Management device, management method, management program, and management system

Abstract

Provided are a management device, a management method, a management program, and a management system, wherein abnormalities can be more properly understood from the perspective of an entire process. This management device comprises: a monitoring unit that monitors whether there is an abnormality in each of a plurality of steps included in a prescribed process; a determination unit that determines whether there is a relationship between an abnormality in one process and an abnormality in another process among the plurality of processes, on the basis of whether the abnormality in the one process and the abnormality in the other process satisfy a prescribed criterion; a storage control unit that controls a storage unit so as to store abnormality-related information for each of the plurality of processes; and an output unit that outputs the abnormality-related information, wherein the storage control unit controls the storage unit such that the abnormality of the one process and the abnormality of the other process that have a relationship are stored in an associated manner, and the output unit outputs the abnormality of the one process and the abnormality of the other process that have a relationship in an associated manner.

Description

Management device, management method, management program, management system

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

[0002] The manufacturing processes and inspection processes of various products usually consist of multiple steps, and each step is provided with a control device (PLC: Programmable Logic Controller) that controls the operation of that step. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a system that includes an in-process management computer that manages the operation of each step in a semiconductor device production line consisting of multiple steps, and an integrated computer that centrally manages the operation of all steps.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 04-299765

[0004] However, in many cases, different equipment is used for each process, and different control devices are also installed for each process. As a result, abnormalities can only be detected for each process, making it difficult to properly understand abnormalities from the perspective of the entire process. Specifically, it is difficult to understand that the cause of an abnormality in one process is due to an abnormality in another process.

[0005] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a management device, a management method, a management program, and a management system that can more appropriately grasp abnormalities from the perspective of the entire process.

[0006] The management device according to the present disclosure comprises a monitoring unit that monitors the presence or absence of abnormalities in each of a plurality of steps included in a specified process; a judgment unit that judges whether or not an abnormality in one of the plurality of steps is related to an abnormality in the other steps based on whether or not the abnormality in the one of the plurality of steps satisfies a specified criterion; a memory control unit that controls the memory unit to store information regarding abnormalities for each of the plurality of steps; and an output unit that outputs information regarding the abnormalities, wherein the memory control unit controls the memory unit to store the abnormality in the one step that has been determined by the judgment unit to be related to the abnormality in the other steps in association with each other, and the output unit outputs the abnormality in the one step that has been determined by the judgment unit to be related to the abnormality in the other steps in association with each other.

[0007] The management method according to the present disclosure is a method in which a computer monitors each of a plurality of steps included in a specified process for the presence or absence of an abnormality, determines whether an abnormality in one of the plurality of steps is correlated with an abnormality in another of the plurality of steps based on whether the abnormality in the one of the plurality of steps satisfies a predetermined criterion, controls a memory unit to store information about the abnormality for each of the plurality of steps, outputs information about the abnormality, controls the memory unit to store the abnormality in the one of the steps that is determined to be correlated with the abnormality in the other of the steps, and outputs information about the abnormality in the one of the steps that is determined to be correlated with the abnormality in the other of the steps.

[0008] The management program according to the present disclosure causes a computer to execute the following processes: a process of monitoring each of a plurality of processes included in a specified process for the presence or absence of an abnormality; a process of determining whether an abnormality in one of the plurality of processes is related to an abnormality in another process based on whether the abnormality in the one of the plurality of processes satisfies a specified criterion with an abnormality in the other process; a process of controlling a memory unit to store information regarding the abnormality for each of the plurality of processes; and a process of outputting information regarding the abnormality; in the process of controlling the memory unit, the computer controls the memory unit to store the abnormality in the one process determined to be related to the abnormality in the other process in association with each other; and in the process of outputting information regarding the abnormality, the computer causes the abnormality in the one process determined to be related to the abnormality in the other process in association with each other.

[0009] The management system according to the present disclosure comprises a management device that manages a predetermined process including a plurality of steps, and a control device provided in each of the plurality of steps, wherein the management device comprises a monitoring unit that monitors each of the plurality of steps for the presence or absence of an abnormality, a judgment unit that judges whether an abnormality in one of the plurality of steps is related to an abnormality in another of the plurality of steps based on whether the abnormality in the one of the plurality of steps and the abnormality in the other of the steps satisfy a predetermined criterion, a memory control unit that controls the memory unit to store information regarding the abnormality for each of the plurality of steps, and an output unit that outputs information regarding the abnormality, wherein the memory control unit controls the memory unit to store the abnormality in the one of the steps that is determined by the judgment unit to be related to the abnormality in the other of the steps in association with each other, and the output unit outputs the abnormality in the one of the steps that is determined by the judgment unit to be related to the abnormality in the other of the steps in association with each other.

