Patent Abstract:
A system that documents work to be performed at a specific location over a specific period of time by specific personnel on designated equipment by guiding a human user to create a unique, accurate, and complete document.

Full Description:
FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH STATEMENT 
       [0001]    Not Applicable 
       REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING 
       [0002]    Not applicable 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention 
     Prior Art 
     Brief Summary of the Invention 
       [0003]    It is the objective of the inventive, MOP system, to create and store complete, accurate, and effective Methods of Procedure (MOPS) that defines the work and timing of said work to be performed in a critical infrastructure environment. Additionally, the MOP System, will guide the data entry and data retrieval from a variety of associated system databases based on MOP Creator guided input and two-way interaction. Additionally, the inventive system manages the approval process for the work to be performed. The inventive system uses machine based algorithms to automate the creation of distributable MOP documents and tickets to interested parties impacted or affected by the MOP. 
         [0004]    A Method of Procedure (“MOP”) is a formalized document that describes maintenance procedures that will be performed by specific people, on designated assets in a defined location, and when that work will be performed over a specific period of time. In the preferred embodiment, these assets are located in critical infrastructure environment and facility that provide continuous essential services to a set of interested parties, including customers and consumers of said services. 
         [0005]    While a Method of Procedure does not have a rigid definition of structure, definition, or format, a well-constructed MOP, and the MOP in the preferred embodiment, contains the following elements:
       Unique MOP Identifier   Location: Address of the facility, specific rooms or places in that location   Start and End times of work to be performed   Work Risk Level   Submitter information: Name, Phone Number and Email   Type: Corrective Maintenance, Engineering work, Preventive Maintenance, etc.   Status: Pending, Approved, In Progress, Completed, etc.   Critical Contacts: MOP Author, Consultants, MOP Manager, Approvers, Interested Parties, Emergency Personnel, Vendors, etc.   Scope and Purpose: Written description of the work and the purpose of the work to be performed   Responsibilities List: A list of persons and the actions they will be taking for the duration of the MOP   Tasks:
           A list of pre-tasks that may have to performed prior to the work being performed   Work Phases: The actual work being performed on specific assets, along with the steps that would constitute that task   
           Back-out plans: A list of steps and tasks that would be followed if for any reason the defined tasks fail to work as designed   Documents: Any pertinent documents to the work to be performed (e.g. Equipment manuals, diagrams, maps, protective clothing, etc.       
 
         [0021]    The inventive system is used by a MOP creator/submitter. The inventive system guides the MOP creator through all of the required components of the MOP and ensures the completeness of the MOP. Additionally, the inventive system provides simplified, intelligent access and retrieval of data stored in multiple, associated systems that contain the information related to contacts, tasks, work phases and other components of the MOP. The inventive system also allows for free-form data entry when other systems cannot provide all of the required information. 
         [0022]    Proposed completed MOP is routed to a set of approvers, whose role is to review the contents of the MOP for effectiveness, review the MOP for completeness, and either approve or reject the MOP as written. If a MOP is rejected it can be modified for resubmittal. If a MOP is approved, interested parties are notified of the approval and notified to varying degrees of the MOP contents. In the preferred embodiment a work/mop ticket is automatically created by the MOP System in order to maintain a record of the work and notify impacted interested parties. The inventive system also knows how the customer is integrated into the critical infrastructure environment and includes in the notification the specific customer equipment that are impacted by the MOP. 
     
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF FIGURE 
         [0023]    The FIGURE: A comprehensive schematic of the MOP Management System and interaction model with Associated System Databases and Interested Parties. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Explanation of Invention Definitions and Explanation of Terms Specific to the Disclosure 
       [0024]    MOP Management System  10  (“MOP System  10 ”): MOP System  10 , the invention, is a bespoke application system, programmed in a commercially available programming language, consisting of the following components: MOP Manager Interface  11 , MOP Database  12 , MOP &amp; Mini-MOP Creator  13 , MOP Approval Processor  14 , Affected Customer Analyzer  16  and Impacted Asset Analyzer  15 . MOP System  10  elicits input from MOP Creator  21 , gets additional information from Impacted Asset Analyzer  15  and Affected Customer Analyzer  16 , then creates a MOP document, a smaller notification document called a Mini MOP. The MOP and Mini-MOP are stored in MOP Database  12 . MOP System  10  use MOP Approval Processor  12  to manage MOP Approver  22 , then uses Notification Engine  51  to automatically communicate to Interested Parties  20 . 
