PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE SUPPORT SYSTEM AND PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE SUPPORT METHOD

A preventive maintenance support system 1 includes a CPU 10 and a memory unit 11. The CPU 10 causes a display unit 14 to display a timing chart for displaying a timing at which inventory of components included in a product increases or decreases, a timing at which the components are stocked at a manufacturing site of the product, and a necessary inventory timing at which the components are replaced for preventive maintenance of the product.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO PRIOR APPLICATION

This application relates to and claim the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2021-47394 filed on Mar. 22, 2021 the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to a preventive maintenance support system and a preventive maintenance support method.

In the predictive diagnosis, faults are prevented from occurring in advance by performing appropriate diagnosis in accordance with changes in state of apparatuses or components by maintenance service know-how or data mining (operation information, a past fault history, or the like output daily from apparatuses or products), and thus it can be expected that it will be possible to avoid losses due to operation stop or an improvement in an operative rate through predictive detection.

Considering “preventive maintenance” through the predictive diagnosis, a replacement component when predictive sign is detected has to be taken into account similarly to occurrence of faults. When replacement components are secured, it is necessary to take consideration so that there is no influence on manufacturing while being conscious of a lead time such as a deadline (it is necessary to secure the replacement components apart from manufacturing).

When replacement arises, it is necessary to determine an optimum replacement time (Field Change (FC)) while considering a situation in which a component of each apparatus is mounted during operation, an operation period, or the like. When components are secured, maintenance inventories or manufacturing inventories are also used for the meantime. However, it causes “pre-use of a manufacturing demand,” so, it is necessary to proceed with working and securing of replacement components appropriately in “preventive maintenance” while observing a demand for manufacturing components and manipulating the number of purchase orders.

As a system supporting the above-described preventive maintenance, for example, an information processing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2018-173793 is known. The information processing apparatus in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2018-173793 “specifies a maintenance working target product based on fault information of the product and predicts occurrence of faults of components of the maintenance working target product, and then determines priorities for the maintenance working in accordance with faults of which occurrence is predicted in components in which occurrence of the faults is predicted and adjusts a schedule of maintenance working of the specified target product in accordance with the priorities and dates on which components in which occurrence of faults is predicted will be able to be obtained.”

In the above-described information processing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2018-173793, however, a schedule of maintenance working of components of which occurrence of a fault is predicted is merely adjusted and coordination of a manufacturing schedule of a product manufactured using the components has not been taken into consideration.

The present invention has been devised in view of the foregoing problems and an objective of the present invention is to provide a preventive maintenance support system and a preventive maintenance support method capable of sufficiently achieving coordination with a manufacturing schedule.

SUMMARY

To solve the above-described problems, according to an aspect of the present invention, a preventive maintenance support system includes a processor and a storage unit. The processor causes a display apparatus to display a timing chart for displaying timings at which inventories of components included in a product will increase or decrease, timings at which the components will be received at a manufacturing site of the product, and a necessary inventory timing at which the components are will be able to be replaced for preventive maintenance of the product.

According to the present invention, it is possible to realize a preventive maintenance support system and a preventive maintenance support method capable of sufficiently achieving coordination with a manufacturing schedule.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiments to be described below do not limit the invention of the claims, and not all the elements described in the embodiments or all combinations of the elements are requisites for solutions of the present invention.

In the drawings used to describe an embodiment, similar reference numerals are given to portions with similar functions and repeated description thereof will be omitted.

In the following description, an expression of “xxx data” is used as an example of information in some cases, but any data structure of information may be used. That is, to express that information does not depend on a data structure, “xxx data” can be referred to as an “x×x table.” Further, “xxx data” can also be referred to as simply “xxx.” In the following description, a configuration of each piece of information is exemplary and information may be stored by being separated from or combined with each other.

In the following description, processing will be described using a “program” serving as a subject in some cases. However, the program is executed by a processor (for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit)) so that given processing is performed using storage resources (for example, a memory) and/or a communication interface device (for example, a port) appropriately. Therefore, a subject of the processing may be a program. Processing described using the program as a subject may be processing performed by a processor or a computer that includes a processor.

To solve the foregoing problems, for example, a preventive maintenance support system according to the embodiment unitarily ascertains information (aggregates information) of an apparatus, such as operation information or manufacturing information (mounting information) of other customers, various kinds of inventory information (maintenance and manufacturing), and purchase information (arrival and ordering) in addition to QA knowledge or operative information (health information) used for diagnosis using predictive signs, and determines an optimum execution time of replacement working (FC (Field Change)) performed after predictive sign detection.

In a general maintenance management system, there is a problem that it is difficult to create a replacement plan including securing of components because manufacturing information (mounted component information) of an apparatus (a product) and operation information of maintenance are not sufficiently coordinated and it may be difficult to ascertain all operation statuses (numbers, locations, and times) of components. In addition, on a purchase side, it may be difficult to make predictions for demands regarding preventive maintenance, such as the demand for components based on operation information or predictive sign detection, and on a business site there are concerns regarding the amount or remaining shelving when ordering the number of components expected to be added for the manufacturing (for preventive maintenance). In addition, systems or management (maintenance, manufacturing, and purchase) are each independent, and thus there is a probability of mutual coordination being not sufficiently achieved.

In the preventive maintenance support system according to the embodiment, purchasing can be handled based on a replacement schedule and an inventory (maintenance and manufacturing) status and replacement work can be planned based on the influence on manufacturing. Further, the influence on other customers can be estimated and such influences can be minimized.

