Monitoring devices and monitoring methods

Abstract

To propose a maintenance contract according to operational data of an apparatus.SOLUTION: A monitoring device monitors a plurality of apparatuses for which a maintenance contract has been signed. The device includes: an input unit for receiving target specification data as data which specifies a target apparatus to process; an acquisition unit for acquiring operational data of the target apparatus; a proposition content determination unit for calculating a current maintenance contract type as the type of a current maintenance contract for a target apparatus and a new maintenance contract type as the type of a new maintenance contract suitable for the target apparatus on the basis of the operational data of the target apparatus; and an output unit for outputting a new maintenance contract type calculated by the proposition content determination unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a monitoring device and a monitoring method.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, the maintenance method of industrial equipment has been shifting from time-based maintenance that performs maintenance regularly to condition-based maintenance that performs maintenance according to the condition of each device. In order to perform condition-based maintenance, it is necessary to constantly monitor the target device, and accordingly, the spread of remote monitoring services using the IoT (Internet of Things) cloud has been progressing. As a technology related to a monitoring device that can suppress the occurrence of over-maintenance, unplanned stops, etc., and can perform appropriate maintenance, the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known. In this Patent Document 1, for a plurality of failure cases, an operation record acquisition unit that acquires an operation record showing the transition of the load rate or the load change rate with respect to the operation time until failure, a threshold setting unit that sets a threshold for comparison with the load rate or the load change rate in the operation record of the plurality of failure cases, a loss rate acquisition unit that acquires a loss rate, which is a value derived from the relationship between the load rate or the load change rate and the threshold and indicates the degree of progress of the wear of the device according to the operation time, a failure rate cumulative frequency acquisition unit that acquires the transition of the failure rate cumulative frequency of the plurality of failure cases with respect to the loss rate, an evaluation index calculation unit that calculates an evaluation index that is a value obtained by integrating the failure rate cumulative frequency with the loss rate, and a notification unit that notifies that maintenance is required when the loss rate derived from the relationship between the load rate or the load change rate of the device to be monitored and the threshold reaches a predetermined management value determined based on the transition of the failure rate cumulative frequency of the failure cases are provided, and the threshold setting unit sets the threshold so that the evaluation index is minimized, and a monitoring device is disclosed.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

[0004] The invention described in Patent Document 1 does not allow for the proposal of a maintenance contract based on the operating data of the equipment. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] A monitoring device according to a first aspect of the present invention is a monitoring device that monitors a plurality of devices for which maintenance contracts have been concluded, and comprises: an acquisition unit that acquires operational data of the target devices which are the devices to be processed; a proposal content determination unit that calculates a new maintenance contract type which is a new maintenance contract type suitable for the target devices based on the current maintenance contract type which is the type of the current maintenance contract for the target devices and the operational data for the target devices; and an output unit that outputs the new maintenance contract type calculated by the proposal content determination unit, wherein the proposal content determination unit calculates the new maintenance contract type using two or more of the following three indicators: the difference between the set operating time of the target devices which is set in advance in the current maintenance contract type and the operating time of the target devices acquired by the acquisition unit; the difference between the set load time of the target devices which is set in advance in the current maintenance contract type and the load time of the target devices acquired by the acquisition unit; or whether or not the target devices are in an overload state. A monitoring method according to a second aspect of the present invention monitors multiple devices for which a maintenance contract has been concluded. , a monitoring device equipped with a central processing unit and memory performs A monitoring method, The aforementioned monitoring device An acquisition step to acquire operational data of the target equipment which is the equipment to be processed, The aforementioned monitoring device A proposal content determination step that calculates the current maintenance contract type, which is the type of maintenance contract currently in place for the target equipment, and the new maintenance contract type, which is a new type of maintenance contract suitable for the target equipment, based on the operating data of the target equipment. The aforementioned monitoring device The proposal content determination step includes an output step which outputs the new maintenance contract type calculated in the proposal content determination step, and in the proposal content determination step The aforementioned monitoring deviceThe new maintenance contract type is calculated using two or more of the following three indicators: the difference between the estimated operating time of the target equipment, which is set in advance for the current maintenance contract type, and the operating time of the target equipment obtained in the acquisition step; the difference between the estimated load time of the target equipment, which is set in advance for the current maintenance contract type, and the load time of the target equipment obtained in the acquisition step; or the presence or absence of an overload state of the target equipment. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] According to the present invention, it is possible to propose maintenance contracts that are tailored to the operating data of the equipment. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] [Figure 1] Overall configuration diagram of the monitoring system [Figure 2] Configuration diagram of the monitoring device [Figure 3] Diagram showing an example of the configuration of a customer information management table. [Figure 4] Diagram showing an example configuration of the operational data management table. [Figure 5] This diagram shows an example configuration of the alarm and fault information management table. [Figure 6] Diagram showing an example of the configuration of the inspection history management table. [Figure 7] Diagram showing an example of the repair history management table configuration. [Figure 8] Diagram showing an example of the configuration of a state management table. [Figure 9] Diagram showing an example of the contract information table structure. [Figure 10] Schematic diagram showing the processing of the monitoring device. [Figure 11] Flowchart showing the processing of the target device determination unit. [Figure 12] Flowchart showing the process of the proposal content determination section. [Figure 13] A diagram showing an example of an input window. [Figure 14] A diagram showing an example of a report output window. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0008] —First Embodiment— A first embodiment of the monitoring device and monitoring method will be described below with reference to Figures 1 to 14.