         [0025]    MOP Manager Interface  11 : A bespoke application component, programmed in a commercially available programming language. It elicits guided input from MOP Creator  21  through a web interface in order to complete the information gathering required for a MOP. MOP Manager Interface  11  provides the visual application component to MOP System  10 . 
         [0026]    MOP Database  12 : A commercially available relational database is used to define a bespoke set of tables and relational database structures that stores all information required for a complete MOP document and the MOP System  10 . 
         [0027]    MOP &amp; Mini-MOP Creator  13 : A bespoke application component, programmed in a commercially available programming language. It creates two documents of standard industry types (PDF, Microsoft Word Doc, etc), in a consistent format for consumption by Interested Parties  20 . MOP document contains all the information collected through MOP Manager Interface  11  and other components of MOP System  10 . Mini-MOP  53  contains a subset of information collected through MOP Manager Interface  11  to be presented to Customer  23 . 
         [0028]    MOP Approval Processor  14 : A bespoke application component, programmed in a commercially available programming language. A MOP created in MOP System  10  by MOP Creator  21 , must be approved by a MOP Approver  22 , who is not the same person as MOP 
         [0029]    Creator  21 : MOP Approver  22  is one or more persons assigned to review MOPs for one or more critical infrastructure environments. MOP Approval Processor  14  ensures that the right MOP Approver  22  is chosen for a particular MOP and tracks whether the MOP has been accepted or rejected. Once accepted MOP Approval Processor  14  communicates to Notification Engine  51  that a Ticket  52  and Mini MOP  53  can be sent to Interested Parties as determined by Affected Customer Analyzer  16  and retrieved contact information from Contacts Database  41 . 
         [0030]    Impacted Asset Analyzer  15 : A bespoke application component, programmed in a commercially available programming language. Impacted Asset Analyzer  15  extracts the data collected by MOP Manager Interface  11  to identify the assets undergoing work. Those assets are passed to Affected Customer Analyzer  16 . 
         [0031]    Affected Customer Analyzer  16 : A bespoke application component, programmed in a commercially available programming language. Affected Customer Analyzer associates those assets extracted by Impacted Assets Analyzer  15  to Customer  13  assets stored in Panel Schedule Database  43 . It also uses computer programming rules that know the preferred embodiment of the data center in order to associate equipment to a customer for equipment not stored in Panel Schedule Database  43 . This component identifies the list of Customers  13  that will be notified using Notification Engine  51 . 
         [0032]    Associated Systems Databases  40 : A series of database maintained by other systems related to data center operations, the preferred embodiment. These include Contacts Database  41 , CMMS Assets and Work Orders database  42  and Panel Schedule Database  43 . 
         [0033]    Contacts Database  41 : A commercially available relational database is used to define a bespoke set of tables and relational database structures that store information about Interested Parties  20  and the different means to contact them (e.g. eMail, Phone, Mobile Phone, etc.) 
         [0034]    CMMS Assets and Work Orders Database  42 : A commercially available relational database is used to define a bespoke set of tables and relational database structures for a CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management System) system that is a proprietary version of commercially available software. The CMMS system is responsible for storing information with regards to assets. It manages work to be done within the Data Center as it pertains to those assets. Typical work defined in the system includes maintenance on asset equipment and customer requests for power. 
         [0035]    Panel Schedule Database  43 : A bespoke set of tables in a commercially available database system, used for the tracking of circuit breaker positions and availability and Customer  23  assigned to the circuit breaker. 
         [0036]    DCIM Database  44 : (DCIM: Data Center Information Management System) A bespoke set of tables in a commercially available database system, used for the monitoring and information gathering related to a data center. With respect to the invention, the database stores the electrical diagram for the data center which is called the One-Line  56   
         [0037]    Notification Engine  51 : A bespoke application integrated into the inventive system. It uses industry standard protocols for outbound communications including but not limited to SMS, SMTP, etc. Notification center  6  uses templates for communication that draws information from various other systems in the invention as outlined below. 
         [0038]    Ticket  52 : A collection of grouped information, stored in a bespoke application (ticketing system) used for recording the status of a set of activities. Ticket  52  is accessible through a ticketing system interface and other communications protocols. In the preferred embodiment, the activities and status thereof pertain to the work tasks defined in MOP System  10 . 
         [0039]    Mini-MOP  53 : A document of standard industry types (PDF, Microsoft Word Doc, etc), in a consistent format for consumption by Interested Parties  20 . Mini-MOP  53  contains a subset of information collected through MOP Manager Interface  11  to be presented to Customer  23 . 
         [0040]    User Guided Input  54 : An interaction model between MOP Creator  21  and MOP Manager Interface  11 . The interaction model is input provided by MOP Creator  21  to prompts by MOP Manager Interface  11 . Inputs from MOP Creator may change the prompts and availability of data from MOP Manager Interface  11 . 