FIG. 1is a diagram illustrating a preventive maintenance support system and peripheral systems according to an embodiment.

A preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment coordinates with a production and process control system2, a development system3, a purchase system4, and a QA system5located at a development site to acquire various kinds of information regarding these systems2to5and perform a preventive maintenance support operation.

A preventive maintenance target of the preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment is a storage system (in the drawing, abbreviated to a “storage”)6provided in a location of a customer in the example illustrated inFIG. 1. In the storage system6, maintenance management and operation monitoring are performed daily or periodically by a maintenance management and operation monitoring system7located in a maintenance company. The preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment also acquires various kinds of information regarding the storage system6and the maintenance management and operation monitoring system7and performs a preventive maintenance support operation.

The preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment is manipulated mainly by an operator located in the maintenance company, and can also be manipulated by an operator located at the development site if necessary.

All the various kinds of information illustrated inFIG. 1are not requisites of the preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment.

FIG. 2is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration of the preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment.

The preventive maintenance support system1illustrated inFIG. 2is an apparatus capable of performing various kinds of information processing and is, for example, an information processing apparatus such as a computer. The preventive maintenance support system1includes a processor10typified by a CPU and a memory unit11and further includes an external storage unit13, a display unit14, a manipulation unit15, and a communication unit16via an internal I/F (interface)12. Further, the preventive maintenance support system1performs communication with the various systems2to7illustrated inFIG. 1via the external I/F17.

The processor10is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or the like. The memory unit11includes, for example, a magnetic storage medium such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or a semiconductor storage medium such as a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), or an SSD (Solid State Drive). A combination of an optical disc such as a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) and of an optical disc drive is also used as a memory. In addition, a known storage medium such as a magnetic tape medium is also used as a memory.

The memory unit11stores a program such as a firmware. When an operation of the preventive maintenance support system1starts (for example, power is supplied), the program such as firmware is read from the memory and is executed to control the entire preventive maintenance support system1. The memory unit11stores data or the like necessary for each processing of the preventive maintenance support system1in addition to the program.

The preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment may be configured by a so-called cloud configured so that a plurality of information processing apparatuses can communicate with each other via a communication network.

The memory unit11of the preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment stores a various-kinds-of-information acquisition program20, an acquired information listing program21, an acquired information collection program22, a timing chart display program23, a timing chart calculation program24, and a time window display program25as programs and realizes functional units corresponding to the programs by executing the programs. Functions performed by functional units corresponding to the programs will be described later in detail. A summary of the functions will be described below.

The various-kinds-of-information acquisition program20acquires information necessary for an operation of the preventive maintenance support system1from the above-described various systems2to7. The acquired information listing program21lists information acquired by the various-kinds-of-information acquisition program20. The acquired information collection program22collects the information listed by the acquired information listing program21. The timing chart display program23causes the display unit14to display a timing chart. The timing chart calculation program24performs various calculations necessary to display timing charts based on various management tables26stored in the preventive maintenance support system1. The time window display program25causes the display unit14to display a time window by superimposing the time window on a timing chart.

The memory unit11of the preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment stores the various management tables26. The details of the various management tables26will be described below in detail.

The external storage unit13stores various kinds of information like the memory unit11. The external storage unit13is a storage medium that has a storage capacity larger than the memory unit11and includes, for example, a magnetic storage medium such as an HDD or a semiconductor storage medium such as an SSD (Solid State Drive). The display unit14is, for example, a liquid crystal display and displays various kinds of information based on instructions from the processor10(which is a functional unit realized by executing various kinds of programs stored in the memory unit11). The various kinds of information displayed by the display unit14include a timing chart and a time window. The manipulation unit15includes, for example, an input device such as a keyboard or a mouse, accepts an operation input from an operator of the preventive maintenance support system1and outputs an input signal based on the operation input. The communication unit16performs communication with the various systems2to7via the external I/F17.

Next, details of the various management tables26stored in the memory unit11of the preventive maintenance support system1will be described with reference toFIGS. 3 to 16.

FIG. 3is a diagram illustrating a customer operation status table of the preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment.

A customer operation status table100illustrated inFIG. 3is a table indicating an operation status of a component (part) in the storage system6installed for a customer and has, as entries, an apparatus manufacturing number101, a part number (#)102, a lot number103, a number104, an operation start105, an operation period106, a customer's name107, and a site-in-charge108.

The apparatus manufacturing number101is an apparatus manufacturing number of the storage system6installed for the customer. The part number102is a component (part) number included in the storage system6. The lot number103is a lot number of a part included in the storage system6. The number104is the number of parts included in the storage system6. The operation start105is a start date of operation of a part included in the storage system6. The operation period106is an operation period of a part included in the storage system6. The customer's name107is a name of a customer that retains the storage system6. The site-in-charge108is a name of a site at which maintenance of the storage system6is in charge.

FIG. 4is a diagram illustrating a maintenance component inventory table of the preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment.

A maintenance component inventory table110illustrated inFIG. 4is a table indicating an inventory status of components at a site of a maintenance company and has, as entries, a part number (#)111, a lot number112, the inventory number113, and a site114.

The part number111is a component (part) number in stock. The lot number112is a lot number of a part, an inventory number113is the number of parts in an inventory, and the site114is a name of a site in which the parts are in stock.

FIG. 5is a diagram illustrating an arrival status table of the preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment.

