Standard work time updating method and system

The purpose of the invention is to provide a standard work time updating method and system in which a work time is declared by a worker without requiring an observer or the like and the reliability of the updated data of standard work time can be prevented from being degraded due to a worker's false or erroneous declaration. To achieve this purpose, for example, the standard work time updating system is configured as follows. When a reliability determination unit (24) determines that a work time required for work and declared by a worker is not departed from a predetermined range in the work time data distribution of the work stored in a database, a standard work time for the work is updated to a standard work time calculated from the declared work time, and otherwise, the standard work time is not updated. In addition, when it is determined that a work area estimated by a work area estimation unit (23) matches a work area declared by a worker, a standard work time for the work is updated to the calculated standard work time, and otherwise, the standard work time is not updated.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a standard work time updating method and a standard work time updating system for updating standard work times of workers.

BACKGROUND ART

In assembly work of a product such as an aircraft or a ship, work (for example, assembly work of a main wing of an aircraft and the like) performed by the workers is analyzed and classified into multiple work contents (for example, drilling work, screwing work, and the like). Standard work times are then determined for the respective work contents and work processes are thereby managed.

When the workers become skilled in the work, they can perform work in a shorter time. Moreover, there is a difference in work time depending on the skills of the workers. Accordingly, the standard work times of the respective work contents need to be updated each time the work is performed. Conventionally, there are the following two types of methods for updating the standard work times of the respective work contents.

The first method is a method for updating the standard work times of the respective work contents on the basis of work times of the work contents which are recorded by an observer or a classifier different from the workers. Specifically, the observer beside the workers observes work states of the workers and thereby measures and records the work times of the work contents by using a stopwatch or the like. Alternatively, the work of the workers is recorded by a camera or the like. Thereafter, the classifier analyzes the recorded work, classifies the recorded work into multiple work contents, and records the work times of the work contents. The standard work times of the respective work contents are then updated based on the work times of the work contents recorded by the observer or the classifier.

The second method is a method for updating the standard work times of the respective work contents on the basis of the work times of the work contents which are declared by the workers. Specifically, in a work process having predetermined work contents and work procedures thereof (the execution order of the work contents), each of the workers classifies the work contents while performing the work and records and declares the work times of the respective work contents by using a stopwatch, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) being a mobile information terminal, and the like. The standard work times of the respective work contents are then updated based on the declared work times of the work contents.

A conventional standard work time updating system using a stopwatch is described based onFIGS. 15 and 16. Part (a) ofFIG. 15is a configuration diagram of the conventional standard work time updating system, Part (b) ofFIG. 15is an enlarged view of the stopwatch, and Part (c) ofFIG. 15is an enlarged view of a display screen of the stopwatch. Moreover,FIG. 16is a block diagram of the conventional standard work time updating system.

As shown in Part (a) ofFIG. 15, an inside of an assembly station1in which assembly work of a product such as an aircraft or a ship is performed is divided into multiple (four in the illustrated example) work areas2A,2B,2C,2D, and2E for respective multiple work contents. Workers8perform work of the work contents in the work areas2A to2E. At this time, in the work areas2A to2E, each of the workers8operates a stopwatch3carried by the worker8to record work time points (work start time point and work completion time point) of the work contents in a storage device included in the stopwatch3and thereby declares the work time points. As shown in Parts (b) and (c) ofFIG. 15, the work content and the work time point (work start time point and work completion time point) are displayed in a display screen4of the stopwatch3.

As shown in Parts (a) to (c) ofFIG. 15andFIG. 16, the work time points (work start time point and work completion time point) of the work contents which are recorded by using the stopwatch3are transmitted to a work time management server (personal computer)5. The work time management server5includes a storage unit6in which the work procedures, the work contents, the standard work times, and the work areas are stored as a database and a standard work time calculation unit7.

The standard work time calculation unit7obtains the work times (work completion time point−work start time point) of the work contents from the work time points (work start time point and work completion time point) of the work contents inputted from the stopwatches3of the workers8, calculates an average value or the like of the work times for each of the work contents, and sets the calculated value as the standard work time of the work content. Then, when the calculated standard work times of the work contents are shorter than the standard work times of the work contents which are stored in the storage unit7as the database, the standard work time calculation unit7updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work contents of the work contents which are calculated by the standard work time calculation unit7and outputs the updated standard work times.

The Patent Document 1 listed below is given as an example of a prior art document disclosing a technique in which the workers each measure the work times of the respective work contents by using the stopwatch.

PRIOR ART DOCUMENT

Patent Document

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. Hei 11-72583

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

The first method out of the two types of methods for updating the standard work times of the respective work contents has such a disadvantage that the observer or the classifier different from the workers is required to update the standard work times.

On the contrary, the second method requires no observer or classifier. However, the second method has such a problem that, when the worker8makes a false or erroneous declaration upon declaring the work time point by using the stopwatch or the PDA, this declaration cannot be found out.

In view of the circumstances described above, an object of the present invention is to provide a standard work time updating method and a standard wok time updating system in which workers make declarations without an observer or a classifier and in which, even when the workers make a false or erroneous declaration, deterioration in reliability of update data of standard work times which is caused by declaration data of a work time having a low reliability is prevented by finding out the false or erroneous declaration.

Means for Solving the Problems

A standard work time updating method, according to a first aspect of the invention for solving the above problem, in which workers declare work time points of a work content performed by the workers in a work area in a station by using declaring means and a standard work time of the work content is updated based on work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, is characterized in that

the method comprises causing reliability determination means to determine whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers each deviate from a predetermined range in a distribution of work time data of the work content which is stored in a database,

when determining that none of the work times deviate from the predetermined range, the reliability determination means updates the standard work time of the work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, and

when determining that any of the work times deviates from the predetermined range, the reliability determination means does not update the standard work time of the work content.

A standard work time updating method, according to a second aspect of the invention, in which workers declare work time points of a work content performed by the workers in a work area in a station by using declaring means and a standard work time of the work content is updated based on work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, is characterized in that

the method comprises causing reliability determination means to determine whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers each deviate from a predetermined range in a distribution of work time data of the work content which is stored in a database,

when determining that none of the work times deviate from the predetermined range, the reliability determination means updates the standard work time of the work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, and

when determining that any of the work times deviates from the predetermined range, the reliability determination means updates the standard work time of the work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, exclusive of the work time determined to deviate from the predetermined range.

A standard work time updating method, according to a third aspect of the invention, in which workers declare work time points of a work content performed by the workers in a work area in a station by using declaring means and a standard work time of the work content is updated based on work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, is characterized in that

the method comprises causing reliability determination means to determine whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers each exceed a predetermined value in a distribution of work time data of the work content which is stored in a database,

when determining that none of the work times exceed the predetermined value, the reliability determination means updates the standard work time of the work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, and

when determining that any of the work times exceeds the predetermined value, the reliability determination means does not update the standard work time of the work content.

A standard work time updating method, according to a fourth aspect of the invention, in which workers declare work time points of a work content performed by the workers in a work area in a station by using declaring means and a standard work time of the work content is updated based on work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, is characterized in that

the method comprises causing reliability determination means to determine whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers each exceed a predetermined value in a distribution of work time data of the work content which is stored in a database,

when determining that none of the work times exceed the predetermined value, the reliability determination means updates the standard work time of the work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, and

when determining that any of the work times exceeds the predetermined value, the reliability determination means updates the standard work time of the work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, exclusive of the work time determined to exceed the predetermined value.

A standard work time updating method, according to a fifth aspect of the invention, in which workers declare work time points of a work content performed by the workers in a work area in a station by using declaring means and a standard work time of the work content is updated based on work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, is characterized in that the method comprises:

calculating a standard work time on the basis of the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers and the work times of the work content which are stored in a database; and

updating the standard work time of the work content to the calculated standard work time.

A standard work time updating method, according to a sixth aspect of the invention, in which workers declare work time points of a work content performed by the workers in work areas in a station by using declaring means and a standard work time of the work content is updated based on work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, is characterized in thatthe method comprises:causing work area identification means to identify in which one of the work areas each of the workers exists; andcausing reliability determination means to determine whether identified work areas identified by the work area identification means coincide with declared work areas declared by the workers by use of the declaring means,when determining that the identified areas coincide with the declared work areas, the reliability determination means updates the standard work time of the work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, andwhen determining that any of the identified work areas does not coincide with a corresponding one of the declared work areas, the reliability determination means does not update the standard work time of the work content.

A standard work time updating method, according to a seventh aspect of the invention, in which workers declare work time points of a work content performed by the workers in work areas in a station by using declaring means and a standard work time of the work content is updated based on work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, is characterized in thatthe method comprises:causing work area identification means to identify in which one of the work areas each of the workers exists; andcausing reliability determination means to determine whether identified work areas identified by the work area identification means coincide with declared work areas declared by the workers by use of the declaring means,when determining that the identified areas coincide with the declared work areas, the reliability determination means updates the standard work time of the work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, andwhen determining that any of the identified work areas does not coincide with a corresponding one of the declared work areas, the reliability determination means updates the standard work time of the work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, exclusive of the work time for which the identified work area does not coincide with the declared work area.

A standard work time updating method according to an eighth aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the sixth or seventh aspect of the invention of the standard work time updating method, the work area identification means includes:

receivers provided in multiple spots in the station and configured to receive radio waves transmitted from the declaring means; and

a work area identification unit configured to identify in which one of the work areas each of the workers exists on the basis of radio wave reception information from the receivers.

A standard work time updating method according to a ninth aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the sixth or seventh aspect of the invention of the standard work time updating method, the work area identification means includes:

RFID tags provided in the declaring means;

RFID readers installed in the work areas and configured to read records of the RFID tags and transmit work area information; and

a work area identification unit configured to identify in which one of the work areas each of the workers exists on the basis of the work area information transmitted from the RFID readers.

A standard work time updating method according to a tenth aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the sixth or seventh aspect of the invention of the standard work time updating method, the work area identification means includes:

photoelectric sensors installed at entrances of the work areas and configured to detect the workers entering the work areas; and

a work area identification unit configured to identify in which one of the work areas each of the workers exists on the basis of worker detection information from the photoelectric sensors.

A standard work time updating method, according to an eleventh aspect of the invention, in which workers declare work time points of a work content performed by the workers in work areas in a station by using declaring means and a standard work time of the work content is updated based on work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, characterized in thatthe method comprises:causing work content identification means to identify the work content performed by each of the workers; andcausing reliability determination means to determine whether an identified work content identified by the work content identification means coincides with a declared work content declared by the worker by use of the declaring means,when determining that the identified work content coincides with the declared work content, the reliability determination means updates the standard work time of the work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, andwhen determining that the identified work content does not coincide with the declared work content, the reliability determination means does not update the standard work time of the work content.

A standard work time updating method, according to a twelfth aspect of the invention, in which workers declare work time points of a work content performed by the workers in work areas in a station by using declaring means and a standard work time of the work content is updated based on work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, characterized in thatthe method comprises:causing work content identification means to identify the work content performed by each of the workers; andcausing reliability determination means to determine whether an identified work content identified by the work content identification means coincides with a declared work content declared by the worker by use of the declaring means,when determining that the identified work content coincides with the declared work content, the reliability determination means updates the standard work time of the work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, andwhen determining that the identified work content does not coincide with the declared work content, the reliability determination means updates the standard work time of the work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, exclusive of the work time for which the identified work content does not coincide with the declared work content.

A standard work time updating method according to a thirteenth aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the eleventh or twelfth aspect of the invention of the standard work time updating method, the work content identification means includes:

work tool usage information acquisition means for acquiring work tool usage information by detecting work tools used by the workers; and

a work area identification unit configured to identify the work content performed by each of the workers on the basis of the work tool usage information from the work tool usage information acquisition means.

A standard work time updating method according to a fourteenth aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the thirteenth aspect of the invention of the standard work time updating method, the work tool usage information acquisition means is photoelectric sensors which are installed in work tool tables installed in the work areas to be capable of detecting the work tools placed on the work tool tables and which are configured to transmit OFF signals as the work tool usage information, the OFF signals obtained when the work tools are picked up from the work tool tables by the workers.

A standard work time updating method according to a fifteenth aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the thirteenth aspect of the invention of the standard work time updating method, the work tool usage information acquisition means is electric power meters configured to measure power consumptions of the work tools and transmit measured signals of the power consumptions as the work tool usage information.

A standard work time updating method according to a sixteenth aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the thirteenth aspect of the invention of the standard work time updating method, the work tool usage information acquisition means includes:

cameras installed to be capable of capturing images of the work tools on work tool tables installed in the work areas; and

image processing means for determining whether the work tools have disappeared from the work tool tables by performing image processing on the images captured by the cameras and for obtaining the work tool usage information by determining whether the work tools have disappeared from the work tool tables.

A standard work time updating method according to a seventeenth aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the thirteenth aspect of the invention of the standard work time updating method, the work tool usage information acquisition means includes:

RFID tags provided in the work tools; and

RFID readers configured to read records in the RFID tags and transmit the read records as the work tool usage information.

A standard work time updating method according to an eighteenth aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the thirteenth aspect of the invention of the standard work time updating method, the work tool usage information acquisition means is piezoelectric sensors provided in work tool tables installed in the work areas in such a way that loads of the work tools act on the piezoelectric sensors when the work tools are placed on the work tool tables, the piezoelectric sensors configured to detect that the work tools are picked up from the work tool tables by the workers and transmit work tool detection signals as the work tool usage information.

A standard work time updating method, according to a nineteenth aspect of the invention, in which workers declare work time points of a work content performed by the workers in work areas in a station by using declaring means and a standard work time of the work content is updated based on work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, characterized in thatthe method comprises:causing a plurality of reliability determination means to determine whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers are reliable;calculating the standard work time by performing weighted average calculation on an average value of the work times subjected to reliability determination by the plurality of reliability determination means; andupdating the standard work time of the work content to the calculated standard work time, andwhen any of the work times is determined to be unreliable by any of the plurality of reliability determination means, the weighted average calculation is performed with a weighting factor set to 0, the weighting factor being one for the average value of the work times subjected to the reliability determination by the any reliability determination means.

A standard work time updating method according to a twentieth aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the nineteenth aspect of the invention of the standard work time updating method,

the plurality of reliability determination means are a plurality of reliability determination means selected from:

first reliability determination means for determining whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers each deviate from a predetermined range in a distribution of work time data of the work content which is stored in a database;

second reliability determination means for determining whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers each exceed a predetermined value in a distribution of work time data of the work content which is stored in the database;

third reliability determination means for determining whether identified work areas which are identified by work area identification means and in which the workers exist coincide with declared work areas declared by the workers by use of the declaring means; and

fourth reliability determination means for determining whether an identified work content identified by the work content identification means and performed by the workers coincides with a declared work content declared by the workers by use of the declaring means.

A standard work time updating system, according to a twenty-first aspect of the invention, in which workers declare work time points of a work content performed by the workers in a work area in a station by using declaring means and a standard work time of the work content is updated based on work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, is characterized in that

the system comprises reliability determination means for determining whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers each deviate from a predetermined range in a distribution of work time data of the work content which is stored in a database,

when determining that none of the work times deviate from the predetermined range, the reliability determination means updates the standard work time of the work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, and

when determining that any of the work times deviates from the predetermined range, the reliability determination means does not update the standard work time of the work content.

A standard work time updating system, according to a twenty-second aspect of the invention, in which workers declare work time points of a work content performed by the workers in a work area in a station by using declaring means and a standard work time of the work content is updated based on work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, is characterized in that

the system comprises reliability determination means for determining whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers each deviate from a predetermined range in a distribution of work time data of the work content which is stored in a database,

when determining that none of the work times deviate from the predetermined range, the reliability determination means updates the standard work time of the work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, and

when determining that any of the work times deviates from the predetermined range, the reliability determination means updates the standard work time of the work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, exclusive of the work time determined to deviate from the predetermined range.

A standard work time updating system, according to a twenty-third aspect of the invention, in which workers declare work time points of a work content performed by the workers in a work area in a station by using declaring means and a standard work time of the work content is updated based on work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, is characterized in that

the system comprises reliability determination means for determining whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers each exceed a predetermined value in a distribution of work time data of the work content which is stored in a database,

when determining that none of the work times exceed the predetermined value, the reliability determination means updates the standard work time of the work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, and

when determining that any of the work times exceeds the predetermined value, the reliability determination means does not update the standard work time of the work content.

A standard work time updating system, according to a twenty-fourth aspect of the invention, in which workers declare work time points of a work content performed by the workers in a work area in a station by using declaring means and a standard work time of the work content is updated based on work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, is characterized in that

the system comprises reliability determination means for determining whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers each exceed a predetermined value in a distribution of work time data of the work content which is stored in a database,

when determining that none of the work times exceed the predetermined value, the reliability determination means updates the standard work time of the work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, and

when determining that any of the work times exceeds the predetermined value, the reliability determination means updates the standard work time of the work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, exclusive of the work time determined to be exceeding the predetermined value.

A standard work time updating system, according to a twenty-fifth aspect of the invention, in which workers declare work time points of a work content performed by the workers in a work area in a station by using declaring means and a standard work time of the work content is updated based on work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, is characterized in that the system comprises update processing means for calculating a standard work time on the basis of the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers and the work times of the work content which are stored in a database, and thereby updating the standard work time of the work content to the calculated standard work time.

A standard work time updating system, according to a twenty-sixth aspect of the invention, in which workers declare work time points of a work content performed by the workers in work areas in a station by using declaring means and a standard work time of the work content is updated based on work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, is characterized in thatthe system comprises:work area identification means for identifying in which one of the work areas each of the workers exists; andreliability determination means for determining whether identified work areas identified by the work area identification means coincide with declared work areas declared by the workers by use of the declaring means,when determining that the identified areas coincide with the declared work areas, the reliability determination means updates the standard work time of the work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, andwhen determining that any of the identified work areas does not coincide with a corresponding one of the declared work areas, the reliability determination means does not update the standard work time of the work content.

A standard work time updating system, according to a twenty-seventh aspect of the invention, in which workers declare work time points of a work content performed by the workers in work areas in a station by using declaring means and a standard work time of the work content is updated based on work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, is characterized in thatthe system comprises:work area identification means for identifying in which one of the work areas each of the workers exists; andreliability determination means for determining whether identified work areas identified by the work area identification means coincide with declared work areas declared by the workers by use of the declaring means,when determining that the identified areas coincide with the declared work areas, the reliability determination means updates the standard work time of the work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, andwhen determining that any of the identified work areas does not coincide with a corresponding one of the declared work areas, the reliability determination means updates the standard work time of the work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, exclusive of the work time for which the identified work area does not coincide with the declared work area.

A standard work time updating system according to a twenty-eighth aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the twenty-sixth or twenty-seventh aspect of the invention of the standard work time updating method, the work area identification means includes:

receivers provided in multiple spots in the station and configured to receive radio waves transmitted from the declaring means; and

a work area identification unit configured to identify in which one of the work areas each of the workers exists on the basis of radio wave reception information from the receivers.