[0009] Figure 1 is an overall configuration diagram of monitoring system 1. Monitoring system 1 includes one or more operational locations 2, monitoring devices 5, and one or more notification destinations 9, all connected by a network 6. In Figure 1, for illustrative purposes, only three operational locations 2 and two notification destinations 9 are shown, but there is no limit to the number of operational locations 2 and notification destinations 9 included in monitoring system 1. Network 6 is a wired or wireless communication network, such as the internet, a dedicated line, or a closed network. Network 6 is not a mandatory configuration; it is sufficient for the monitoring devices 5 to be able to communicate with each operational location 2, and for the monitoring devices 5 to be able to communicate with each notification destination 9 individually. Each operational location 2 includes one or more devices 3.

[0010] Device 3 is an ancillary device that can output some data to the monitoring device 5, and its original function is not limited. Device 3 can be, for example, an air compressor, a robot arm, a belt conveyor, or a control valve. In this embodiment, the specific configuration will be described using an air compressor as the device 3. Device 3 is the object of monitoring by the monitoring device 5. Each device 3 periodically or irregularly transmits data such as internal temperature, internal pressure, ambient temperature, and cumulative operating time to the monitoring device 5 via the network 6. Hereinafter, the data transmitted by device 3 will be collectively referred to as "operational data". Device 3 transmits alarms or notifications to the monitoring device 5 when any measured value exceeds a threshold, when a malfunction occurs, or when repairs or inspections are performed, depending on the content. The monitoring device 5 notifies the notification destination 9 as needed.

[0011] Figure 2 is a configuration diagram of the monitoring device 5. The monitoring device 5 is a server device having a function of monitoring the device 3, and is configured to include a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 10 which is a central processing unit, a memory 11, an auxiliary storage device 12, a network interface 13, an input device 14, and an output device 15. Hereinafter, a human who operates the monitoring device 5 is referred to as a "user".

[0012] The CPU 10 is a processor that comprehensively controls the operation of the monitoring device 5. The memory 11 is composed of a ROM (Read Only Memory) (not shown) made of a non-volatile memory element and a RAM (Random Access Memory) (not shown) made of a volatile memory element. The ROM stores invariant programs such as BIOS (Basic Input Output System). The RAM is composed of DRAM (Dynamic RAM) or the like and is used as a working memory of the CPU 10.

[0013] The auxiliary storage device 12 is composed of a large-capacity and non-volatile storage device such as a hard disk device or an SSD (Solid State Drive). The auxiliary storage device 12 stores various programs and various data to be stored for a long time. The programs and data stored in the auxiliary storage device 12 are loaded from the auxiliary storage device 12 to the memory 11 when the analysis server is started or when necessary, and the CPU 10 executes the programs loaded into the memory 11, whereby various processes as the entire monitoring device 5 as described below are executed.

[0014] The network interface 13 is, for example, a NIC (Network Interface Card), and functions as an interface during communication with each device 3 to be monitored via the network 6.

[0015] The input device 14 consists of, for example, a mouse or keyboard, and is used by the user to perform various operations on the monitoring device 5. The output device 15 consists of, for example, a liquid crystal panel, an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display, and a printer, and is used to output necessary information by displaying or printing. The input device 14 and the output device 15 may also be composed of an integrated touch panel. Alternatively, data may be input and output via the network interface 13 instead of the input device 14 and the output device 15.