[0010] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a management device, a management method, a management program, and a management system that can more appropriately grasp abnormalities from the perspective of the entire process.

[0011] FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of a management device according to the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of a management system according to the present disclosure. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a process according to the present disclosure. FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of a management device according to the present disclosure. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of monitoring information according to the present disclosure. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of reference information according to the present disclosure. FIG. 7 is a diagram explaining an example of information related to anomalies output from a management device according to the present disclosure. FIG. 8 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of a control device according to the present disclosure. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing another example of a management method according to the present disclosure. FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a computer according to the present disclosure.

[0012] First Embodiment An example of the configuration of a management device 100 according to the present disclosure will be described below with reference to Fig. 1. The management device 100 includes a monitoring unit 101, a determining unit 102, a memory control unit 103, a memory unit 104, and an output unit 105.

[0013] The monitoring unit 101 monitors whether or not there is an abnormality in each of the multiple steps included in a predetermined process. Here, the predetermined process may be, for example, a manufacturing process for various products or various inspection processes, and may be a process that includes multiple steps. The process is also called a line. Each of the multiple steps included in the process is provided with a control device (not shown) that controls the process. The monitoring unit 101 monitors whether or not there is an abnormality in each of the multiple steps based on information transmitted from the control device provided in each of the multiple steps. Note that one control device may be provided for some of the multiple steps.

[0014] The determination unit 102 determines whether an abnormality in one process among the plurality of processes is related to an abnormality in another process based on whether the abnormality in the other process satisfies a predetermined criterion. In other words, the determination unit 102 determines whether an abnormality in one process is caused by an abnormality in another process based on a predetermined criterion. Specifically, when an abnormality is found in at least some of the plurality of processes included in a process, the determination unit 102 determines whether the abnormalities in these processes are related to each other.

[0015] The storage control unit 103 controls the storage unit 104 to store information about anomalies for each of the plurality of processes. The storage control unit 103 also controls the storage unit 104 to store anomalies in one process determined by the determination unit 102 to be related to anomalies in another process in association with each other.

[0016] The output unit 105 outputs information related to the abnormality. Furthermore, the output unit 105 outputs an abnormality in one process determined by the determination unit 102 to be correlated with an abnormality in another process. The output destination of the output unit 105 may be a display unit (not shown) of the management device 100 or another device. For example, the output destination of the output unit 105 may be a control device provided in each of the multiple processes.

[0017] In the management device 100 according to the present disclosure, when abnormalities occurring in multiple processes are related to each other, the related abnormalities are associated and output to the management device 100 or other devices such as a control device. Therefore, the administrator can know that the abnormalities occurring in the multiple processes are related to each other. Here, the administrator refers to the user of the management device 100 or the user of another device such as a control device. Specifically, the administrator can understand that an abnormality in one process is caused by an abnormality in another process. Therefore, the administrator can more appropriately understand the abnormality from the perspective of the entire process.

[0018] Next, with reference to FIG. 2 , an example configuration of a management system 200 according to the present disclosure will be described. The management system 200 includes a management device 300 and control devices 400_1 to 400_n (n is an integer equal to or greater than 1). Hereinafter, when there is no need to distinguish between the control devices 400_1 to 400_n, they will simply be referred to as control devices 400. A control device 400 is provided for each of multiple steps included in a process. Hereinafter, the manufacturing process of bottled soft drinks shown in FIG. 3 will be used as an example. This manufacturing process consists of steps A to H, and processing proceeds in this order. That is, step A is upstream, and step H is downstream. Each of steps A to H is provided with a control device 400 that controls that step. Furthermore, at least one of the control devices 400 provided in steps A to H is different from the other control devices 400. The management device 300 and the control devices 400 are capable of communicating via a network N. The management device 300 then monitors each of the processes A to H for abnormalities based on the information sent from the control device 400 .

