Patent ID: 8868378

Claim:
A hierarchically accessible monitoring system for use in a manufacturing supply chain that includes a manufacturer, a dealer, and a client, the system comprising: a plurality of standby generators each manufactured by the manufacturer, each standby generator including an interface unit configured to receive information from the standby generator and to communicate the generator information; a remote data server in communication with the interface unit, wherein the remote data server receives the generator information from the interface unit, stores the generator information, and controls access to the generator information based upon at least three hierarchical levels, each hierarchical level having different access privileges; and a user interface configured to display the generator information from the remote data server to at least one user, wherein the user has access privileges to read the generator information based upon the user's assigned hierarchical level; wherein a first of the at least three hierarchical levels is associated with the client and has access privileges to read a set of generator information related to only one of the plurality of standby generators, a second of the at least three hierarchical levels is associated with the dealer and has access privileges to read the set of generator information related to only a subset of the plurality of standby generators, the subset including more than one standby generator and fewer than all of the plurality of standby generators, the subset also including the one of the plurality of standby generators accessible by a user having the first of the at least three hierarchical levels, and a third of the at least three hierarchical levels associated with the manufacturer that has access privileges to read the set of generator information related to all of the standby generators of the plurality of standby generators, wherein each and every standby generator is accessible by only one dealer at the second hierarchical level.