[0016] Memory 11 stores programs that implement the input unit 30, the target equipment determination unit 31, the proposed content determination unit 32, the output unit 33, and the acquisition unit 35. Memory 11 also stores the customer information management table 23, the operation data management table 24, the alarm and fault information management table 25, the inspection history management table 26, the repair history management table 27, the status management table 28, and the contract information table 29. In the following, the customer information management table 23, the operation data management table 24, the alarm and fault information management table 25, the inspection history management table 26, and the repair history management table 27 may be collectively referred to as the equipment information database 20.

[0017] Figure 3 shows an example of the configuration of the customer information management table 23. Although Figure 3 is shown in two sections for illustrative purposes, there is no particular distinction between the upper and lower sections, and the order of items can be changed as appropriate. The customer information management table 23 records the customer name 23A, installation address 23B, serial number 23C, sales contact 23D, maintenance contact 23E, contract number 23F, contract date 23G, and contract plan 23H. The contract plan 23H indicates the current maintenance contract plan and will be referred to as the "current maintenance contract type" below. The monitoring device 5 calculates an appropriate maintenance contract plan, as described later, and this maintenance contract plan will also be referred to as the "new maintenance contract type." However, the new maintenance contract type may be the same as the current maintenance contract plan.

[0018] The first row of Figure 3 contains the following information: "Company A" purchased equipment 3, serial number "XXX1234," from "Sales A" and installed it at operational base 2 in "xx prefecture, yy city." Furthermore, for equipment 3, serial number "XXX1234," the maintenance contact is "Maintenance A," and a maintenance contract was signed on "September 15, 2020" under "Plan 1" with contract number "XXX13." Note that in the example shown in Figure 3, only one data entry is listed for serial number 23C, but multiple serial numbers may be listed in a single cell if other items are common.

[0019] Figure 4 shows an example of the configuration of the operational data management table 24. The operational data management table 24 records the serial number 24A, acquisition date and time 24B, and operational data 24C. The serial number 24A is the identifier of the equipment 3 and is the same information as the serial number 23C in the customer information management table 23. The operational data 24C may be a predetermined combination of items and values, or a combination of items and values ​​that is set each time.

[0020] Figure 5 shows an example of the configuration of the alarm / fault information management table 25. The alarm / fault information management table 25 records the date of occurrence 25A, the serial number 25B, the model 25C, and the alarm / fault details 25D. The date of occurrence 25A is the date on which the warning or fault occurred. The serial number 25B is the identifier of the device 3, and is the same information as the serial number 23C in the customer information management table 23. The model 25C is the model of the device 3. The alarm / fault details 25D is the content of the alarm or fault.

[0021] Figure 6 shows an example of the configuration of the inspection history management table 26. The inspection history management table 26 records the inspection date and time 26A, the serial number 26B, the inspection content 26C, the operating time 26D, and the person in charge 26E. The first row of Figure 6 contains the following information: It records that on "August 15, 2018," a "Type A inspection" was performed by person in charge "A" on equipment 3 with serial number "xxx1234" because the operating time was "500 hours".

[0022] Figure 7 shows an example of the configuration of the repair history management table 27. For the sake of drawing convenience, Figure 7 is shown in two rows, but there is no particular distinction between the upper and lower rows, and the order of the items can be changed as appropriate. The repair history management table 27 records the date of failure 27A, the nature of the failure 27B, the serial number 27C, the operating time 27D, the date of recovery from the failure 27E, the cause of the failure 27F, the faulty part 27G, and the recovery process 27H. The first row of Figure 7 contains the following information: On August 15, 2018, equipment 3 with serial number XXX1234 experienced an oil leak failure at 500 hours of operation, and this failure was recovered on August 17, 2018. Furthermore, it is recorded that the cause of this failure was a crack in the head, and that it was recovered by replacing it.

[0023] Figure 8 shows an example of the configuration of the status management table 28. The status management table 28 is referenced by the proposal content determination unit 32. The status management table 28 is created in advance. The status management table 28 records status items 28A, judgment guidelines 28B, and judgment criteria 28C.

[0024] Figure 9 shows an example of the configuration of the contract information table 29. The contract information table 29 records contract plan 29A, maintenance 29B, free on-call service 29C, parts warranty 29D, and estimated operating hours 29E, which represent the grade of the maintenance contract. In Figure 9 and the example shown in this embodiment, a higher plan number indicates more comprehensive support.

