Maintainer spotlighting

A system and method for responding to an event is disclosed. A skill level requirement for a worker to respond to the event is determined using a processor. The processor selects a worker to respond to the event based on a skill level and a location of the worker with respect to the event. The processor sends a notification to the selected worker to respond to the event.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to a system and method for repair and maintenance and, more specifically, to assembling suitable repair personnel in response to a non-scheduled repair job within an organization.

In large organizations, such as industries, military organizations, large businesses, etc., various unscheduled reparations and maintenance tasks need to be performed. These tasks generally require a quick or immediate response in order to maintain operations. In addition, different repair jobs may require the attention of a worker or workers having a certain skill level. In such large organizations, a boss or superior may have so many workers that he or she may be unable to keep track of each worker's skill levels, their current locations, their schedules and other criteria. Thus, when an urgent repair job arises, he or she may not be able to assemble a suitable work crew to address the repair job in a sufficient time-frame.

SUMMARY

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a method of responding to an event includes: determining a skill level requirement for a worker to respond to the event; using a processor to select a worker to respond to the event based on a skill level and a location of the worker with respect to the event; and notifying the selected worker to respond to the event.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a computer program product includes a computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therewith, the computer readable program code comprising instructions, that when executed by a computer, implement a method of responding to an event, wherein the method includes: determining a skill level value requirement for responding to the event; selecting a worker to respond to the event based on a skill level of the worker and a location of the worker with respect to the event; and sending a notification to the selected worker to respond to the event.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a system for responding to an event includes a processor configured to: determine a skill level requirement for responding to the event; select a worker to respond to the event based on a skill level of the worker and a location of the worker with respect to the event; and notify the selected worker to respond to the event.

Additional features and advantages are realized through the techniques of the present disclosure. Other embodiments and aspects of the disclosure are described in detail herein and are considered a part of the claimed disclosure. For a better understanding of the disclosure with the advantages and the features, refer to the description and to the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1shows an illustrative layout100of an exemplary workplace of an organization. The exemplary workplace may be a business organization, non-profit organization, military organization or other type of organization. The exemplary workplace may include various work stations at which a particular aspect of the organization is performed. The exemplary work stations of layout100include Station A (101) Station B1(103a) and Station B2(103b); Station C1(105a) and Station C2(105b); Station D (107) and Stations E1-E6(109a-109f). At each work station, a worker may be responsible for performing duties with respect to different aspects of the organization. Activities and functions at Station A (101) may be entirely different that activities and functions at Stations C1and C2(105aand105b), for example. Thus, the skills required at one workstation may be entirely different that the skills required at another workstation.

In an exemplary embodiment, each workstation may include various pieces of equipment, machinery, etc. that may occasionally break down and require repair or maintenance. In various aspects, this equipment and/or machinery may break down at random or unscheduled times. Depending on the equipment, repair of the equipment may require a worker to have at least a selected level of skill and/or knowledge. For example, repairing a flat tire may require a low level of skill, while repairing electronic equipment may require a high level of skill. Repair jobs may be assigned a skill level indicating a level of skill required by a worker in order to perform the repair jobs. Workers are generally tested and given a grade or skill level indicting his or her qualifications for repairing a selected piece of equipment. In an exemplary embodiment, these skill levels may be indicated by a selected number, such as Level1, Level2, etc., and are usually selected by the organization.

Workers, such as exemplary worker120, are shown at the various work stations of layout100. In various operations of the organization, workers are mobile within the layout100in order to be able to attend to matters at the one or more workstations. The workers may be equipped with a location tracking device such as a global position system (GPS) tracking device that determines the worker's location within the system layout100. The exemplary tracking devices may send location tracking data to a central database or processor at selected intervals. The worker120may also be equipped with a communication device for receiving instructions from the system disclosed herein, which instruct the worker to report to a given location to perform a repair job. The exemplary communication device may include a phone, a smartphone, a pager, etc.

FIG. 2shows an exemplary processing system200for scheduling a response to an event such as a repair job or maintenance job. The exemplary system200includes a processor202that performs the exemplary methods disclosed herein to select workers to repair machinery. The processor202is coupled to a graphical user interface204that may receive and display data from the processor202. The processor202may also be coupled to an input206that provides data to the processor202. In various embodiments, the input device206may include a keyboard or mouse or may include a touchscreen that is coupled to the graphical interface204. The processor202may further be coupled to various databases which may include a repair job database208and a worker database210. The repair job database208may include a database of repair jobs and specifications that may be required to perform them. The worker database210may include data for workers in the organization, their repair job skill levels, and their schedules, among other data. The processor202may be further coupled to an antenna212or database that includes the locations of the various workers of the organization. At selected intervals, the location data may be updated by the location tracking devices carried by the workers. Alternatively, the processor202may query the tracking devices at a given time over selected intervals.