An arrival status table120illustrated inFIG. 5is a table indicating an arrival status of a part at a site of a maintenance company and has, as entries, a part number121, a arrival number122, a lot number123, and a status124.

The part number121is a part number included in the storage system6, the arrival number122is the number of arrived parts, the lot number123is a lot number of a part, and the status124is a status of the part.

FIG. 6is a diagram illustrating an ordering status table of the preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment.

An ordering status table130illustrated inFIG. 6is a table indicating an ordering status of a part at the site of the maintenance company and has, as entries, a part number131, an ordering number132, and a supply schedule133.

The part number131is a part number which is ordered, the ordering number132is the number of ordered parts which have been ordered, and the supply schedule133is a schedule date on which a part will be supplied.

FIG. 7is a diagram illustrating a lead time and price information table of the preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment.

A lead time price information table140illustrated inFIG. 7is a table indicating a lead time and price information of a part ordered from the maintenance company and has, as entries, a part number141, a lead time142, and a price143.

The part number141is a part number which is ordered, the lead time142is a number of days from ordering to arrival of a part (a lead time), and the price143is a price of the part.

FIG. 8is a diagram illustrating a component list of the preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment.

A component list150illustrated inFIG. 8is a list of components of an assembly product, that is, an intermediate product manufactured by externally purchasing the components and assembling components in an own company (a development site) and is generated for each intermediate product. For the component list150, a number151of an intermediate product is attached as an index. The component list150has, as entries, a part number152, a part name153, and a number154.

The part number152is a part number included in the intermediate product, the part name153is a name of a part, and the number154is the number of parts necessary to finish the intermediate product.

FIG. 9is a diagram illustrating a component inventory table of the preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment.

A component inventory table160illustrated inFIG. 9is a table indicating an inventory status of components at the development site and has, as entries, a part number161, a lot number162, and an inventory number163.

The part number161is a part number, the lot number162is a lot number of a part, and the inventory number163is the number of parts in an inventory at the development site.

FIG. 10is a diagram illustrating a traceability information table of the preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment.

A traceability information table170illustrated inFIG. 10is a table related to traceability of parts included in a product (mounted in the product) and has, as entries, a part number171, a lot number172, a mounting number173, and a defect rate174.

The part number171is a part number, the lot number is a lot number of a part, the mounting number173is a total number (mounting number) of parts mounted in the product, and the defect rate174is a defect rate for an individual part.

FIG. 11is a diagram illustrating a finished Assy product and inventory table of the preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment.

A finished Assy product and inventory table180illustrated inFIG. 11is a table indicating a finished inventory status of an Assy product (intermediate product) at the development site and has, as entries, a part number181, a lot number182, and an inventory number183.

The part number181is an intermediate product number, the lot number is a lot number of the intermediate product, and the inventory number183is the number of intermediate products in an inventory at the development site.

FIG. 12is a diagram illustrating a delivery schedule table of the preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment.

A delivery schedule table190illustrated inFIG. 12is a table indicating a delivery schedule of parts (that is, delivery of parts as a manufacturing demand) necessary to manufacture the product at the development site and has, as entries, a part number191, a delivery schedule date192, a delivery number193, and a lot number194.

The part number191is a part number necessary to manufacture the product, the delivery schedule date192is a delivery schedule date of parts from an external manufacturer, the delivery number193is a delivery number of parts from the external manufacturer, and the lot number194is a lot number of the part.

FIG. 13is a diagram illustrating an assembly lead time table of the preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment.

An assembly lead time table200illustrated inFIG. 13is a table indicating a lead time related to assembly of the intermediate product at the development site and has, as entries, a part number201, a lead time202, an Assy diagram203, and a diagram number204.

The part number201is an intermediate product number, the lead time202is a lead time taken until the components are manufactured as the intermediate product, the Assy diagram203is a diagram number necessary to assemble the intermediate product, and the diagram number204is a revision number of the diagram.

FIG. 14is a diagram illustrating a mounting schedule table of the preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment.

A mounting schedule table210illustrated inFIG. 14is a table indicating an assembly schedule (a mounting schedule) of the intermediate product at the development site and has, as entries, a part number211, a production schedule date212, a production number213, and a lot number214.

The part number211is an intermediate product number, the production schedule date212is a production schedule date of the intermediate product, the production number213is a production (schedule) number of intermediate products on the production schedule date212, and the lot number is a lot number of the intermediate product.

FIG. 15is a diagram illustrating an assembly input schedule table of the preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment.

An assembly input schedule table220illustrated inFIG. 15is a table indicating an input schedule (a manufacturing demand for the intermediate product) of the intermediate product necessary to assemble the product at the development site and has, as entries, a part number221, a delivery schedule date222, a delivery number223, and a lot number224.

The part number221is an intermediate product number, the delivery schedule date222is a delivery schedule date of the intermediate product, the delivery number223is a delivery (schedule) number of the intermediate product on the delivery schedule date222, and the lot number is a lot number of the intermediate product.

FIG. 16is a diagram illustrating a customer priority table of the preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment.

A customer priority table230illustrated inFIG. 16is a table indicating priority for customers for whom the storage system6is installed and has, as entries, an ID231, a priority232, and the number of operated apparatuses233.

The ID231is an ID of a customer, the priority232is priority of preventive maintenance for the customer identified with the ID231, and the number of operated apparatuses233is the number of operated storage systems6installed for the customers specified with the IDs231.