A standard work time updating system according to a twenty-ninth aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the twenty-sixth or twenty-seventh aspect of the invention of the standard work time updating method, the work area identification means includes:

RFID tags provided in the declaring means;

RFID readers installed in the work areas and configured to read records of the RFID tags and transmit work area information; and

a work area identification unit configured to identify in which one of the work areas each of the workers exists on the basis of the work area information transmitted from the RFID readers.

A standard work time updating system according to a thirtieth aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the twenty-sixth or twenty-seventh aspect of the invention of the standard work time updating method, the work area identification means includes:

photoelectric sensors installed at entrances of the work areas and configured to detect the workers entering the work areas; and

a work area identification unit configured to identify in which one of the work areas each the workers exists on the basis of worker detection information from the photoelectric sensors.

A standard work time updating system, according to a thirty-first aspect of the invention, in which workers declare work time points of a work content performed by the workers in work areas in a station by using declaring means and a standard work time of the work content is updated based on work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, characterized in thatthe system comprises:causing work content identification means to identify the work content performed by each of the workers; andcausing reliability determination means to determine whether an identified work content identified by the work content identification means coincides with a declared work content declared by the worker by use of the declaring means,when determining that the identified work content coincides with the declared work content, the reliability determination means updates the standard work time of the work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, andwhen determining that the identified work content does not coincide with the declared work content, the reliability determination means does not update the standard work time of the work content.

A standard work time updating system, according to a thirty-second aspect of the invention, in which workers declare work time points of a work content performed by the workers in work areas in a station by using declaring means and a standard work time of the work content is updated based on work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, characterized in thatthe system comprises:causing work content identification means to identify the work content performed by each of the workers; andcausing reliability determination means to determine whether an identified work content identified by the work content identification means coincides with a declared work content declared by the worker by use of the declaring means,when determining that the identified work content coincides with the declared work content, the reliability determination means updates the standard work time of the work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, andwhen determining that the identified work content does not coincide with the declared work content, the reliability determination means updates the standard work time of the work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, exclusive of the work time for which the identified work content does not coincide with the declared work content.

A standard work time updating system according to a thirty-third aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the thirty-first or thirty-second aspect of the invention of the standard work time updating method, the work content identification means includes:

work tool usage information acquisition means for acquiring work tool usage information by detecting work tools used by the workers; and

a work area identification unit configured to identify the work content performed by each of the workers on the basis of the work tool usage information from the work tool usage information acquisition means.

A standard work time updating system according to a thirty-fourth aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the thirty-third aspect of the invention of the standard work time updating method, the work tool usage information acquisition means is photoelectric sensors which are installed in work tool tables installed in the work areas to be capable of detecting the work tools placed on the work tool tables and which are configured to transmit OFF signals as the work tool usage information, the OFF signals obtained when the work tools are picked up from the work tool tables by the workers.

A standard work time updating system according to a thirty-fifth aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the thirty-third aspect of the invention of the standard work time updating method, the work tool usage information acquisition means is electric power meters configured to measure power consumptions of the work tools and transmit measured signals of the power consumptions as the work tool usage information.

A standard work time updating system according to a thirty-sixth aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the thirty-third aspect of the invention of the standard work time updating method, the work tool usage information acquisition means includes:

cameras installed to be capable of capturing images of the work tools on a work tool tables installed in the work areas; and

image processing means for determining whether the work tools have disappeared from the work tool tables by performing image processing on the images captured by the cameras and for obtaining the work tool usage information by determining whether the work tools have disappeared from the work tool tables.

A standard work time updating system according to a thirty-seventh aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the thirty-third aspect of the invention of the standard work time updating method, the work tool usage information acquisition means includes:

RFID tags provided in the work tools; and

RFID readers configured to read records in the RFID tags and transmit the read records as the work tool usage information.

A standard work time updating system according to a thirty-eighth aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the thirty-third aspect of the invention of the standard work time updating method, the work tool usage information acquisition means is piezoelectric sensors provided in work tool tables installed in the work areas in such a way that loads of the work tools act on the piezoelectric sensors when the work tools are placed on the work tool tables, the piezoelectric sensors configured to detect that the work tools are picked up by the workers from the work tool tables and transmit work tool detection signals as the work tool usage information.

A standard work time updating system, according to a thirty-ninth aspect of the invention, in which workers declare work time points of a work content performed by the workers in work areas in a station by using declaring means and a standard work time of the work content is updated based on work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, characterized in thatthe system comprises:causing a plurality of reliability determination means to determine whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers are reliable;causing update processing means to calculate the standard work time by performing weighted average calculation on an average value of the work times subjected to reliability determination by the plurality of reliability determination means, and thereby updating the standard work time of the work content to the calculated standard work time, andwhen any of the work times is determined to be unreliable by any of the plurality of reliability determination means, the update processing means performs the weighted average calculation with a weighting factor set to 0, the weighting factor being one for the average value of the work times subjected to the reliability determination by the any reliability determination means.

A standard work time updating system according to a fortieth aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the thirty-ninth aspect of the invention of the standard work time updating method,

the plurality of reliability determination means are a plurality of reliability determination means selected from:

first reliability determination means for determining whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers each deviate from a predetermined range in a distribution of work time data of the work content which is stored in a database;

second reliability determination means for determining whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers each exceed a predetermined value in a distribution of work time data of the work content which is stored in the database;

third reliability determination means for determining whether identified work areas which are identified by work area identification means and in which the workers exist coincide with declared work areas declared by the workers by use of the declaring means; and

fourth reliability determination means for determining whether an identified work content identified by the work content identification means and performed by the workers coincides with a declared work content declared by the workers by use of the declaring means.

Effect of the Invention

The standard work time updating method, according to the first aspect of the invention, in which workers declare work time points of a work content performed by the workers in a work area in a station by using declaring means and a standard work time of the work content is updated based on work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, is characterized in that the method comprises causing reliability determination means to determine whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers each deviate from a predetermined range in a distribution of work time data of the work content which is stored in a database, when determining that none of the work times deviate from the predetermined range, the reliability determination means updates the standard work time of the work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, and when determining that any of the work times deviates from the predetermined range, the reliability determination means does not update the standard work time of the work content. Accordingly, the workers can make declaration without an observer or a classifier. In addition, when a false or erroneous declaration is made by the workers, it is possible to find out this declaration and to cancel the update of the standard work time. This prevents the update of the standard work time on the basis of the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work time is improved.

The standard work time updating method, according to the second aspect of the invention, in which workers declare work time points of a work content performed by the workers in a work area in a station by using declaring means and a standard work time of the work content is updated based on work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, is characterized in that the method comprises causing reliability determination means to determine whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers each deviate from a predetermined range in a distribution of work time data of the work content which is stored in a database, when determining that none of the work times deviate from the predetermined range, the reliability determination means updates the standard work time of the work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, and when determining that any of the work times deviates from the predetermined range, the reliability determination means updates the standard work time of the work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, exclusive of the work time determined to deviate from the predetermined range. Accordingly, the workers can make declaration without an observer or a classifier. In addition, when a false or erroneous declaration is made by the workers, it is possible to find out this declaration and to update the standard work time after the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability is excluded. This prevents the update of the standard work time on the basis of the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work time is improved.

The standard work time updating method, according to the third aspect of the invention, in which workers declare work time points of a work content performed by the workers in a work area in a station by using declaring means and a standard work time of the work content is updated based on work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, is characterized in that the method comprises causing reliability determination means to determine whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers each exceed a predetermined value in a distribution of work time data of the work content which is stored in a database, when determining that none of the work times exceed the predetermined value, the reliability determination means updates the standard work time of the work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, and when determining that any of the work times exceeds the predetermined value, the reliability determination means does not update the standard work time of the work content. Accordingly, the workers can make declaration without an observer or a classifier. In addition, when a false or erroneous declaration is made by the workers, it is possible to find out this declaration and to cancel the update of the standard work time. This prevents the update of the standard work time on the basis of the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work time is improved.

The standard work time updating method, according to the fourth aspect of the invention, in which workers declare work time points of a work content performed by the workers in a work area in a station by using declaring means and a standard work time of the work content is updated based on work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, is characterized in that the method comprises causing reliability determination means to determine whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers each exceed a predetermined value in a distribution of work time data of the work content which is stored in a database, when determining that none of the work times exceed the predetermined value, the reliability determination means updates the standard work time of the work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, and when determining that any of the work times exceeds the predetermined value, the reliability determination means updates the standard work time of the work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, exclusive of the work time determined to exceed the predetermined value. Accordingly, the workers can make declaration without an observer or a classifier. In addition, when a false or erroneous declaration is made by the workers, it is possible to find out this declaration and to update the standard work time after the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability is excluded. This prevents the update of the standard work time on the basis of the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work time is improved.

The standard work time updating method, according to the fifth aspect of the invention, in which workers declare work time points of a work content performed by the workers in a work area in a station by using declaring means and a standard work time of the work content is updated based on work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, is characterized in that the method comprises: calculating a standard work time on the basis of the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers and the work times of the work content which are stored in a database; and updating the standard work time of the work content to the calculated standard work time. In this method, even when there is data having a low reliability in the declared work time data of the workers, it is possible to reduce the effect of the declared work time data having a low reliability on the update data of the standard work time. This is because the standard work time is calculated by using not only the declared work time data but also the work time data stored in the database. This prevents (reduces) deterioration in reliability of the update data of the standard work time which is caused by the declared data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work time is improved.

The standard work time updating method, according to the sixth aspect of the invention, in which workers declare work time points of a work content performed by the workers in work areas in a station by using declaring means and a standard work time of the work content is updated based on work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, is characterized in that the method comprises: causing work area identification means to identify in which one of the work areas each of the workers exists; and causing reliability determination means to determine whether identified work areas identified by the work area identification means coincide with declared work areas declared by the workers by use of the declaring means, when determining that the identified areas coincide with the declared work areas, the reliability determination means updates the standard work time of the work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, and when determining that any of the identified work areas does not coincide with a corresponding one of the declared work areas, the reliability determination means does not update the standard work time of the work content. Accordingly, the workers can make declaration without an observer or a classifier. In addition, when a false or erroneous declaration is made by the workers, it is possible to find out this declaration and to cancel the update of the standard work time. This prevents the update of the standard work time on the basis of the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work time is improved.

The standard work time updating method, according to the seventh aspect of the invention, in which workers declare work time points of a work content performed by the workers in work areas in a station by using declaring means and a standard work time of the work content is updated based on work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, is characterized in that the method comprises: causing work area identification means to identify in which one of the work areas each of the workers exists; and causing reliability determination means to determine whether identified work areas identified by the work area identification means coincide with declared work areas declared by the workers by use of the declaring means, when determining that the identified areas coincide with the declared work areas, the reliability determination means updates the standard work time of the work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, and when determining that any of the identified work areas does not coincide with a corresponding one of the declared work areas, the reliability determination means updates the standard work time of the work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, exclusive of the work time for which the identified work area does not coincide with the declared work area. Accordingly, the workers can make declaration without an observer or a classifier. In addition, when a false or erroneous declaration is made by the workers, it is possible to find out this declaration and to update the standard work time after the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability is excluded. This prevents the update of the standard work time on the basis of the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work time is improved.

The standard work time updating method according to the eighth aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the sixth or seventh aspect of the invention of the standard work time updating method, the work area identification means includes: receivers provided in multiple spots in the station and configured to receive radio waves transmitted from the declaring means; and a work area identification unit configured to identify in which one of the work areas each of the workers exists on the basis of radio wave reception information from the receivers. Accordingly, it is possible to surely identify in which one of the work areas each of the workers exists, with a simple configuration.

The standard work time updating method according to the ninth aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the sixth or seventh aspect of the invention of the standard work time updating method, the work area identification means includes: RFID tags provided in the declaring means; RFID readers installed in the work areas and configured to read records of the RFID tags and transmit work area information; and a work area identification unit configured to identify in which one of the work areas each of the workers exists on the basis of the work area information transmitted from the RFID readers. Accordingly, it is possible to surely identify in which one of the work areas each of the workers exists, with a simple configuration.

The standard work time updating method according to the tenth aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the sixth or seventh aspect of the invention of the standard work time updating method, the work area identification means includes: photoelectric sensors installed at entrances of the work areas and configured to detect the workers entering the work areas; and a work area identification unit configured to identify in which one of the work areas each of the workers exists on the basis of worker detection information from the photoelectric sensors. Accordingly, it is possible to surely identify in which one of the work areas each of the workers exists, with a simple configuration.

The standard work time updating method, according to the eleventh aspect of the invention, in which workers declare work time points of a work content performed by the workers in work areas in a station by using declaring means and a standard work time of the work content is updated based on work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, characterized in that the method comprises: causing work content identification means to identify the work content performed by each of the workers; and causing reliability determination means to determine whether an identified work content identified by the work content identification means coincides with a declared work content declared by the worker by use of the declaring means, when determining that the identified work content coincides with the declared work content, the reliability determination means updates the standard work time of the work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, and when determining that the identified work content does not coincide with the declared work content, the reliability determination means does not update the standard work time of the work content. Accordingly, the workers can make declaration without an observer or a classifier. In addition, when a false or erroneous declaration is made by the workers, it is possible to find out this declaration and to cancel the update of the corresponding standard work time. This prevents the update of the standard work times on the basis of the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work times is improved.

The standard work time updating method, according to the twelfth aspect of the invention, in which workers declare work time points of a work content performed by the workers in work areas in a station by using declaring means and a standard work time of the work content is updated based on work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, characterized in that the method comprises: causing work content identification means to identify the work content performed by each of the workers; and causing reliability determination means to determine whether an identified work content identified by the work content identification means coincides with a declared work content declared by the worker by use of the declaring means, when determining that the identified work content coincides with the declared work content, the reliability determination means updates the standard work time of the work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, and when determining that the identified work content does not coincide with the declared work content, the reliability determination means updates the standard work time of the work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, exclusive of the work time for which the identified work content does not coincide with the declared work content. Accordingly, the workers can make declaration without an observer or a classifier. In addition, when a false or erroneous declaration is made by the workers, it is possible to find out this declaration and to update the standard work times after the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability is excluded. This prevents the update of the standard work times on the basis of the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work times is improved.

The standard work time updating method according to the thirteenth aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the eleventh or twelfth aspect of the invention of the standard work time updating method, the work content identification means includes: work tool usage information acquisition means for acquiring work tool usage information by detecting work tools used by the workers; and a work area identification unit configured to identify the work content performed by each of the workers on the basis of the work tool usage information from the work tool usage information acquisition means. Accordingly, it is possible to surely identify the work content performed by each of the workers, with a simple configuration.

The standard work time updating method according to the fourteenth aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the thirteenth aspect of the invention of the standard work time updating method, the work tool usage information acquisition means is photoelectric sensors which are installed in work tool tables installed in the work areas to be capable of detecting the work tools placed on the work tool tables and which are configured to transmit OFF signals as the work tool usage information, the OFF signals obtained when the work tools are picked up from the work tool tables by the workers. Accordingly, the work tool usage information can be surely obtained with a simple configuration. Moreover, since it is possible to know the usage states of the work tools, whether the work tools are put away can be also determined.

The standard work time updating method according to the fifteenth aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the thirteenth aspect of the invention of the standard work time updating method, the work tool usage information acquisition means is electric power meters configured to measure power consumptions of the work tools and transmit measured signals of the power consumptions as the work tool usage information. Accordingly, the work tool usage information can be surely obtained with a simple configuration. Moreover, since it is possible to know the usage states of the work tools, whether the work tools are put away can be also determined.

The standard work time updating method according to the sixteenth aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the thirteenth aspect of the invention of the standard work time updating method, the work tool usage information acquisition means includes: cameras installed to be capable of capturing images of the work tools on work tool tables installed in the work areas; and image processing means for determining whether the work tools have disappeared from the work tool tables by performing image processing on the images captured by the cameras and for obtaining the work tool usage information by determining whether the work tools have disappeared from the work tool tables. Accordingly, the work tool usage information can be surely obtained with a simple configuration. Moreover, since it is possible to know the usage states of the work tools, whether the work tools are put away can be also determined.

The standard work time updating method according to the seventeenth aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the thirteenth aspect of the invention of the standard work time updating method, the work tool usage information acquisition means includes: RFID tags provided in the work tools; and RFID readers configured to read records in the RFID tags and transmit the read records as the work tool usage information. Accordingly, the work tool usage information can be surely obtained with a simple configuration. Moreover, since it is possible to know the usage states of the work tools, whether the work tools are put away can be also determined.

The standard work time updating method according to the eighteenth aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the thirteenth aspect of the invention of the standard work time updating method, the work tool usage information acquisition means is piezoelectric sensors provided in work tool tables installed in the work areas in such a way that loads of the work tools act on the piezoelectric sensors when the work tools are placed on the work tool tables, the piezoelectric sensors configured to detect that the work tools are picked up from the work tool tables by the workers and transmit work tool detection signals as the work tool usage information. Accordingly, the work tool usage information can be surely obtained with a simple configuration. Moreover, since it is possible to know the usage states of the work tools, whether the work tools are put away can be also determined.

The standard work time updating method, according to the nineteenth aspect of the invention, in which workers declare work time points of a work content performed by the workers in work areas in a station by using declaring means and a standard work time of the work content is updated based on work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, characterized in that the method comprises: causing a plurality of reliability determination means to determine whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers are reliable; calculating the standard work time by performing weighted average calculation on an average value of the work times subjected to reliability determination by the plurality of reliability determination means; and updating the standard work time of the work content to the calculated standard work time, and when any of the work times is determined to be unreliable by any of the plurality of reliability determination means, the weighted average calculation is performed with a weighting factor set to 0, the weighting factor being one for the average value of the work times subjected to the reliability determination by the any reliability determination means. Accordingly, the workers can make declaration without an observer or a classifier. In addition, when a false or erroneous declaration is made by the workers, any of the multiple reliability determination means can find out this declaration. Then, the standard work times can be updated after the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability is excluded. This prevents the update of the standard work times on the basis of the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work times is improved.

The standard work time updating method according to the twentieth aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the nineteenth aspect of the invention of the standard work time updating method, the plurality of reliability determination means are a plurality of reliability determination means selected from: first reliability determination means for determining whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers each deviate from a predetermined range in a distribution of work time data of the work content which is stored in a database; second reliability determination means for determining whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers each exceed a predetermined value in a distribution of work time data of the work content which is stored in the database; third reliability determination means for determining whether identified work areas which are identified by work area identification means and in which the workers exist coincide with declared work areas declared by the workers by use of the declaring means; and

fourth reliability determination means for determining whether an identified work content identified by the work content identification means and performed by the workers coincides with a declared work content declared by the workers by use of the declaring means. Accordingly, the workers can make declaration without an observer or a classifier. In addition, when a false or erroneous declaration is made by the workers, any of the first to fourth reliability determination means can find out this declaration. Then, the standard work times can be updated after the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability is excluded. This prevents the update of the standard work times on the basis of the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work times is improved.

