Patent ID: 8180229

Claim:
An apparatus having a plurality of component parts interchangeably disposed in a plurality of component positions, respectively, comprising: a judgment unit configured to judge whether or not to carry out interchange between a component position of a first component part and a component position of a second component part, based on wear ratios of the respective component parts and usage rates associated with the respective component positions; and a notification unit configured to be operable when it is judged by said judgment unit that the interchange between the component position of the first component part and the component position of the second component part is to be carried out, to perform notification for prompting a user to carry out the interchange; wherein when a wear ratio of the first component part exceeds a first threshold value, and at the same time, a usage rate associated with a component position where the first component part is disposed exceeds a second threshold value, said judgment unit judges that the first component part is a component part requiring interchange, the apparatus further comprising: an update unit configured to be operable when the interchange between the component position of the first component part and the component position of the second component part is carried out, to update the first threshold value associated with the first component part such that the first threshold value is increased.