Patent ID: 7694179

Claim:
A suspected place identifying apparatus comprising: a data storage for storing a configuration information table and an added point table; the configuration information table for storing configuration information related to parts configuring a system which is a maintenance target and said configuration; the added point table for storing a statistically added point of each of said parts; a statistically added point calculator for obtaining error information in said system, adding a predetermined point to a part related to said error and setting the added point in said added point table; a suspected place identifier for, for each of the parts in said added point table, if the statistically added point of said part has exceeded a threshold, performing a process of identifying said part as a suspected place, and when said configuration information table is referred to and said part is a maintenance part incorporated at said suspected place, using a threshold for the suspected place, in which said threshold has been increased to a predetermined degree, to compare with said statistically added point; and a configuration information manager for setting suspected place information showing the part identified as said suspected place, in said configuration information table, based on a result of the process of identifying said suspected place; wherein if there exists a statistically added point which exceeds said threshold in said added point table, said suspected place identifier identifies a part having a statistically added point that is the highest next to said exceeding statistically added point and association, in configuration, with said part having the exceeding statistically added point and both points having been calculated on said error information, and then sets said identified part as a second suspected place, said configuration information manager sets second suspected place information showing the part identified as said second suspected place, in said configuration information table, and said configuration information manager increases the threshold a second predetermined degree if the second suspected place information has been set and the incorporated maintenance part is identified as a suspected place due to an error that occurred at the suspected place.