to prevent child labor in the manufacturing of products (including not only the assembly of the product itself, but also the assembly of components that make up the product, the processing of materials (including raw materials, etc.) that make up each component, and all other processes related to the manufacturing of the product). Disaster risk measures may indicate whether or not measures are taken to prevent the manufacturing of products from being affected in the event of a disaster. In addition to the above, the data managed by the control device 100 may include anything else that the company wishes to request from its affiliated companies. For example, it may include data on various types of damage calculation-based environmental impact assessments, environmental data such as product carbon footprints related to climate change, biodiversity, land use, and raw material procurement related to natural resources, hazardous materials, waste management, and waste such as packaging materials and home appliances related to waste disposal, contained chemical substances, air pollutants, water quality, and soil contamination related to environmentally regulated substances, and other environmental data such as technology, energy, noise, vibration, and odor. Furthermore, regarding society, data may include human rights related to human resources (child labor, forced labor, working hours, wages, labor rights, discrimination, etc.), labor management and occupational health and safety, human capital, safety and quality related to the safety of products and services, safety of each substance, privacy and data security, relationships with the community, diversity, equity and inclusion, well-being and engagement, compliance and ethics, and other social data. Furthermore, regarding governance, data may include ethics and legal compliance related to corporate conduct, anti-corruption, risk management and disaster response, tax transparency, and other governance data. In addition, data related to due diligence for each of the above items may be included.

[0052] In one other embodiment, the first data may include the usage of at least one of electricity, water, oil, and gas, the second data may include the production volume of a product, and both the first and second time intervals may be 10-minute intervals. The designation reception unit 112 may accept a display period, and the display control unit 114 may control the display of the data for the display period from the first data and second data received by the communication unit 120. The communication unit 120 may also receive third data including the operating status of the equipment related to the first data and second data. The designation reception unit 112 may also accept a designation of at least one of the target factory, product, process, aggregation method, and type of first data, and the display control unit 114 may control the display of the first data and second data according to at least one of the designated factory, product, process, aggregation method, and type of first data. The management device according to claim 1. For example, the designation reception unit 112 may accept the designation of K2 factory, P2 product, F2 process, total as the aggregation method, and electricity as the type of first data, and the display control unit 114 may perform control to display the values ​​of the designated factory, product, process, aggregation method, and type of first data. This makes it possible to check the relationship between the production output and the production materials used in the production at a fine granularity and within a specified arbitrary range every 10 minutes. In addition, the quantitative changes of the production output and production materials and the operating status of the equipment can be checked with good visibility.

[0053] The display control unit 114 may control the system to display the sub-output data derived by the derivation unit 116 as first data at first time intervals. For example, if the derivation unit 116 derives greenhouse gas emissions from the amounts of electricity, oil, and gas used, the display control unit 114 may control the system to display the sum of these greenhouse gas emissions as first data at first time intervals. In addition, if the communication unit 120 has received greenhouse gas emissions for the same process as first data, the display control unit 114 may control the system to display the value obtained by adding the received greenhouse gas emissions to the greenhouse gas emissions derived by the derivation unit 116 as first data at first time intervals. Furthermore, the display control unit 114 may control the display of the sub-output data derived by the derivation unit 116 using the converted data as "secondary data," and the sub-output data received by the communication unit 120 as "primary data" (or, if the sub-output data includes data quality information and "primary data" or "secondary data" is identified as such information, then the identified data).

[0054] In another embodiment, the management device 100 may include a specification unit (not shown) and a response instruction unit (not shown). The specification unit identifies some data based on a predetermined flow or user operation from the display control unit 114 or the derivation result from the derivation unit 116. The response instruction unit transmits signals to various systems, devices, equipment, etc., instructing them to respond to the specification by the specification unit based on a predetermined flow or user operation. For example, in Figure 7, the upper graph shows electricity consumption as the first data for a specified period, and the lower graph shows product production volume as the second data. The specification unit is predetermined to identify the time interval with the highest electricity consumption in the first data. The response instruction unit has predetermined a flow for suppressing the use of other equipment such as air conditioners from the next period onward (for example, setting the air conditioner's temperature close to the outside temperature to suppress electricity consumption) based on the time interval identified by the specification unit. In this case, the response instruction unit may issue an instruction to the control devices of other devices to suppress the use of other devices during the following period, for the time interval from 16:00 to 17:00, which is the time interval with the highest electricity consumption in Figure 7.

