WO2001001301A2

WO2001001301A2 - A support system and a method for management of maintenance and a conveyor system incorporating such a support system and method

Info

Publication number: WO2001001301A2
Application number: PCT/DK2000/000341
Authority: WO
Inventors: Michael Falck Olesen; Ulrik Ramsing
Original assignee: Crisplant A/S
Priority date: 1999-06-23
Filing date: 2000-06-23
Publication date: 2001-01-04
Also published as: WO2001001301A3; AU5391700A

Abstract

A method and a support system for management of maintenance of mechanical and/or electrical components in a production facility is connected to a control system for controlling operation of the mechanical and/or electrical components. The support system comprises a server adapted to log events related to operation of the mechanical and/or electrical components. Real-time logging may be applied. A maintenance signal indicating when the mechanical and/or electrical components are due for maintenance is generated. A maintenance action is carried out in response to the maintenance signal. The server may communicate with handheld terminals carried by human operators. The support system may be comprised in a converyor system for conveying or sorting luggage or mail items. A plurality of support systems may be interconnected via a network, for example the Internet.

Description

A SUPPORT SYSTEM AND A METHOD FOR MANAGEMENT OF MAINTENANCE AND A CONVEYOR SYSTEM INCORPORATING SUCH A SUPPORT SYSTEM AND METHOD

Technical field

The present invention relates to a system and a method for support of management of maintenance in an industrial application comprising a plurality of interacting mechanical and/or electrical parts. The industrial application may comprise or consist of a production or manufacturing facility, a conveyor system, a vehicle or other systems/devices having a need for maintenance.

Background of the invention

Various systems for support of maintenance tasks exist today. Most systems are stand alone systems, helping keeping track of either a maintenance schedule, the duration of various tasks, availability of service personnel or the availability of spare parts. Some systems are more advanced and integrates or combines several of these aspects in one system, which is the case for modern ERP systems.

US 5,216,61 2 discloses a computer integrated maintenance system and method for use with a computer integrated manufacturing system. The maintenance system includes an electronically stored parts manual containing a hierarchical listing of all parts in production machines, and a maintenance operations computer controller which includes a maintenance schedule management subsystem, an engineering change control subsystem, a parts manual management subsystem and a spares inventory management subsystem. The maintenance schedule management subsystem obtains a schedule of actual and planned production, and groups maintenance activities in order to minimise lost production time. The engineering change control subsystem integrates engineering change activities with maintenance activities to maximise production time. The automated parts manual is also updated to account for engineering changes. The spare parts inventory management subsystem orders spare parts based on predicted maintenance rather than on prescribed inventory levels. One feature of the system is that unplanned maintenance operations may be entered into the system, and planned maintenance operations which are scheduled to occur within a predetermined time period of the unplanned maintenance. Thus, when the manufacturing system is unavailable for production due to an unplanned maintenance activity, planned maintenance which can be accomplished simultaneously is also performed.

WO 98/24042 discloses a method for maintaining components subject to fatigue failure during use. The method uses statistical distributions in a simulation of use of a fleet of components to predict the failure rate of the fleet over a fixed time increment for an assumed inspection program. These predictions are used to determine an operating plan, including an inspection program, that will maintain a certain failure rate by detecting components with fatigue indications and removing the components prior to failure. The method includes determining a probabilistic distribution of a fatigue indication occurrence and a probabilistic distribution of a fatigue failure life for a given component that is subject to fatigue failure from actual use and setting a certain failure rate for the given component. A simulation of the use and inspection of the components is performed to determine an operating plan for the components.

Description of the invention

Maintenance is for many reasons becoming a more and more critical factor within industries. Increasing productivity involves increasing costs of defective or idling industrial applications. Increasing competition often results in over booking of the production plant with following serious problems in case of faults. Increasing complexity of the production equipment involves more specialised employees for either operating or maintaining the application followed by the need for better planning of the resources. Usually maintenance tasks are undertaken partly by local staff and partly by external suppliers. Usually there is a significant difference in the costs of local versus external resources. Therefore it is important to distinguish between the need for local versus external support. Moreover it is important that typical or critical errors are corrected fast and efficiently. A policy for the capacity and capability of internal and external resources is therefore necessary. A further object of the present invention is to provide a tool for handling a plurality of aspects of maintenance in an industrial application, or even all aspects of maintenance. A further object of the invention is to provide a system and a method which is designed to maximise the availability of the industrial application by means of better and more concise planning of preventive as well as corrective/error- correcting maintenance than what has been achievable with prior art systems. A further object of the invention is to provide a system and a method which is flexible in respect of installation and initialisation. A further object of the invention is to provide a method and a system for documenting and/or monitoring the state and condition of some or all of the components of the industrial application. A still further object is to provide a system which can be easily integrated with other equipment, such as a control system controlling operation of the industrial application, database systems storing and updating spare part stock information or other information, such as resource availability information. A further object is to provide a consistent maintenance management system and method throughout the industrial application.