The standard work time updating system, according to the twenty-first aspect of the invention, in which workers declare work time points of a work content performed by the workers in a work area in a station by using declaring means and a standard work time of the work content is updated based on work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, is characterized in that the system comprises reliability determination means for determining whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers each deviate from a predetermined range in a distribution of work time data of the work content which is stored in a database, when determining that none of the work times deviate from the predetermined range, the reliability determination means updates the standard work time of the work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, and when determining that any of the work times deviates from the predetermined range, the reliability determination means does not update the standard work time of the work content. Accordingly, the workers can make declaration without an observer or a classifier. In addition, when a false or erroneous declaration is made by the workers, it is possible to find out this declaration and to cancel the update of the standard work time. This prevents the update of the standard work time on the basis of the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work time is improved.

The standard work time updating system, according to the twenty-second aspect of the invention, in which workers declare work time points of a work content performed by the workers in a work area in a station by using declaring means and a standard work time of the work content is updated based on work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, is characterized in that the system comprises reliability determination means for determining whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers each deviate from a predetermined range in a distribution of work time data of the work content which is stored in a database, when determining that none of the work times deviate from the predetermined range, the reliability determination means updates the standard work time of the work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, and when determining that any of the work times deviates from the predetermined range, the reliability determination means updates the standard work time of the work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, exclusive of the work time determined to deviate from the predetermined range. Accordingly, the workers can make declaration without an observer or a classifier. In addition, when a false or erroneous declaration is made by the workers, it is possible to find out this declaration and to update the standard work time after the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability is excluded. This prevents the update of the standard work time on the basis of the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work time is improved.

The standard work time updating system, according to the twenty-third aspect of the invention, in which workers declare work time points of a work content performed by the workers in a work area in a station by using declaring means and a standard work time of the work content is updated based on work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, is characterized in that the system comprises reliability determination means for determining whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers each exceed a predetermined value in a distribution of work time data of the work content which is stored in a database, when determining that none of the work times exceed the predetermined value, the reliability determination means updates the standard work time of the work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, and when determining that any of the work times exceeds the predetermined value, the reliability determination means does not update the standard work time of the work content. Accordingly, the workers can make declaration without an observer or a classifier. In addition, when a false or erroneous declaration is made by the workers, it is possible to find out this declaration and to cancel the update of the standard work time. This prevents the update of the standard work time on the basis of the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work time is improved.

The standard work time updating system, according to the twenty-fourth aspect of the invention, in which workers declare work time points of a work content performed by the workers in a work area in a station by using declaring means and a standard work time of the work content is updated based on work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, is characterized in that the system comprises reliability determination means for determining whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers each exceed a predetermined value in a distribution of work time data of the work content which is stored in a database, when determining that none of the work times exceed the predetermined value, the reliability determination means updates the standard work time of the work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, and when determining that any of the work times exceeds the predetermined value, the reliability determination means updates the standard work time of the work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, exclusive of the work time determined to be exceeding the predetermined value. Accordingly, the workers can make declaration without an observer or a classifier. In addition, when a false or erroneous declaration is made by the workers, it is possible to find out this declaration and to update the standard work time after the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability is excluded. This prevents the update of the standard work time on the basis of the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work time is improved.

The standard work time updating system, according to the twenty-fifth aspect of the invention, in which workers declare work time points of a work content performed by the workers in a work area in a station by using declaring means and a standard work time of the work content is updated based on work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, is characterized in that the system comprises update processing means for calculating a standard work time on the basis of the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers and the work times of the work content which are stored in a database, and thereby updating the standard work time of the work content to the calculated standard work time. In this method, even when there is data having a low reliability in the declared work time data of the workers, it is possible to reduce the effect of the declared work time data having a low reliability on the update data of the standard work time. This is because the standard work time is calculated by using not only the declared work time data but also the work time data stored in the database. This prevents (reduces) deterioration in reliability of the update data of the standard work time which is caused by the declared data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work time is improved.

The standard work time updating system, according to the twenty-sixth aspect of the invention, in which workers declare work time points of a work content performed by the workers in work areas in a station by using declaring means and a standard work time of the work content is updated based on work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, is characterized in that the system comprises: work area identification means for identifying in which one of the work areas each of the workers exists; and reliability determination means for determining whether identified work areas identified by the work area identification means coincide with declared work areas declared by the workers by use of the declaring means, when determining that the identified areas coincide with the declared work areas, the reliability determination means updates the standard work time of the work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, and when determining that any of the identified work areas does not coincide with a corresponding one of the declared work areas, the reliability determination means does not update the standard work time of the work content. Accordingly, the workers can make declaration without an observer or a classifier. In addition, when a false or erroneous declaration is made by the workers, it is possible to find out this declaration and to cancel the update of the standard work time. This prevents the update of the standard work time on the basis of the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work time is improved.

The standard work time updating system, according to the twenty-seventh aspect of the invention, in which workers declare work time points of a work content performed by the workers in work areas in a station by using declaring means and a standard work time of the work content is updated based on work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, is characterized in that the system comprises: work area identification means for identifying in which one of the work areas each of the workers exists; and reliability determination means for determining whether identified work areas identified by the work area identification means coincide with declared work areas declared by the workers by use of the declaring means, when determining that the identified areas coincide with the declared work areas, the reliability determination means updates the standard work time of the work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, and when determining that any of the identified work areas does not coincide with a corresponding one of the declared work areas, the reliability determination means updates the standard work time of the work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, exclusive of the work time for which the identified work area does not coincide with the declared work area. Accordingly, the workers can make declaration without an observer or a classifier. In addition, when a false or erroneous declaration is made by the workers, it is possible to find out this declaration and to update the standard work time after the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability is excluded. This prevents the update of the standard work time on the basis of the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work time is improved.

The standard work time updating system according to the twenty-eighth aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the twenty-sixth or twenty-seventh aspect of the invention of the standard work time updating method, the work area identification means includes: receivers provided in multiple spots in the station and configured to receive radio waves transmitted from the declaring means; and a work area identification unit configured to identify in which one of the work areas each of the workers exists on the basis of radio wave reception information from the receivers. Accordingly, it is possible to surely identify in which one of the work areas each of the workers exists, with a simple configuration.

The standard work time updating system according to the twenty-ninth aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the twenty-sixth or twenty-seventh aspect of the invention of the standard work time updating method, the work area identification means includes: RFID tags provided in the declaring means; RFID readers installed in the work areas and configured to read records of the RFID tags and transmit work area information; and a work area identification unit configured to identify in which one of the work areas each of the workers exists on the basis of the work area information transmitted from the RFID readers. Accordingly, it is possible to surely identify in which one of the work areas each of the workers exists, with a simple configuration.

The standard work time updating system according to the thirtieth aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the twenty-sixth or twenty-seventh aspect of the invention of the standard work time updating method, the work area identification means includes: photoelectric sensors installed at entrances of the work areas and configured to detect the workers entering the work areas; and a work area identification unit configured to identify in which one of the work areas each the workers exists on the basis of worker detection information from the photoelectric sensors. Accordingly, it is possible to surely identify in which one of the work areas each of the workers exists, with a simple configuration.

The standard work time updating system, according to the thirty-first aspect of the invention, in which workers declare work time points of a work content performed by the workers in work areas in a station by using declaring means and a standard work time of the work content is updated based on work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, characterized in that the system comprises: causing work content identification means to identify the work content performed by each of the workers; and causing reliability determination means to determine whether an identified work content identified by the work content identification means coincides with a declared work content declared by the worker by use of the declaring means, when determining that the identified work content coincides with the declared work content, the reliability determination means updates the standard work time of the work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, and when determining that the identified work content does not coincide with the declared work content, the reliability determination means does not update the standard work time of the work content. Accordingly, the workers can make declaration without an observer or a classifier. In addition, when a false or erroneous declaration is made by the workers, it is possible to find out this declaration and to cancel the update of the corresponding standard work time. This prevents the update of the standard work times on the basis of the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work times is improved.

The standard work time updating system, according to the thirty-second aspect of the invention, in which workers declare work time points of a work content performed by the workers in work areas in a station by using declaring means and a standard work time of the work content is updated based on work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, characterized in that the system comprises: causing work content identification means to identify the work content performed by each of the workers; and causing reliability determination means to determine whether an identified work content identified by the work content identification means coincides with a declared work content declared by the worker by use of the declaring means, when determining that the identified work content coincides with the declared work content, the reliability determination means updates the standard work time of the work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, and when determining that the identified work content does not coincide with the declared work content, the reliability determination means updates the standard work time of the work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, exclusive of the work time for which the identified work content does not coincide with the declared work content. Accordingly, the workers can make declaration without an observer or a classifier. In addition, when a false or erroneous declaration is made by the workers, it is possible to find out this declaration and to update the standard work time after the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability is excluded. This prevents the update of the standard work times on the basis of the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work times is improved.

The standard work time updating system according to the thirty-third aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the thirty-first or thirty-second aspect of the invention of the standard work time updating method, the work content identification means includes: work tool usage information acquisition means for acquiring work tool usage information by detecting work tools used by the workers; and a work area identification unit configured to identify the work content performed by each of the workers on the basis of the work tool usage information from the work tool usage information acquisition means. Accordingly, it is possible to surely identify the work content performed by each of the workers, with a simple configuration.

The standard work time updating system according to the thirty-fourth aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the thirty-third aspect of the invention of the standard work time updating method, the work tool usage information acquisition means is photoelectric sensors which are installed in work tool tables installed in the work areas to be capable of detecting the work tools placed on the work tool tables and which are configured to transmit OFF signals as the work tool usage information, the OFF signals obtained when the work tools are picked up from the work tool tables by the workers. Accordingly, the work tool usage information can be surely obtained with a simple configuration. Moreover, since it is possible to know the usage states of the work tools, whether the work tools are put away can be also determined.

The standard work time updating system according to the thirty-fifth aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the thirty-third aspect of the invention of the standard work time updating method, the work tool usage information acquisition means is electric power meters configured to measure power consumptions of the work tools and transmit measured signals of the power consumptions as the work tool usage information. Accordingly, the work tool usage information can be surely obtained with a simple configuration. Moreover, since it is possible to know the usage states of the work tools, whether the work tools are put away can be also determined.

The standard work time updating system according to the thirty-sixth aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the thirty-third aspect of the invention of the standard work time updating method, the work tool usage information acquisition means includes: cameras installed to be capable of capturing images of the work tools on a work tool tables installed in the work areas; and image processing means for determining whether the work tools have disappeared from the work tool tables by performing image processing on the images captured by the cameras and for obtaining the work tool usage information by determining whether the work tools have disappeared from the work tool tables. Accordingly, the work tool usage information can be surely obtained with a simple configuration. Moreover, since it is possible to know the usage states of the work tools, whether the work tools are put away can be also determined.

The standard work time updating system according to the thirty-seventh aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the thirty-third aspect of the invention of the standard work time updating method, the work tool usage information acquisition means includes: RFID tags provided in the work tools; and RFID readers configured to read records in the RFID tags and transmit the read records as the work tool usage information. Accordingly, the work tool usage information can be surely obtained with a simple configuration. Moreover, since it is possible to know the usage states of the work tools, whether the work tools are put away can be also determined.

The standard work time updating system according to the thirty-eighth aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the thirty-third aspect of the invention of the standard work time updating method, the work tool usage information acquisition means is piezoelectric sensors provided in work tool tables installed in the work areas in such a way that loads of the work tools act on the piezoelectric sensors when the work tools are placed on the work tool tables, the piezoelectric sensors configured to detect that the work tools are picked up by the workers from the work tool tables and transmit work tool detection signals as the work tool usage information. Accordingly, the work tool usage information can be surely obtained with a simple configuration. Moreover, since it is possible to know the usage states of the work tools, whether the work tools are put away can be also determined.

The standard work time updating system, according to the thirty-ninth aspect of the invention, in which workers declare work time points of a work content performed by the workers in work areas in a station by using declaring means and a standard work time of the work content is updated based on work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers, characterized in that the system comprises: causing a plurality of reliability determination means to determine whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers are reliable; causing update processing means to calculate the standard work time by performing weighted average calculation on an average value of the work times subjected to reliability determination by the plurality of reliability determination means, and thereby updating the standard work time of the work content to the calculated standard work time, and when any of the work times is determined to be unreliable by any of the plurality of reliability determination means, the update processing means performs the weighted average calculation with a weighting factor set to 0, the weighting factor being one for the average value of the work times subjected to the reliability determination by the any reliability determination means. Accordingly, the workers can make declaration without an observer or a classifier. In addition, when a false or erroneous declaration is made by the workers, any of the multiple reliability determination means can find out this declaration. Then, the standard work times can be updated after the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability is excluded. This prevents the update of the standard work times on the basis of the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work times is improved.

The standard work time updating system according to the fortieth aspect of the invention is characterized in that, the plurality of reliability determination means are a plurality of reliability determination means selected from: first reliability determination means for determining whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers each deviate from a predetermined range in a distribution of work time data of the work content which is stored in a database; second reliability determination means for determining whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content which are declared by the workers each exceed a predetermined value in a distribution of work time data of the work content which is stored in the database; third reliability determination means for determining whether identified work areas which are identified by work area identification means and in which the workers exist coincide with declared work areas declared by the workers by use of the declaring means; and fourth reliability determination means for determining whether an identified work content identified by the work content identification means and performed by the workers coincides with a declared work content declared by the workers by use of the declaring means. Accordingly, the workers can make declaration without an observer or a classifier. In addition, when a false or erroneous declaration is made by the workers, any of the first to fourth reliability determination means can find out this declaration. Then, the standard work time can be updated after the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability is excluded. This prevents the update of the standard work times on the basis of the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work times is improved.

MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention are described below in detail on the basis of the drawings.

As shown in part (a) ofFIG. 1, an inside of an assembly station11in which assembly work of a product such as an aircraft or a ship is performed is divided into multiple (four in the illustrated example) work areas12A,12B,12C,12D, and12E for respective multiple work contents. Workers15perform work of the work contents in the work areas12A to12E.

At this time, in the work areas12A to12E, each of the workers15operates a PDA16(declaring means) carried by the worker15to record work time points (work start time point and work completion time point) of the respective work contents in a storage device included in the PDA16. As shown in Parts (b) and (c) ofFIG. 1, the work content, the work time point (work start time point and work completion time point), and the work area are displayed in a display screen17of the PDA16. In addition, operation buttons18A,18B, and18C respectively for start, interruption, and completion of work are also displayed in the display screen17.

Specifically, when the worker15performs touch operation on the start button18A at the start of the work of a certain work content, the work start time point of the work contents is recorded in the PDA16and is displayed in the display screen17. Moreover, when the worker15performs touch operation on the completion button18C at the completion of the work of a certain work content, the work completion time point of the work content is recorded in the PDA16and is displayed in the display screen17. When the worker15performs touch operation on the interruption button18B for some reason during the work of a certain work content, the recording of the work time point of the work content is cancelled.

In Embodiment 1, multiple receivers13A,13B,13C,13D, and13E and a transmitter14are installed in the station11. The receivers13A to13E are installed respectively in the work areas12A to12E and the transmitter14is installed in a place other than the work areas12A to12E.

Meanwhile, the PDA16(specifically, a transmitter mounted on the PDA16) carried by each worker15transmits a radio wave to the receivers13A to13E. When receiving the radio wave transmitted from the PDA16, each of the receivers13A to13E transmits radio wave reception information thereof to the transmitter14wirelessly or by a wire. The transmitter14transmits the radio wave reception information to a work time management server (personal computer)20.

As shown in Parts (a) to (c) ofFIG. 1andFIG. 2, information such as the work time points (work start time point and work completion time point) of the work contents recorded by the PDA16(i.e. information on the work contents, the work time points, and the work areas declared (transmitted) by the worker15by using the PDA16) is transmitted to the work time management server20. The work time management server20has a storage unit21in which work procedures, the work contents, standard work times, the work areas, and the like are stored as a database, a standard work time calculation unit22, a work area identification unit23, and a reliability determination unit24(reliability determining means, update processing means). Data of the standard work time recorded in the database is calculated for each work content as an average value (or, alternatively, a minimum value, a median value, or the like: seeFIG. 4) of the work times, on the basis of data of the past work times of the work content which is stored as the database. Note that, the functions of the standard work time calculation unit22, the work area identification unit23, and the reliability determination unit24are implemented by software (program) and are executed by a CPU (central processing unit) of the work time management server20.

The standard work time calculation unit22obtains the work time (work completion time point−work start time point) of each work content from the information (i.e. the information on the work content and the work time point) on the work time point (work start time point and work completion time point) of the work content which is inputted from the PDA16of each worker15. The standard work time calculation unit22then calculates the average value (or, alternatively, a minimum value, a median value, or the like) of the work times for each work content and sets the calculated value as the standard work time of the work content. In this case, when there is work time data greatly deviating from the average value (i.e. work time data having a low reliability), the average value is greatly affected by this greatly-deviating work time data. In view of this, it is preferable to use the median value which is relatively less affected by the greatly-deviating work time data. Moreover, when the calculated standard work times of the respective work contents are shorter than the standard work times of the work contents which are stored in the storage unit21as the database, the standard work time calculation unit22outputs the calculated standard work times of the work contents to the reliability determination unit24as the standard work times for update. Moreover, the data on the work areas declared (transmitted from the PDAs16) by the workers15is also outputted to the reliability determination unit24via the standard work time calculation unit22.

The work area identification unit23identifies in which of the work areas12A to12E each of the PDAs16(i.e. the workers15carrying the PDAs16) exists, on the basis of the radio wave reception information transmitted from the receivers13A to13E via the transmitter14, by using a TDOA (Time Difference of Arrival) method, a RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) method, or the like, and then outputs information on the identified work areas to the reliability determination unit24. In other words, the receivers13A to13E, the work area identification unit23, and the like form work area identification means. The TDOA method is a method in which the position of each PDA16is measured by a three-point method from differences in arrival times of the radio wave transmitted from the PDA16at the receivers13A to13E. The RSSI method is a method in which the position of each PDA16is measured by using the strength of the radio wave transmitted from the PDA16and received by each of the receivers13A to13E.

The reliability determination unit24determines whether the work times of the work contents which are obtained from the work time points of the work contents declared (transmitted from the PDAs16) by the workers15each deviate from a predetermined range (range of ±3σ in the example ofFIG. 3: σ is a standard deviation) in distribution of the work time data of a corresponding one of the work contents which is stored in the database (first reliability determination means). When determining that none of the work times (declared work times) deviate from the predetermined range for each work content, the reliability determination unit24updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times of the work contents which is calculated by the standard work time calculation unit22and outputs the updated standard work times. Meanwhile, when determining that any of the work times (declared work times) deviates from the predetermined range for any of work contents, the reliability determination unit24does not update the standard work time of the relevant work content to the standard work time of the relevant work content which is calculated by the standard work time calculation unit22and leaves the standard work time of the relevant work content to be the standard work time of the relevant work content which is recorded as the database.