[0025] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram showing the processing of the monitoring device 5. This schematic diagram shows the relationship between the functional blocks of the monitoring device 5 and the data. First, the input unit 30 acquires data, i.e., target identification data, for identifying the equipment 3 to be monitored by the monitoring device 5, using the input device 14 provided by the user. The target identification data entered by the user only needs to identify the equipment 3 to be monitored, and may include, for example, the serial number of equipment 3, the name of the customer who purchased equipment 3, or the start date of the maintenance contract, which is also the installation date of equipment 3. The input unit 30 outputs the data entered by the user to the target equipment determination unit 31.

[0026] The target device determination unit 31 obtains data related to the data obtained from the input unit 30 from the device information DB 20 and the status management table 28. The target device determination unit 31 determines the device 3 to be distributed through a process described later and outputs the target device list to the proposal content determination unit 32. The target device list is information that identifies the device 3, such as an enumerated serial number. The proposal content determination unit 32 obtains data related to the device 3 identified from the target device list obtained from the target device determination unit 31 from the status management table 28 and the contract information table 29.

[0027] The proposal content determination unit 32 determines the proposal content for equipment 3 identified from the target equipment list through a process described later, and outputs it to the output unit 33. The output unit 33 generates and outputs a report according to the proposal content for the target equipment list obtained from the proposal content determination unit 32. This report includes at least a proposal for a new maintenance contract. The report will be described later with reference to Figure 14. The output unit 33 may output the generated report via the output device 15 or via the network interface 13. The output unit 33 may also have a publicly known program such as a web browser read the generated report and output it via the output device 15. Alternatively, the output unit 33 may output the data of the generated report via the network interface 13 and display it on a user terminal (not shown).

[0028] The acquisition unit 35 acquires operational data from each device 3 and stores it in the operational data management table 24. In this case, the acquisition unit 35 is implemented by the network interface 13. However, it is not mandatory for the acquisition unit 35 to directly acquire operational data from each device 3; an unillustrated data acquisition device may acquire the operational data collected from each device 3. The monitoring device 5 may acquire operational data from an unillustrated data acquisition device via the network interface 13, or it may acquire operational data via a recording medium or the like. In this case, the acquisition unit 35 is implemented by the network interface 13 or an unillustrated recording medium reader.

[0029] Figure 11 is a flowchart showing the processing of the target equipment determination unit 31. First, in step S31, the target equipment determination unit 31 refers to the equipment information DB 20 and the status management table 28, extracts equipment 3 based on the user input, and proceeds to step S32. For example, if the user input is "The first four digits of the serial number are "XXX1"", then in the example in Figure 3, "XXX1234" and "XXX1678" are extracted. Alternatively, if the user input is "The contract date is "March 2021", the serial number of equipment 3 whose contract date 23G in the customer information management table 23 is "March 2021" may be extracted, or the serial number of equipment 3 may be extracted according to a predetermined rule. A predetermined rule is, for example, to extract equipment 3 that was contracted six months before the entered year and month and whose contract plan is Plan 2.

[0030] In step S32, the target device determination unit 31 selects an unprocessed device 3 from the devices 3 extracted in step S31 to be processed. In the following step S33, the target device determination unit 31 determines whether the device 3 to be processed falls under any of the following categories: periodic distribution target, increased number of alarm failures, or increased failure rate. If the target device determination unit 31 determines that it falls under at least one of the three categories, it proceeds to step S34; if it determines that it does not fall under any of the three categories, it proceeds to step S36.

[0031] Whether an item is eligible for regular distribution can be determined by whether or not it is listed as eligible for regular distribution in the table not shown, or by following predetermined rules. In this case, predetermined rules include, for example, that the current month and year is the 8th month from the contract date, and the contract plan is Plan 3. An increase in the number of alarm failures is determined by evaluating the number of alarm failures for the equipment 3 being processed in the alarm failure information management table 25, and determining, for example, whether the number of alarm failures this month is higher than the previous month. An increase in the failure rate is determined by evaluating the value obtained by dividing the number of failures by the operating time, and determining, for example, whether the failure rate this month is higher than last month.