Thus, in one aspect, the present invention provides a method for managing maintenance of mechanical and/or electrical components in an industrial application,

the method comprising:

controlling operation of the mechanical and/or electrical components by means of a control system, the control system comprising data processing means and communication means for passing data to and from the data processing means,

logging events related to operation of the mechanical and/or electrical components by means of a server means having data input means,

generating, from at least a signal representing one or more of said events, a maintenance signal indicating when the mechanical and/or electrical components are due for maintenance, passing the maintenance signal to a further processor means adapted or programmed to activate a maintenance action in response to the maintenance signal or to an operator,

activating a maintenance action in response to the maintenance signal.

The present invention also relates to a support system for management of maintenance of industrial applications comprising a plurality of interacting mechanical and/or electrical components - in the following referred to as "the maintenance system" . The maintenance system and the method according to the invention integrates and combines support on following maintenance aspects:

supervision of the Industrial application,

planning of preventive maintenance,

- handling of corrective maintenance,

resource- and asset management with stock control,

documentation, reporting and statistics.

The system according to the present invention is preferably configured according to specific industrial applications and supports in keeping conformity to handling of the procedures provided by the manufacturer of the application and according to the maintenance policy of the owner of the application. At the same time, the invention provides an optimised way of documenting maintenance work and the status and condition of a production plant.

The industrial application may be a production plant, such as a manufacturing plant, an engine, a vehicle, an airplane or a conveyor system in, e.g., a mail distribution or mail sorting facility or an airport luggage sorting or conveying facility, such as a system as disclosed in WO 98/47797 or in WO 00/32502. The control system controlling operation of, e.g., the conveyor system may be a system as described below or a control system as disclosed in Danish patent application No. PA 2000 0359. The method according to the invention is preferably carried out by a support system comprising or being connected to a control system for controlling operation of the mechanical and/or electrical components, the control system comprising data processing means and communication means for passing data to and from the data processing means,

the support system comprising a server means comprising data input means for logging of events related to operation of the mechanical and/or electrical components,

a processor means adapted to generate, from at least a signal representing one or more of said events, a maintenance signal indicating when the mechanical and/or electrical components are due for maintenance,

communication or interfacing means for passing the maintenance signal to a further processor means adapted or programmed to activate a maintenance action in response to the maintenance signal or to an operator.

Logging of events preferably comprises real-time logging of a number of events pr. second. The number of events gathered pr. second is preferably 10-1 50, more preferably 25-1 25, such as 40-100, such as 50-75. Logging and real-time logging of events has the particular advantage that in an error-corrective maintenance version of the method, errors may be detected substantially immediately after they have occurred, or after a very short time following the occurrence. Thus, the time during which the component showing an error is malfunctioning may be minimised, thereby prevent possible further damage to the component or other components and ensuring maximum proper production time.

In the present context, the term "processor means" should be interpreted as a means for carrying out or performing a certain process. Thus, the processor means and further processor means may comprise two algorithms in the same computer program or two algorithms in two different computer programs running on the same or on two different hardware processors, such as CPUs. A "processor means" may thus comprise as well a part of a computer program, an entire computer program and/or a hardware processor.

The step of controlling operation of the industrial application may preferably be carried out by one or more computers connected to or integrated in the industrial application. The control system may comprise a computer controlling, e.g., the fuel injection system of an engine, operation of a conveyor and/or sorting system or operation of a production facility or machine.

The step of logging events may be performed by means comprised in the support system or by means connected to the support system. Such means may comprise, e.g., one or more revolution counters for counting revolutions on revolving parts in the industrial application, optical surveillance means, e.g., photo detectors or cameras. The step of logging events, such as, e.g., number of revolutions, may be carried out by summing one or more counters by means of the processor means.