Moreover, the reliability determination unit24determines whether the work areas (actual work areas) identified by the work area identification unit23coincide with the work areas declared by the workers15(third reliability determination means).

When the work areas identified by the work area identification unit23coincide with the work areas declared by the workers15in the determination, the information on the work time points declared by the workers15is reliable. Accordingly, when determining that the work areas identified by the work area identification unit23coincide with the work areas declared by the workers15, the reliability determination unit24updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times of the work contents which are calculated by the standard work time calculation unit22and outputs the updated standard work times.

Meanwhile, when any of the work areas identified by the work area identification unit23does not coincide with a corresponding one of the work areas declared by the workers15, the information on the work time point which is related to the non-coincident work area and which is declared by the worker15may be a false or erroneous input by the worker15and is unreliable. Accordingly, when determining that any of the work areas identified by the work area identification unit23does not coincide with the corresponding work area declared by the worker15, the reliability determination unit24does not update the standard work time of the work content related to the non-coincident work area to the standard work time of the work content which is calculated by the standard work time calculation unit22and leave the standard work time to be the standard work time of the work content which is recorded as the database.

The following processes may be performed in the reliability determination unit24in addition to the processes described above.

For example, the reliability determination unit24determines whether the work times of the work contents which are obtained from the work time points of the work contents declared (transmitted from the PDA16) by the workers15each deviate from the predetermined range (range of ±3σ) in distribution of the work time data of a corresponding one of the work contents which is stored in the database (first reliability determination means). When determining that none of the work times (declared work times) deviate from the predetermined range for each work content, the reliability determination unit24updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times of the work contents which are calculated by the standard work time calculation unit22(i.e. the standard work times calculated based on all of the work times declared for each of the work contents) and outputs the updated standard work times. Meanwhile, when determining that any of the work times (declared work times) deviates from the predetermined range for any of the work contents, the reliability determination unit24updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents declared by the workers15, exclusive of the work time determined to deviate from the predetermined range. The reliability determination unit24then outputs the updated standard work time.

Moreover, the following processes may be performed. The reliability determination unit24determines whether the work times of the work contents which are obtained from the work time points of the work contents declared (transmitted from the PDAs16) by the workers15each exceed a predetermined value (+3σ in the example ofFIG. 4: σ is a standard deviation) in distribution of the work time data of a corresponding one of the work contents which is stored in the database (second reliability determination means). When determining that none of the work times (declared work times) exceed the predetermined value for each work content, the reliability determination unit24updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times of the work contents calculated by the standard work time calculation unit22and outputs the updated standard work times. Meanwhile, when determining that any of the work times (declared work times: for example, a work time t1shown inFIG. 4) exceeds the predetermined value for any of the work contents, the reliability determination unit24does not update the standard work times of the relevant work content to the standard work time of the relevant work content which is calculated by the standard work time calculation unit22and leaves the standard work time to be the standard work time of the relevant work content which is recorded as the database.

Furthermore, the following processes may be performed. The reliability determination unit24determines whether the work times of the work contents which are obtained from the work time points of the work contents declared (transmitted from the PDAs16) by the worker15each exceed a predetermined value (+3σ) in distribution of the work time data of a corresponding one of the work contents which is stored in the database (second reliability determination means). When determining that none of the work times (declared work times) exceed the predetermined range for each work content, the reliability determination unit24updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times of the work contents which are calculated by the standard work time calculation unit22and outputs the updated standard work times. Meanwhile, when determining that any of the work times (declared work times) exceeds the predetermined value for any of the work contents, the reliability determination unit24updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents declared by the workers15, exclusive of the work time determined to exceed the predetermined value. The reliability determination unit24then outputs the updated standard work time.

In addition the following processed may be performed. The reliability determination unit24(functioning as the update processing means in this case) calculates the standard work times on the basis of the work times of the work contents which are obtained from the work time points of the work contents declared by the workers15and the work times of the work contents which are stored in the database and updates the standard work times of the work contents to the calculated standard work times.

Moreover, the following processes may be performed. The reliability determination unit24determines whether the identified work areas identified by the work area identification unit23coincide with the declared work areas declared by the workers15by use of the declaring means (PDAs16) (third reliability determination means). When determining that the identified work areas coincide with the declared work areas, the reliability determination unit24updates the standard work time of the work contents to the standard work times of the work contents which are calculated by the standard work time calculation unit22and outputs the updated standard work times. Meanwhile, when determining that any of the identified work areas does not coincide with a corresponding one of the declared work areas, the reliability determination unit24updates the standard work time of the work content related to the non-coincident work area to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content declared by the worker15, exclusive of the work time for which the identified work area does not coincide with the declared work area. The reliability determination unit24then outputs the updated standard work time.

Moreover, in the case of simultaneously performing the update processing for the standard work times on the basis of the reliability determinations of the first to third reliability determination means, the processes may be performed, for example, in such a way that the priorities are set for these reliability determination means in advance. When there is a difference in the update data of the standard work time between the first to third reliability determination means, the update data of the standard work time of the reliability determination means with a higher priority is used and the update processing is performed based on this update data. Instead, the update processes may be performed such that the average value, the median value, or the smallest value of the pieces of update data of the standard work time in the first to third reliability determination means is calculated and the update processing is performed based on this calculated value.

Furthermore, in the case of simultaneously performing the reliability determinations of the first to third reliability determination means, standard work times (update data) may be calculated by performing weighted average calculation.

Specifically, the reliability determination unit24simultaneously performs: the reliability determination by the first reliability determination means for determining whether the work times of the work contents which are obtained from the work time points of the work contents declared by the workers15each deviate from the predetermined range (range of ±3σ) in the distribution of work time data of a corresponding one of the work contents which is stored in the database; the reliability determination by the second reliability determination means for determining whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents declared by the workers15each exceed the predetermined value (+3σ) in the distribution of work time data of a corresponding one of the work contents which is stored in the database; and the reliability determination by the third reliability determination means for determining whether the identified work areas which are identified by the work area identification unit23and in which the workers15exist coincide with the declared work areas declared by the workers15by use of the declaring means (PDAs16).

Then, the reliability determination unit24calculates the standard work times by performing the weighted average calculation on the average values of the work times subjected to the reliability determinations by the first to third reliability determination means and updates the standard work time of the work contents to the calculated standard work times. Moreover, when determining that any of the work times is unreliable by any of the first to third reliability determination means, the reliability determination unit24performs the weighted average calculation with a weighting factor set to 0, the weighting factor being one for the average value of the work times subjected to the reliability determination by the any reliability determination means.

Specifically, in the first reliability determination means, when any of the work times of the work contents which are obtained from the work time points of the work contents declared by the workers15is determined to deviate from the predetermined range (range of ±3σ) in the distribution of work time data of a corresponding one of the work contents which is stored in the database, the weighted average calculation for updating the standard work time of the relevant work content is performed with the weighting factor set to 0, the weighting factor being one for the average value of the work times (declared work times) of the relevant work content which are subjected to the reliability determination by the first reliability determination means. In the second reliability determination means, when any of the work times which are obtained from the work time points of the work contents declared by the workers15is determined to exceed the predetermined value (+3σ) in the distribution of work time data of a corresponding one of the work contents which is stored in the database, the weighted average calculation for updating the standard work time of the relevant work content is performed with the weighting factor set to 0, the weighting factor being one for the average value of the work times (declared work times) of the relevant work content which are subjected to the reliability determination by the second reliability determination means. In the third reliability determination means, when any of the identified work areas which are identified by the work area identification unit23and in which the workers15exist is determined to not coincide with a corresponding one of the declared work areas declared by the workers15by use of the declaring means (PDAs16), the weighted average calculation for updating the standard work time of the relevant work content is performed with the weighting factor set to 0, the weighting factor being one for the average value of the work times (declared work times) of the relevant work content which are subjected to the reliability determination by the third reliability determination means.

A specific example is described in further detail. When data of the work times (declared work times) of each of the work contents which are subjected to the reliability determination by the first to third reliability determination means is xi±δi, the weighting factor wifor the average value xiof the work times subjected to the reliability determination by the first to third reliability determination means is obtained by using Formula (1) shown below. Here, δ is a standard deviation showing scattering of the work times of each work content. Moreover, i=1, 2, . . . , n is satisfied and n=3 is satisfied in this example. Specifically, the first reliability means is i=1, the second reliability means is i=2, and the third reliability means is i=3.

Then, the weighted average calculation is performed by using Formula (2) shown below on the average value xiof the work times of each work content which are subjected to the reliability determination by the first to third reliability determination means and the standard work time (weighted average value) xwavis thereby calculated. The average work time of each work content is then updated to the calculated standard work time xwav. Moreover, when any of the work times is determined to be unreliable by any of the first to third reliability determination means at this time, the weighted average calculation is performed with the scattering (standard deviation) δ of the work times subjected to the reliability determination by the any reliability determination means set to ∞ and with the weighting factor wifor the average value xiof the work times subjected to the reliability determination by this reliability determination means set to 0.

Note that the work times of each work content which are newly measured in this update and the standard work time updated based on these work times are stored in the storage unit21as a database used for the next standard work time update. At this time, data of the work time deviating from the predetermined range, data of the work time exceeding the predetermined value, and the like are also stored in the storage unit21.

As described above, the standard work time updating system of Embodiment 1 is a standard work time updating system having a configuration in which the workers15declare the work time points of the work contents performed by the workers15in the work areas12A to12E in the station11by using the declaring means (PDAs16) and the standard work times of the respective work contents are updated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers15, characterized in that the system includes the reliability determination means (reliability determination unit24) for determining whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers15each deviate from the predetermined range (range of ±3σ) in the distribution of work time data of a corresponding one of the work contents which is stored in a database, when determining that none of the work times (declared work times) deviate from the predetermined range, the reliability determination means updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers15, and when determining that any of the work times (declared work times) deviates from the predetermined range, the reliability determination means does not update the standard work time of the relevant work content. Accordingly, the workers15can make declaration without an observer or a classifier. In addition, when a false or erroneous declaration is made by the workers15, the system can find out this declaration and cancel the update of the standard work time. This prevents the update of the standard work times on the basis of the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work times is improved.

In addition, as described above, the standard work time updating system of Embodiment 1 is a standard work time updating system having a configuration in which the workers15declare the work time points of the work contents performed by the workers15in the work areas12A to12E in the station11by using the declaring means (PDAs16) and the standard work times of the respective work contents are updated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers15, characterized in that the system includes the reliability determination means (reliability determination unit24) for determining whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers15each deviate from the predetermined range (range of ±3σ) in the distribution of work time data of a corresponding one of the work contents which is stored in a database, when determining that none of the work times (declared work times) deviate from the predetermined range, the reliability determination means updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers15, and when determining that any of the work times (declared work times) deviates from the predetermined range, the reliability determination means updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers15, exclusive of the work time determined to deviate from the predetermined range. Accordingly, the workers15can make declaration without an observer or a classifier. In addition, when a false or erroneous declaration is made by the workers15, the system can find out this declaration and update the standard work times after excluding the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. This prevents the update of the standard work times on the basis of the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work times is improved.

Moreover, the standard work time updating system of Embodiment 1 is a standard work time updating system having a configuration in which the workers15declare the work time points of the work contents performed by the workers15in the work areas12A to12E in the station11by using the declaring means (PDAs16) and the standard work times of the respective work contents are updated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers15, characterized in that the system includes the reliability determination means (reliability determination unit24) for determining whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers15each exceed from a predetermined value (+3σ) in the distribution of work time data of a corresponding one of the work contents which is stored in a database, when determining that none of the work times (declared work times) exceed from the predetermined value, the reliability determination means updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers15, and when determining that any of the work times (declared work times) exceeds from the predetermined value, the reliability determination means does not update the standard work times of the work contents. Accordingly, the workers15can make declaration without an observer or a classifier. In addition, when a false or erroneous declaration is made by the workers15, the system can find out this declaration and update the standard work times after excluding the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. This prevents the update of the standard work times on the basis of the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work times is improved.

Furthermore, the standard work time updating system of Embodiment 1 is a standard work time updating system having a configuration in which the workers15declare the work time points of the work contents performed by the workers15in the work areas12A to12E in the station11by using the declaring means (PDAs16) and the standard work times of the respective work contents are updated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers15, characterized in that the system includes the reliability determination means (reliability determination unit24) for determining whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers15each exceed from a predetermined value (+3σ) in the distribution of work time data of a corresponding one of the work contents which is stored in a database, when determining that none of the work times (declared work times) exceed from the predetermined value, the reliability determination means updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers15, and when determining that any of the work times (declared work times) exceeds from the predetermined value, the reliability determination means updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers15, exclusive of the work time determined to exceed the predetermined value. Accordingly, the workers15can make declaration without an observer or a classifier. In addition, when a false or erroneous declaration is made by the workers15, the system can find out this declaration and update the standard work times after excluding the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. This prevents the update of the standard work times on the basis of the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work times is improved.

Moreover, the standard work time updating system of Embodiment 1 is a standard work time updating system having a configuration in which the workers15declare the work time points of the work contents performed by the workers15in the work areas12A to12E in the station11by using the declaring means (PDAs16) and the standard work times of the respective work contents are updated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers15, characterized in that the system includes the update processing means (reliability determination unit24) for calculating the standard work times on the basis of the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers15and the work times of the work contents which are stored in the database, and thereby updating the standard work times of the work contents to the calculated standard work times. In this system, even when there is data having a low reliability in the declared work time data of the workers15, it is possible to reduce the effect of the declared work time data having a low reliability on the update data of the standard work times. This is because the standard work times are calculated by using not only the declared work time data but also the work time data stored in the database. This prevents (reduces) deterioration in reliability of the update data of the standard work times which is caused by the declared data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work times is improved.

Furthermore, the standard work time updating system of Embodiment 1 is a standard work time updating system having a configuration in which the workers15declare the work time points of the work contents performed by the workers15in the work areas12A to12E in the station11by using the declaring means (PDAs16) and the standard work times of the respective work contents are updated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers15, characterized in that the system includes the work area identification means (receivers13A to13E and work area identification unit23) for identifying the work area in which each of the workers15exist; and the reliability determination means (reliability determination unit24) for determining whether the identified work areas identified by the work area identification means coincide with the declared work areas declared by the workers15by use of the declaring means, when determining that the identified work areas coincide with the declared work areas, the reliability determination means updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers15, and when determining that any of the identified work areas does not coincide with a corresponding one of the declared work areas, the reliability determination means does not update the standard work time of the relevant work content. Accordingly, the workers15can make declaration without an observer or a classifier. In addition, when a false or erroneous declaration is made by the workers15, the system can find out this declaration and cancel the update of the standard work time. This prevents the update of the standard work times on the basis of the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work times is improved.

In addition, the standard work time updating system of Embodiment 1 is a standard work time updating system having a configuration in which the workers15declare the work time points of the work contents performed by the workers15in the work areas12A to12E in the station11by using the declaring means (PDAs16) and the standard work times of the respective work contents are updated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers15, characterized in that the system includes: the work area identification means (receivers13A to13E and work area identification unit23) for identifying the work area in which each of the workers15exist; and the reliability determination means (reliability determination unit24) for determining whether the identified work areas identified by the work area identification means coincide with the declared work areas declared by the workers15by use of the declaring means, when determining that the identified work areas coincide with the declared work areas, the reliability determination means updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers15, and when determining that any of the identified work areas does not coincide with a corresponding one of the declared work areas, the reliability determination means updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers15, exclusive of the work time for which the identified work area does not coincide with the declared work area. Accordingly, the workers15can make declaration without an observer or a classifier. In addition, when a false or erroneous declaration is made by the workers15, the system can find out this declaration and update the standard work times after excluding the declaration data of the work times having a low reliability. This prevents the update of the standard work times on the basis of the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work times is improved.

The standard work time updating system of Embodiment 1 is characterized in that the work area identification means includes: the receivers13A to13E provided respectively in the multiple positions in the station11and configured to receive the radio waves transmitted from the declaring means (PDAs16); and the work area identification unit23configured to identify in which of the work areas12A to12E each of the workers15exists, on the basis of the radio wave reception information from the receivers13A to13E. Accordingly, the system can surely identify in which of the work areas12A to12E each of the workers15exists, with a simple configuration.

Moreover, the standard work time updating system of Embodiment 1 is a standard work time updating system having a configuration in which the workers15declare the work time points of the work contents performed by the workers15in the work areas12A to12E in the station11by using the declaring means (PDAs16) and the standard work times of the respective work contents are updated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers15, characterized in that the system includes: the multiple reliability determination means (first to third reliability determination means) for determining whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers15are reliable; and the update processing means (reliability determination unit24) for calculating the standard work times by performing the weighted average calculation on the average values of the work times subjected to the reliability determination by the multiple reliability determination means and updating the standard work times of the work contents to the calculated standard work times, and, when any of the work times is determined to be unreliable by any of the multiple reliability determination means, the update processing means performs the weighted average calculation with the weighting factor set to 0, the weighting factor being one for the average value of the work times subjected to the reliability determination by the any reliability determination means. Accordingly, the workers15can make declaration without an observer or a classifier. In addition, when a false or erroneous declaration is made by the workers15, the system can find out this declaration by any of the multiple reliability determination means and update the standard work times after excluding the declaration data of the work times having a low reliability. This prevents the update of the standard work times on the basis of the declaration data of the work time point having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work times is improved.

As shown in part (a) ofFIG. 5, an inside of an assembly station31in which assembly work of a product such as an aircraft or a ship is performed is divided into multiple (four in the illustrated example) work areas32A,32B,32C,32D, and32E for respective multiple work contents. Workers35perform work of the work contents in the work areas32A to32E.

At this time, in the work areas32A to32E, each of the workers35operates a PDA36(declaring means) carried by the worker35to record work time points (work start time point and work completion time point) of the respective work contents in a storage device included in the PDA36. As shown in Parts (b) and (c) ofFIG. 5, the work content, the work time point (work start time point and work completion time point), and the work area are displayed in a display screen37of the PDA36. In addition, operation buttons38A,38B, and38C respectively for start, interruption, and completion of work are also displayed in the display screen37.

Specifically, when the worker35performs touch operation on the start button38A at the start of the work of a certain work content, the work start time point of the work contents is recorded in the PDA36and is displayed in the display screen37. Moreover, when the worker35performs touch operation on the completion button38C at the completion of the work of a certain work content, the work completion time point of the work content is recorded in the PDA36and is displayed in the display screen37. When the worker35performs touch operation on the interruption button38B for some reason during the work of a certain work content, the recording of the work time point of the work content is cancelled.

In Embodiment 2, multiple RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) readers33A,33B,33C,33D, and33E and a transmitter34are installed in the station31. The RFID readers33A to33E are installed respectively in the work areas32A to32E and the transmitter34is installed in a place other than the work areas32A to32E.