[0055] As another example, the instruction unit may instruct other control devices to use electricity derived from renewable energy sources (e.g., hydropower, solar power, wind power, geothermal energy, biomass, etc.) stored for product production during the time interval with the highest production volume according to the second data. Energy storage devices, batteries of electric vehicles, etc., may be used for electricity storage. Similarly, other control devices (distribution boards, control panels, etc.) may be instructed to use electricity supplied from a solar power generation system for specified equipment. The solar power generation system connects with the power grid of the power company via an inverter to supply electricity generated by solar power generation modules (solar panels, perovskite solar cells, etc.) to the equipment, prioritizing the supply of electricity generated by the solar power generation modules to the equipment. The instruction unit may also instruct other control devices to receive electricity from the power grid (purchased electricity) to cover any power shortage that could not be covered by electricity generated by the solar power generation modules alone, or to supply any surplus electricity back to the power grid or to electricity consumers (sold electricity). In addition, the response instruction unit may issue instructions to other devices, etc., such as abnormality notification, recommendations for reduction actions (replacing outdated equipment with the latest models, energy-saving activities, introduction of renewable energy, energy management, demand response, electricity trading, etc.), reverse auctions for vendor selection, granting incentives to users for actions during specific time periods (e.g., saving electricity, energy saving, using public transportation instead of private cars, etc.), making reservations for the purchase of environmental value or credits by investing in businesses that purchase or create environmental value or credits, and displaying the difference between the target and the current situation.

[0056] In another embodiment, the derivation unit 116 may derive the value of the first data per unit of the second data. For example, in Figure 7, the upper graph shows the amount of production materials used as the first data for a specified period, and the lower graph shows the amount of production of production products as the second data, and both the first and second time intervals are set to the time interval required to produce one production product. In this case, the amount of production materials used in one time interval of the first data represents the amount used for the production of the production product of the second data in the time interval following that time interval. Therefore, for example, Figure 9(e) may show the value obtained by dividing the production amount by the amount of usage for the first time interval of production materials use corresponding to the second time interval of production of the production product (i.e., the first time interval immediately preceding the second time interval). As described above, the derivation unit 116 can derive the value of the first data per unit of the second data by dividing the value of one of the first time intervals of the first data by the value of the second time interval of the second data which is the time interval immediately following the first time interval. This makes it possible to visually display, for example, the carbon footprint (greenhouse gas emissions among the by-output data) per production product.

[0057] In the above explanation, the first and second data were described as primarily quantitative data, and the third data as primarily qualitative data, but each data may include either quantitative or qualitative information. Furthermore, quantitative data may include not only quantity, but also physical quantities such as weight, mass, density, specific weight, work, length, distance, time, area, volume, angle, angular velocity, acceleration, moment, stress, pressure, energy, power, electric current, heat quantity, temperature, luminous intensity, etc., as well as economic values ​​such as the yen, and other units. Each unit may be an artificially defined unit such as a functional unit or a declared unit. In the case of a functional unit, it may be defined as the degree of quantified performance or utility related to providing the intended function of the product. In the case of a declared unit, it may be defined as the number or quantity of products required to achieve a given function. Furthermore, qualitative data may include not only the operating status of the equipment, but also the equipment's service life, manufacturer, rated power, years of use, thermal efficiency, continuous operating time, thermal insulation, etc.

[0058] In another embodiment, the management device 100 may include an estimation unit (not shown). In this embodiment, the display control unit 114 and the derivation unit 116 are shown as performing calculation processing such as display control or conversion of data stored in the storage unit 130. On the other hand, the estimation unit may perform various estimations based on the data. For example, the estimation unit may perform data interpolation, prediction, etc. by performing statistical processing such as regression analysis on the data stored in the storage unit 130. The estimation unit may also perform various estimations, classifications, predictions, etc. by performing machine learning (deep learning, reinforcement learning, etc.) based on the data stored in the storage unit 130. The storage unit 130 may store a learning model, and this learning model may be a learning model generated by machine learning using each data as training data. For predictions, for example, electricity demand forecasts may be achieved using learning models generated based on information such as weather, temperature, power plant shutdown information, power supply reserve margin, interconnection line capacity, forward curves (including those for electricity, coal, crude oil, and LNG), coal import prices, crude oil import prices, LNG import prices, and historical fluctuations in electricity trading prices in the electricity spot market, or by statistical methods based on this information. For classifications, machine learning models or algorithms that solve classification problems may include, for example, logistic regression (including ridge regularization and lasso regularization), random forests, support vector machines, and neural networks (including multilayer perceptrons). Furthermore, the accuracy of these classification predictions may be evaluated using one or more of the following: the mean squared error of the estimated conditional probability, AUC (Area Under the Curve) quantified as the area under the ROC (Receiver Operating Characteristic) curve, logarithmic loss in the Kullback-Leibler divergence minimization problem, and calibration plots plotting observed and predicted values. Here, the accuracy of classification predictions by machine learning algorithms or models varies depending on the amount of training data and the features (for example, the number of days for which power consumption data used for training is acquired and the attribute information added).Therefore, the selection of a learning model may be made by comparing the evaluation results of the classification accuracy of each machine learning algorithm or model under predetermined conditions. Furthermore, when selecting a learning model, priority may be given to those with low computational costs required for learning and classification. As described above, the estimation unit enables the management device to predict, classify, and otherwise control the display, identify, derive, and provide corresponding instructions for related data different from the data received by the communication unit.