FIG. 3shows an exemplary repair job entry300that may be stored in a job database208. The repair job entry300may include a repair job identification number301and a description304of the repair job. Each repair job entry300may further include a skill level302required for completion of the repair job, a number of workers306required to complete the repair job and an estimated time308to complete the repair job. Other parameters may also be stored with relation to a repair job, such as for example, an urgency310of the repair job or, in other words, an importance of the repair to operation of the organization. Additionally, the repair job database may include or provide access to one or more repair manuals312which may be stored electronically.

FIG. 4shows an exemplary worker database400having worker entries402,404that may be stored therein. In one embodiment, the worker database210may include an entry for a plurality of workers of the organization. An exemplary worker entry402may include a skill level410of the worker as well as the worker's schedule412. In one embodiment, a worker may have a number of skill levels, each pertaining to different workstations. For example, a worker may have a high level of skill for working on repairs that occur at station A (101) but have a low level of skills for working on repairs at station C1and C2(105aand105b). Therefore, the exemplary worker entry402may include a number of fields for describing the worker's skill levels.

FIG. 5shows an exemplary location database500that includes worker locations. The exemplary database may be updated at selected intervals or upon request by a user of the system described herein. In one embodiment, the location database500may be accessed by the antenna212of the exemplary system200. Alternatively, the processor202may use antenna212to retrieve location data directly from location tracking devices carried by the workers.

FIG. 6shows an exemplary interface enabling a user to use the system200described herein for selecting a work crew in response to a failed piece of equipment or a maintenance need. The display600includes a panel that shows a representation of the exemplary layout100ofFIG. 1. In various embodiments, the user may be able to perform zoom in and zoom out functions on the exemplary layout100. The exemplary layout100shows the various locations of the workstations ofFIG. 1. Various representative icons are shown to indicate workers and their locations with respect to the workstations. The location of the worker is determined by the location tracking data provided to the processor. The representative layout100may be updated to show the movement of the workers. The display600also includes a selection bar602, shown for illustrative purposes along the bottom of the display600, although the selection bar602may be placed at any selected location of the display600. The selection bar602may include a number of selectable icons or buttons at which the user may select criteria for assembling a suitable repair crew for a repair job. Exemplary skill levels604(e.g., 10 Level, 20 Level, 30 Level, 40 Level) that may be selected by the user are indicated. The selection bar602may further include a number of selectable icons606for selecting workstations, such as Station A, Station B, Station C, Station D, for example. Selecting the workstation may indicate a location of the broken equipment to the processor202, which may use the equipment location to select nearby workers. The display user may select the workstation. Upon selecting a workstation606and a qualification level604, the user may select a button608to start the processor202to perform a search of exemplary databases208and210based on the selected repair job criteria and worker location data. Upon performing the search, the processor202may send data to the display600. The display600may indicate the selected worker(s) by changing a visual aspect of the icon(s) that represent the selected worker(s). In the exemplary display600, representations620and622or workers have been circled to indicate their being selected to perform the selected repair. Other methods for indicating selected workers may also be used, such as by highlighting the worker representation, changing a color of a worker representation, etc. Additionally, the criteria may be changed by the system user and another search performed of the workforce.

In one aspect of the exemplary embodiment, the display600may provide an icon or button610enabling the user to retrieve a technical manual612for the specific repair job and display the retrieved technical manual612at the display600. The technical manual612may also be displayed at a suitable graphical interface that may be used by the selected workers, including a graphical interface at the workstation having the equipment failure.

FIG. 7shows a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method of selecting a worker to respond to an event such as a repair job. In box702, a repair job is recognized or a repair ticket is received. This repair ticket may be entered into the system by a system user. In box704, the system user may select a qualification level for the repair ticket. The user may also specify a distance of the people from the repair job as criteria, such as within50feet, within a quarter of a mile, etc. Alternatively, the system user may indicate the workstation at which the repair is needed. In box706, the processor202may perform a filter on the workforce in the worker database using the criteria selected in box704in order to select workers who have the required skill level and who are within a selected distance of the repair job, or otherwise meet a selected distance criterion. The processor202may also check workers' schedules to determine which worker is available for a given repair. The processor may use urgency of repair to schedule a repair when a suitable selected worker is available. In box708, the processor202sends data to the graphical user interface204wherein a representation of the worker or workers may be highlighted using the exemplary methods described herein. Additionally, the processor202may send a notice to the selected workers, for example, by sending a message to a communication device carried by the selected workers, such as a cellular device, for example.

The flow diagrams depicted herein are just one example. There may be many variations to this diagram or the steps (or operations) described therein without departing from the spirit of the disclosure. For instance, the steps may be performed in a differing order or steps may be added, deleted or modified. All of these variations are considered a part of the claimed disclosure.