[0019] 4 shows an example of the configuration of the management device 300. The management device 300 includes a monitoring unit 301, a determining unit 302, a memory control unit 303, a memory unit 304, and an output unit 305. The memory unit 304 stores monitoring information 306, reference information 307, related anomaly information 308, and the like.

[0020] The monitoring unit 301 monitors whether or not there is an abnormality in each of the multiple processes A to H included in the manufacturing process. Specifically, the monitoring unit 301 monitors whether or not there is an abnormality in each of the processes A to H based on information transmitted from each control device 400 provided in each of the processes A to H. Furthermore, information on whether or not there is an abnormality in each of the multiple processes A to H monitored by the monitoring unit 301 is stored in the storage unit 304 as monitoring information 306.

[0021] An example of the monitoring information 306 is shown in Fig. 5. As shown in Fig. 5, the monitoring information 306 is a table in which a process name 306A, a date and time 306B when the status of the process is transmitted from the control device 400 provided in the process to the management device 300, and a result 306C indicating whether or not an abnormality exists are associated with each other. Here, if the result 306C of a certain process is "abnormal," the date and time 306B when the status of the process is transmitted from the control device 400 to the management device 300 is used as the date and time when the abnormality occurred.

[0022] In the following explanation, it is assumed that step E of the manufacturing process is the step of filling PET bottles with beverages, step F is the step of sealing the PET bottles, and step G is the step of attaching labels to the PET bottles. Furthermore, an example will be explained in which "discharge abnormalities" occur in steps E and F, and a "label attachment abnormality" occurs in step G. The "discharge abnormality" type of abnormality means that the discharge from the relevant step to the next step is delayed. Furthermore, the "label attachment abnormality" type of abnormality means that an abnormality has occurred in the label attachment process in step G.

[0023] The determination unit 302 determines whether an abnormality in one process among the multiple processes A to H is related to an abnormality in another process based on whether the abnormality in the one process satisfies a predetermined criterion. In other words, the determination unit 302 determines whether an abnormality in one process is caused by an abnormality in another process based on the predetermined criterion. Specifically, the determination unit 302 determines whether an abnormality has occurred in two or more processes among the multiple processes A to H included in the manufacturing process. For example, if an abnormality has occurred in two or more processes within a predetermined time, the determination unit 302 determines that an abnormality has occurred in two or more processes among the multiple processes A to H. The "predetermined time" here may be the same as or different from the "predetermined time" described below. Then, if an abnormality has occurred in two or more processes among the multiple processes A to H, the determination unit 302 determines whether an abnormality in these processes is related to each other.

[0024] For example, the determination unit 302 makes a determination based on the type of abnormality as a predetermined criterion. In other words, the determination unit 302 determines whether or not there is a correlation between an abnormality in one process and an abnormality in another process based on the type of abnormality in the one process and the type of abnormality in the other process. Specifically, for example, the determination unit 302 determines whether or not there is a correlation between an abnormality in one process and an abnormality in another process based on reference information 307 pre-stored in the storage unit 304. FIG. 6 shows an example of the reference information 307. As shown in FIG. 6, the reference information 307 is a table in which a certain abnormality type 307A is associated with an abnormality type 307B associated with the abnormality type 307A. Then, the determination unit 302 refers to the reference information 307 and determines that the abnormality in the one process is associated with the abnormality type 307B associated with the abnormality type 307A in the other process.

[0025] The determination unit 302 may also make a determination based on the date and time of the occurrence of an abnormality as a predetermined criterion. In other words, the determination unit 302 may determine that the abnormality in one process is related to the abnormality in another process if the date and time of the occurrence of the abnormality in one process and the date and time of the occurrence of the abnormality in another process are within a predetermined time period. Specifically, the determination unit 302 refers to the monitoring information 306 stored in the storage unit 304, and determines that the abnormality in one process is related to the abnormality in another process if the date and time 306B of the one process for which the result 306C is "abnormal" and the date and time 306B of the other process for which the result 306C is "abnormal" are within a predetermined time period.

[0026] The length of the predetermined time may be determined in advance for each type of abnormality. Specifically, the length of the predetermined time is determined depending on the type of abnormality in one process. The length of the predetermined time may also be longer as the distance between one process and another process increases. For example, the length of the predetermined time may be longer by one minute for each process that is one step away from the one process.