[0032] In step S34, the target device determination unit 31 determines that device 3 to be processed is to be added and proceeds to step S35. In step S36, the target device determination unit 31 determines that device 3 to be processed is not a target for distribution and proceeds to step S35 without adding device 3 to the target device list. In step S35, the target device determination unit 31 determines whether there are any unprocessed devices 3 among the devices 3 extracted in step S31. If it determines that there are unprocessed devices 3, it returns to step S32. If it determines that all devices 3 have been made targets for processing, it proceeds to step S37. In step S37, the target device determination unit 31 generates a target device list that includes all the devices 3 that have been determined to be added in step S34 and terminates the process shown in Figure 11.

[0033] Figure 12 is a flowchart showing the processing performed by the proposal content determination unit 32. The proposal content determination unit 32 sets each of the devices 3 listed in the target device list generated by the target device determination unit 31 as a processing target and executes the process shown in Figure 12. For example, if there are five devices 3 listed in the target device list, the proposal content determination unit 32 repeats the process shown in Figure 12 five times. In step S40, the proposal content determination unit 32 refers to the customer information management table 23 and the contract information table 29 to read the contract plan for the equipment 3 to be processed and the value of the estimated operating time 29E for the corresponding contract plan.

[0034] In the following step S41, the proposal content determination unit 32 reads the operating time values ​​from the status management table 28 and the operation data management table 24 and compares them with the operating time guideline 29E value in the contract plan. The proposal content determination unit 32 determines that it is appropriate and proceeds to step S42 if the operating time value in the operation data management table 24 is less than ±450 hours of the operating time guideline 29E value, as indicated in the operating time item of the status management table 28. The proposal content determination unit 32 determines that it is insufficient and proceeds to step S44 if the operating time value in the operation data management table 24 is +450 hours or more of the operating time guideline 29E value. The proposal content determination unit 32 determines that it is insufficient and proceeds to step S46 if the operating time value in the operation data management table 24 is -450 hours or less of the operating time guideline 29E value.

[0035] In step S42, the proposal content determination unit 32 compares the load time value in the operational data management table 24 with the load time judgment guideline value listed in the status management table 28. If the load time value in the operational data management table 24 is less than ±450 hours of the judgment guideline of 1500 hours listed in the status management table 28, the proposal content determination unit 32 determines that it is appropriate and proceeds to step S43. If the load time value is 1500 hours +450 hours or more, the proposal content determination unit 32 determines that it is excessive and proceeds to step S44. If the load time value is 1500 hours -450 hours or less, the proposal content determination unit 32 determines that it is insufficient and proceeds to step S46.

[0036] In step S43, the proposal content determination unit 32 compares the criteria for load count, temperature, and operating time listed in the state management table 28 with the values ​​listed in the operation data management table 24. If two or more of the three items (load count, temperature, and operating time) exceed the criteria, the proposal content determination unit 32 determines that it is in an overload state and proceeds to step S44. If one or fewer of the three items exceed the criteria, it determines that it is not in an overload state and proceeds to step S45. According to the example of the state management table 28 shown in Figure 8, the criteria are a load count of less than 1 million ± 500,000 times, a temperature of 90 degrees Celsius or more and 100 degrees Celsius or less, and an operating time of 48 hours or less.

[0037] In step S44, the proposal content determination unit 32 determines the proposed plan to be one level higher than the existing plan and proceeds to step S47. In step S45, the proposal content determination unit 32 determines the proposed plan to be the same as the current plan and proceeds to step S47. In step S46, the proposal content determination unit 32 determines the proposed plan to be one level lower than the existing plan and proceeds to step S47. In step S47, the determined proposed plan is output to the output unit 33 and the process shown in Figure 12 is completed.

[0038] Figure 13 shows an example of an input window 40, which is a user interface for data entry. The input window 40 includes a year and month input field 41, an output directory 42, a radio button group 43 for selecting automatic generation or device-specific generation, a serial number field 44, and a generate button 45. The year and month input field 41 is where the year and month to identify the device 3 are entered. The target device determination unit 31 extracts devices 3 where the contract date 23G in the customer information management table 23 matches the year and month entered in the year and month input field 41.

[0039] The output directory 42 contains the name or full path of the directory where the report will be output. Radio button group 43 is a radio button that sets whether or not to automatically generate a list of equipment 3. The serial number field 44 contains the serial number of the equipment 3 to be processed. Note that if the user selects "Automatic generation" for radio button group 43, input in the serial number field 44 is not required. If the user selects "Generate by equipment" for radio button group 43, input in the year and month input field 41 is not required.

