Information management device, information management system, information management method and program
Patent Information
- Application Number
- JP2023575489
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Patents
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2023-07-19
- Publication Date
- 2025-06-24
- Estimated Expiration
- 2043-07-19
AI Technical Summary
Existing business management systems limit improvements in one department's PDCA cycle to within that cycle, preventing collaboration and cooperation with other departments' cycles, despite interdependencies in business improvement processes.
An information management device and system that links and shares management information across multiple PDCA cycles, enabling data access and request processing between different business departments, with access authority management to facilitate cross-cycle improvements.
Enables data sharing and request processing across PDCA cycles, allowing for collaborative improvements and increased efficiency by integrating information from multiple cycles, enhancing overall business operations.
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Abstract
Description
[Technical field]
[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information management device, an information management system, an information management method, and a program. [Background technology]
[0002] In various businesses, a method is used to improve the quality of the business or the products or services related to the business by circulating a cyclical business improvement process (for example, Patent Literature 1). As a cyclical business improvement process, for example, the PDCA cycle having four steps of plan (Plan), execute (Do), check (Check), and improve (Action) is known.
[0003] The business management system described in Patent Document 1 monitors the abnormality status and the status of countermeasures against the abnormality, and changes the way alarm information is displayed depending on the length of time the abnormality continues and the progress of the countermeasures. It is explained that this makes it possible to realize an efficient PDCA cycle. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]
[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-71945 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]
[0005] Although the business management system described in Patent Document 1 manages the PDCA cycles of multiple departments, the improvement in the PDCA cycle of one department is limited to the improvement within that PDCA cycle and is independent of the improvement of the PDCA cycles of other departments. Therefore, it is not possible to improve in coordination between the first PDCA cycle and the second PDCA cycle.
[0006] However, since the business improvement processes of different business operations such as actual design and operation may affect each other, there is a need for cooperation between the business improvement processes.
[0007] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the circumstances described above, and aims to provide an information management device, an information management system, an information management method, and a program that enable information related to two or more business operations to be linked and improve each of the business operations. [Means for solving the problem]
[0008] In order to achieve the above object, the information management device of the present disclosure includes a storage unit that stores management information related to two or more mutually different tasks, each of which includes a plurality of task steps, for each task and task step. The information management device includes: An application including a data access or request for management information of a specified work step belonging to a second task different from the first task from a terminal belonging to one work step of a first task In case there is It is determined whether the terminal from which the request originates has access authority to the specified work step belonging to the second task, and if it is determined that the terminal has access authority, the request is Please Based on this, data access or request processing is executed for management information of the work steps belonging to the second business. Effect of the Invention
[0009] According to the present disclosure, by applying from a work step of a first business to a work step of a second business, data access or request processing is executed for the specified work step, so that information related to two or more businesses is linked, making it possible to improve each other's businesses. [Brief description of the drawings]
[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an information management system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of an information management device. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of an information management device. [Figure 4] Data access process flowchart [Diagram 5] Request processing flowchart [Figure 6A] A diagram showing the steps of the PDCA cycle [Figure 6B] A diagram showing the steps of the PDCA cycle [Figure 7] Diagram showing requests between PDCA cycles DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0011] (Embodiment) Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals.
[0012] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an information management system 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The information management system 1 is a system that consolidates and manages management information that one or more companies or business departments possess or use in each work step of a cyclical business improvement process. Here, the business improvement process is any method for improving the quality of a business or a product or service related to the business by circulating multiple work steps and reflecting the results of each work step in the next step. The business improvement process is, for example, a PDCA cycle, an OODA loop, or an STPD cycle.
[0013] The PDCA cycle includes four work steps: Plan, Do, Check, and Action. The OODA loop includes four steps: Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act. The STPD cycle includes four steps: See, Think, Plan, and Do. In this embodiment, a case where the PDCA cycle is adopted as a business improvement process will be described. In the following description, the PDCA cycle may be simply called the cycle, and the planning step may be called the P step, the execution step the D step, the evaluation step the C step, and the improvement step the A step.