[0059] Although the present invention has been described above using embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications or improvements can be made to the above embodiments. It will be clear from the claims that such modified or improved forms may also be included in the technical scope of the present invention.

[0060] It should be noted that the execution order of operations, procedures, steps, and stages in the apparatus, systems, programs, and methods shown in the claims, specifications, and drawings is not explicitly stated as "before," "prior to," etc., and that these can be implemented in any order unless the output of a previous process is used in a later process. Even if the operation flow in the claims, specifications, and drawings is described using phrases such as "first," "next," etc. for convenience, it does not mean that it is essential to perform the operations in that order.

[0061] Furthermore, aspects of each embodiment can be embodied in whole or in part by a computer. For example, a program installed on such a computer may cause the computer to function as an operation associated with an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, or as one or more "parts" of such apparatus. Alternatively, the program may cause the computer to execute such operation or one or more "parts." The program may cause the computer to execute a process or a stage of such process according to an embodiment of the present invention. Such a program may be executed by the CPU to cause the computer to execute a particular operation associated with some or all of the blocks in the flowcharts and block diagrams described herein. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0062] 10 Management Systems 50 Networks 100 Management device 110 Control Unit 112 Designated Reception Department 114 Display Control Unit 116 Derivation part 120 Communications Department 130 Storage section 200 terminals 300 Transmitter 702 Graph showing the first data 704 Graph showing the second data 1002 Graph showing the third data point

Claims

1. A management device comprising a communication unit, a storage unit, and a control unit, The communication unit receives from multiple external transmitting devices, first data which includes at least one of the following: sub-input data which includes the amount of production materials used, and sub-output data which includes the amount of production by-products generated, both acquired at each transmitting device at their respective acquisition intervals; and second data which includes main output data which includes the amount of production output. The first data and the second data are stored in the storage unit. The control unit includes a designated reception unit, a display control unit, and a derivation unit. The designated reception unit receives the designation of the period for the displayed first data and second data, The display control unit controls the display of the first data and the second data for the period in a way that allows them to be compared on a common time axis, and displays in a way that makes it visible that there is a value for the first data during a period when there is no value for the second data. If the first time interval of the first data and the second time interval of the second data are different, the derivation unit adjusts either the first data or the second data received by the communication unit to match the other time interval through aggregation processing including a total value, and then calculates a relational value that indicates the value of the first data per unit of the value of the second data. The display control unit displays the calculated relational value in a time interval based on either the first time interval or the second time interval. The aforementioned control device.

2. The derivation unit uses the conversion data stored in the storage unit to convert the amount of the sub-input data used in the first data into the amount of sub-output data generated, and adds it to the amount of the sub-output data generated in the first data. The control device according to claim 1.

3. The aforementioned communications unit receives third data relating to the production equipment, The display control unit performs control to display the third data in a manner that allows comparison with the first data and the second data. The control device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The first data is the sub-input data which includes the usage amount of at least one of electricity, water, oil, and gas, The second set of data mentioned above includes the production volume of the product, Both the first and second time intervals are 10 minutes apart. The control device according to claim 1 or 2.

5. The aforementioned designation reception unit accepts designations for at least one of the target factory, product, process, aggregation method, and type of first data, The display control unit controls the display of the first data and the second data according to at least one of the specified factory, product, process, aggregation method, and type of first data. The control device according to claim 1 or 2.

6. The control unit further comprises a specification unit and a corresponding instruction unit. The identification unit identifies some data based on a predetermined flow or user operation with respect to the display by the display control unit or the derivation result by the derivation unit. The response instruction unit transmits a signal instructing the identification unit to respond to the identification based on a predetermined flow or user operation. The control device according to claim 1 or 2.

7. A management method performed by a computer, The process involves receiving, from multiple external transmitting devices, first data which includes at least one of the following: sub-input data including the amount of production materials used, and sub-output data including the amount of production by-products generated, both acquired at each acquisition interval by each transmitting device; and second data which includes main output data including the amount of production output. The steps include storing the first data and the second data in the storage unit, A step of receiving a specification for the period of the first data and the second data to be displayed, The process involves controlling the display of the first data and the second data for the aforementioned period in a way that allows for comparison on a common time axis, and visually displaying that there is a value for the first data during a period when there is no value for the second data. If the first time interval of the first data and the second time interval of the second data are different, the received first data or second data is aligned with the other time interval through aggregation processing including a total value, and a relationship value indicating the value of the first data per unit of the value of the second data is calculated. A step of displaying the calculated relational value in a time interval based on either the first time interval or the second time interval, A management method that includes the following features.

8. On the computer, A management program for causing the management method described in claim 7 to be executed.

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