Patent ID: 8099310
Filing Date: 2012-01-17
Classification: G06Q

Abstract:
1. A maintenance scheduling system that lays out a maintenance schedule for an image forming apparatus that forms an image and exchanges information with an external apparatus, the maintenance scheduling system comprising: a memory; and a processor, wherein the processor is configured to execute the following instructions: instructions for acquiring actual use result information of consumables; instructions for estimating failure probability distributions of the consumables on the basis of a history of the actual use result information of the consumables; instructions for acquiring cost related constants of the consumables; instructions for setting a visit interval value representing a time interval of visit for maintenance work for the consumables to plural values and calculating, for each of the plural visit interval values, cost per unit time required for the image forming apparatus on the basis of the failure probability distributions, the history of the actual use result information, and the cost related constants of the consumables; instructions for calculating, on the basis of the cost calculated by the first cost calculating unit, the visit interval value giving minimum cost as a minimum cost visit interval value; instructions for setting a replacement interval value representing a time interval for replacement of the consumables to plural values and calculating, for each of the plural replacement interval values, cost per unit time required for the image forming apparatus on the basis of the failure probability distributions, the history of the actual use result information, and the cost related constants of the consumables; instructions for calculating a calculated replacement interval value on the basis of the cost calculated by the second cost calculating unit; and instructions for presenting next visit time and at least one of the consumables to be replaced in the visit on the basis of the minimum cost visit interval value and the calculated replacement interval value.