Next, an overview of an operation of the preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment will be described with reference toFIGS. 17 to 23using timing charts and time windows displayed on the display unit14of the preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment.

FIG. 17is a diagram illustrating an example of a timing chart of the preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment.

A timing chart300illustrated inFIG. 17is displayed on the display unit14of the preventive maintenance support system1. An example illustrated inFIG. 17is a timing chart when components are purchased externally and the components are assembled at the development site to manufacture a product. A timing chart when an intermediate product is assembled at the development site and the product is further manufactured will be described later.

In the timing chart300, a time axis301is displayed in a direction oriented in the longitudinal direction of the drawing (a horizontal direction). The time axis301is displayed in units of weeks and a current date corresponds to a week of 9/29 to 10/6 in the example of the drawing. A dashed line302indicating a partition of the week is displayed in the transverse direction of the drawing (the vertical direction).

In the timing chart300, blocks303,304, and305indicating a preventive maintenance timing, a timing at which a product is manufactured using the components, and a timing at which the components are purchased are displayed in units of weeks on the time axis301.

The details of legends of the blocks303to305will be described later. When described in brief, the block303indicating a preventive maintenance timing represents that components for preventive maintenance are replaced at this timing and component inventory decreases due to replacement of the components. Accordingly, the block303indicates a demand for the components. The block304indicating the timing at which the product is manufactured represents that the product is manufactured using components at the development site and the component inventory decreases due to manufacturing of the product. Accordingly, the block304also indicates a demand for the components. The block305indicating the timing at which the components are purchased represents that the components arrive at the development site and the component inventory increases due to the arrival of the components. Accordingly, the block305indicates a supply of the components.

In the timing chart300, a time window306for determining a timing at which components are replaced for preventive maintenance is displayed. As will be described in detail below, the time window306can be moved on the time axis301in the units of weeks based on a manipulation input by an operator of the preventive maintenance support system1.

FIG. 18is a diagram illustrating a display example of predictive sign detection and predictive sign assumption in the timing chart300of the preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment.

How display of the timing chart300, in particular, the block303indicating the timing of the preventive maintenance, is changed at the time of movement of the time window306and change in the timing at which the components are replaced for the preventive maintenance will be described with reference toFIG. 18.

In the preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment, it is detected that components on which the preventive maintenance is performed will be replaced for preventive maintenance when a predetermined operation period from start of operation to predictive sign detection has passed. At a timing of the predictive sign detection, the preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment is scheduled to perform the preventive maintenance of a plurality of kinds of components and a plurality of products and actually performs the preventive maintenance, and therefore each component is counted from an operation start period. When the time window306is moved in a direction in which the time axis301passes (that is, the right in the drawing), the timing at which the components are replaced is instructed to be late. As a result, it is determined that component deterioration is in progress.

A display pattern of the block303is changed in accordance with a period from the operation start of the components. For example, as illustrated in the lower part ofFIG. 18, there are three kinds of patterns, a pattern indicating an predictive sign alert (recommendation for replacing the components), a pattern indicating a replacement alert (a standard timing of the component replacement), and a pattern indicating replacement necessity (immediate replacement).

To display the replacement alert and the replacement necessity, the preventive maintenance support system1has two thresholds. That is, when a period from a date indicating a position of the time window306to a date corresponding to the block303exceeds a second threshold, the display of the block303is changed to the replacement necessity. When the period from the date indicating the position of the time window306to the date corresponding to the block303exceeds a first threshold, the display of the block303is changed to the replacement alert. When the period from the date indicating the position of the time window306to the date corresponding to the block303is equal to or smaller than a first threshold, the display of the block303remains in the predictive sign alert. Configuration values of the first and second thresholds can be configured to any values when the configuration value of the second threshold is smaller than the configuration value of the first threshold.

FIG. 19is a diagram illustrating a display example of a group in accordance with customer priority in the timing chart300of the preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment.

The block303indicating the preventive maintenance timing can be grouped based on customer priority configured for each customer, as indicated in the customer priority table230ofFIG. 16. In the example illustrated inFIG. 19, the block303indicating the preventive maintenance timing for the components mounted in the product in which the customer priority is “high” (customer priority232is A or B as an example in the customer priority table230ofFIG. 16) and the block303indicating the preventive maintenance timing for the components mounted in the product in which the customer priority is “low” (that is, the customer priority232is lower than the customer priority of “high”) are displayed in two rows. For each block303, the different time window306is displayed and configured.

For a customer for whom the customer priority is configured to be high, the timing at which the components are replaced can be configured to be preferred. For a customer for whom the customer priority is configured to be low, the timing at which the components are replaced can be configured to be late. In the example illustrated inFIG. 19, the blocks303are all displayed with the predictive sign alert. This stage is a stage in which the replacement of the components is recommended. Therefore, there is no problem although the timing at which the components are replaced is configured to be late.

FIG. 20is a diagram illustrating a display example of a preventive maintenance block in the timing chart300of the preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment.

Although the timing at which the components are replaced for the preventive maintenance is determined by the time window306, a predetermined lead time (LT) is necessary until the components are actually supplied (added to the block305indicating a purchase timing). Accordingly, a timing at which the components are actually replaced is later than the supply of the components. In the preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment, when an ordering period is instructed, a block307indicating a component delivery timing considering the lead time is displayed. Here, it is not necessary for the preventive maintenance support system1to perform an actual ordering operation in cooperation with the purchase system4.