Meanwhile, the PDAs36carried by the respective workers35are each provided with a RFID tag39in which identification information (identification information of the PDA36and identification information of the worker35) is recorded for each PDA36. In the work areas32A to32E, when the workers35bring the PDAs36(RFID tags39) close to the RFID readers33A to33E, the RFID readers33A to33E read the identification information which is recorded in the RFID tag39for each PDA36and transmits the identification information together with work area information to the transmitter34wirelessly or by a wire. The transmitter34sends the identification information and the work area information to a work time management server (personal computer)40. Note that the position of each PDA36(RFID tag39) can be measures by disposing multiple antennas in each of the RFID readers33A to33E.

As shown in Parts (a) to (c) ofFIG. 5andFIG. 6, information such as the work time points (work start time point and work completion time point) of the work contents recorded by the PDA36(i.e. information on the work contents, the work time points, and the work areas declared (transmitted) by the worker35by using the PDA36) is transmitted to the work time management server40. The work time management server40has a storage unit41in which work procedures, the work contents, standard work times, the work areas, and the like are stored as a database, a standard work time calculation unit42, a work area identification unit43, and a reliability determination unit44(reliability determining means, update processing means). Data of the standard work time recorded in the database is calculated for each work content as an average value (or, alternatively, a minimum value, a median value, or the like: seeFIG. 4) of the work times, on the basis of data of the past work times of the work content which is stored as the database. Note that, the functions of the standard work time calculation unit42, the work area identification unit43, and the reliability determination unit44are implemented by software (program) and are executed by a CPU (central processing unit) of the work time management server40.

The standard work time calculation unit42obtains the work time (work completion time point−work start time point) of each work content from the information (i.e. the information on the work content and the work time point) on the work time point (work start time point and work completion time point) of the work content which is inputted from the PDA36of each worker35. The standard work time calculation unit42then calculates the average value (or, alternatively, a minimum value, a median value, or the like) of the work times for each work content and sets the calculated value as the standard work time of the work content. In this case, when there is work time data greatly deviating from the average value (i.e. work time data having a low reliability), the average value is greatly affected by this greatly-deviating work time data. In view of this, it is preferable to use the median value which is relatively less affected by the greatly-deviating work time data. Moreover, when the calculated standard work times of the respective work contents are shorter than the standard work times of the work contents which are stored in the storage unit41as the database, the standard work time calculation unit42outputs the calculated standard work times of the work contents to the reliability determination unit44as the standard work times for update. Moreover, the data on the work areas declared (transmitted from the PDAs36) by the workers35is also outputted to the reliability determination unit44via the standard work time calculation unit42.

The work area identification unit43identifies in which of the work areas32A to32E each of the PDAs36(i.e. the positions of the workers35carrying the PDAs36) exists, on the basis of the work area information transmitted from the RFID readers33A to33E via the transmitter34, and then outputs information on the identified work areas to the reliability determination unit44. Specifically, the RFID tags39, the RFID readers33A to33E, the work area identification unit43, and the like form work area identification means.

The reliability determination unit44determines whether the work times of the work contents which are obtained from the work time points of the work contents declared (transmitted from the PDAs36) by the workers35each deviate from a predetermined range (range of ±3σ in the example ofFIG. 3: σ is a standard deviation) in distribution of the work time data of a corresponding one of the work contents which is stored in the database (first reliability determination means). When determining that none of the work times (declared work times) deviate from the predetermined range for each work content, the reliability determination unit44updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times of the work contents which is calculated by the standard work time calculation unit42and outputs the updated standard work times. Meanwhile, when determining that any of the work times (declared work times) deviates from the predetermined range for any of work contents, the reliability determination unit44does not update the standard work time of the relevant work content to the standard work time of the relevant work content which is calculated by the standard work time calculation unit42and leaves the standard work time of the relevant work content to be the standard work time of the relevant work content which is recorded as the database.

Moreover, the reliability determination unit44determines whether the work areas (actual work areas) identified by the work area identification unit43coincide with the work areas declared by the workers35(third reliability determination means).

When the work areas identified by the work area identification unit43coincide with the work areas declared by the workers35in the determination, the information on the work time points declared by the workers35is reliable. Accordingly, when determining that the work areas identified by the work area identification unit43coincide with the work areas declared by the workers35, the reliability determination unit44updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times of the work contents which are calculated by the standard work time calculation unit42and outputs the updated standard work times.

Meanwhile, when any of the work areas identified by the work area identification unit43does not coincide with a corresponding one of the work areas declared by the workers35, the information on the work time point which is related to the non-coincident work area and which is declared by the worker35may be a false or erroneous input by the worker35and is unreliable. Accordingly, when determining that any of the work areas identified by the work area identification unit43does not coincide with the corresponding work area declared by the worker35, the reliability determination unit44does not update the standard work time of the work content related to the non-coincident work area to the standard work time of the work content which is calculated by the standard work time calculation unit42and leave the standard work time to be the standard work time of the work content which is recorded as the database.

The following processes may be performed in the reliability determination unit44in addition to the processes described above.

For example, the reliability determination unit44determines whether the work times of the work contents which are obtained from the work time points of the work contents declared (transmitted from the PDA36) by the workers35each deviate from the predetermined range (range of ±3σ) in distribution of the work time data of a corresponding one of the work contents which is stored in the database (first reliability determination means). When determining that none of the work times (declared work times) deviate from the predetermined range for each work content, the reliability determination unit44updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times of the work contents which are calculated by the standard work time calculation unit42(i.e. the standard work times calculated based on all of the work times declared for each of the work contents) and outputs the updated standard work times. Meanwhile, when determining that any of the work times (declared work times) deviates from the predetermined range for any of the work contents, the reliability determination unit44updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents declared by the workers35, exclusive of the work time determined to deviate from the predetermined range. The reliability determination unit44then outputs the updated standard work time.

Moreover, the following processes may be performed. The reliability determination unit44determines whether the work times of the work contents which are obtained from the work time points of the work contents declared (transmitted from the PDAs36) by the workers35each exceed a predetermined value (+3σ in the example ofFIG. 4: σ is a standard deviation) in distribution of the work time data of a corresponding one of the work contents which is stored in the database (second reliability determination means). When determining that none of the work times (declared work times) exceed the predetermined value for each work content, the reliability determination unit44updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times of the work contents calculated by the standard work time calculation unit42and outputs the updated standard work times. Meanwhile, when determining that any of the work times (declared work times) exceeds the predetermined value for any of the work contents, the reliability determination unit44does not update the standard work times of the relevant work content to the standard work time of the relevant work content which is calculated by the standard work time calculation unit42and leaves the standard work time to be the standard work time of the relevant work content which is recorded as the database.

Furthermore, the following processes may be performed. The reliability determination unit44determines whether the work times of the work contents which are obtained from the work time points of the work contents declared (transmitted from the PDAs36) by the worker35each exceed a predetermined value (+3σ) in distribution of the work time data of a corresponding one of the work contents which is stored in the database (second reliability determination means). When determining that none of the work times (declared work times) exceed the predetermined value for each work content, the reliability determination unit44updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times of the work contents which are calculated by the standard work time calculation unit42and outputs the updated standard work times. Meanwhile, when determining that any of the work times (declared work times) exceeds the predetermined value for any of the work contents, the reliability determination unit44updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents declared by the workers35, exclusive of the work time determined to exceed the predetermined value. The reliability determination unit44then outputs the updated standard work time.

In addition the following processed may be performed. The reliability determination unit44(functioning as the update processing means in this case) calculates the standard work times on the basis of the work times of the work contents which are obtained from the work time points of the work contents declared by the workers35and the work times of the work contents which are stored in the database and updates the standard work times of the work contents to the calculated standard work times.

Moreover, the following processes may be performed. The reliability determination unit44determines whether the identified work areas identified by the work area identification unit43coincide with the declared work areas declared by the workers35by use of the declaring means (PDAs36) (third reliability determination means). When determining that the identified work areas coincide with the declared work areas, the reliability determination unit44updates the standard work time of the work contents to the standard work times of the work contents which are calculated by the standard work time calculation unit42and outputs the updated standard work times. Meanwhile, when determining that any of the identified work areas does not coincide with a corresponding one of the declared work areas, the reliability determination unit44updates the standard work time of the work content related to the non-coincident work area to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content declared by the worker35, exclusive of the work time for which the identified work area does not coincide with the declared work area. The reliability determination unit44then outputs the updated standard work time.

Moreover, in the case of simultaneously performing the update processing for the standard work times on the basis of the reliability determinations of the first to third reliability determination means, the processes may be performed, for example, in such a way that the priorities are set for these reliability determination means in advance. When there is a difference in the update data of the standard work time between the first to third reliability determination means, the update data of the standard work time of the reliability determination means with a higher priority is used and the update processing is performed based on this update data. Instead, the update processes may be performed such that the average value, the median value, or the smallest value of the pieces of update data of the standard work time in the first to third reliability determination means is calculated and the update processing is performed based on this calculated value.

Furthermore, in the case of simultaneously performing the reliability determinations of the first to third reliability determination means, standard work times (update data) may be calculated by performing weighted average calculation.

Specifically, the reliability determination unit44simultaneously performs: the reliability determination by the first reliability determination means for determining whether the work times of the work contents which are obtained from the work time points of the work contents declared by the workers35each deviate from the predetermined range (range of ±3σ) in the distribution of work time data of a corresponding one of the work contents which is stored in the database; the reliability determination by the second reliability determination means for determining whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents declared by the workers35each exceed the predetermined value (+3σ) in the distribution of work time data of a corresponding one of the work contents which is stored in the database; and the reliability determination by the third reliability determination means for determining whether the identified work areas which are identified by the work area identification unit43and in which the workers45exist coincide with the declared work areas declared by the workers35by use of the declaring means (PDAs36).

Then, the reliability determination unit44calculates the standard work times by performing the weighted average calculation on the average values of the work times subjected to the reliability determinations by the first to third reliability determination means and updates the standard work time of the work contents to the calculated standard work times. Moreover, when determining that any of the work times is unreliable by any of the first to third reliability determination means, the reliability determination unit44performs the weighted average calculation with a weighting factor set to 0, the weighting factor being one for the average value of the work times subjected to the reliability determination by the any reliability determination means.

Specifically, in the first reliability determination means, when any of the work times of the work contents which are obtained from the work time points of the work contents declared by the workers35is determined to deviate from the predetermined range (range of ±3σ) in the distribution of work time data of a corresponding one of the work contents which is stored in the database, the weighted average calculation for updating the standard work time of the relevant work content is performed with the weighting factor set to 0, the weighting factor being one for the average value of the work times (declared work times) of the relevant work content which are subjected to the reliability determination by the first reliability determination means. In the second reliability determination means, when any of the work times which are obtained from the work time points of the work contents declared by the workers35is determined to exceed the predetermined value (+3σ) in the distribution of work time data of a corresponding one of the work contents which is stored in the database, the weighted average calculation for updating the standard work time of the relevant work content is performed with the weighting factor set to 0, the weighting factor being one for the average value of the work times (declared work times) of the relevant work content which are subjected to the reliability determination by the second reliability determination means. In the third reliability determination means, when any of the identified work areas which are identified by the work area identification unit43and in which the workers35exist is determined to not coincide with a corresponding one of the declared work areas declared by the workers35by use of the declaring means (PDAs36), the weighted average calculation for updating the standard work time of the relevant work content is performed with the weighting factor set to 0, the weighting factor being one for the average value of the work times (declared work times) of the relevant work content which are subjected to the reliability determination by the third reliability determination means.

A specific example is described in further detail. When data of the work times (declared work times) of each of the work contents which are subjected to the reliability determination by the first to third reliability determination means is xi±δi, the weighting factor wifor the average value xiof the work times subjected to the reliability determination by the first to third reliability determination means is obtained by using Formula (1) shown above. Then, the weighted average calculation is performed by using, for example, Formula (2) shown above on the average value xiof the work times of each work content which are subjected to the reliability determination by each of the first to third reliability determination means and the standard work time (weighted average value) xwavis thereby calculated. The standard work time of each work content is then updated to the calculated standard work time xwav. Moreover, when any of the work times is determined to be unreliable by any of the first to third reliability determination means at this time, the weighted average calculation is performed with the scattering (standard deviation) δ of the work times subjected to the reliability determination by the any reliability determination means set to ∞ and with the weighting factor wifor the average value xiof the work times subjected to the reliability determination by this reliability determination means set to 0.

Note that the work times of each work content which are newly measured in this update and the standard work time updated based on these work times are stored in the storage unit41as a database used for the next standard work time update. At this time, data of the work time deviating from the predetermined range, data of the work time exceeding the predetermined value, and the like are also stored in the storage unit41.

As described above, the standard work time updating system of Embodiment 2 is a standard work time updating system having a configuration in which the workers35declare the work time points of the work contents performed by the workers35in the work areas32A to32E in the station11by using the declaring means (PDAs36) and the standard work times of the respective work contents are updated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers35, characterized in that the system includes the reliability determination means (reliability determination unit44) for determining whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers35each deviate from the predetermined range (range of ±3σ) in the distribution of work time data of a corresponding one of the work contents which is stored in a database, when determining that none of the work times (declared work times) deviate from the predetermined range, the reliability determination means updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times of the work contents calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers35, and when determining that any of the work times (declared work times) deviates from the predetermined range, the reliability determination means does not update the standard work time of the relevant work content. Accordingly, the workers35can make declaration without an observer or a classifier. In addition, when a false or erroneous declaration is made by the workers35, the system can find out this declaration and cancel the update of the standard work time. This prevents the update of the standard work times on the basis of the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work times is improved.

In addition, as described above, the standard work time updating system of Embodiment 2 is a standard work time updating system having a configuration in which the workers35declare the work time points of the work contents performed by the workers35in the work areas32A to32E in the station31by using the declaring means (PDAs36) and the standard work times of the respective work contents are updated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers35, characterized in that the system includes the reliability determination means (reliability determination unit44) for determining whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers35each deviate from the predetermined range (range of ±3σ) in the distribution of work time data of a corresponding one of the work contents which is stored in a database, when determining that none of the work times (declared work times) deviate from the predetermined range, the reliability determination means updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers35, and when determining that any of the work times (declared work times) deviates from the predetermined range, the reliability determination means updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers35, exclusive of the work time determined to deviate from the predetermined range. Accordingly, the workers35can make declaration without an observer or a classifier. In addition, when a false or erroneous declaration is made by the workers35, the system can find out this declaration and update the standard work times after excluding the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. This prevents the update of the standard work times on the basis of the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work times is improved.

Furthermore, the standard work time updating system of Embodiment 2 is a standard work time updating system having a configuration in which the workers35declare the work time points of the work contents performed by the workers35in the work areas32A to32E in the station31by using the declaring means (PDAs36) and the standard work times of the respective work contents are updated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers35, characterized in that the system includes the reliability determination means (reliability determination unit44) for determining whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers35each exceed the predetermined value (+3σ) in the distribution of work time data of a corresponding one of the work contents which is stored in the database, when determining that none of the work times (declared work times) exceed the predetermined value, the reliability determination means updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers35, and when determining that any of the work times (declared work time) exceeds the predetermined value, the reliability determination means does not update the standard work time of the relevant work content. Accordingly, the workers35can make declaration without an observer or a classifier. In addition, when a false or erroneous declaration is made by the workers35, the system can find out this declaration and cancel the update of the standard work time. This prevents the update of the standard work times on the basis of the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work times is improved.

Furthermore, the standard work time updating system of Embodiment 2 is a standard work time updating system having a configuration in which the workers35declare the work time points of the work contents performed by the workers35in the work areas32A to32E in the station31by using the declaring means (PDAs36) and the standard work times of the respective work contents are updated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers35, characterized in that the system includes the reliability determination means (reliability determination unit44) for determining whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers35each exceed from the predetermined value (+3σ) in the distribution of work time data of a corresponding one of the work contents which is stored in a database, when determining that none of the work times (declared work times) exceed from the predetermined value, the reliability determination means updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers35, and when determining that any of the work times (declared work times) exceeds from the predetermined value, the reliability determination means updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers35, exclusive of the work time determined to exceed the predetermined value. Accordingly, the workers35can make declaration without an observer or a classifier. In addition, when a false or erroneous declaration is made by the workers35, the system can find out this declaration and update the standard work times after excluding the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. This prevents the update of the standard work times on the basis of the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work times is improved.

Moreover, the standard work time updating system of Embodiment 2 is a standard work time updating system having a configuration in which the workers35declare the work time points of the work contents performed by the workers35in the work areas32A to32E in the station31by using the declaring means (PDAs36) and the standard work times of the respective work contents are updated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers35, characterized in that the system includes the update processing means (reliability determination unit44) for calculating the standard work times on the basis of the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers35and the work times of the work contents which are stored in the database, and thereby updating the standard work times of the work contents to the calculated standard work times. In this system, even when there is data having a low reliability in the declared work time data of the workers35, it is possible to reduce the effect of the declared work time data having a low reliability on the update data of the standard work times. This is because the standard work times are calculated by using not only the declared work time data but also the work time data stored in the database. This prevents (reduces) deterioration in reliability of the update data of the standard work times which is caused by the declared data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work times is improved.

Furthermore, the standard work time updating system of Embodiment 2 is a standard work time updating system having a configuration in which the workers35declare the work time points of the work contents performed by the workers35in the work areas32A to32E in the station31by using the declaring means (PDAs36) and the standard work times of the respective work contents are updated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers35, characterized in that the system includes: the work area identification means (RFID tag39, RFID readers33A to33E and work area identification unit43) for identifying the work area in which each of the workers35exist; and the reliability determination means (reliability determination unit44) for determining whether the identified work areas identified by the work area identification means coincide with the declared work areas declared by the workers35by use of the declaring means, when determining that the identified work areas coincide with the declared work areas, the reliability determination means updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers35, and when determining that any of the identified work areas does not coincide with a corresponding one of the declared work areas, the reliability determination means does not update the standard work time of the relevant work content. Accordingly, the workers35can make declaration without an observer or a classifier. In addition, when a false or erroneous declaration is made by the workers35, the system can find out this declaration and cancel the update of the standard work time. This prevents the update of the standard work times on the basis of the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work times is improved.

In addition, the standard work time updating system of Embodiment 2 is a standard work time updating system having a configuration in which the workers35declare the work time points of the work contents performed by the workers35in the work areas32A to32E in the station31by using the declaring means (PDAs36) and the standard work times of the respective work contents are updated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers35, characterized in that the system includes: the work area identification means (RFID tag39, RFID readers33A to33E and work area identification unit43) for identifying the work area in which each of the workers35exist; and the reliability determination means (reliability determination unit44) for determining whether the identified work areas identified by the work area identification means coincide with the declared work areas declared by the workers35by use of the declaring means, when determining that the identified work areas coincide with the declared work areas, the reliability determination means updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers35, and when determining that any of the identified work areas does not coincide with a corresponding one of the declared work areas, the reliability determination means updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers35, exclusive of the work time for which the identified work area does not coincide with the declared work area. Accordingly, the workers35can make declaration without an observer or a classifier. In addition, when a false or erroneous declaration is made by the workers35, the system can find out this declaration and update the standard work times after excluding the declaration data of the work times having a low reliability. This prevents the update of the standard work times on the basis of the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work times is improved.