[0014] As shown in Fig. 1, the information management system 1 includes an information management device 10 and information terminals owned by one or more companies or business departments, which are connected to the information management device 10 via a network 20. The example in Fig. 1 shows a state in which the information management device 10 is communicably connected to company A 31, which is an end user, company B 32, which is an equipment manufacturer, and a design department 33 and an operation department 34 of company C. Each company or business department may have two or more terminals, and each terminal may be directly or indirectly connected to the information management device 10.
[0015] The information management device 10 has a function of accumulating and managing management information including information input by an operator to each terminal connected to the information management device 10, information obtained by the arithmetic processing of each terminal, information obtained from the equipment managed by each terminal, etc. The information management device 10 is any computer in which an information management program is installed. The information management device 10 may also be a virtual server built on a cloud.
[0016] Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of the information management device 10. In the example of Fig. 2, the information management device 10 includes a processor 101, a primary storage device 102, a secondary storage device 103, an input unit 104, an output unit 105, and a communication unit 106, which are connected to each other via a bus 110.
[0017] The processor 101 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The processor 101 loads a program stored in the secondary storage device 103 into the primary storage device 102 and executes the program.
[0018] The primary storage device 102 includes, for example, a RAM (Random Access Memory), functions as a work memory for the processor 101, and temporarily stores a program that the processor 101 reads from the secondary storage device 103.
[0019] The secondary storage device 103 includes, for example, an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory), a flash memory, etc. The secondary storage device 103 stores data acquired from each terminal, a program executed by the processor 101, or parameters used in the information management process by the processor 101, etc.
[0020] The input unit 104 includes, for example, a keyboard or a pointing device, receives input from an operator, and passes the input signal to the processor 101. The output unit 105 outputs signals such as characters, images, and audio to an arbitrary output device.
[0021] The communication unit 106 is an interface of any communication method for transmitting and receiving data to and from terminals owned by each company or each business department, and includes a communication device such as Ethernet (registered trademark) or wireless LAN.
[0022] For example, the processor 101 and the primary storage device 102 of the information management device 10 work together to realize each function shown in Fig. 3. That is, the information management device 10 functions as a management information linking unit 121 that links management information of each work step of the PDCA cycle of each company or each business. The management information linking unit 121 has a function of sharing management information between a work step of an arbitrary PDCA cycle and a work step of another PDCA cycle, or reflecting each other's management information. The management information linking unit 121 includes a data access unit 122 that controls access from a terminal of a work step of an arbitrary PDCA cycle to its own data or data of another work step, and a request processing unit 123 that processes requests from a work step of an arbitrary PDCA cycle to another work step.
[0023] The information management device 10 further functions as an access authority management unit 124 that manages access authority to data for each work step of the PDCA cycle of each company or each business, and a ticket management unit 125 that manages tickets indicating information related to requests processed by the request processing unit 123.
[0024] Either or both of the primary storage device 102 and the secondary storage device 103 function as the storage unit 11 of the information management device 10. The storage unit 11 stores management information including information input by an operator to each terminal, information obtained by calculation processing of each terminal, information obtained from equipment managed by each terminal, etc., in association with identification information of the PDCA cycle and work steps, and constructs a database of management information.
[0025] 3, the database of the storage unit 11 stores management information for each of the P step, D step, C step, and A step of cycle I, which is the PDCA cycle of the first task, as P information 1101, D information 1102, C information 1103, and A information 1104. The database of the storage unit 11 also stores management information for each of the P step, D step, C step, and A step of cycle II, which is the PDCA cycle of the second task, as P information 1111, D information 1112, C information 1113, and A information 1114.
[0026] For example, if cycle I is a PDCA cycle for design work, P information 1101 includes a development schedule, D information 1102 includes information indicating the development status or development results or the development deliverables, C information 1103 includes information related to the test results of the development deliverables, and A information 1104 includes information indicating a proposal for improving specifications for defects. As another example, if cycle II is a PDCA cycle for operations work, P information 1111 includes an operations management schedule, D information 1112 includes information indicating the operations status, C information 1113 includes information related to the results of operations monitoring, and A information 1114 includes information indicating a proposal for improving operations for defects.