In the preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment, the block303indicating the preventive maintenance timing displayed in the timing chart300is displayed in more details, as illustrated in the lower part ofFIG. 20, when the operator clicks on the block303with the manipulation unit15. That is, the bock303is displayed in a tree and a total sum of the components to be replaced at a time point is superimposed and displayed in the block303which is uppermost stream. Hub sites and total sums of the components for customers belonging to the hub sites are superimposed and displayed downstream.

FIG. 21is a diagram illustrating a legend of each block in the timing chart of the preventive maintenance support system according to the embodiment.

As described above, the components handled in the preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment include components used to manufacture a product by assembling the components (referred to as simplex components inFIG. 21) as they are and components assembled to manufacture an intermediate product (referred to as an Assy product inFIG. 21) so that the intermediate products (and other components as necessary) are assembled to manufacture a product. For the simplex components, a replacement unit in the preventive maintenance is the same as a component purchase unit. For the Assy product, a replacement unit in the preventive maintenance is not the same as a component purchase unit (the intermediate product is replaced in the preventive maintenance).

The inventory includes a maintenance inventory of a maintenance site of a maintenance company and manufacturing inventory of a development site (a manufacturing site). The preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment monitors both the maintenance inventory and the manufacturing inventory. When the components are replaced for the preventive maintenance, the maintenance inventory and the manufacturing inventory can be both used.

For a simplex component, arrival of the simplex component works positively with respect to the inventory number. On the other hand, manufacturing of the product and component replacement for the preventive maintenance work negatively with respect to the inventory number. For the Assy product, manufacturing of the Assy product and manufacturing of the product work positively with respect to the inventory number. On the other hand, the component replacement for the preventive maintenance works negatively with respect to the inventory number.

FIG. 22is a diagram illustrating an example of a change in the timing chart300when the time window306is moved in the preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment.

The timing chart300illustrated inFIG. 22is the timing chart300when preventive maintenance of the simplex components which are components is performed. It is assumed that the operator of the preventive maintenance support system1moves the time window306from the position of the time window306illustrated in the upper part of the drawing in a direction in which the time axis301advances (the right of the drawing) using the manipulation unit15, as illustrated in the lower part of the drawing, to configure the replacement timing of the components based on the preventive maintenance late.

A display position of the block303representing the preventive maintenance timing in the timing chart300is moved to the right of the drawing (that is, the direction in which the time axis301advances) by moving the block from a position of the time window306(indicated by circled number1in the drawing) in the upper part of the drawing to a position of the time window306(indicated by circled number2in the drawing) in the lower part of the drawing. Accordingly, a display pattern of the block303is also changed from an predictive sign alert to a replacement alert.

By moving the position of the time window306in the direction in which the time axis301advances, the component inventory decreases due to the manufacturing of the product (product demand). Conversely, the component inventory increases due to ordering and arrival of the components. The operator can examine and determine the timing at which the components are replaced for the preventive maintenance while viewing a timing at which the display pattern of the block303or the component inventory increases/decreases.

FIG. 23is a diagram illustrating another example of the change in the timing chart300when the time window306is moved in the preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment.

The timing chart300illustrated inFIG. 23is the timing chart300when the preventive maintenance of the Assy product which is a component is performed. Like the case ofFIG. 22, it is assumed that the operator of the preventive maintenance support system1moves the time window306from the position of the time window306illustrated in the upper part of the drawing in a direction in which the time axis301advances (the right of the drawing) using the manipulation unit15, as illustrated in the lower part of the drawing, to configure the replacement timing of the components based on the preventive maintenance late.

A display position of the block303representing the preventive maintenance timing in the timing chart300is moved to the right of the drawing (that is, the direction in which the time axis301advances) by moving the block from a position of the time window306(indicated by circled number1in the drawing) in the upper part of the drawing to a position of the time window306(indicated by circled number2in the drawing) in the lower part of the drawing. Accordingly, a display pattern of the block303is also changed from an predictive sign alert to a replacement alert.

By moving the position of the time window306in the direction in which the time axis301advances, the Assy product inventory decreases due to the manufacturing of the product (product assembly). Conversely, the Assy product inventory increases due to the assembly (board mounting) of the Assy product. The operator can examine and determine the timing at which the components are replaced for the preventive maintenance while viewing a timing at which the display pattern of the block303or the component inventory increases/decreases.

In the preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment, as illustrated inFIG. 20, it is possible to display a block308indicating manufacturing finish of the product (a finished product) considering a lead time from a manufacturing launch date of the Assy product.

Next, operations of the preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts ofFIGS. 24 to 32.

FIG. 24is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operative information checking operation in the preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment.

The flowcharts illustrated inFIGS. 24 and 25are flowcharts for describing an operation in which the preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment checks operative information of the storage system6installed for a customer.

First, the preventive maintenance support system1performs a customer operative information checking operation (S2401). Subsequently, the preventive maintenance support system1performs a maintenance inventory checking operation (S2402).

In the customer operative information checking operation, the preventive maintenance support system1first performs a manufacturing site information checking operation (S2403). The manufacturing site information checking operation is an operation in which the preventive maintenance support system1acquires information regarding preventive maintenance target components of this system1from manufacturing sites. Subsequently, the preventive maintenance support system1acquires a manufacturing number of the apparatus in which the components acquired in S2403are mounted (S2404). The preventive maintenance support system1checks operation statuses in the customer of the apparatus acquired in S2404(S2405). Then, the preventive maintenance support system1lists the operation statuses of the apparatus acquired in S2404(S2406).