The step of generating a maintenance signal may comprise presenting a message or another signal which may optically be captured by, e.g., a human from a monitor or a print out, or generating a audio signal when a certain event or a certain number of a certain events have occurred. The signal may be passed to a handheld terminal of a person.

The handheld terminal may be adapted to categorise events and/or errors in types, and to display the events and/or errors to the person in accordance with the categories to which they belong. For example, each category may designate a certain skill required for performing a maintenance act due in accordance with the maintenance signal. Preference may be given to one or more certain categories of maintenance signals, for example to alarm signals indicating an urgent need for a maintenance act. The handheld terminal may further be adapted to answer an alarm signal and reporting to the server means that the alarm signal has been received by the handheld terminal. The handheld terminal may further be adapted to transmit a list of maintenance jobs due to a different person, and it may be adapted to determine the need or the consumption of spare parts needed in order to complete the one or more maintenance acts which are to be carried out our which have been carried out. The handheld terminal may further be adapted to communicate with a database system comprising information as to the stock of spare parts, so as to, e.g., report to the database system that a certain spare part is needed for a certain task, or display the availability of spare parts of the human.

Moreover, a maintenance job can be initiated by the handheld terminal. The person holding the handheld terminal may carry out the job himself /herself . The person may, e.g., by means of the handheld terminal, scan a code, e.g., a bar code, identifying the component due for maintenance. The handheld terminal may be adapted to present to the person a list of items representing predetermined description of possible errors or tasks, from which the operator may select the item corresponding to the task to be carrier out. Next, the operator may carry out the task which is due as described below, cf., e.g., the description of Fig. 4.

The handheld terminal may further be utilised for registering the presence of maintenance personnel at the facility at which the mechanical/electrical components are installed. The handheld may be adapted to communicate, either directly or via the server means, with other handheld terminals, so as to, for example, call for a person having particular skills or carrying particular tools necessary for carrying out a certain task. The call for such a person may be initiated by the person carrying the handheld terminal or automatically by a computer program stored in the handheld terminal. Thus, if a second person has been called to solve a task assigned to a first person, the second person may, e.g., scan, with his/her handheld terminal, a name tag of the first person or by other means indicated that he/she is now responsible for the job. Once the second person has completed the job, he/she may be means of his/her handheld terminal report back to the server means that the job has been completed.

The server means may be adapted to record the time spent by each person working on a given task. Thus, in the case described in the above paragraph, the server means may record the time elapsed from the moment the task was assigned to the second person, or the moment when the second person indicated that he/she was now responsible for the job, till the moment when the second person reported back that the job was completed. More than two persons may be involved, in which case each of the further persons has a handheld terminal and operates in the same manner as the second person, cf. the above description. As, the server means may be adapted to record any and all time spent by each person involved in carrying out a certain job, it is possible to record the true and real time spent by each person. The information resulting from such recording may be used, e.g., for billing of man hours or for producing statistics on the time spent for maintaining certain components.

A person carrying a handheld terminal may further carry out a maintenance job for which no maintenance signal has been generated. In that case, the person may by means of the handheld terminal communicate to the server means that he/she is now performing the job.

The handheld terminal may for example comprise a terminal fulfilling the VT 220 norm, such as an Intermec Norand RT 1 700 terminal with scanner.