[0027] Furthermore, the determination unit 302 may determine whether an abnormality in either one of the processes upstream or downstream of a process in the manufacturing process is related to the abnormality in that process, based on the type of abnormality in that process. For example, if the type of abnormality in a process detected by the monitoring unit 301 is a "discharge abnormality," the determination unit 302 may determine whether an abnormality in a process downstream of the process is related to the abnormality in that process. Furthermore, if the type of abnormality in a process detected by the monitoring unit 301 is a "time overrun," the determination unit 302 may determine whether an abnormality in a process upstream of the process is related to the abnormality in that process. Here, the abnormality type "time overrun" means that a certain process in the process has not been performed even though the time required for the process to be performed has passed. Note that the determination unit 302 may determine whether all of two or more processes in which an abnormality has occurred are related to the abnormality in that process, regardless of the type of abnormality in that process.

[0028] The storage control unit 303 controls the storage unit 304 to store information related to anomalies for each of the plurality of processes A to H as monitoring information 306. The storage control unit 303 also controls the storage unit 304 to store reference information 307 in advance as a predetermined reference. The storage control unit 303 also controls the storage unit 304 to associate an anomaly in one process determined by the determination unit 302 to be related with an anomaly in another process, and store the associated anomaly information 308.

[0029] FIG. 7 shows an example of the related anomaly information 308. As shown in FIG. 7, the related anomaly information 308 is a table in which an anomaly detection process 308A, an anomaly origin process 308B, a detected anomaly 308C, and an origin anomaly 308D are associated with each other. Specifically, the storage unit 304 stores, as the anomaly detection process 308A, the name of a process in which an anomaly has been detected by the monitoring unit 301. The storage unit 304 also stores, as the anomaly origin process 308B, the name of another process that is the cause of the anomaly in the one process. The storage unit 304 also stores, as the detected anomaly 308C, the type of the anomaly in the one process. The storage unit 304 also stores, as the origin anomaly 308D, the type of the anomaly in the other process.

[0030] In the example shown in Figure 7, the monitoring unit 301 detects a "discharge abnormality" in process E, a "discharge abnormality" in process F, and a "label attachment abnormality" in process G, and the judgment unit 302 judges that the "discharge abnormality" in process E and the "discharge abnormality" in process F are caused by the "label attachment abnormality" in process G.

[0031] The output unit 305 outputs information related to the abnormality. Furthermore, the output unit 305 outputs an abnormality in one process determined by the determination unit 302 to be correlated with an abnormality in another process. The output destination of the output unit 305 may be a display unit (not shown) of the management device 300, or may be another device. For example, the output destination of the output unit 305 may be a control device 400 provided in each of the multiple processes A to H.

[0032] The abnormality information output by the output unit 305 will be described with reference to FIG. 8 . The horizontal axis of each of the two graphs shown in FIG. 8 indicates the name of each process, and the vertical axis indicates the time (minutes) during which processing at each process was stopped due to an abnormality. The upper graph in FIG. 8 directly plots the monitoring information data shown in FIG. 5 without considering the correlation of abnormalities between each process. On the other hand, the lower graph in FIG. 8 takes into consideration the correlation of abnormalities between each process, and, if there is a correlation, only the abnormality 308D that is the starting point of the abnormality starting process 308B shown in FIG. 7 is plotted on the graph. Compared to the upper graph in FIG. 8 , the lower graph in FIG. 8 does not show any discharge abnormality in processes upstream of process G due to a label attachment abnormality in process G. Note that FIG. 8 shows an example of the abnormality information output by the output unit 305, and the abnormality information output by the output unit 305 is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 8 .

[0033] Fig. 9 shows an example of the configuration of the control device 400. A control device 400 is provided for each of processes A to H, and controls each of the processes A to H individually. At least one of the control devices 400 provided for processes A to H is different from the other control devices 400. That is, Fig. 8 shows a configuration that is common to the control devices 400 provided for each of processes A to H. As shown in Fig. 9, the control device 400 includes at least a sensor 401 and a notification unit 402.

[0034] The sensors 401 are various sensors that detect the state of the equipment provided in each of the processes A to H, and acquire values ​​that indicate the state of the equipment.