         [0041]    Work Completion &amp; MOP Update  55 : The interaction and process model between Interested Parties  20  and MOP System  10  as it applies to the status of MOPs in MOP System  10 . 
         [0042]    One Line  56 : The systematic representation of an electrical system. Stored for the purposes of the inventive system in DCIM Database  44 . 
         [0043]    MOP  57 : A Method of Procedure (“MOP”) is a formalized document that describes maintenance procedures that will be performed on assets and when that work will be performed. In the preferred embodiment, these assets are located in critical infrastructure environment and facility, meaning facilities that provide essential services, all the time, to a set of interested parties, or consumers of said services. 
         [0044]    MOP Creator  21 : Person responsible for interacting with MOP System  10  to enter data. 
         [0045]    MOP Approver  22 : Person, explicitly not MOP Creator  21 , responsible for reviewing the MOP for completeness and accuracy. 
         [0046]    Customer  23 : Person or persons who use the services impacted by work performed in the critical infrastructure facility. 
         [0047]    NOC  24  (“Network Operations Center): A person or persons responsible for coordinating activities and Interested Parties  20  defined by the MOP. 
         [0048]    For the purposes of this disclosure a critical infrastructure environment is defined as a constructed system that provides uninterrupted services. A data center is considered to be a specific form of a critical infrastructure environment that provides the service of power and cooling to computer equipment. 
         [0049]    In the instance of the present invention, MOP Creator  21  interacts with MOP System  10  through MOP Manager Interface  11 . MOP Manager Interface  11  guides the user through a set of requirement data that constitute MOP  57 . In the preferred embodiment, relating to critical infrastructure environments and facilities, particularly data centers, MOP System  10  requires:
       General MOP Information: MOP Title, Activity Types (corrective maintenance, preventive maintenance, engineering tasks, etc.), Site/Location of Work, Risk Level, affected areas and acknowledgement of work standards for critical environments.   Attachments: Addition of critical documents required to perform work in the site/location. In the preferred embodiment, these include backout plans, work phases, Original Equipment Manufacturer manuals, electrical switching tag orders, etc.   Contact Information: Information pertaining to persons in different roles as it pertains to the MOP and the work to be performed. Mandatory and non-mandatory personnel are listed, with mandatory personnel as a requirement. These contacts: MOP Author  21 , MOP Manager, Network Operations Center  24 , Emergency/Safety personnel, etc.   Scope and Purpose: Detailed description of work to be performed, purpose, expected outcomes, equipment.   Responsibilities: A contact (Interested Parties  20 , maintenance vendors, etc.) associated with a description of their responsibility with respect to work.   Pre-Tasks: Responsible Party, Description of the pre-task and protective gear assignment.   Work Phases: One or more descriptions of work and the steps required to perform the work. Work Phases may be selected from CMMS Assets and Work Orders  42 , or manually entered by MOP Creator  21 .   Back Out Plans: A description of effort or work that must occur if any part of the MOP process fails.       
 
         [0058]    Guided, Intelligent and Automated MOP Creation: Based on inputs from MOP Creator  21 , MOP System  10  makes intelligent selections as to the data that can come from Associated System Databases  40  to be used by the system, and for data that is required by MOP System  10 . For example, selection of Site/Location by MOP Creator  21  allows MOP System  10  to automatically filter work orders from CMMS Assets and Work Orders  42  that are only for that Site/Location. MOP System  10  asks only for work orders that have certain statuses, for example the status of open. Another example, in the preferred embodiment of a critical infrastructure environment such as a data center, work performed on electrical equipment requires a document called Switching Tags. This document is not required for work on mechanical equipment. The inventive system intelligently prompts for required information from MOP Creator  21  based on equipment type. In this way, the inventive system ensures accuracy and completeness of MOP  57 . 
         [0059]    MOP System  10  integrates with Associated System Databases  40  to auto-populate required MOP  57  information. MOP Creator  21  must specify responsible parties for work to be performed. Work can include pre-tasks, work, post-work tasks, and ancillary tasks. All work must designate a responsible person and their contact information. MOP System  10  presents contacts from CMMS Assets and Work Orders Database  42 , Contacts Database  41 , and offers pre-filtered choices for MOP Creator  21  to choose from. MOP System  10  also allows MOP Creator  21  to enter other responsible parties not stored in Associated System Databases  40 . Again, choices are pre-filtered based on Site/Location, or the specific assets associated to the work. 