FIG. 25is a flowchart illustrating another example of the operative information checking operation in the preventive maintenance support system according to the embodiment.

In the maintenance inventory checking operation, the preventive maintenance support system1first acquires maintenance inventory of the components at the hub site governed by the maintenance company (S2501). Subsequently, the preventive maintenance support system1acquires the maintenance inventory of the components at hub sites except for the hub site governed by the maintenance company (S2502).

Subsequently, the preventive maintenance support system1determines whether target components are from multi-vendors, that is, the target components are supplied from a plurality of vendors (S2503). When it is determined that the components are from the multi-vendors as a result (YES in S2503), the preventive maintenance support system1determines whether the operation of S2501to S2502is performed in all the vendors in S2504. When it is determined that the checking operation is performed in all the vendors (YES in S2504), the operation proceeds to S2505. When it is determined that there is the vendor in which the checking operation has not yet been performed (NO in S2504), the operation returns to S2501and the operation of S2501to S2502is performed in the other vendors. Conversely, when it is determined that the components are supplied from the simplex vendor rather than the multi-vendors in S2503(NO in S2503), the operation proceeds to S2505. In S2505, the preventive maintenance support system1lists the acquired maintenance inventory of the components.

FIG. 26is a flowchart illustrating an example of a manufacturing information checking operation in the preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment.

The flowchart illustrated inFIG. 26is a flowchart for describing an operation in which the preventive maintenance support system1checks various kinds of information regarding preventive maintenance target components in the preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment.

The preventive maintenance support system1performs a manufacturing site information checking operation (S2601). In the manufacturing site information checking operation, the preventive maintenance support system1first determines whether a checking target component is the Assy product or a simplex component (S2602). When it is determined that the checking target component is the Assy product (YES in S2602), the operation proceeds to S2607. When it is determined that the checking target component is the simplex component (NO in S2602), the operation proceeds to S2603.

In S2603, the preventive maintenance support system1acquires component inventory information of the target simplex component. Subsequently, the preventive maintenance support system1acquires delivery schedule information of the target simplex component (S2604).

Subsequently, the preventive maintenance support system1determines whether target simplex components are from multi-vendors, that is, the target simplex components are supplied from a plurality of vendors (S2605). When it is determined that the components are from the multi-vendors as a result (YES in S2605), the operation proceeds to S2606. When it is determined that the components are supplied from the simplex vendor rather than the multi-vendors (NO in S2605), the operation proceeds to S2611.

In S2606, the preventive maintenance support system1determines whether the operation of S2603to S2604is performed in all the vendors. When it is determined that the checking operation is performed in all the vendors (YES in S2606), the operation proceeds to S2611. When it is determined that there is the vendor in which the checking operation has not yet been performed (NO in S2606), the operation returns to S2603and the operation of S2603to S2604is performed in the other vendors.

Conversely, in S2607, the preventive maintenance support system1acquires finish inventory information of the target Assy product. Subsequently, the preventive maintenance support system1acquires assembly input schedule information of the target Assy product (S2608). Further, the preventive maintenance support system1acquires mounting schedule information of the Assy product (S2609). The preventive maintenance support system1acquires assembly lead time information of the Assy product (S2610).

In S2611, the preventive maintenance support system1acquires traceability information of a target component. Then, the preventive maintenance support system1lists the information acquired in the flowchart (S2612).

FIG. 27is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procurement information checking operation in the preventive maintenance support system according to the embodiment.

The flowchart illustrated inFIG. 27is a flowchart for describing an operation in which the preventive maintenance support system1checks a procurement status of preventive maintenance target components in the preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment.

The preventive maintenance support system1performs a procurement information checking operation (S2701). In the procurement information checking operation, the preventive maintenance support system1first determines whether the checking target component is the Assy product or the simplex component (S2702). When it is determined that the checking target component is the Assy product (YES in S2702), the operation proceeds to S2703to acquire a list of the simplex components included in the Assy product. Conversely, when it is determined that the checking target component is the simplex component (NO in S2702), the operation proceeds to S2704.

In S2704, the preventive maintenance support system1acquires information regarding an arrival status of the target components. Subsequently, the preventive maintenance support system1acquires information regarding an ordering status of the target components (S2705). Further, the preventive maintenance support system1acquires information regarding the lead time of the target components (S2706). Then, the preventive maintenance support system1acquires price information of the target components (S2707).

Subsequently, the preventive maintenance support system1determines whether target components are from multi-vendors, that is, the target components are supplied from a plurality of vendors (S2708). When it is determined that the components are from the multi-vendors as a result (YES in S2708), the operation proceeds to S2709. When it is determined that the components are supplied from the simplex vendor rather than the multi-vendors (NO in S2708), the operation proceeds to S2710.

In S2709, the preventive maintenance support system1determines whether the operation of S2704to S2707is performed in all the vendors. When it is determined that the checking operation is performed in all the vendors (YES in S2709), the operation proceeds to S2710. When it is determined that there is the vendor in which the checking operation has not yet been performed (NO in S2709), the operation returns to S2704and the operation of S2704to S2707is performed in the other vendors.

In S2710, the preventive maintenance support system1lists the information acquired in the flowchart.

FIG. 28is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation of displaying the timing chart in the preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment.