[0035] The notification unit 402 notifies the management device 300 of the value acquired by the sensor 401 via the network N.

[0036] Each control device 400 provided in each process A to H may determine whether or not an abnormality has occurred, the location where the abnormality has occurred, and the cause of the abnormality based on the value acquired by the sensor 401. In this case, the notification unit 402 notifies the management device 300 of information regarding whether or not an abnormality has occurred, the location where the abnormality has occurred, and the cause of the abnormality.

[0037] Next, an example of a management method according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to Figure 8. First, the monitoring unit 301 monitors the presence or absence of abnormalities in each of the processes A to H based on information transmitted from each control device 400 provided in each of the processes A to H (step S101). Then, the memory control unit 303 stores information on the presence or absence of abnormalities in each of the multiple processes A to H as monitoring information 306 in the memory unit 304.

[0038] Next, the determining unit 302 determines whether or not an abnormality has occurred in two or more of the processes A to H (step S102).

[0039] In step S102, if no abnormality has occurred in two or more of the processes A to H (step S102; No), the process returns to step S101.

[0040] In step S102, if an abnormality has occurred in two or more of the multiple processes A to H (step S102; Yes), the judgment unit 302 judges whether the abnormalities in the two or more processes are related to each other (step S103).

[0041] In step S103, if the abnormalities in the two or more processes are not related to each other (step S103; No), the output unit 305 outputs the abnormalities in each process (step S104), and ends this process.

[0042] In step S103, if the abnormalities in the two or more processes are related to each other (step S103; Yes), the memory control unit 303 associates the abnormalities in the two or more processes and stores them in the memory unit 304 as related abnormality information 308 (step S105).

[0043] Next, the output unit 305 outputs the abnormalities in the two or more processes in association with each other (step S106), and ends this process.

[0044] In the management system 200 according to the present disclosure, when abnormalities occurring in multiple processes A to H are related to each other, the related abnormalities are associated and output to other devices such as the management device 300 and the control device 400. This allows the administrator to know that the abnormalities occurring in the multiple processes A to H are related to each other. Here, the administrator refers to the user of the management device 300 or the user of another device such as the control device 400. Specifically, the administrator can understand that an abnormality in one process is caused by an abnormality in another process. This allows the administrator to more appropriately understand the abnormality from the perspective of the entire process.

[0045] In the above-described embodiment, the present invention has been described as a hardware configuration, but the present invention is not limited to this. The above-described functions (processing) of the management device 100, 300, or the control device 400 may be realized by a computer 500 having the following configuration, for example.

[0046] 11 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a computer 500 that realizes the processing of the management device 100, 300, or the control device 400. As shown in FIG.

[0047] The memory 501 is configured, for example, by a combination of volatile memory and non-volatile memory. The memory 501 is used to store programs executed by the processor 502, data used for various processes, and the like. The memory unit 104 of the management device 100, the memory unit 304 of the management device 300, and the memory unit (not shown) of the control device 400 may be realized by the memory 501. However, these may also be realized by any other storage device.

[0048] The processor 502 performs processing of each device by reading and executing programs from the memory 501. The processor 502 may be, for example, a microprocessor, a microprocessor unit (MPU), or a central processing unit (CPU). The processor 502 may include multiple processors.

[0049] In the above examples, the program includes instructions (or software code) that, when loaded into a computer, cause the computer to perform one or more functions described in the embodiments. The program may be stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium or a tangible storage medium. By way of example and not limitation, computer-readable medium or tangible storage medium includes random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, solid-state drive (SSD) or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disc (DVD), Blu-ray disc or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassette, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage device. The program may also be transmitted on a transitory computer-readable medium or communication medium. By way of example and not limitation, transitory computer-readable medium or communication medium includes electrical, optical, acoustic, or other forms of propagated signals.

[0050] Although the present disclosure has been described above with reference to the embodiments, the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments. Various modifications that can be understood by those skilled in the art can be made to the configuration and details of the present disclosure within the scope of the present disclosure. Furthermore, each embodiment can be combined with other embodiments as appropriate.

