Patent ID: 7761318
Filing Date: 2010-07-20
Classification: G06Q

Abstract:
1. A method for billing a construction activity for a telecommunications company, comprising: designing a telecommunications construction activity in a first electronic datastore wherein the first electronic datastore comprises one or more tasks and any inventory items to be installed or used in the completion of those tasks; transmitting the telecommunications construction activity to a second electronic datastore that provides a communication interface for a first entity managing the activity and a second entity completing the one or more tasks to accomplish the activity at a construction site, wherein the communication interface comprises a web-based graphical user interface; entering into the second electronic datastore by the second entity an amount of completion of the telecommunications construction activity, wherein the amount of completion equals the number of tasks completed for the telecommunications construction activity; determining, with a processor, whether one or more tasks have been completed by the second entity; responsive to one or more tasks having been completed by the second entity, communicating, by the second entity, completion of tasks by the second entity to the second electronic data store; responsive to the second entity having not completed one or more tasks, submitting, by the second entity, a change in plan to the second electronic data store; determining, with the processor, whether the change in plan falls within a first tolerance range; responsive to the change in plan falling within the first tolerance range, automatically approving the change in plan and transmitting the change in plan from the second electronic datastore to the first electronic datastore; responsive to the change in plan not falling within the first tolerance range, not transmitting the change in plan and determining, with the processor, whether the change in plan falls within a second tolerance range; responsive to the change in plan falling within the second tolerance range, determining, with the processor, whether the change in plan is approved by an engineering supervisor; responsive to the change in plan being approved, transmitting the change in plan from the second electronic datastore to the first electronic datastore; responsive to the change in plan not being approved, repeat steps starting from determining, with the processor, whether one or more tasks have been completed by the second entity; responsive to the change in plan not falling within the second tolerance range, determining, with the processor, whether an individual at a sufficient level of authority has approved the change in plan; responsive to a determination that the sufficient level of authority has approved the change in plan, transmitting the change in plan from the second electronic datastore to the first electronic datastore; responsive to a determination that the individual at the sufficient level of authority has not approved the change in plan, repeat steps starting from determining, with the processor, whether one or more tasks have been completed by the second entity; responsive to transmitting the change in plan, revising the one or more tasks and inventory items of the work activity; determining, with the processor, whether material requisition is impacted by the change in plan; responsive to the change in plan impacting material requisition, generating a material requisition reflecting a new material usage; responsive to communicating completion of tasks by the second entity to the second electronic data store, inspecting said telecommunications construction activity to determine whether all of said one or more tasks are completed; responsive to a determination that all of said one or more tasks are completed, generating an invoice from the first electronic datastore for the amount of completion of the telecommunications construction activity; responsive to a determination that all of said one or more tasks are not completed, identifying among said one or more tasks those that are not completed according to said construction activity and communicating said incomplete tasks to said second entity; determining, with the processor, whether the second entity completing the work activity is part of a billing organization; responsive to the second entity being part of the billing organization, submitting the invoice to a payroll function at the billing organization; responsive to the second entity not being part of the billing organization, submitting the invoice to accounts payable at the billing organization; displaying the one or more tasks and inventory items stored in the first electronic datastore.