[0040] Figure 14 shows an example of the output window 50 of a report containing the calculation results from the proposed content determination unit 32. However, Figure 14 is not a specific example but shows the layout of the information. The output window 50 includes the target equipment name 51, alarm failure history 52, inspection history 53, repair history 54, comments 55, and the output result 56 of the proposed plan for the target equipment. The output result 56 of the proposed plan for the target equipment includes the proposed plan 57, i.e., the new maintenance contract type, and the existing plan 58, i.e., the current maintenance contract type.

[0041] According to the first embodiment described above, the following effects and advantages can be obtained. (1) The monitoring device 5 monitors multiple pieces of equipment 3 for which maintenance contracts have been concluded. The monitoring device 5 includes an input unit 30 that receives target identification data, which is data that identifies the target piece of equipment 3 to be processed; an acquisition unit 35 that acquires operational data of the target piece of equipment; a proposal content determination unit 32 that calculates a new maintenance contract type, which is a new maintenance contract type suitable for the target piece of equipment, based on the current maintenance contract type of the target piece of equipment and the operational data of the target piece of equipment; and an output unit 33 that outputs the new maintenance contract type calculated by the proposal content determination unit 32.Therefore, it is possible to propose maintenance contracts according to the operational data of the equipment.

[0042] (2) The proposal content determination unit 32 calculates the new maintenance contract type based on the appropriateness of the operating time, the appropriateness of the load time, and the presence or absence of an overload condition as shown in steps S41 to S43 of Figure 12.

[0043] (3) An overload condition is a condition in which two or more of the following three factors—number of loads, temperature, and operating time—exceed the criteria.

[0044] (4) The output unit 33 further outputs the identification information of the target equipment, i.e., the target equipment name 51 in Figure 14, and the current maintenance contract type of the target equipment, i.e., the existing plan 58 in Figure 14. Therefore, the user can efficiently check both the target equipment 3 and the current contract.

[0045] (5) The input unit 30 acquires target identification data from user input via the user interface. Therefore, it can calculate an appropriate maintenance contract plan for the equipment 3 specified by the user.

[0046] (6) Target identification data refers to the identifier of the target equipment or the start date of the maintenance contract. Therefore, the target equipment determination unit 31 can reliably target equipment 3 specified using the identifier of equipment 3, and can also target equipment 3 that requires periodic inspection using the start date of the specified maintenance contract, i.e., the contract date 23G in the customer information management table 23.

[0047] (Variation 1) The input unit 30 may also be a data reading unit that reads pre-set extraction conditions. The pre-set conditions may be stored in the auxiliary storage device 12 or memory 11, on a recording medium such as a CD-ROM, or on another device connected to the network. The source from which the input unit 30 reads the extraction conditions may be pre-set or specified by the user.

[0048] When pre-set conditions are stored in the auxiliary storage device 12 or memory 11, the input unit 30 is implemented by a memory controller (not shown) that reads data from memory 11, or by a disk controller (not shown) that reads data from the auxiliary storage device 12. When pre-set conditions are recorded on a recording medium, the input unit 30 is implemented by a recording media controller (not shown). When pre-set conditions are stored in another device connected to the network, the input unit 30 is implemented by the network interface 13.

[0049] The pre-set extraction conditions are "equipment that has been repaired at least once in the past year" and "equipment whose maintenance contract date is in a specified year and month." For example, when the input unit 30 reads the extraction condition "equipment that has been repaired at least once in the past year," the target equipment determination unit 31 performs the following processing. That is, in step S31 of Figure 11, the target equipment determination unit 31 refers to the repair history management table 27 and lists the serial numbers 27C of records where the failure occurrence date 27A is within one year from the current date.

[0050] According to this modified example 1, the following effects can be obtained. (7) The input unit 30 reads pre-set conditions and uses them as target identification data. Therefore, the input unit 30 can perform processing without receiving input from the user one by one.

[0051] (8) The pre-set condition is that a failure occurs within a predetermined period. Therefore, the monitoring device 5 can create and present an appropriate maintenance contract plan for the equipment 3 that has failed within the predetermined period.

[0052] (Modification 2) The output unit 33 may output the report via communication. For example, if an email address is also included in the customer information management table 23, the output unit 33 may send the generated report to the email address. Alternatively, if an IP address for notifying calculation results is included in the customer information management table 23, the output unit 33 may send the generated report to a predetermined communication port of the IP address using a predetermined communication protocol.