[0051] Each drawing is merely an example for describing one or more embodiments. Each drawing may not relate to only one particular embodiment, but may also relate to one or more other embodiments. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, various features or steps described with reference to any one drawing can be combined with features or steps shown in one or more other drawings to create, for example, an embodiment not explicitly shown or described. Not all features or steps shown in any one drawing are necessary to describe an exemplary embodiment, and some features or steps may be omitted. The order of steps described in any drawing may be changed as appropriate.

[0052] Some or all of the above embodiments may be described as, but are not limited to, the following supplementary notes: (Supplementary Note 1) A management device comprising: a monitoring unit that monitors each of a plurality of steps included in a predetermined process for the presence or absence of an abnormality; a determination unit that determines whether an abnormality in one of the plurality of steps is related to an abnormality in another step based on whether the abnormality in the one step and the abnormality in the other step satisfy a predetermined criterion; a memory control unit that controls the memory unit to store information about the abnormality for each of the plurality of steps; and an output unit that outputs information about the abnormality, wherein the memory control unit controls the memory unit to store the abnormality in the one step determined by the determination unit to be related to the abnormality in the other step in association with the abnormality in the other step, and the output unit outputs the abnormality in the one step determined by the determination unit to be related to the abnormality in the other step in association with the abnormality in the other step. (Supplementary Note 2) The management device according to Supplementary Note 1, wherein the determination unit determines whether or not there is a correlation between the abnormality in the one process and the abnormality in the other process, based on the type of abnormality in the one process and the type of abnormality in the other process. (Supplementary Note 3) The management device according to Supplementary Note 1, wherein the determination unit determines that there is a correlation between the abnormality in the one process and the abnormality in the other process, if the date and time when the abnormality in the one process occurred and the date and time when the abnormality in the other process occurred are within a predetermined time period. (Supplementary Note 4) The management device according to Supplementary Note 3, wherein the length of the predetermined time is set for each type of abnormality. (Supplementary Note 5) The management device according to Supplementary Note 3, wherein the length of the predetermined time is longer as the distance between the one process and the other process increases. (Supplementary Note 6) The management device according to Supplementary Note 2, wherein the determination unit determines whether or not there is a correlation between an abnormality in the one process, for an abnormality in either one of processes upstream or downstream of the one process in the process, based on the type of abnormality in the one process. (Supplementary Note 7) The management device described in Supplementary Note 1, wherein the monitoring unit monitors whether or not there is an abnormality in each of the plurality of processes based on information transmitted from a control device provided in each of the plurality of processes, and at least one of the plurality of control devices is different from the other control devices.(Supplementary Note 8) A management method in which a computer monitors each of a plurality of steps included in a predetermined process for the presence or absence of an abnormality, determines whether an abnormality in one of the plurality of steps is related to an abnormality in another step based on whether the abnormality in the one step and an abnormality in the other step satisfy a predetermined criterion, controls a memory unit to store information related to an abnormality for each of the plurality of steps, outputs information related to the abnormality, controls the memory unit, when controlling the memory unit, to store an abnormality in the one step determined to be related to an abnormality in the other step in association with the abnormality in the other step, and when outputting information related to the abnormality, outputs the abnormality in the one step determined to be related to an abnormality in the other step in association with the abnormality in the other step. (Supplementary Note 9) The management method according to Supplementary Note 8, in which the computer determines whether an abnormality in the one step is related to an abnormality in the other step based on the type of abnormality in the one step and the type of abnormality in the other step. (Supplementary Note 10) The management method according to Supplementary Note 8, wherein the computer determines that the abnormality in the one process is related to the abnormality in the other process if the date and time when the abnormality in the one process occurs and the date and time when the abnormality in the other process occurs are within a predetermined time period. (Supplementary Note 11) The management method according to Supplementary Note 10, wherein the length of the predetermined time is determined for each type of abnormality. (Supplementary Note 12) The management method according to Supplementary Note 10, wherein the length of the predetermined time is longer the greater the distance between the one process and the other process. (Supplementary Note 13) The management method according to Supplementary Note 9, wherein the computer determines whether an abnormality in a process either upstream or downstream of the one process in the process is related to the abnormality in the one process, based on the type of abnormality in the one process. (Supplementary Note 14) The management method described in Supplementary Note 8, wherein the computer monitors whether or not there is an abnormality in each of the plurality of processes based on information transmitted from a control device provided in each of the plurality of processes, and at least one of the plurality of control devices is different from the other control devices.