Flowcharts illustrated inFIGS. 28 to 30are flowcharts for describing a display operation of the timing chart300and the time window306and an operation of determining a component replacement timing for preventive maintenance based on the display operation.

First, the preventive maintenance support system1performs a timing chart plotting operation (S2801). Subsequently, the preventive maintenance support system1performs a time window manipulating operation and a component replacement period determination operation (S2802).

In the timing chart plotting operation, the preventive maintenance support system1collects the number of components to be replaced for the preventive maintenance of the target components along the time axis301(S2803).

Subsequently, the preventive maintenance support system1determines whether the target component is an Assy product or a simplex component (S2804). When the target component is the Assy product (YES in S2804), the operation proceeds to S2808. When the target component is the simplex component (NO in S2804), the operation proceeds to S2805.

In S2805, the preventive maintenance support system1collects the component inventory number of the target simplex component. Subsequently, the preventive maintenance support system1collects a manufacturing demand number of the target simplex components (S2806). Further, the preventive maintenance support system1collects a purchase (arrived) number of target simplex components (S2807).

On the other hand, in S2808, the preventive maintenance support system1collects the inventory number of target Assy products. Subsequently, the preventive maintenance support system1collects a manufacturing (assembly) demand number of the target Assy product (S2809). Then, the preventive maintenance support system1collects a manufacturing (assembly) demand number of products in which the target Assy product is used (S2810).

The preventive maintenance support system1generates the timing chart300based on the information collected in the flow and causes the display unit14to display the generated timing chart300.

FIG. 29is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation of manipulating a time window in the preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment.

The flowchart illustrated inFIG. 29is a flowchart for describing an operation of manipulating the time window306when a target component is a simplex component.

First, the preventive maintenance support system1temporarily subtracts a number (replacement number) of components instructed to be replaced for the preventive maintenance at a present location at which the time window306is displayed from the inventory of the target simplex components (S2901). Subsequently, the preventive maintenance support system1determines whether the number of components in the inventory subtracted in S2901is equal to or larger than 0 (S2902). When it is determined that the inventory number is equal to or larger than 0 as a determination result (YES in S2902), the operation proceeds to S2903. When it is determined that the inventory number is smaller than 0 (NO in S2902), the operation proceeds to S2911.

In S2903, the preventive maintenance support system1waits for a manipulation input of moving a display position of the time window306(sliding along the time axis301) by the operator using the manipulation unit15. When there is the manipulation input, the display position of the time window306is slid along the time axis301based on the manipulation input. Subsequently, the preventive maintenance support system1performs an alert determination operation (S2904). The details of the alert determination operation will be described later.

Subsequently, with the sliding of the time window306, the preventive maintenance support system1determines whether the display position of the time window306has passed the block304related to the product manufacturing timing (S2905). When it is determined that the display position of the time window306has passed the block304(YES in S2905), the operation proceeds to S2906. When it is determined that the display position of the time window306has not yet passed the block304(NO in S2905), the operation proceeds to S2907. In S2906, the preventive maintenance support system1subtracts the component inventory number.

Subsequently, with the sliding of the time window306, the preventive maintenance support system1determines whether the display position of the time window306has passed the block305related to the component purchase timing (S2907). When it is determined that the display position of the time window306has passed the block305(YES in S2907), the operation proceeds to S2908. When it is determined that the display position of the time window306has not yet passed the block305(NO in S2907), the operation proceeds to S2909. In S2908, the preventive maintenance support system1adds the component inventory number.

In S2909, the preventive maintenance support system1determines whether the component inventory number of the adds/subtracts result is equal to or larger than 0. When it is determined that the inventory number is equal to or larger than 0 (YES in S2909) as a determination result, the operation proceeds to S2910. When it is determined that the inventory number is smaller than 0 (NO in S2909), the operation proceeds to S2911.

In S2910, the preventive maintenance support system1performs a replacement determination operation. The details of the replacement determination operation will be described later.

On the other hand, in S2911, the preventive maintenance support system1informs the operator of non-permission of the component replacement through the display unit14.

FIG. 30is a flowchart illustrating another example of the operation of manipulating a time window in the preventive maintenance support system according to the embodiment.

The flowchart illustrated inFIG. 30is a flowchart for describing an operation of manipulating the time window306when a target component is the Assy product. Most of the operation illustrated in the flowchart ofFIG. 30is common to the operation described in the flowchart ofFIG. 29. Therefore, only differences will be described.

An operation in steps of S3001to S3004are common to the operation in steps of S2901to S2904ofFIG. 29.

With the sliding of the time window306, the preventive maintenance support system1determines whether the display position of the time window306has passed the block related to the mounting supply (that is, assembly of the Assy product) timing (S3005). When it is determined that the display position of the time window306has passed the block (YES in S3005), the operation proceeds to S3006. When it is determined that the display position of the time window306has not yet passed the block (NO in S3005), the operation proceeds to S3007. In S3006, the preventive maintenance support system1adds the component inventory number.

Subsequently, with the sliding of the time window306, the preventive maintenance support system1determines whether the display position of the time window306has passed the block related to the manufacturing demand (that is, the product manufacturing) timing (S3007). When it is determined that the display position of the time window306has passed the block (YES in S3007), the operation proceeds to S3008. When it is determined that the display position of the time window306has not yet passed the block (NO in S3007), the operation proceeds to S3009. In S3008, the preventive maintenance support system1subtracts the component inventory number.