[0027] Furthermore, the memory unit 11 stores a step list 1201 showing the flow of work steps belonging to one PDCA cycle or multiple PDCA cycles, an access permission list 1202 showing access permissions to management information, programs executed by the processor (not shown), and various other setting information.
[0028] The operation of the information management system 1 having the above-described configuration will be described in detail. When a data access or request is applied to the information management device 10 from a terminal capable of communication with the information management device 10, the information management device 10 executes the data access process shown in Fig. 4 or executes the request process shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 4 is a flowchart of the data access process, and Fig. 5 is a flowchart of the request process. Note that in the following description and drawings, the PDCA cycle may be simply referred to as a cycle, and the work steps may be simply referred to as steps.
[0029] Here, the terminal that applies for data access or a request to the information management device 10 is a terminal used in any work step of any PDCA cycle, and is a terminal to be managed by the information management device 10.
[0030] An application corresponding to the information management function of the information management device 10 is installed in the terminal, and an operator can apply for data access or a request by operating the application on the terminal. Alternatively, if there is management information that is predetermined as the management subject of the information management device 10, the terminal may transmit a registration application to the information management device 10 when the management information is generated. For example, if specifications, simulation results, measurement results, etc. are predetermined as the management subjects of the information management device 10, the terminal may transmit a data access application to the information management device 10 when the specifications, simulation results, measurement results, etc. are generated and saved in the terminal, or periodically.
[0031] When a data access request is received from a terminal, the data access unit 122 of the information management device 10 starts the data access process shown in the flowchart of FIG.
[0032] First, the data access unit 122 identifies, from the application information sent from the terminal, the cycle and step to which the requesting terminal belongs and the cycle and step that hold the management information specified in the application information (processing S101).
[0033] Next, based on the cycle and step identified in process S101, the access authority management unit 124 judges whether or not the application source has access authority to the management information of the cycle and step related to the application (process S102). The judgment is made by referring to an access authority list 1202 that is preset and stored in the storage unit 11. If the access authority management unit 124 judges that the application source does not have access authority to the management information related to the application (process S102: No), the process proceeds to process S108.
[0034] When the access authority management unit 124 determines that the application source has the authority to access the management information related to the application (Process S102: Yes), the data access unit 122 accesses the management information related to the cycle and step identified in Process S101 (Process S103). Here, the PDCA cycle to which the application source terminal belongs may be different from the PDCA cycle related to the management information to be accessed. In other words, the PDCA cycle to which the application source terminal belongs may be related to a first task, and the PDCA cycle related to the management information to be accessed may be related to a second task different from the first task.
[0035] The access authority may be set for each terminal or each step or cycle for the request source. Also, the access authority may be set for each management information to be accessed or each step or cycle to be accessed.
[0036] After the data access unit 122 accesses the management information (step S103), if the content of the data processing included in the application information is writing (step S104: writing), the data access unit 122 writes the data to the database (DB) (step S105). At this time, the written data is stored together with the cycle and step identification information.
[0037] If the content of the data processing included in the application information is read (processing S104: read), the data access unit 122 reads the management information specified in the application information from the database (DB) (processing S106). The content or identification information of the read data is output from the output unit 105 (processing S107) or transmitted from the communication unit 106.
[0038] If the content of the data processing is neither write nor read but other (processing S104: Other), the process proceeds to processing S108. In processing S108, it is determined whether or not the processing for the next step is included in the application information, and if the processing for the next step is not included (processing S108: No), the process ends. If the processing for the next step is included in the application information (processing S108: Yes), the data access unit 122 selects the next step (processing S109).
[0039] In process S109, the next step is selected with reference to a step list 1201 stored in the storage unit 11. The step list 1201 shows the flow order of steps P, D, C, and A, and includes a flow in which the steps return to the P step after the conventional steps P, D, C, and A shown in FIG. 6A, and also includes a flow in which two or more steps of the PDCA cycle shown in FIG. 6B are consecutively performed. That is, as shown in FIG. 6B, the steps P, D, C, and A of cycle I may be followed by the steps P, D, C, and A of cycle II, and then the steps P, D, C, and A of cycle I. The step list 1201 may be preset or may be changed based on an application from a terminal.