(Supplementary Note 15) A management program that causes a computer to execute the following processes: monitoring each of a plurality of processes included in a predetermined process for the presence or absence of an abnormality; determining whether an abnormality in one of the plurality of processes is related to an abnormality in another process based on whether the abnormality in the one process and an abnormality in the other process satisfy predetermined criteria; controlling a storage unit to store information related to an abnormality for each of the plurality of processes; and outputting information related to the abnormality, wherein in the control of the storage unit, the computer controls the storage unit to store the abnormality in the one process determined to be related to the abnormality in the other process in association with each other, and in the outputting information related to the abnormality, the computer outputs the abnormality in the one process determined to be related to the abnormality in the other process in association with each other. (Supplementary Note 16) A management program according to Supplementary Note 15, that causes the computer to determine whether or not an abnormality in the one process is related to an abnormality in the other process based on the type of abnormality in the one process and the type of abnormality in the other process. (Supplementary Note 17) The management program according to Supplementary Note 15, which causes the computer to determine that the abnormality in the one process is related to the abnormality in the other process if the date and time when the abnormality occurred in the one process and the date and time when the abnormality occurred in the other process are within a predetermined time period. (Supplementary Note 18) The management program according to Supplementary Note 17, which is configured such that the length of the predetermined time is determined for each type of abnormality. (Supplementary Note 19) The management program according to Supplementary Note 17, which is configured such that the length of the predetermined time is longer the greater the distance between the one process and the other process. (Supplementary Note 20) The management program according to Supplementary Note 16, which causes the computer to determine whether an abnormality in a process either upstream or downstream of the one process in the process is related to the abnormality in the one process, based on the type of abnormality in the one process.(Appendix 21) The management program described in Appendix 15, wherein the computer monitors whether or not there is an abnormality in each of the plurality of processes based on information transmitted from a control device provided in each of the plurality of processes, and at least one of the plurality of control devices is different from the other control devices. (Supplementary Note 22) A management system comprising: a management device that manages a predetermined process including a plurality of steps; and a control device provided in each of the plurality of steps, wherein the management device comprises: a monitoring unit that monitors each of the plurality of steps for the presence or absence of an abnormality; a determination unit that determines whether an abnormality in one of the plurality of steps is related to an abnormality in another of the plurality of steps based on whether the abnormality in the one of the plurality of steps and an abnormality in the other of the steps satisfy a predetermined criterion; a memory control unit that controls the memory unit to store information regarding the abnormality for each of the plurality of steps; and an output unit that outputs information regarding the abnormality, wherein the memory control unit controls the memory unit to store the abnormality in the one of the steps that is determined to be related by the determination unit in association with the abnormality in the other of the steps, and the output unit outputs the abnormality in the one of the steps that is determined to be related by the determination unit in association with the abnormality in the other of the steps. (Supplementary Note 23) The management system according to Supplementary Note 22, wherein the determination unit determines whether or not there is a correlation between the abnormality in the one process and the abnormality in the other process based on the type of abnormality in the one process and the type of abnormality in the other process. (Supplementary Note 24) The management system according to Supplementary Note 22, wherein the determination unit determines that there is a correlation between the abnormality in the one process and the abnormality in the other process if the date and time of occurrence of the abnormality in the one process and the date and time of occurrence of the abnormality in the other process are within a predetermined time period. (Supplementary Note 25) The management system according to Supplementary Note 24, wherein the length of the predetermined time is set for each type of abnormality. (Supplementary Note 26) The management system according to Supplementary Note 24, wherein the length of the predetermined time is longer as the distance between the one process and the other process increases.(Supplementary Note 27) The management system according to Supplementary Note 23, wherein the determination unit determines whether an abnormality in one of the processes upstream or downstream of the one process in the process is related to the abnormality in the one process, based on the type of abnormality in the one process. (Supplementary Note 28) The management system according to Supplementary Note 22, wherein the monitoring unit monitors the presence or absence of an abnormality in each of the plurality of processes based on information transmitted from the plurality of control devices, and at least one of the plurality of control devices is different from the other control devices.

[0053] This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-142950, ​​filed September 4, 2023, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0054] It is possible to provide a management device, a management method, a management program, and a management system that can more appropriately grasp abnormalities from the perspective of the entire process.