An operation in steps of S3010to S3011are common to the operation in steps of S2910to S2911ofFIG. 29.

FIG. 31is a flowchart illustrating an example of an alert determination and replacement determination operation in the preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment.

The flowchart illustrated inFIG. 31is a flowchart for describing the details of the alert determination operation of S2904and S3004and the replacement determination operation of S2910and S3010in the flowcharts ofFIGS. 29 and 30.

First, the preventive maintenance support system1determines whether a period from a date corresponding to the position of the time window306to a date corresponding to the block303exceeds a second threshold (S3101). When it is determined that the period exceeds the second threshold (YES in S3101), the operation proceeds to S3105. When it is determined that the period is equal to or smaller than the second threshold (NO in S3101), the operation proceeds to S3102.

Subsequently, the preventive maintenance support system1determines whether the period from the date corresponding to the position of the time window306to the date corresponding to the block303exceeds the first threshold (S3102). When it is determined that the period exceeds the first threshold (YES in S3102), the operation proceeds to S3104. When it is determined that the period is equal to or smaller than the first threshold (NO in S3102), the operation proceeds to S3103.

In S3103, the preventive maintenance support system1maintains the display of the block303in the predictive sign alert. In S3104, the preventive maintenance support system1changes the display of the block303to the replacement alert. In S3105, the preventive maintenance support system1changes the display of the block303to replacement necessity. Then, the preventive maintenance support system1switches the display of the block303(S3106).

Further, the preventive maintenance support system1determines whether there is an instruction to replace the components for the preventive maintenance from the operator performing a manipulation input (S3107). When it is determined that there is the instruction to replace the components (YES in S3107), the operation proceeds to S3108. When it is determined that there is no instruction to replace the components (NO in S3107), the operation ends.

In S3108, the preventive maintenance support system1fixes the blocks303to305displayed in the timing chart300to the present position at a present time point. Further, the preventive maintenance support system1moves the position of the time window306to the subsequent blocks303to305(S3109).

FIG. 32is a flowchart illustrating an example of an additional component necessity date determination operation in the preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment.

The flowchart illustrated inFIG. 32is a flowchart for displaying the block307illustrated inFIG. 20and the block308illustrated inFIG. 23, that is, the blocks indicating the timings at which components are delivered when the simplex component or the Assy product is ordered at a designated date.

When the component is a simplex component, the preventive maintenance support system1first confirms a necessary date of the component based on a manipulation input of the operator. In other words, based on the manipulation input of the operator, the display position of the block307is confirmed (S3201). Subsequently, the preventive maintenance support system1acquires the lead time information of the target component (S3202). Then, the preventive maintenance support system1calculates an ordering period of the component based on the necessary date of the component and the lead time information (S3203).

Subsequently, the preventive maintenance support system1determines whether the ordering period calculated in S3203is earlier than today (S3204). When it is determined that the ordering period is earlier than today (YES in S3204), the operation proceeds to S3206. When it is determined that the ordering period is later than tomorrow (NO in S3204), the operation proceeds to S3205. In S3205, the preventive maintenance support system1request an order. In S3206, an error is displayed on the display unit14because the order cannot be made in S3206.

When the component is the Assy product, a flowchart is most common to the flowchart when the component is the simplex component. That is, processing of S3211to S3212and S3214to S3216is common to processing of S3201to S3202and S3204to S3206. In S3213, the preventive maintenance support system1calculates a manufacturing launch period of the Assy product.

As described in detail above, in the preventive maintenance support system1according to the embodiment, it is possible to realize the preventive maintenance support system1and the preventive maintenance support method capable of sufficiently achieving coordination with a manufacturing schedule.

In the foregoing embodiment, the configurations disclosed to easily describe the present invention have been described in detail. The present invention is not necessarily limited to all the described configurations. Some of the configurations according to the embodiments can be added to, deleted from or substituted with other configurations.

Some or all of the foregoing configurations, functions, processing units, processing mechanisms, and the like may be designed with, for example, integrated circuits to be realized by hardware. The present invention can be realized by program codes of software realizing the functions according to the embodiment. In this case, a storage medium recording the program codes is provided to a computer and a processor included in the computer reads the program codes stored in the storage medium. In this case, the functions according to the above-described embodiments are realized by the program codes read from the storage medium, and the program codes and the storage medium storing the program codes embody the present invention. As the storage medium for supplying the program codes, for example, a flexible disc, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, a hard disk, an SSD (Solid State Drive), an optical disc, a magneto-optical disc, a CD-R, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, or the like is used.

The program codes realizing the functions described in the embodiment can be mounted in, for example, a widespread program or script language such as Assembly, C/C++, perl, Shell, PHP, Java (registered trademark), or Python.

Some or all of the program codes of software realizing the functions of the embodiments may be stored in advance in the memory unit11or may be stored in the memory unit11from a non-transitory storage medium of another apparatus connected to a network or from the non-transitory storage medium via the external I/F17included in the preventive maintenance support system1, as necessary.

The program codes of the software realizing the functions of the embodiments may be delivered via a network and the programs may be stored in a storage unit such as a hard disk or a memory of a computer or a storage medium such as a CD-RW or a CD-R, and a processor included in the computer may read and execute the program codes stored in the storage unit or the storage medium.

In the above-described embodiment, control lines or information lines indicate conceivable lines necessary for description and are not necessarily all the control lines or information lines necessary for products. All the configurations may be connected to each other.