[0053] (Variation 3) The proposal content determination unit 32 calculated the new maintenance contract type based on the appropriateness of the operating time, the appropriateness of the load time, and the presence or absence of an overload condition, as shown in steps S41 to S43 of Figure 12. However, the proposal content determination unit 32 does not need to use all three of the appropriateness of the operating time, the appropriateness of the load time, and the presence or absence of an overload condition; it may calculate the new maintenance contract type based on at least one of the three.

[0054] In the embodiments and modifications described above, the configuration of the functional blocks is merely an example. Several functional configurations shown as separate functional blocks may be integrated, or a configuration represented in one functional block diagram may be divided into two or more functions. Furthermore, some of the functions of one functional block may be provided by other functional blocks.

[0055] In the embodiments and modifications described above, the program is pre-stored in the auxiliary storage device 12. However, the monitoring device 5 may be equipped with an input / output interface (not shown), and the program may be read from another device via the input / output interface and a medium available to the monitoring device 5 when necessary. Here, the medium refers to, for example, a storage medium that can be attached to or detached from the input / output interface, or a communication medium, i.e., a wired, wireless, optical network, or a carrier wave or digital signal propagating through such a network. Furthermore, some or all of the functions realized by the program may be realized by hardware circuits or FPGAs.

[0056] The embodiments and modifications described above may be combined in any way. Although various embodiments and modifications have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these. Other embodiments that can be conceivable within the scope of the technical idea of ​​the present invention are also included within the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0057] 1: Monitoring system 3:Equipment 5: Monitoring device 30: Input section 31: Target Equipment Determination Unit 32: Proposal content decision section 33: Output section 35: Acquisition part

Claims

1. A monitoring device that monitors multiple pieces of equipment for which a maintenance contract has been concluded, An acquisition unit that acquires operational data of the target equipment which is the equipment to be processed, A proposal content determination unit calculates a new maintenance contract type, which is a new maintenance contract type suitable for the target equipment, based on the current maintenance contract type, which is the type of maintenance contract for the target equipment, and the operating data of the target equipment. The system includes an output unit that outputs the new maintenance contract type calculated by the proposed content determination unit, The aforementioned proposal content determination unit is: The difference between the set operating time of the target equipment, which is set in advance in the current maintenance contract type, and the operating time of the target equipment acquired by the acquisition unit, The difference between the pre-set load time of the target equipment in the current maintenance contract type and the load time of the target equipment acquired by the acquisition unit, or Whether or not the aforementioned equipment is in an overload state, A monitoring device that calculates the new maintenance contract type using two or more of the three indicators.

2. In the monitoring device according to claim 1, The overload condition is defined as a state in which two or more of the three indicators of the target equipment—the number of load cycles, temperature, or operating time—exceed the judgment criteria, and this is a monitoring device.

3. In the monitoring device according to claim 1, The output unit is a monitoring device that outputs both the identification information of the target device and the current maintenance contract type of the target device.

4. In the monitoring device according to claim 1, A monitoring device comprising an input unit that identifies the target device based on input from a user via a user interface.

5. In the monitoring device according to claim 1, A monitoring device comprising an input unit for identifying the equipment in which a failure occurred within a predetermined period as the target equipment.

6. In the monitoring device according to claim 1, A monitoring device comprising an input unit that accepts input of an identifier for the target equipment or the start date of a maintenance contract as target identification data, which is data for identifying the target equipment.

7. A monitoring method performed by a monitoring device equipped with a central processing unit and memory, which monitors multiple devices for which a maintenance contract has been concluded, The monitoring device performs an acquisition step of acquiring operational data of the target equipment, which is the equipment to be processed, The monitoring device performs a proposal content determination step in which it calculates a current maintenance contract type, which is the type of current maintenance contract for the target equipment, and a new maintenance contract type, which is a new type of maintenance contract suitable for the target equipment, based on the operating data of the target equipment. The monitoring device includes an output step that outputs the new maintenance contract type calculated in the proposal content determination step, In the step of determining the proposed content, the monitoring device, The difference between the estimated operating time of the target equipment, which is set in advance in the current maintenance contract type, and the operating time of the target equipment obtained in the acquisition step, The difference between the estimated load time of the target equipment, which is pre-set in the current maintenance contract type, and the load time of the target equipment acquired in the acquisition step, or Whether or not the aforementioned equipment is overloaded A monitoring method for calculating the new maintenance contract type using two or more of the three indicators.

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