The standard work time updating system of Embodiment 2 is characterized in that the work area identification means includes: the RFID tags39provided respectively in the declaring means (PDAs36); the RFID readers33A to33E installed respectively in the work areas32A to32E and configured to read the records of the RFID tags39and to transmit the work area information; and the work area identification unit43configured to identify in which of the work areas32A to32E each of the workers35exists, on the basis of the work area information transmitted from the RFID readers33A to33E. Accordingly, the system can surely identify in which of the work areas32A to32E each of the workers35exists, with a simple configuration.

Moreover, the standard work time updating system of Embodiment 2 is a standard work time updating system having a configuration in which the workers35declare the work time points of the work contents performed by the workers35in the work areas32A to32E in the station31by using the declaring means (PDAs36) and the standard work times of the respective work contents are updated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers35, characterized in that the system includes: the multiple reliability determination means (first to third reliability determination means) for determining whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers35are reliable; and the update processing means (reliability determination unit44) for calculating the standard work times by performing the weighted average calculation on the average values of the work times subjected to the reliability determination by the multiple reliability determination means and updating the standard work times of the work contents to the calculated standard work times, and, when any of the work times is determined to be unreliable by any of the multiple reliability determination means, the update processing means performs the weighted average calculation with the weighting factor set to 0, the weighting factor being one for the average value of the work times subjected to the reliability determination by the any reliability determination means. Accordingly, the workers35can make declaration without an observer or a classifier. In addition, when a false or erroneous declaration is made by the workers35, the system can find out this declaration by any of the multiple reliability determination means and update the standard work times after excluding the declaration data of the work times having a low reliability. This prevents the update of the standard work times on the basis of the declaration data of the work time point having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work times is improved.

As shown in part (a) ofFIG. 7, an inside of an assembly station51in which assembly work of a product such as an aircraft or a ship is performed is divided into multiple (four in the illustrated example) work areas52A,52B,52C,52D, and52E for respective multiple work contents. Workers55perform work of the work contents in the work areas52A to52E.

At this time, in the work areas52A to52E, each of the workers55operates a PDA56(declaring means) carried by the worker55to record work time points (work start time point and work completion time point) of the respective work contents in a storage device included in the PDA56. As shown in Parts (b) and (c) ofFIG. 7, the work content, the work time point (work start time point and work completion time point), and the work area are displayed in a display screen57of the PDA56. In addition, operation buttons58A,58B, and58C respectively for start, interruption, and completion of work are also displayed in the display screen57.

Specifically, when the worker55performs touch operation on the start button58A at the start of the work of a certain work content, the work start time point of the work contents is recorded in the PDA56and is displayed in the display screen57. Moreover, when the worker55performs touch operation on the completion button58C at the completion of the work of a certain work content, the work completion time point of the work content is recorded in the PDA56and is displayed in the display screen57. When the worker55performs touch operation on the interruption button58B for some reason during the work of a certain work content, the recording of the work time point of the work content is cancelled.

In Embodiment 3, multiple receivers53A,53B,53C,53D, and53E and a transmitter54are installed in the station51. The receivers53A to53E are installed respectively in the work areas52A to52E and the transmitter54is installed in a place other than the work areas52A to52E.

The photoelectric sensors53A to53E detect the workers55entering the work areas52A to52E from entrances of the work areas52A to52E and transmit worker detection information to the transmitter54wirelessly or by a wire. The transmitter54sends the worker detection information to a work time management server (personal computer)60. The method using the photoelectric sensors53A to53E at the work area entrances as described above is effective when the workers55enter the work areas52A to52E one at a time and perform work. The photoelectric sensors53A to53E may be installed on any of the top, bottom, right, or left of the entrances of the work areas52A to52B. Moreover, the illumination direction of the light from the photoelectric sensors53A to53E to the workers55may be vertical, horizontal, or oblique.

As shown in Parts (a) to (c) ofFIG. 7andFIG. 8, information such as the work time points (work start time point and work completion time point) of the work contents recorded by the PDA56(i.e. information on the work contents, the work time points, and the work areas declared (transmitted) by the worker55by using the PDA56) is transmitted to the work time management server60. The work time management server60has a storage unit61in which work procedures, the work contents, standard work times, the work areas, and the like are stored as a database, a standard work time calculation unit62, a work area identification unit63, and a reliability determination unit64(reliability determining means, update processing means). Data of the standard work time recorded in the database is calculated for each work content as an average value (or, alternatively, a minimum value, a median value, or the like: seeFIG. 4) of the work times, on the basis of data of the past work times of the work content which is stored as the database. Note that, the functions of the standard work time calculation unit62, the work area identification unit63, and the reliability determination unit64are implemented by software (program) and are executed by a CPU (central processing unit) of the work time management server60.

The standard work time calculation unit62obtains the work time (work completion time point−work start time point) of each work content from the information (i.e. the information on the work content and the work time point) on the work time point (work start time point and work completion time point) of the work content which is inputted from the PDA56of each worker55. The standard work time calculation unit62then calculates the average value (or, alternatively, a minimum value, a median value, or the like) of the work times for each work content and sets the calculated value as the standard work time of the work content. In this case, when there is work time data greatly deviating from the average value (i.e. work time data having a low reliability), the average value is greatly affected by this greatly-deviating work time data. In view of this, it is preferable to use the median value which is relatively less affected by the greatly-deviating work time data. Moreover, when the calculated standard work times of the respective work contents are shorter than the standard work times of the work contents which are stored in the storage unit61as the database, the standard work time calculation unit62outputs the calculated standard work times of the work contents to the reliability determination unit64as the standard work times for update. Moreover, the data on the work areas declared (transmitted from the PDAs56) by the workers55is also outputted to the reliability determination unit64via the standard work time calculation unit62.

The work area identification unit63identifies in which of the work areas52A to52E each of the workers55exists, on the basis of the worker detection information transmitted from the photoelectric sensors53A to53E via the transmitter54, and then outputs information on the identified work areas to the reliability determination unit64. In other words, the photoelectric sensors53A to53E, the work area identification unit63, and the like form the work area identification means.

The reliability determination unit64determines whether the work times of the work contents which are obtained from the work time points of the work contents declared (transmitted from the PDAs56) by the workers55each deviate from a predetermined range (range of ±3σ in the example ofFIG. 3: σ is a standard deviation) in distribution of the work time data of a corresponding one of the work contents which is stored in the database (first reliability determination means). When determining that none of the work times (declared work times) deviate from the predetermined range for each work content, the reliability determination unit64updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times of the work contents which is calculated by the standard work time calculation unit62and outputs the updated standard work times. Meanwhile, when determining that any of the work times (declared work times) deviates from the predetermined range for any of work contents, the reliability determination unit64does not update the standard work time of the relevant work content to the standard work time of the relevant work content which is calculated by the standard work time calculation unit62and leaves the standard work time of the relevant work content to be the standard work time of the relevant work content which is recorded as the database.

Moreover, the reliability determination unit64determines whether the work areas (actual work areas) identified by the work area identification unit63coincide with the work areas declared by the workers55(third reliability determination means).

When the work areas identified by the work area identification unit63coincide with the work areas declared by the workers55in the determination, the information on the work time points declared by the workers55is reliable. Accordingly, when determining that the work areas identified by the work area identification unit63coincide with the work areas declared by the workers55, the reliability determination unit64updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times of the work contents which are calculated by the standard work time calculation unit62and outputs the updated standard work times.

Meanwhile, when any of the work areas identified by the work area identification unit63does not coincide with a corresponding one of the work areas declared by the workers55, the information on the work time point which is related to the non-coincident work area and which is declared by the worker55may be a false or erroneous input by the worker55and is unreliable. Accordingly, when determining that any of the work areas identified by the work area identification unit63does not coincide with the corresponding work area declared by the worker55, the reliability determination unit64does not update the standard work time of the work content related to the non-coincident work area to the standard work time of the work content which is calculated by the standard work time calculation unit62and leave the standard work time to be the standard work time of the work content which is recorded as the database.

The following processes may be performed in the reliability determination unit64in addition to the processes described above.

For example, the reliability determination unit64determines whether the work times of the work contents which are obtained from the work time points of the work contents declared (transmitted from the PDA56) by the workers55each deviate from the predetermined range (range of ±3σ) in distribution of the work time data of a corresponding one of the work contents which is stored in the database (first reliability determination means). When determining that none of the work times (declared work times) deviate from the predetermined range for each work content, the reliability determination unit64updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times of the work contents which are calculated by the standard work time calculation unit62(i.e. the standard work times calculated based on all of the work times declared for each of the work contents) and outputs the updated standard work times. Meanwhile, when determining that any of the work times (declared work times) deviates from the predetermined range for any of the work contents, the reliability determination unit64updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents declared by the workers55, exclusive of the work time determined to deviate from the predetermined range. The reliability determination unit64then outputs the updated standard work time.

Moreover, the following processes may be performed. The reliability determination unit64determines whether the work times of the work contents which are obtained from the work time points of the work contents declared (transmitted from the PDAs56) by the workers55each exceed a predetermined value (+3σ in the example ofFIG. 4: σ is a standard deviation) in distribution of the work time data of a corresponding one of the work contents which is stored in the database (second reliability determination means). When determining that none of the work times (declared work times) exceed the predetermined value for each work content, the reliability determination unit64updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times of the work contents calculated by the standard work time calculation unit62and outputs the updated standard work times. Meanwhile, when determining that any of the work times (declared work times) exceeds the predetermined value for any of the work contents, the reliability determination unit64does not update the standard work times of the relevant work content to the standard work time of the relevant work content which is calculated by the standard work time calculation unit62and leaves the standard work time to be the standard work time of the relevant work content which is recorded as the database.

Furthermore, the following processes may be performed. The reliability determination unit64determines whether the work times of the work contents which are obtained from the work time points of the work contents declared (transmitted from the PDAs56) by the worker15each exceed a predetermined value (+3σ) in distribution of the work time data of a corresponding one of the work contents which is stored in the database (second reliability determination means). When determining that none of the work times (declared work times) exceed the predetermined value for each work content, the reliability determination unit64updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times of the work contents which are calculated by the standard work time calculation unit62and outputs the updated standard work times. Meanwhile, when determining that any of the work times (declared work times) exceeds the predetermined value for any of the work contents, the reliability determination unit64updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents declared by the workers55, exclusive of the work time determined to exceed the predetermined value. The reliability determination unit64then outputs the updated standard work time.

In addition the following processed may be performed. The reliability determination unit64(functioning as the update processing means in this case) calculates the standard work times on the basis of the work times of the work contents which are obtained from the work time points of the work contents declared by the workers55and the work times of the work contents which are stored in the database and updates the standard work times of the work contents to the calculated standard work times.

Moreover, the following processes may be performed. The reliability determination unit64determines whether the identified work areas identified by the work area identification unit63coincide with the declared work areas declared by the workers55by use of the declaring means (PDAs56) (third reliability determination means). When determining that the identified work areas coincide with the declared work areas, the reliability determination unit64updates the standard work time of the work contents to the standard work times of the work contents which are calculated by the standard work time calculation unit62and outputs the updated standard work times. Meanwhile, when determining that any of the identified work areas does not coincide with a corresponding one of the declared work areas, the reliability determination unit64updates the standard work time of the work content related to the non-coincident work area to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content declared by the worker55, exclusive of the work time for which the identified work area does not coincide with the declared work area. The reliability determination unit64then outputs the updated standard work time.

Moreover, in the case of simultaneously performing the update processing for the standard work times on the basis of the reliability determinations of the first to third reliability determination means, the processes may be performed, for example, in such a way that the priorities are set for these reliability determination means in advance. When there is a difference in the update data of the standard work time between the first to third reliability determination means, the update data of the standard work time of the reliability determination means with a higher priority is used and the update processing is performed based on this update data. Instead, the update processes may be performed such that the average value, the median value, or the smallest value of the pieces of update data of the standard work time in the first to third reliability determination means is calculated and the update processing is performed based on this calculated value.

Furthermore, in the case of simultaneously performing the reliability determinations of the first to third reliability determination means, standard work times (update data) may be calculated by performing weighted average calculation.

Specifically, the reliability determination unit64simultaneously performs: the reliability determination by the first reliability determination means for determining whether the work times of the work contents which are obtained from the work time points of the work contents declared by the workers55each deviate from the predetermined range (range of ±3σ) in the distribution of work time data of a corresponding one of the work contents which is stored in the database; the reliability determination by the second reliability determination means for determining whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents declared by the workers55each exceed the predetermined value (+3σ) in the distribution of work time data of a corresponding one of the work contents which is stored in the database; and the reliability determination by the third reliability determination means for determining whether the identified work areas which are identified by the work area identification unit63and in which the workers55exist coincide with the declared work areas declared by the workers55by use of the declaring means (PDAs56).

Then, the reliability determination unit64calculates the standard work times by performing the weighted average calculation on the average values of the work times subjected to the reliability determinations by the first to third reliability determination means and updates the standard work time of the work contents to the calculated standard work times. Moreover, when determining that any of the work times is unreliable by any of the first to third reliability determination means, the reliability determination unit24performs the weighted average calculation with a weighting factor set to 0, the weighting factor being one for the average value of the work times subjected to the reliability determination by the any reliability determination means.

Specifically, in the first reliability determination means, when any of the work times of the work contents which are obtained from the work time points of the work contents declared by the workers55is determined to deviate from the predetermined range (range of ±3σ) in the distribution of work time data of a corresponding one of the work contents which is stored in the database, the weighted average calculation for updating the standard work time of the relevant work content is performed with the weighting factor set to 0, the weighting factor being one for the average value of the work times (declared work times) of the relevant work content which are subjected to the reliability determination by the first reliability determination means. In the second reliability determination means, when any of the work times which are obtained from the work time points of the work contents declared by the workers55is determined to exceed the predetermined value (+3σ) in the distribution of work time data of a corresponding one of the work contents which is stored in the database, the weighted average calculation for updating the standard work time of the relevant work content is performed with the weighting factor set to 0, the weighting factor being one for the average value of the work times (declared work times) of the relevant work content which are subjected to the reliability determination by the second reliability determination means. In the third reliability determination means, when any of the identified work areas which are identified by the work area identification unit63and in which the workers55exist is determined to not coincide with a corresponding one of the declared work areas declared by the workers55by use of the declaring means (PDAs56), the weighted average calculation for updating the standard work time of the relevant work content is performed with the weighting factor set to 0, the weighting factor being one for the average value of the work times (declared work times) of the relevant work content which are subjected to the reliability determination by the third reliability determination means.

A specific example is described in further detail. When data of the work times (declared work times) of each of the work contents which are subjected to the reliability determination by the first to third reliability determination means is xi±δi, the weighting factor wifor the average value xiof the work times subjected to the reliability determination by the first to third reliability determination means is obtained by using Formula (1) shown above. Then, the weighted average calculation is performed by using, for example, Formula (2) shown above on the average value xiof the work times of each work content which are subjected to the reliability determination by each of the first to third reliability determination means and the standard work time (weighted average value) xwavis thereby calculated. The standard work time of each work content is then updated to the calculated standard work time xwav. Moreover, when any of the work times is determined to be unreliable by any of the first to third reliability determination means at this time, the weighted average calculation is performed with the scattering (standard deviation) δ of the work times subjected to the reliability determination by the any reliability determination means set to ∞ and with the weighting factor wifor the average value xiof the work times subjected to the reliability determination by this reliability determination means set to 0.

Note that the work times of each work content which are newly measured in this update and the standard work time updated based on these work times are stored in the storage unit61as a database used for the next standard work time update. At this time, data of the work time deviating from the predetermined range, data of the work time exceeding the predetermined value, and the like are also stored in the storage unit41.

As described above, the standard work time updating system of Embodiment 3 is a standard work time updating system having a configuration in which the workers55declare the work time points of the work contents performed by the workers55in the work areas52A to52E in the station51by using the declaring means (PDAs56) and the standard work times of the respective work contents are updated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers55, characterized in that the system includes the reliability determination means (reliability determination unit64) for determining whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers55each deviate from the predetermined range (range of ±3σ) in the distribution of work time data of a corresponding one of the work contents which is stored in a database, when determining that none of the work times (declared work times) deviate from the predetermined range, the reliability determination means updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times of the work contents calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers55, and when determining that any of the work times (declared work times) deviates from the predetermined range, the reliability determination means does not update the standard work time of the relevant work content. Accordingly, the workers55can make declaration without an observer or a classifier. In addition, when a false or erroneous declaration is made by the workers55, the system can find out this declaration and cancel the update of the standard work time. This prevents the update of the standard work times on the basis of the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work times is improved.

In addition, as described above, the standard work time updating system of Embodiment 3 is a standard work time updating system having a configuration in which the workers55declare the work time points of the work contents performed by the workers55in the work areas52A to52E in the station51by using the declaring means (PDAs56) and the standard work times of the respective work contents are updated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers55, characterized in that the system includes the reliability determination means (reliability determination unit64) for determining whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers55each deviate from the predetermined range (range of ±3σ) in the distribution of work time data of a corresponding one of the work contents which is stored in a database, when determining that none of the work times (declared work times) deviate from the predetermined range, the reliability determination means updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers55, and when determining that any of the work times (declared work times) deviates from the predetermined range, the reliability determination means updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers55, exclusive of the work time determined to deviate from the predetermined range. Accordingly, the workers55can make declaration without an observer or a classifier. In addition, when a false or erroneous declaration is made by the workers55, the system can find out this declaration and update the standard work times after excluding the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. This prevents the update of the standard work times on the basis of the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work times is improved.

Moreover, the standard work time updating system of Embodiment 3 is a standard work time updating system having a configuration in which the workers55declare the work time points of the work contents performed by the workers55in the work areas52A to52E in the station51by using the declaring means (PDAs56) and the standard work times of the respective work contents are updated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers55, characterized in that the system includes the reliability determination means (reliability determination unit64) for determining whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers55each exceed from the predetermined value (+3σ) in the distribution of work time data of a corresponding one of the work contents which is stored in a database, when determining that none of the work times (declared work times) exceed from the predetermined value, the reliability determination means updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers55, and when determining that any of the work times (declared work times) exceeds from the predetermined value, the reliability determination means does not update the standard work times of the work contents. Accordingly, the workers55can make declaration without an observer or a classifier. In addition, when a false or erroneous declaration is made by the workers55, the system can find out this declaration and update the standard work times after excluding the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. This prevents the update of the standard work times on the basis of the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work times is improved.