[0040] In process S109, after the next step is selected by referring to step list 1201, the process returns to process S102 and continues. In this way, based on the application information, data access unit 122 reads and writes data from and to the management information database in storage unit 11. This makes it possible to share information related to each work step of the PDCA cycle even between different companies or businesses.
[0041] Next, a description will be given of the request processing executed by the request processing unit 123 of the information management device 10. When a request is submitted from a terminal, the request processing unit 123 of the information management device 10 executes the request processing shown in the flowchart of FIG.
[0042] An example of a request submitted by a terminal will now be described with reference to Fig. 7. The example in Fig. 7 shows a request when there is a PDCA cycle in the design department of a product and a PDCA cycle in the operations department of that product. In this example, if a defect is discovered during operation in step C of the operations department, the defect is analyzed, and maintenance is performed in step A. If, as a result of performing the maintenance, it is suspected that all or part of the defect is caused by a defect in the product itself, then in step P of the design department, a design plan including modification of the product must be drawn up.
[0043] In such a case, the terminal of step A in the operation department submits a request for modification of step P in the design department to the information management device 10. For example, on the terminal of step A in the operation department, an operator performs an operation to display an arrow extending from the requester to the request recipient as shown in FIG. 7 on the screen when the application is executed. Furthermore, if there is specific processing content to be requested, the operator inputs the processing content. Based on the information input by the operator, the terminal generates application information for the request and transmits it to the information management device 10. In other words, the request here is from one work step in the PDCA cycle of a first task to a specified work step in the PDCA cycle of a second task different from the first task.
[0044] When the information management device 10 receives a request transmitted from a terminal, the request process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5 is executed.
[0045] First, the ticket management unit 125 identifies the cycle and step of the requester and the cycle and step of the request recipient from the request application information sent from the terminal (processing S201). Next, the ticket management unit 125 generates a request ticket including the identified cycle and step of the requester and the cycle and step of the request recipient (processing S202). Here, if there is a specific request content, the request ticket further includes the request content.
[0046] Here, the request contents included in the request ticket include the work to be performed by the request recipient, a response to an inquiry from the user, a request from the user, etc. In addition, the request ticket may be assigned a ticket number. In this case, the ticket management unit 125 may assign the same ticket number to tickets with the same request contents and manage them as a series of requested items to be implemented.
[0047] In addition, the request ticket generated by the ticket management unit 125 is not limited to one that specifies only the cycle and step of the requester and the cycle and step of the requestee, but may specify one or more cycles or steps along the way. In that case, the request ticket may include the request content of the cycle or step along the way.
[0048] Next, based on the cycle and step included in the request ticket, the access authority management unit 124 judges whether the cycle and step of the requester have access authority to the cycle and step of the requested destination (process S203). The judgment is made by referring to an access authority list 1202 that is preset and stored in the storage unit 11. If the access authority management unit 124 judges that the requester does not have access authority to the requested destination (process S203: No), the process ends.
[0049] On the other hand, if the access authority management unit 124 determines that the requester has the authority to access the request destination (processing S203: Yes), the request processing unit 123 updates the step list 1201 based on the cycle and step of the requester and the cycle and step of the request destination included in the request ticket (processing S204). Specifically, if the requester is step A of cycle I shown in Fig. 6A and the request destination is step P of cycle II, the step list 1201 is updated to indicate a workflow in which step A of cycle I is followed by step P of cycle II, as shown in Fig. 6B. In this example, in order to reflect the improvement of step A of cycle II in cycle I, a workflow in which step A of cycle II is followed by step P of cycle I may be added at the same time.
[0050] After updating the step list 1201 (process S204), if the request ticket includes specific request content (process S205: Yes), the request processing unit 123 writes information indicating the request content included in the request ticket into a database (DB). More specifically, the specific processing content is added to the management information of the requesting cycle and step identified in process S201 and the requested cycle and step (process S206). When the request content is written into the database of the storage unit 11, the requested cycle and step may be notified of the fact that a request has been made and the request content.
