Automated Employee Resource Delivery System

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Solution Overview

Problem

In large companies, the process of identifying and providing necessary resources to employees is inefficient due to diverse ownership and varying protocols among resource owners, making it difficult for employees to acquire the resources they need, especially during changes such as new hires, promotions, or departures.

Innovation Solution

Automated systems and methods for employee resource delivery that involve identifying employee identification data, generating notifications to resource owners, and updating resource lists to streamline the allocation and retrieval of resources, ensuring efficient access to necessary tools and equipment.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If manual processes are used to identify and provide resources to employees, then resource owners can control and manage resources, but the process becomes time-consuming and inefficient

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveresource allocation efficiencyVSAvoidtime required for resource acquisition
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by pre-defining resource allocation rules, entitlements, and protocols before employees need resources. When an employee event occurs (hiring, promotion, departure), the system automatically executes pre-programmed actions to allocate or retrieve resources without manual intervention, thus resolving the contradiction between efficient automation and controlled resource management

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system enables self-service by allowing employees to trigger resource allocation automatically through their own events (e.g., hiring, promotion). The automated system serves itself by executing pre-defined protocols without human intervention, reducing the time and effort employees must spend on resource acquisition while maintaining proper control mechanisms

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

2Adaptability or versatility

If diverse protocols are used by different resource owners, then each department can control its resources, but the complexity of coordinating resource requests increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveresource ownership flexibilityVSAvoidcoordination protocol complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system introduces a universal coordination layer that handles multiple resource types and ownership structures through a single integrated framework. This universal system can accommodate diverse resource owners (IT, HR, Finance, etc.) with different protocols by translating them into a common automated execution model, thus maintaining flexibility while reducing coordination complexity

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

The automated system acts as an intermediary between employees and diverse resource owners. It receives resource requests, translates them according to different ownership protocols, and executes the appropriate actions. This intermediary layer abstracts the complexity of diverse protocols from employees and coordinating systems, allowing each resource owner to maintain control while simplifying the overall coordination process

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Ease of operation

If employees manually equip themselves with resources, then they can acquire needed tools, but the process becomes difficult and time-consuming

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveresource acquisition easeVSAvoidtime for resource acquisition
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by pre-configuring resource allocation rules and entitlements before employees need resources. When an employee event occurs, the system automatically executes pre-programmed actions to allocate resources, eliminating the need for employees to manually navigate complex approval processes and thus improving both ease of operation and speed

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system enables employees to trigger resource allocation automatically through their own events without manual intervention. The automated system serves itself by executing pre-defined protocols, allowing employees to acquire resources instantly through simple actions while the system handles the complex coordination in the background

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Data Source

PatentUS8069180B1Systems and methods for automated employee resource delivery
Publication Date: 2011.11.29 UNITED SERVICES AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION (USAA)
  • US8069180B1 patent drawing
  • US8069180B1 patent drawing
  • US8069180B1 patent drawing

AI summary

Systems and methods are provided for automated employee resource delivery in a variety of situations that may commonly arise in modern large company settings. Employee identification data may be identified, and a subset of such data that is required for release of a particular resource may be identified. An automatic notification may be generated for the resource owner, where the automatic notification comprises the required subset of employee identification data. This approach is combined with one or more techniques for ascertaining the resources an employee will require and updating information regarding the resources employees are using.