Furthermore, the standard work time updating system of Embodiment 3 is a standard work time updating system having a configuration in which the workers55declare the work time points of the work contents performed by the workers55in the work areas52A to52E in the station51by using the declaring means (PDAs56) and the standard work times of the respective work contents are updated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers55, characterized in that the system includes the reliability determination means (reliability determination unit64) for determining whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers55each exceed from the predetermined value (+3σ) in the distribution of work time data of a corresponding one of the work contents which is stored in a database, when determining that none of the work times (declared work times) exceed from the predetermined value, the reliability determination means updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers55, and when determining that any of the work times (declared work times) exceeds from the predetermined value, the reliability determination means updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers55, exclusive of the work time determined to exceed the predetermined value. Accordingly, the workers55can make declaration without an observer or a classifier. In addition, when a false or erroneous declaration is made by the workers55, the system can find out this declaration and update the standard work times after excluding the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. This prevents the update of the standard work times on the basis of the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work times is improved.

Moreover, the standard work time updating system of Embodiment 3 is a standard work time updating system having a configuration in which the workers55declare the work time points of the work contents performed by the workers55in the work areas52A to52E in the station51by using the declaring means (PDAs56) and the standard work times of the respective work contents are updated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers55, characterized in that the system includes the update processing means (reliability determination unit64) for calculating the standard work times on the basis of the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers55and the work times of the work contents which are stored in the database, and thereby updating the standard work times of the work contents to the calculated standard work times. In this system, even when there is data having a low reliability in the declared work time data of the workers55, it is possible to reduce the effect of the declared work time data having a low reliability on the update data of the standard work times. This is because the standard work times are calculated by using not only the declared work time data but also the work time data stored in the database. This prevents (reduces) deterioration in reliability of the update data of the standard work times which is caused by the declared data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work times is improved.

Furthermore, the standard work time updating system of Embodiment 3 is a standard work time updating system having a configuration in which the workers55declare the work time points of the work contents performed by the workers55in the work areas52A to52E in the station51by using the declaring means (PDAs56) and the standard work times of the respective work contents are updated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers55, characterized in that the system includes: the work area identification means (photoelectric sensors53A to53E and work area identification unit63) for identifying the work area in which each of the workers55exist; and the reliability determination means (reliability determination unit64) for determining whether the identified work areas identified by the work area identification means coincide with the declared work areas declared by the workers55by use of the declaring means, when determining that the identified work areas coincide with the declared work areas, the reliability determination means updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers55, and when determining that any of the identified work areas does not coincide with a corresponding one of the declared work areas, the reliability determination means does not update the standard work time of the relevant work content. Accordingly, the workers55can make declaration without an observer or a classifier. In addition, when a false or erroneous declaration is made by the workers55, the system can find out this declaration and cancel the update of the standard work time. This prevents the update of the standard work times on the basis of the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work times is improved.

In addition, the standard work time updating system of Embodiment 3 is a standard work time updating system having a configuration in which the workers55declare the work time points of the work contents performed by the workers55in the work areas52A to52E in the station51by using the declaring means (PDAs56) and the standard work times of the respective work contents are updated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers55, characterized in that the system includes: the work area identification means (photoelectric sensors53A to53E and work area identification unit63) for identifying the work area in which each of the workers55exist; and the reliability determination means (reliability determination unit64) for determining whether the identified work areas identified by the work area identification means coincide with the declared work areas declared by the workers55by use of the declaring means, when determining that the identified work areas coincide with the declared work areas, the reliability determination means updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers55, and when determining that any of the identified work areas does not coincide with a corresponding one of the declared work areas, the reliability determination means updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers55, exclusive of the work time for which the identified work area does not coincide with the declared work area. Accordingly, the workers55can make declaration without an observer or a classifier. In addition, when a false or erroneous declaration is made by the workers55, the system can find out this declaration and update the standard work times after excluding the declaration data of the work times having a low reliability. This prevents the update of the standard work times on the basis of the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work times is improved.

The standard work time updating system of Embodiment 3 is characterized in that the work area identification means includes: photoelectric sensors53A to53E installed at the entrances of the work areas52A to52E and configured to detect the workers55entering the work areas52A to52E; and the work area identification unit63configured to identify the work area in which each of the workers55exists, on the basis of the worker detection information from the photoelectric sensors53A to53E. Accordingly, the system can surely identify in which of the work areas52A to52E each of the workers55exists, with a simple configuration.

Moreover, the standard work time updating system of Embodiment 3 is a standard work time updating system having a configuration in which the workers55declare the work time points of the work contents performed by the workers55in the work areas52A to52E in the station51by using the declaring means (PDAs56) and the standard work times of the respective work contents are updated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers55, characterized in that the system includes: the multiple reliability determination means (first to third reliability determination means) for determining whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers55are reliable; and the update processing means (reliability determination unit64) for calculating the standard work times by performing the weighted average calculation on the average values of the work times subjected to the reliability determination by the multiple reliability determination means and updating the standard work times of the work contents to the calculated standard work times, and, when any of the work times is determined to be unreliable by any of the multiple reliability determination means, the update processing means performs the weighted average calculation with the weighting factor set to 0, the weighting factor being one for the average value of the work times subjected to the reliability determination by the any reliability determination means. Accordingly, the workers55can make declaration without an observer or a classifier. In addition, when a false or erroneous declaration is made by the workers55, the system can find out this declaration by any of the multiple reliability determination means and update the standard work times after excluding the declaration data of the work times having a low reliability. This prevents the update of the standard work times on the basis of the declaration data of the work time point having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work times is improved.

As shown in part (a) ofFIG. 9, an inside of an assembly station71in which assembly work of a product such as an aircraft or a ship is performed is divided into multiple (four in the illustrated example) work areas72A,72B,72C,72D, and72E for respective multiple work contents. Workers77perform work of the work contents in the work areas72A to72E.

At this time, in the work areas72A to72E, each of the workers77operates a PDA78(declaring means) carried by the worker77to record work time points (work start time point and work completion time point) of the respective work contents in a storage device included in the PDA78. As shown in Parts (b) and (c) ofFIG. 9, the work content, the work time point (work start time point and work completion time point), and the work area are displayed in a display screen79of the PDA78. In addition, operation buttons80A,80B, and80C respectively for start, interruption, and completion of work are also displayed in the display screen79.

Specifically, when the worker77performs touch operation on the start button80A at the start of the work of a certain work content, the work start time point of the work contents is recorded in the PDA78and is displayed in the display screen79. Moreover, when the worker77performs touch operation on the completion button80C at the completion of the work of a certain work content, the work completion time point of the work content is recorded in the PDA78and is displayed in the display screen79. When the worker77performs touch operation on the interruption button80B for some reason during the work of a certain work content, the recording of the work time point of the work content is cancelled.

In Embodiment 4, multiple photoelectric sensors76A,76B,76C,76D, and76E and a transmitter74are installed in the station71. Work tool tables73A,73B,73C,73D, and73E are installed respectively in the work areas72A to72E. Work tools75A,75A,75C,75D, and75E for performing work of the work contents in the work areas72A to72E are placed respectively on the work tool tables73A to73E. The photoelectric sensors76A to76E are installed respectively in the work tool tables73A to73E. The transmitter74is installed in a place other than the work areas72A to72E.

The photoelectric sensors76A to76E detect the work tools75A to75E when the work tools75A to75E are placed on the work tool tables73A to73E (i.e. when the workers77are not using the work tools75A to75E), and are thereby set to a ON state. When the workers77pick up the work tools75A to75B from the work tool tables73A to73E to perform work (i.e. when the workers77use the work tools75A to75E), the photoelectric sensors76A to76E do not detect the work tools75A to75B and are thereby set to a OFF state. An OFF signal is transmitted to the transmitter74wirelessly or by a wire as work tool usage information. The transmitter74sends the work tool usage information to a work time management server (personal computer)90.

Note that the workers77always return the work tools75A to75E to fixed positions (positions which can be detected by the photoelectric sensors76A to76E) on the work tool tables73A to73E after usage. Moreover, when the positions of the work tool tables73A to73E in the work areas72A to72E are fixed, the positions of the work tools75A to75E placed on the work tool tables73A to73E are also fixed. The photoelectric sensors76A to76E may be thus installed at positions other than the work tool tables73A to73E.

As shown in Parts (a) to (c) ofFIG. 9andFIG. 10, information such as the work time points (work start time point and work completion time point) of the work contents recorded by the PDA78(i.e. information on the work contents, the work time points, and the work tools declared (transmitted) by the worker77by using the PDA78) is transmitted to the work time management server90. The work time management server90has a storage unit91in which work procedures, the work contents, standard work times, the work areas, the work tools, and the like are stored as a database, a standard work time calculation unit92, a work content identification unit93, and a reliability determination unit94(reliability determining means, update processing means). Data of the standard work time recorded in the database is calculated for each work content as an average value (or, alternatively, a minimum value, a median value, or the like: seeFIG. 4) of the work times, on the basis of data of the past work times of the work content which is stored as the database. Note that, the functions of the standard work time calculation unit92, the work content identification unit93, and the reliability determination unit94are implemented by software (program) and are executed by a CPU of the work time management server90.

The standard work time calculation unit92obtains the work time (work completion time point−work start time point) of each work content from the information (i.e. the information on the work content and the work time point) on the work time point (work start time point and work completion time point) of the work content which is inputted from the PDA78of each worker77. The standard work time calculation unit92then calculates the average value (or, alternatively, a minimum value, a median value, or the like) of the work times for each work content and sets the calculated value as the standard work time of the work content. In this case, when there is work time data greatly deviating from the average value (i.e. work time data having a low reliability), the average value is greatly affected by this greatly-deviating work time data. In view of this, it is preferable to use the median value which is relatively less affected by the greatly-deviating work time data. Moreover, when the calculated standard work times of the respective work contents are shorter than the standard work times of the work contents which are stored in the storage unit91as the database, the standard work time calculation unit92outputs the calculated standard work times of the work contents to the reliability determination unit94as the standard work times for update. Moreover, the data on the work contents and the work tools declared (transmitted from the PDAs78) by the workers77is also outputted to the reliability determination unit94via the standard work time calculation unit92.

The work content identification unit93identifies the work contents performed by the workers77, on the basis of the work tool usage information transmitted from the photoelectric sensors76A to76E via the transmitter74. Specifically, the work tool (any of the work tools75A to75E) used by each of the workers77is determined from the work tool usage information and the work content is determined (identified) from the determined work tool (any of the work tools75A to75E). The photoelectric sensors76A to76E are included as work tool usage information acquisition means and the work tool usage information acquisition means, the work content identification unit93, and the like form the work content identification means. Information on the work contents identified by the work content identification unit93is outputted to the reliability determination unit94together with information on the work tools.

The reliability determination unit94determines whether the work times of the work contents which are obtained from the work time points of the work contents declared (transmitted from the PDAs78) by the workers77each deviate from a predetermined range (range of ±3σ in the example ofFIG. 3: σ is a standard deviation) in distribution of the work time data of a corresponding one of the work contents which is stored in the database (first reliability determination means). When determining that none of the work times (declared work times) deviate from the predetermined range for each work content, the reliability determination unit94updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times of the work contents which is calculated by the standard work time calculation unit92and outputs the updated standard work times. Meanwhile, when determining that any of the work times (declared work times) deviates from the predetermined range for any of work contents, the reliability determination unit94does not update the standard work time of the relevant work content to the standard work time of the relevant work content which is calculated by the standard work time calculation unit92and leaves the standard work time of the relevant work content to be the standard work time of the relevant work content which is recorded as the database.

Moreover, the reliability determination unit94determines whether the work contents (actual work contents) identified by the work content identification unit93coincide with the work contents declared by the workers77(fourth reliability determination means).

At this time, when the work contents identified by the work content identification unit93coincide with the work contents declared by the workers77, the declarations of the workers77are reliable. Accordingly, when determining that the work contents identified by the work content identification unit93coincide with the work contents declared by the workers77, the reliability determination unit94updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times of the work contents which are calculated by the standard work time calculation unit92and outputs the updated standard work times.

Meanwhile, when any of the work contents identified by the work content identification unit93does not coincide with a corresponding one of the work contents declared by the workers77, information on the work time point declared by the worker77in association with the non-coincident work content may be a false or erroneous input by the worker77and is thereby unreliable. Accordingly, when determining that any of the work contents identified by the work content identification unit93does not coincide with a corresponding one of the work contents declared by the workers77, the reliability determination unit94does not update the standard work time of the non-coincident work content to the standard work time of the work content which is calculated by the standard work time calculation unit92, and leave the standard work time to be the standard work time of the work content which is recorded as the database.

The following processes may be performed in the reliability determination unit94in addition to the processes described above.

For example, the reliability determination unit94determines whether the work times of the work contents which are obtained from the work time points of the work contents declared (transmitted from the PDA78) by the workers77each deviate from the predetermined range (range of ±3σ) in distribution of the work time data of a corresponding one of the work contents which is stored in the database (first reliability determination means). When determining that none of the work times (declared work times) deviate from the predetermined range for each work content, the reliability determination unit94updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times of the work contents which are calculated by the standard work time calculation unit92(i.e. the standard work times calculated based on all of the work times declared for each of the work contents) and outputs the updated standard work times. Meanwhile, when determining that any of the work times (declared work times) deviates from the predetermined range for any of the work contents, the reliability determination unit94updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents declared by the workers77, exclusive of the work time determined to deviate from the predetermined range. The reliability determination unit94then outputs the updated standard work time.

Moreover, the following processes may be performed. The reliability determination unit94determines whether the work times of the work contents which are obtained from the work time points of the work contents declared (transmitted from the PDAs78) by the workers77each exceed a predetermined value (+3σ in the example ofFIG. 4: σ is a standard deviation) in distribution of the work time data of a corresponding one of the work contents which is stored in the database (second reliability determination means). When determining that none of the work times (declared work times) exceed the predetermined value for each work content, the reliability determination unit94updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times of the work contents calculated by the standard work time calculation unit49and outputs the updated standard work times. Meanwhile, when determining that any of the work times (declared work times) exceeds the predetermined value for any of the work contents, the reliability determination unit94does not update the standard work times of the relevant work content to the standard work time of the relevant work content which is calculated by the standard work time calculation unit92and leaves the standard work time to be the standard work time of the relevant work content which is recorded as the database.

Furthermore, the following processes may be performed. The reliability determination unit94determines whether the work times of the work contents which are obtained from the work time points of the work contents declared (transmitted from the PDAs78) by the worker77each exceed a predetermined value (+3σ) in distribution of the work time data of a corresponding one of the work contents which is stored in the database (second reliability determination means). When determining that none of the work times (declared work times) exceed the predetermined value for each work content, the reliability determination unit94updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times of the work contents which are calculated by the standard work time calculation unit92and outputs the updated standard work times. Meanwhile, when determining that any of the work times (declared work times) exceeds the predetermined value for any of the work contents, the reliability determination unit94updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents declared by the workers77, exclusive of the work time determined to exceed the predetermined value. The reliability determination unit94then outputs the updated standard work time.

In addition the following processed may be performed. The reliability determination unit94(functioning as the update processing means in this case) calculates the standard work times on the basis of the work times of the work contents which are obtained from the work time points of the work contents declared by the workers77and the work times of the work contents which are stored in the database and updates the standard work times of the work contents to the calculated standard work times.

Moreover, the following processes may be performed. The reliability determination unit94determines whether the identified work contents identified by the work content identification unit93coincide with the declared work contents declared by the workers77by use of the declaring means (PDAs78) (fourth reliability determination means). When determining that the identified work contents coincide with the declared work contents, the reliability determination unit94updates the standard work time of the work contents to the standard work times of the work contents which are calculated by the standard work time calculation unit92and outputs the updated standard work times. Meanwhile, when determining that any of the identified work contents does not coincide with a corresponding one of the declared work contents, the reliability determination unit94updates the standard work time of the work content related to the non-coincident work content to the standard work time calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work content declared by the worker77, exclusive of the work time for which the identified work content does not coincide with the declared work content. The reliability determination unit94then outputs the updated standard work time.

Moreover, in the case of simultaneously performing the update processing for the standard work times on the basis of the reliability determinations of the first, second, and fourth reliability determination means, the processes may be performed, for example, in such a way that the priorities are set for these reliability determination means in advance. When there is a difference in the update data of the standard work time between the first, second, and fourth reliability determination means, the update data of the standard work time of the reliability determination means with a higher priority is used and the update processing is performed based on this update data. Instead, the update processes may be performed such that the average value, the median value, or the smallest value of the pieces of update data of the standard work time in the first, second, and fourth reliability determination means is calculated and the update processing is performed based on this calculated value.

Furthermore, in the case of simultaneously performing the reliability determinations of the first, second, and fourth reliability determination means, standard work times (update data) may be calculated by performing weighted average calculation.

Specifically, the reliability determination unit94simultaneously performs: the reliability determination by the first reliability determination means for determining whether the work times of the work contents which are obtained from the work time points of the work contents declared by the workers77each deviate from the predetermined range (range of ±3σ) in the distribution of work time data of a corresponding one of the work contents which is stored in the database; the reliability determination by the second reliability determination means for determining whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents declared by the workers77each exceed the predetermined value (+3σ) in the distribution of work time data of a corresponding one of the work contents which is stored in the database; and the reliability determination by the fourth reliability determination means for determining whether the identified work contents which are identified by the work content identification unit93and which are performed by the workers77coincide with the declared work contents declared by the workers77by use of the declaring means (PDAs78).

Then, the reliability determination unit94calculates the standard work times by performing the weighted average calculation on the average values of the work times subjected to the reliability determinations by the first, second, and fourth reliability determination means and updates the standard work time of the work contents to the calculated standard work times. Moreover, when determining that any of the work times is unreliable by any of the first, second, and fourth reliability determination means, the reliability determination unit94performs the weighted average calculation with a weighting factor set to 0, the weighting factor being one for the average value of the work times subjected to the reliability determination by the any reliability determination means.

Specifically, in the first reliability determination means, when any of the work times of the work contents which are obtained from the work time points of the work contents declared by the workers77is determined to deviate from the predetermined range (range of ±3σ) in the distribution of work time data of a corresponding one of the work contents which is stored in the database, the weighted average calculation for updating the standard work time of the relevant work content is performed with the weighting factor set to 0, the weighting factor being one for the average value of the work times (declared work times) of the relevant work content which are subjected to the reliability determination by the first reliability determination means. In the second reliability determination means, when any of the work times which are obtained from the work time points of the work contents declared by the workers77is determined to exceed the predetermined value (+3σ) in the distribution of work time data of a corresponding one of the work contents which is stored in the database, the weighted average calculation for updating the standard work time of the relevant work content is performed with the weighting factor set to 0, the weighting factor being one for the average value of the work times (declared work times) of the relevant work content which are subjected to the reliability determination by the second reliability determination means. In the fourth reliability determination means, when any of the identified work contents which are identified by the work content identification unit93and which are performed by the workers77is determined to not coincide with a corresponding one of the declared work contents declared by the workers77by use of the declaring means (PDAs78), the weighted average calculation for updating the standard work time of the relevant work content is performed with the weighting factor set to 0, the weighting factor being one for the average value of the work times (declared work times) of the relevant work content which are subjected to the reliability determination by the fourth reliability determination means.