[0051] On the other hand, if the request ticket does not include specific processing content (step S205: No), the process ends. At this time, only the step list 1201 is updated, and the updated step list 1201 is used for other processing of the management information linking unit 121, including the data access processing steps S108 and S109 shown in FIG.
[0052] In this manner, the request processing unit 123 can utilize the request ticket to connect work steps between different cycles or to request processing for improvement.
[0053] As described above, in the information management system 1 according to the present embodiment, the data access unit 122 of the information management device 10 reads information on a specified work step of its own or another PDCA cycle from the database or writes it to the database in response to an application from a terminal belonging to any work step of any PDCA cycle, if the terminal has access authority. This allows information on each work step to be shared between two or more PDCA cycles, enabling each to improve their operations.
[0054] Furthermore, the request processing unit 123 of the information management device 10, in response to an application from a terminal belonging to any task step of any PDCA cycle, makes a request to link a task step of the PDCA cycle to a specified task step of another PDCA cycle, or makes a request including the request content for the specified task step, if the request has access authority. This makes it possible to request linkage or processing between two or more PDCA cycles, thereby improving each other's operations.
[0055] In addition, the information management system 1 according to the present embodiment includes a plurality of PDCA cycles, which are circular business improvement processes, and cooperates with other PDCA cycles, including sharing information between them or requesting processing. Since each PDCA cycle is improved independently and each PDCA cycle is improved in cooperation with other PDCA cycles, the result of the improvement made by one PDCA cycle alone can be improved again from a different perspective in another PDCA cycle, and the result of the improvement can be returned to the original PDCA cycle, and further improvement can be made. In other words, a plurality of PDCA cycles can cooperate to improve business. Furthermore, since the other PDCA cycles are re-improving from a different perspective, it is possible to increase the improvement efficiency of the original PDCA cycle.
[0056] In the above embodiment, the case where the PDCA cycle is used as a circular business improvement process has been described, but the present disclosure can be similarly applied to cases where any other type of business improvement process, such as an OODA loop or an STPD cycle, is used. For example, the information management system 1 may share information of each work step between two or more OODA loops or two or more STPD cycles, or may request the integration or processing of each work step. The present disclosure can also be applied between different types of business improvement processes. For example, the information management system 1 may share information between the work steps of the PDCA cycle and the work steps of the OODA loop, or may request the integration or processing of each work step.
[0057] In the above embodiment, a case has been described in which after one PDCA cycle has completed one cycle, the PDCA cycle and another PDCA cycle cooperate with each other, including sharing information or requesting processing, but this is not limited to the above case, and one PDCA cycle may cooperate with another PDCA cycle after completing multiple cycles. Since multiple cycles of the PDCA cycle may improve the accuracy of information provided to the other PDCA cycle, the number of cycles of the PDCA cycle may be determined depending on the accuracy of information required by the other PDCA cycle.
[0058] Furthermore, the hardware configuration and the flow chart shown in the above embodiment are merely examples, and can be modified and applied as desired. For example, in the above embodiment, the information management system 1 includes a single information management device 10, but there may be two or more information management devices 10. The two or more information management devices 10 may cooperate with each other or share the functions to realize the function of the management information linking unit 121.
[0059] In the above embodiment, the request processing unit 123 executes the request processing based on the request ticket including the cycle and work steps of the requester, the cycle and work steps of the requestee, and the request content, but this is not limited to the above. For example, the information management device 10 may have AI (artificial intelligence), and the AI may identify the cycle and work steps of the requestee based on the malfunction of the requester, or may identify the processing content and generate the request ticket. In this case, the request processing unit 123 executes the request processing based on the request ticket generated by the AI.