         [0060]    MOP Creator  21  may select one or more Work Phases from CMMS Assets and Work Orders  42  or Work Phases may be manually entered. A selection from CMMS Assets and Work Orders  42 , auto-populates MOP  57  with information such as Work Phase Title, Responsible Party, Planned Date and Task Steps. MOP Creator  21  has only to fill in the planned start time and duration for that Work Phase. If the data is available MOP System  10  can retrieve from CMMS Assets and Work Orders  42  a standard amount of time for pre-defined work. MOP System  10  ensures data accuracy by retrieving all relevant information automatically from Associated System Database  40 . If MOP Creator  21  chooses to manually enter a Work Phase, the MOP System  10  ensures that all required fields listed above are completely filled in. 
         [0061]    MOP System  10  automatically orders the work phases according to the planned start time datum so that MOP  57  contains an accurate description of work phases across time. 
         [0062]    Data Entry Post Processing: After MOP System  10  guides MOP Creator  21  through the creation of MOP  57  and before MOP System  10  saves MOP  57  to MOP Database  12 , MOP and Mini-MOP Creator  13  takes two post-processing steps. First MOP &amp; Mini-MOP Creator  13  programmatically calls Impacted Assets Analyzer  15  to determine, extract and list which assets in the critical infrastructure environment are impacted. These assets were identified by MOP Creator  21 &#39;s selection of work phases from CMMS Assets and Work Orders  42 . In the preferred embodiment of a data center, and specifically related to electrical power in the data center, the asset list extracted by Impacted Assets Analyzer  15  is programmatically queried against One-Line  56  stored in DCIM Database  44  to find any other electrical equipment assets downstream (“the flow of current through the system to a customer asset”) of the assets being worked on, including the circuit breakers data stored in Panel Schedule Database  43 . Panel Schedule Database  43  stores not only the circuit breaker data, but Customer  23  associated with that circuit breaker. Impacted Assets Analyzer  15  programmatically passes all impacted assets to Affected Customer Analyzer  16  which in turn queries Panel Schedule Database  43  for the list of Customers  23 . Affected Customer Analyzer programmatically communicates selected Customers  23  to MOP &amp; Mini-MOP Creator  13  which in turn stores that information in MOP Database  12 . 
         [0063]    Approvals and Notifications: MOP Management System  10 , having completed the data gathering stage, proceeds to approvals and notifications. Each critical infrastructure environment is assigned to a hierarchy of MOP Approvers  22 . Based on the critical environment selection made by MOP Creator  21 , MOP Approval Processor  14  uses Notification Engine  51  to create a communication to assigned MOP Approver  22 . If MOP Approver  22  doesn&#39;t respond to MOP Approval Processor  14  in a specified period of time, a different MOP Approver  22  may be selected. Never may MOP Approvers  22  be the same as MOP Creator  21 . MOP Approver  22  accepts or denies MOP  57  using MOP Manager Interface  11 . A rejected MOP  57  is routed by MOP Approval Processor  14  back to MOP approver  22  for modification. 
         [0064]    MOP  57  accepted by MOP Approver  22  triggers MOP Manager System  10  to use Notification Engine  51  to create three separate communiques. Ticket  52  is created and communicated to Interested Parties  20  and specific Customers  23  as determined by the Affected Customer Analyzer  16  as described previously. Ticket  52  serves as a common vehicle for status updates to Interested Parties  20 . Mini-MOP  53 , a subset of MOP  57  information pertinent to Customer  23 , is communicated through Ticket  52 . The last communication is Calendar Event  52  which is submitted to a commercially available calendaring system (e.g. Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Exchange, Google Calendar, etc.). Each critical infrastructure environment has its own calendar, and Calendar Event  52  is sent to the specific critical infrastructure environment calendar specified by MOP Creator  21  in MOP  57 . 
         [0065]    MOP Management System  10  must be updated by MOP Creator  21  with the status of MOP  57 . A completed MOP  57  is retained in MOP Database  12  and is made un-editable so that MOP  57  stands as a final and unalterable record of events in the critical infrastructure environment. MOP Manager System  10  may be used to search and retrieve MOPs  57  from MOP Database  12 . 
         [0066]    MOP Templates: MOP Management System  10  allows MOP Creator  21  to use a previously-created MOP  27  to be the starting point for a new MOP  27 . Because the same work may be performed across different critical infrastructure environments, many of the data associated with MOP  27  may be identical. MOP Creator  21  can change as appropriate the MOP  27  template to fit the need but significantly reduce the data input process. MOP Management System  10  ensures that an identical MOP  27  may not be created.

Technology Classification (CPC): 6