A specific example is described in further detail. When data of the work times (declared work times) of each of the work contents which are subjected to the reliability determination by the first, second, and fourth reliability determination means is xi±δi, the weighting factor wifor the average value xiof the work times subjected to the reliability determination by the first, second, and fourth reliability determination means is obtained by using Formula (1) shown above. Then, the weighted average calculation is performed by using, for example, formula (2) shown above on the average value xiof the work times of each work content which are subjected to the reliability determination by each of the first, second, and fourth reliability determination means and the standard work time (weighted average value) xwavis thereby calculated. The standard work time of each work content is then updated to the calculated standard work time xwav. Moreover, when any of the work times is determined to be unreliable by any of the first, second, and fourth reliability determination means at this time, the weighted average calculation is performed with the scattering (standard deviation) δ of the work times subjected to the reliability determination by the any reliability determination means set to ∞ and with the weighting factor wifor the average value xiof the work times subjected to the reliability determination by this reliability determination means set to 0.

Note that the work times of each work content which are newly measured in this update and the standard work time updated based on these work times are stored in the storage unit91as a database used for the next standard work time update. At this time, data of the work time deviating from the predetermined range, data of the work time exceeding the predetermined value, and the like are also stored in the storage unit91.

Moreover, each of the workers77can be determined by using the work time point information and the work tool usage information obtained by the photoelectric sensors76A to76E and by using the work time point information and the work tool usage information declared by the worker77.

Although the photoelectric sensors76A to76E are used as the work tool usage information acquisition means in the above description, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, electric power meters, cameras, the RFID tags and the RFID readers, piezoelectric sensors, or the like may be used as the work tool usage information acquisition means.

First, the case of using the electric power meters is described based onFIGS. 9, 10, and 11. When the work tools75A to75B are electric work tools (for example, electric drills or the like) requiring supply of electric power from a power source100as shown inFIG. 11, electric power meters101A,101B,101C,101D, and101E can be used instead of the photoelectric sensors76A to76E in the system shown inFIGS. 9 and 10. The electric power meters101A to101E each measure the electric power supplied from the power source100to a corresponding one of the work tools75A to75B. The power source100may be provided for each of the work areas72A to72E or may be common to the work areas72A to72E. The electric power meters101A to101E may be installed respectively in the work tool tables73A to73E or may be installed in other places.

When the workers77use the work tools75A to75B in the work areas72A to72E, the electric power meters101A to101E measure the electric power consumptions of the work tools75A to75E and transmit signals of the electric power consumptions to the transmitter74wirelessly or by a wire as the work tool usage information. The transmitter74sends the work tool usage information to the work time management server90.

Other configurations are the same as those in the case of using the photoelectric sensors76A to76E.

Next, the case of using the cameras is described based onFIGS. 9, 10, and 12. Cameras102A,102B,102C,102D, and102E shown inFIG. 12are used instead of the photoelectric sensors76A to76E in the system shown inFIGS. 9 and 10. When the positions of the work tool tables73A to73E in the work areas72A to72E are not fixed, the cameras102A to102E are installed respectively in the work tool tables73A to73E to always capture images of the work tools75A to75E on the work tool tables73A to73E. When the positions of the work tool tables73A to73E in the work areas72A to72E are fixed, the positions of the cameras102A to102E are not limited to the work tool tables73A to73E and may be installed at any positions in the work areas72A to72E from which the images of the work tools75A to75E on the work tool tables73A to73E can be captured.

The cameras102A to102E transmit the captured images of top portions of the work tool tables73A to73E to the transmitter74wirelessly or by a wire. The transmitter74transmits the images to the work time management server90. The work time management server90performs image processing such as background subtraction on the images and thereby determines whether the work tools75A to75E have disappeared from the work tool tables73A to73E (i.e. the work tools75A to75E are used by the workers77). The work time management server90can obtain the work tool usage information by determining whether the work tools75A to75E have disappeared from the work tool tables73A to73E (image processing means). Alternatively, the configuration may be such that the cameras102A to102E perform the image processing to obtain the work tool usage information (image processing means) and the obtained work tool usage information is transmitted to the work time management server90via the transmitter74.

Other configurations are the same as those in the case of using the photoelectric sensors76A to76E.

Next, the case of using the RFID tags and the RFID readers is described based onFIGS. 9, 10, and 13. RFID tags103A,103B,103C,103D, and103E and RFID readers104A,104B,104C,104D, and104E shown inFIG. 13are used instead of the photoelectric sensors76A to76E in the system shown inFIGS. 9 and 10. The RFID tags103A to103E are provided respectively in the work tools75A to75E and pieces of identification information of the work tools75A to75E are recorded respectively in the RFID tags103A to103E. The RFID readers104A to104E are installed respectively in the work areas72A to72E. Moreover, the workers77may carry RFID readers (not illustrated).

When using the work tools75A to75E, the workers77bring the RFID tags103A to103E close to the RFID readers104A to104E or to the RFID readers which they carry. The RFID readers104A to104E or the RFID readers which they carry thereby read the identification information recorded in the RFID tags103A to103E and thus transmit the read identification information to the transmitter74wirelessly or by a wire as the work tool usage information. The transmitter74transmits the work tool usage information to the work time management server90.

Other configurations are the same as those in the case of using the photoelectric sensors76A to76E.

Next, the case of using the piezoelectric sensors is described based onFIGS. 9, 10, and 14. Piezoelectric sensors105A,105B,105C,105D, and105E shown inFIG. 14are used instead of the photoelectric sensors76A to76E in the system shown inFIGS. 9 and 10. The piezoelectric sensors105A to105E are provided respectively in the work tool tables73A to73E in such a way that the loads of the work tools75A to75E act on the piezoelectric sensors105A to105E when the work tools75A to75E are placed on the work tool tables73A to73E.

Accordingly, when the workers77pick up the work tools75A to75E from the work tool tables73A to73E to use the work tools75A to75E, the loads of the work tools75A to75E do not act on the piezoelectric sensors105A to105E. Hence, the piezoelectric sensors105A to105E detect that the work tools75A to75E are picked up (used) from the work tool tables73A to73E by the workers77and work tool detection signals are transmitted to the transmitter74wirelessly or by a wire as the work tool usage information. The transmitter74transmits the work tool usage information to the work time management server90.

Other configurations are the same as those in the case of using the photoelectric sensors76A to76E.

As described above, the standard work time updating system of Embodiment 4 is a standard work time updating system having a configuration in which the workers77declare the work time points of the work contents performed by the workers77in the work areas72A to72E in the station71by using the declaring means (PDAs78) and the standard work times of the respective work contents are updated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers77, characterized in that the system includes the reliability determination means (reliability determination unit94) for determining whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers77each deviate from the predetermined range (range of ±3σ) in the distribution of work time data of a corresponding one of the work contents which is stored in a database, when determining that none of the work times (declared work times) deviate from the predetermined range, the reliability determination means updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times of the work contents calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers77, and when determining that any of the work times (declared work times) deviates from the predetermined range, the reliability determination means does not update the standard work time of the relevant work content. Accordingly, the workers77can make declaration without an observer or a classifier. In addition, when a false or erroneous declaration is made by the workers77, the system can find out this declaration and cancel the update of the standard work time. This prevents the update of the standard work times on the basis of the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work times is improved.

In addition, as described above, the standard work time updating system of Embodiment 4 is a standard work time updating system having a configuration in which the workers77declare the work time points of the work contents performed by the workers77in the work areas72A to72E in the station71by using the declaring means (PDAs78) and the standard work times of the respective work contents are updated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers77, characterized in that the system includes the reliability determination means (reliability determination unit94) for determining whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers77each deviate from the predetermined range (range of ±3σ) in the distribution of work time data of a corresponding one of the work contents which is stored in a database, when determining that none of the work times (declared work times) deviate from the predetermined range, the reliability determination means updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers77, and when determining that any of the work times (declared work times) deviates from the predetermined range, the reliability determination means updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers77, exclusive of the work time determined to deviate from the predetermined range. Accordingly, the workers77can make declaration without an observer or a classifier. In addition, when a false or erroneous declaration is made by the workers77, the system can find out this declaration and update the standard work times after excluding the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. This prevents the update of the standard work times on the basis of the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work times is improved.

Moreover, the standard work time updating system of Embodiment 4 is a standard work time updating system having a configuration in which the workers77declare the work time points of the work contents performed by the workers77in the work areas72A to72E in the station71by using the declaring means (PDAs78) and the standard work times of the respective work contents are updated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers77, characterized in that the system includes the reliability determination means (reliability determination unit94) for determining whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers77each exceed from the predetermined value (+3σ) in the distribution of work time data of a corresponding one of the work contents which is stored in a database, when determining that none of the work times (declared work times) exceed from the predetermined value, the reliability determination means updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers77, and when determining that any of the work times (declared work times) exceeds from the predetermined value, the reliability determination means does not update the standard work times of the work contents. Accordingly, the workers77can make declaration without an observer or a classifier. In addition, when a false or erroneous declaration is made by the workers77, the system can find out this declaration and update the standard work times after excluding the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. This prevents the update of the standard work times on the basis of the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work times is improved.

Furthermore, the standard work time updating system of Embodiment 4 is a standard work time updating system having a configuration in which the workers77declare the work time points of the work contents performed by the workers77in the work areas72A to72E in the station11by using the declaring means (PDAs78) and the standard work times of the respective work contents are updated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers77, characterized in that the system includes the reliability determination means (reliability determination unit94) for determining whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers77each exceed from a predetermined value (+3σ) in the distribution of work time data of a corresponding one of the work contents which is stored in a database, when determining that none of the work times (declared work times) exceed from the predetermined value, the reliability determination means updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers77, and when determining that any of the work times (declared work times) exceeds from the predetermined value, the reliability determination means updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers77, exclusive of the work time determined to exceed the predetermined value. Accordingly, the workers77can make declaration without an observer or a classifier. In addition, when a false or erroneous declaration is made by the workers77, the system can find out this declaration and update the standard work times after excluding the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. This prevents the update of the standard work times on the basis of the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work times is improved.

Moreover, the standard work time updating system of Embodiment 4 is a standard work time updating system having a configuration in which the workers77declare the work time points of the work contents performed by the workers77in the work areas72A to72E in the station71by using the declaring means (PDAs78) and the standard work times of the respective work contents are updated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers77, characterized in that the system includes the update processing means (reliability determination unit94) for calculating the standard work times on the basis of the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers77and the work times of the work contents which are stored in the database, and thereby updating the standard work times of the work contents to the calculated standard work times. In this system, even when there is data having a low reliability in the declared work time data of the workers77, it is possible to reduce the effect of the declared work time data having a low reliability on the update data of the standard work times. This is because the standard work times are calculated by using not only the declared work time data but also the work time data stored in the database. This prevents (reduces) deterioration in reliability of the update data of the standard work times which is caused by the declared data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work times is improved.

Furthermore, the standard work time updating system of Embodiment 4 is a standard work time updating system having a configuration in which the workers77declare the work time points of the work contents performed by the workers77in the work areas72A to72E in the station71by using the declaring means (PDAs78) and the standard work times of the respective work contents are updated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers77, characterized in that the system includes: the work content identification means (photoelectric sensors76A to76E and work area identification unit93) for identifying the work content performed by each of the workers77; and the reliability determination means (reliability determination unit94) for determining whether the identified work contents identified by the work content identification means coincide with the declared work contents declared by the workers77by use of the declaring means, when determining that the identified work contents coincide with the declared work contents, the reliability determination means updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers77, and when determining that any of the identified work contents does not coincide with a corresponding one of the declared work contents, the reliability determination means does not update the standard work time of the relevant work content. Accordingly, the workers77can make declaration without an observer or a classifier. In addition, when a false or erroneous declaration is made by the workers77, the system can find out this declaration and cancel the update of the standard work time. This prevents the update of the standard work times on the basis of the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work times is improved.

In addition, the standard work time updating system of Embodiment 4 is a standard work time updating system having a configuration in which the workers77declare the work time points of the work contents performed by the workers77in the work areas72A to72E in the station71by using the declaring means (PDAs78) and the standard work times of the respective work contents are updated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers77, characterized in that the system includes: the work content identification means (photoelectric sensors76A to76E and work area identification unit93) for identifying the work content performed by each of the workers77; and the reliability determination means (reliability determination unit94) for determining whether the identified work contents identified by the work content identification means coincide with the declared work contents declared by the workers77by use of the declaring means, when determining that the identified work contents coincide with the declared work contents, the reliability determination means updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers77, and when determining that any of the identified work contents does not coincide with a corresponding one of the declared work contents, the reliability determination means updates the standard work times of the work contents to the standard work times calculated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers77, exclusive of the work time for which the identified work content does not coincide with the declared work content. Accordingly, the workers77can make declaration without an observer or a classifier. In addition, when a false or erroneous declaration is made by the workers77, the system can find out this declaration and update the standard work times after excluding the declaration data of the work times having a low reliability. This prevents the update of the standard work times on the basis of the declaration data of the work time having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work times is improved.

Moreover, the standard work time updating system of Embodiment 4 is characterized in that the work content identification means includes: the work tool usage information acquisition means (photoelectric sensors76A to76E) for acquiring the work tool usage information by detecting the work tools75A to75E used by the workers77; and the work area identification unit93configured to identify the work contents performed by the workers77on the basis of the work tool usage information from the work tool usage information acquisition means. Accordingly, the work contents of work performed by the workers77can be surely identified with a simple configuration. Moreover, since it is possible to know the usage states of the work tools75A to75E, whether the work tools75A to75E are put away can be also determined.

Furthermore, the standard work time updating system of Embodiment 4 is characterized in that the work tool usage information acquisition means is the photoelectric sensors76A to76E which are installed in the work tool tables73A to73E installed in the work areas72A to72E to be capable of detecting the work tools75A to75E placed on the work tool tables73A to73E, and transmits the OFF signals as the work tool usage information, the OFF signals obtained when the work tools75A to75E are picked up from the work tool tables73A to73E by the workers77. Accordingly, the work tool usage information can be surely obtained with a simple configuration. Moreover, since it is possible to know the usage states of the work tools75A to75E, whether the work tools75A to75E are put away can be also determined.

Alternatively, the standard work time updating system of Embodiment 4 is characterized in that the work tool usage information acquisition means is the electric power meters101A to101E configured to measure the power consumptions of the work tools75A to75E and transmit the measured signals of the power consumption as the work tool usage information. Accordingly, the work tool usage information can be surely obtained with a simple configuration. Moreover, since it is possible to know the usage states of the work tools75A to75E, whether the work tools75A to75E are put away can be also determined.

Alternatively, the standard work time updating system of Embodiment 4 is characterized in that the work tool usage information acquisition means includes: the cameras102A to102E installed to be capable of capturing the images of the work tools75A to75E on the work tool tables73A to73E installed in the work areas72A to72E; and the image processing means (work time management server90or cameras102A to102E) for determining whether the work tools75A to75E have disappeared from the work tool tables73A to73E by performing image processing on the images captured by the cameras102A to102E and for obtaining the work tool usage information by determining whether the work tools75A to75E have disappeared from the work tool tables73A to73E. Accordingly, the work tool usage information can be surely obtained with a simple configuration. Moreover, since it is possible to know the usage states of the work tools75A to75E, whether the work tools75A to75E are put away can be also determined.

Alternatively, the standard work time updating system of Embodiment 4 is characterized in that the work tool usage information acquisition means includes; the RFID tags103A to103E provided in the work tools75A to75E; and the RFID readers104A to104E configured to read the records in the RFID tags103A to103E and transmit the information of the read records as the work tool usage information. Accordingly, the work tool usage information can be surely obtained with a simple configuration. Moreover, since it is possible to know the usage states of the work tools75A to75E, whether the work tools75A to75E are put away can be also determined.

Alternatively, the standard work time updating system of Embodiment 4 is characterized in that the work tool usage information acquisition means is the piezoelectric sensors105A to105E provided in the work tool tables73A to73E installed in the work areas72A to72E in such a way that the loads of the work tools75A to75E act on the piezoelectric sensors105A to105E when the work tools73A to73E are placed on the work tool tables73A to73E, the piezoelectric sensors105A to105E configured to detect that the work tools73A to73E are picked up from the work tool tables73A to73E by the workers77and transmit the work tool detection signal as the work tool usage information. Accordingly, the work tool usage information can be surely obtained with a simple configuration. Moreover, since it is possible to know the usage states of the work tools75A to75E, whether the work tools75A to75E are put away can be also determined.

Moreover, the standard work time updating system of Embodiment 4 is a standard work time updating system having a configuration in which the workers77declare the work time points of the work contents performed by the workers77in the work areas72A to72E in the station71by using the declaring means (PDAs78) and the standard work times of the respective work contents are updated based on the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers77, characterized in that the system includes: the multiple reliability determination means (first, second, and fourth reliability determination means) for determining whether the work times obtained from the work time points of the work contents which are declared by the workers77are reliable; and the update processing means (reliability determination unit94) for calculating the standard work times by performing the weight average calculation on the average values of the work times subjected to the reliability determination by the multiple reliability determination means and updating the standard work times of the work contents to the calculated standard work times, and, when any of the work times is determined to be unreliable by any of the multiple reliability determination means, the update processing means performs the weighted average calculation with the weighting factor being set to 0, the weighting factor being one for the average value of the work times subjected to the reliability determination by the any reliability determination means. Accordingly, the workers77can make declaration without an observer or a classifier. In addition, when a false or erroneous declaration is made by the workers77, the system can find out this declaration by any of the multiple reliability determination means and update the standard work times after excluding the declared data of the work times having a low reliability. This prevents the update of the standard work times on the basis of the declaration data of the work time point having a low reliability. Hence, the reliability of the update data of the standard work times is improved.

The aforementioned method of calculating the standard work times (update data) by using the weighted average can be applied to the case of using the third determination means described in Embodiments 1 to 3 in addition to the first, second, fourth reliability determination means. Moreover, the aforementioned method of calculating the standard work times (update data) by using the weighted average can be applied to the case where reliability determination means other than the first to fourth reliability determination means is used.

Moreover, although the work time management server performs the standard work time calculation, the work area identification, the work content identification, and the reliability determination in Embodiments 1 to 4, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, these operations may be performed in a personal computer other than the work time management server or a PDA.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The present invention is related to a standard work time updating method and a standard work time updating system for updating standard work times of workers and can be applied to a computer-assisted work analyzing apparatus which is used in the field of industrial engineering to perform a work analysis and a movement analysis of objects, for example.

EXPLANATION OF THE REFERENCE NUMERALS