The maintenance signal may alternatively or additionally comprise a command being passed to a further processor means, such as, e.g., an external computer or robot adapted to initiate a maintenance action or notifying service personnel. The maintenance signal may comprise a signal or an order to initiate a certain maintenance act immediately, or it may comprise a signal or an order to initiate a the maintenance act at a later stage. For example, the maintenance signal may comprise information indicating that after a given number of cycles of a part of the component in question counted from the moment the signal is generated or received, the component in question will be due for maintenance. The step of passing the maintenance signal is preferably performed by means of communication means comprising a radio signal sender integrated in or connected to the server means and a radio signal receiver comprised in or connected to the further processor means or in a remote terminal. Preferably, the remote terminal comprises a hand-held terminal of an operator, the method comprising notifying the operator of the presence of a maintenance signal by means of the hand-held terminal. The operator may be notified by e-mail or by another computer-network transmitted signal, by a mobile or stationary phone or a pager automatically paged by a processor means. The operator may physically be located near to the industrial application or far from it, e.g., at a remote installation at a hotline service entity of the provider of the industrial application. In an error preventing embodiment or part of the method/system, the method may comprise generating, from at least the signal representing one or more of said events and from a predetermined maintenance schedule stored in storage means comprised in or connected to the server, the maintenance signal indicating when the mechanical and/or electrical components are due for maintenance. The maintenance schedule may, e.g., define that a certain part has to be maintained after, e.g., a certain number of operation cycles, revolutions or hours of operation. In an error correcting embodiment or part of the method/system, the method may comprise generating, from at least the signal representing one or more of said events, the maintenance signal indicating when the mechanical and/or electrical components are due for maintenance, the events representing a malfunction of one or more of the mechanical and/or electrical components. Both error preventing and error correcting maintenance may be carried out simultaneously in the same industrial application, e.g., for different parts/components of the application. In case both an error correcting and an error preventing maintenance action is due, the system/method may be adapted to give priority to the error correcting maintenance action, so as to minimise any possible non-operating time interval of the application. More complex algorithms may be applied for determining which maintenance action to assign a higher priority in case two or more maintenance actions needing the same resource(s) are due at the same time.

The method may comprise manually entering the signal representing one or more events into the processor means. Alternatively or additionally, the method may comprise automatically generating the signal representing one or more events by malfunction detecting means, and generating a malfunction signal from the signal representing one or more events. The malfunction signal from input from one or more detectors or measurement instruments comprised in or located near the m/e components and operatively connected to the processor means.

The method may comprise generating, e.g., by means of a processor comprised in the control system of the industrial application, one of a group of predetermined malfunction or maintenance signals in response to one of a group of predetermined combinations of events. Thus, for example a conjunction of events - such as a certain running conditions happening at a certain time - may cause a malfunction or maintenance signal to be generated. As an example, a malfunction or a maintenance signal may be generated in case a bearing is due for maintenance during a period of vacation of a technician skilled for maintaining the bearing, in case the maintenance system predicts that a maintenance action will be needed during the period of vaction. The groups of events and corresponding groups of malfunction or maintenance signals may be stored in tables in storing means connected to or comprised in the server means. The groups of events and corresponding groups of malfunction or maintenance signals may be dynamically changed by one or more algorithms taking variable conditions/values/inputs into consideration.

The malfunction or maintenance signal may be based on a statistical function of one or more of events.

The maintenance signal may comprise information indicating to an operator which spare parts and/or tools to bring along in order to be able to carry out the maintenance task. The system/method according to the invention may comprise a feed back system/routine for the operator, so that the a duly finished maintenance action can be logged in the system, and, if appropriate, passed to a database or other external equipment for, e.g., tracking spare part stocks. Such a database or other equipment may be adapted to automatically order new spare parts, invoicing spare part consumption, operator labour hours. The database or other equipment may be, in co-operation with the system/method according to the invention, adapted incorporate already ordered items with known or expected delivery times. Also, items may be classified in groups of items, the different groups of items having different importance, so that it can be ensured that, e.g., items which are crucial for the operation of the industrial application are always on stock, or that items which can easily and with small expenses be kept on stock are always kept in numbers sufficient for unexpected maintenance. The stock value of other items can be calculated based on expected or known future maintenance.

An operator, robot or machine carrying out a maintenance task can be actively prompted to give a feed-back information signal to the support system, e.g., by means of entering data on a keyboard of a computer, by scanning a bar-code on a printed job card or on the machine part which is being maintained. Further, the operator, robot or machine may provide a signal representing the spare part consumption.

Any appropriate data may be entered into the processor means of the system according to the invention by means of an interfacing means comprising a keyboard, a scanner, such as a bar code reader, radio signal sending and receiving means, a screen or a monitor, such as a touch screen, a touch pad, track ball or a mouse.

The server may comprise or be connected to a spare part stock database, and the method according to the invention may comprise passing data between the server and the database, so as to update the database in response to the consumption of spare parts.

The history of a given spare part may be stored in the server or in another system, preferably a computer system, connected to or integrated in the system according to the invention. Thus, for example, the history of a motor, including when and why it has been repaired or replaced, may be stored, so as to thereby facilitate or automate error location/detection, for example in a part or component which has been duly maintained but which does not operate satisfactorily. Moreover, the history information can be used for updating expected duration for certain standard operations, e.g., preventive maintenance. History data can further be used for modelling and/or updating models/information relating to expected life time of parts or components.