[0060] Furthermore, a computer capable of implementing each function may be configured by distributing a program for executing the operations of the above-described embodiments by storing it in a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read-Only Memory), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), an MO (Magneto Optical Disc), or a memory card, and installing the program in the computer. In addition, when each function is implemented by sharing the work between an OS (Operating System) and an application, or by cooperation between the OS and an application, only the parts other than the OS may be stored in the recording medium.
[0061] Various embodiments and modifications of the present disclosure are possible without departing from the broad spirit and scope of the present disclosure. The above-described embodiments are for explaining the present disclosure and do not limit the scope of the present disclosure. That is, the scope of the present disclosure is indicated by the claims, not the embodiments. Various modifications made within the scope of the claims and the scope of the disclosure equivalent thereto are considered to be within the scope of the present disclosure. [Explanation of symbols]
[0062] 1 Information management system, 10 Information management device, 11 Memory unit, 20 Network, 31 Company A, 32 Company B, 33 Design department, 34 Operation department, 101 Processor, 102 Primary memory device, 103 Secondary memory device, 104 Input unit, 105 Output unit, 106 Communication unit, 110 Bus, 121 Management information linking unit, 122 Data access unit, 123 Request processing unit, 124 Access authority management unit, 125 Ticket management unit, 1101, 1111 P information, 1102, 1112 D information, 1103, 1113 C information, 1104, 1114 A information, 1201 Step list, 1202 Access authority list.
Claims
1. A storage unit that stores management information related to two or more different operations, each of which includes a plurality of work steps, for each of the operations and the work steps; When there is an application including data access or a request for the management information of a specified work step belonging to a second operation different from the first operation from a terminal belonging to one work step of the first operation, an access authority management unit that determines whether the terminal, which is the applicant, has the right to access the specified work step belonging to the second operation; When the access authority management unit determines that the terminal has the access right, a management information cooperation unit that executes the data access or the processing of the request for the management information of the work step belonging to the second operation based on the application; An information management device comprising:
2. The management information cooperation unit includes a data access unit, The data access unit executes writing or reading of data with respect to the management information of the work step specified in the application when the access authority management unit determines that the terminal has the access right; The information management device according to Claim 1.
3. A communication unit that receives application information including a request for a specified work step belonging to the second operation from the terminal belonging to one work step of the first operation; When the communication unit receives the application information, a ticket management unit that generates a request ticket including information indicating the work step of the request source and the work step of the request destination; and further comprising: The management information cooperation unit includes a request processing unit, The request processing unit generates a step list including a work flow in which the work step of the request destination follows the work step of the request source indicated in the request ticket generated by the ticket management unit when the access authority management unit determines that the terminal has the access right; Using the step list, the management information cooperation unit executes processing; The information management device according to Claim 1.
4. A communication unit that receives application information including a request for a specified work step belonging to the second operation from the terminal belonging to one work step of the first operation; When the communication unit receives the application information, it further includes a ticket management unit that generates a request ticket. The management information cooperation unit includes a request processing unit. When the access authority management unit determines that the terminal has access authority, the request processing unit adds the request content included in the ticket generated by the ticket management unit to the management information of the work step of the request destination. The information management device according to claim 1.
5. The two or more operations are operations that each use a method of a cyclic business improvement process, and the plurality of work steps are work steps included in the business improvement process. The information management device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.
6. An information management system including the information management device according to claim 1.
7. Management information related to two or more different operations, each including a plurality of work steps, is stored for each of the operations and the work steps. When there is an application including data access or a request for the management information of a designated work step belonging to another operation from a terminal belonging to one work step of one operation, it is determined whether the terminal that is the application source has access authority to the designated work step. When it is determined that there is access authority, based on the application, the data access or the request is processed for the management information of the designated work step. Information management method.
8. A computer A storage unit that stores management information related to two or more different operations, each including a plurality of work steps, for each of the operations and the work steps. An access authority management unit that determines whether the terminal that is the application source has access authority to a designated work step when there is an application including data access or a request for the management information of a designated work step belonging to another operation from a terminal belonging to one work step of one operation. A management information cooperation unit that, when the access authority management unit determines that there is access authority, executes the data access or the request for the management information of the designated work step based on the application. A program that functions as.