[0055] 100, 300 Management device 200 Management system 400_1 to 400_n Control device 101, 301 Monitoring unit (monitoring means) 102, 302 Determination unit (determination means) 103, 303 Storage control unit (storage control means) 104, 304 Storage unit (storage means) 105, 305 Output unit (output means) 306 Monitoring information 307 Reference information (predetermined reference) 308 Related abnormality information

Claims

1. A management device comprising: a monitoring means for monitoring the presence or absence of abnormalities in each of a plurality of steps included in a specified process; a determination means for determining whether or not an abnormality in one of the plurality of steps is related to an abnormality in the other steps based on whether the abnormality in the one step and an abnormality in the other steps satisfy a specified criterion; a memory control means for controlling a memory means to store information regarding the abnormality for each of the plurality of steps; and an output means for outputting information regarding the abnormality, wherein the memory control means controls the memory means to store the abnormality in the one step determined by the determination means to be related to the abnormality in the other steps in association with each other, and the output means outputs the abnormality in the one step determined by the determination means to be related to the abnormality in the other steps in association with each other.

2. The management device according to claim 1, wherein the determination means determines whether or not there is a correlation between the abnormality in the one process and the abnormality in the other process based on the type of abnormality in the one process and the type of abnormality in the other process.

3. The management device according to claim 1, wherein the determination means determines that there is a correlation between the abnormality in the one process and the abnormality in the other process if the date and time of the occurrence of the abnormality in the one process and the date and time of the occurrence of the abnormality in the other process are within a predetermined time period.

4. The management device according to claim 3, wherein the length of the predetermined time is determined for each type of abnormality.

5. The management device according to claim 3, wherein the length of the predetermined time is longer as the distance between the one process and the other process increases.

6. The management device according to claim 2, wherein the determination means determines whether or not an abnormality in either one of the processes upstream or downstream of the one process in the process is related to the abnormality in the one process, based on the type of abnormality in the one process.

7. The management device of claim 1, wherein the monitoring means monitors the presence or absence of abnormalities for each of the plurality of processes based on information transmitted from a control device provided in each of the plurality of processes, and at least one of the plurality of control devices is different from the other control devices.

8. A management method in which a computer monitors each of a plurality of steps included in a specified process for the presence or absence of an abnormality, determines whether an abnormality in one of the plurality of steps is related to an abnormality in the other steps based on whether the abnormality in the one of the plurality of steps satisfies a predetermined criterion, controls a storage means to store information regarding the abnormality for each of the plurality of steps, outputs information regarding the abnormality, controls the storage means to store the abnormality in the one of the steps determined to be related in association with the abnormality in the other steps when controlling the storage means, and outputs the information regarding the abnormality in the one of the steps determined to be related in association with the abnormality in the other steps when outputting the information regarding the abnormality.

9. A management program which causes a computer to execute the following processes: a process of monitoring each of a plurality of steps included in a specified process for the presence or absence of an abnormality; a process of determining whether or not an abnormality in one of the plurality of steps is related to an abnormality in the other steps based on whether the abnormality in the one step satisfies a predetermined criterion; a process of controlling a storage means to store information regarding an abnormality for each of the plurality of steps; and a process of outputting information regarding the abnormality; in the process of controlling the storage means, the computer controls the storage means to store the abnormality in the one step determined to be related to the abnormality in the other steps in association with each other; and in the process of outputting information regarding the abnormality, the computer causes the abnormality in the one step determined to be related to the abnormality in the other steps in association with each other.

10. A management system comprising: a management device for managing a specified process including a plurality of steps; and a control device provided in each of the plurality of steps, wherein the management device comprises: a monitoring means for monitoring each of the plurality of steps for the presence or absence of an abnormality; a determination means for determining whether an abnormality in one of the plurality of steps is related to an abnormality in the other steps based on whether the abnormality in the one of the plurality of steps satisfies a predetermined criterion; a memory control means for controlling a memory means to store information regarding an abnormality for each of the plurality of steps; and an output means for outputting information regarding the abnormality, wherein the memory control means controls the memory means to store the abnormality in the one of the steps determined by the determination means to be related to the abnormality in the other steps in association with each other, and the output means outputs the abnormality in the one of the steps determined by the determination means to be related to the abnormality in the other steps in association with each other.

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