The method may further comprise updating stored values or information representing one or more running conditions, operations, operation history, e.g., of spare parts, or stock inventory in response to factual conditions, operations, operation histories or stock inventories.

In a particular embodiment of the method/system according to the invention, the processor means and associated storage means may be automatically initialised when connecting the support system to the control system for the first time. Data representing at least some and preferably all parts/components of the industrial application are generated and storage space/arrays are allocated in the storage means. Moreover, component/part status, running conditions etc. are preferable stored, and a database is generated from these data.

Data representing the number and the types of the components of the system and/or data representing status of one or more of said components and/or data representing availability of spare parts and/or data representing availability and/or working schedule of service personnel and/or data representing an operation schedule of the mechanical and/or electrical system may be graphically monitored. Such graphical monitoring is preferably carried out in a hierarchical structure, and preferably data are displayed in response to the user selection. Only user selected level(s) of the hierarchical system might be displayed. Preferably, such a graphical representation system is integrated in a browser tool system.

The invention further relates to a support system for management of maintenance of mechanical and/or electrical components. It should be understood that any of the features and functionalities mentioned above in connection with the method according to the invention also apply to the support system according to the invention.

The invention further relates to a conveyor system incorporating a system and/or a method according to the invention for supporting maintenance of the conveyor system.

In a further aspect, the invention relates to a system for management of maintenance of mechanical and/or electrical components in a plurality of production facilities, each production facility comprising a plurality of mechanical and/or electrical components, each production facility comprising a support system according to the invention, the system comprising: - a main server computer, a data network for transmitting data between the server means of each of the support systems and the main server computer, said main server computer being adapted to perform operations based on data received from the support system of each of the production facilities. Thus, a plurality of production facilities may be linked together by a data network, for example the internet. This allows centralised control of a number of production facilities thereby allowing, e.g., centralised stock keeping or tracking of information. For example, in a postal or shipping company having a plurality of mail distribution/mail sorting hubs, each of which comprises a support system according to the invention for managing maintenance of conveyor and sorting systems, the support systems may be linked together. Additionally or alternatively, the manufacturer of the conveyor and sorting systems may be connected to the production plants, so as to track the functioning of the systems delivered by the manufacturer, and so as to allow for easy requesting of specialised maintenance personnel.

Detailed description of the invention

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described in details with reference to the drawing in which

Fig. 1 is an illustration of a sorter system as an example of an industrial application,

Fig. 2 is an illustration of the control system applicable for controlling operation of the sorter system illustrated in Fig. 1 ,

Fig. 3 is a connection diagram showing the involved components of the system according to the invention and their connectivity,

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic illustration of the most important elements of the system according to the invention and their mutual relation,

Fig. 5 shows the main functions of the system according to the present invention,

Fig. 6 shows the data relationship between the processor means of the system according to the invention and a satellite of the system, Fig. 7 shows an asset browser for graphical presentation of information in a system according to the invention,

Fig. 8 shows an overview of counter data principals,

Fig. 9 shows an overview of main data relations,

Fig. 1 0 shows a first example of a monitor screen layout of a handheld terminal, the monitor displaying login information,

Fig. 1 1 shows a second example of a monitor screen layout of a handheld terminal, the monitor displaying options selectable by the operator of the handheld terminal,

Fig. 1 2 shows a third example of a monitor screen layout of a handheld terminal, the monitor displaying a maintenance job list,

Fig. 1 3 shows a fourth example of a monitor screen layout of a handheld terminal, the monitor comprising information related to a certain maintenance job.

Fig. 1 is an illustration of a sorter system 2 operable by the control means. The sorter is indicated by a closed loop, along which a number of inductions or induction stations 3 and a number of destination chutes or discharge stations 4 are arranged. The sorter system may comprise a plurality of scanning devices, such as an overhead scanner as illustrated in Fig. 1 . The induction 3 feed articles onto the carriers of the sorter 2. Each item preferably carries an item code which, e.g., is either entered on an encoding unit by a human operator at the induction or read when an article passes a scanner, e.g. an overhead scanner. The article code is converted into a discharge station identification code, and the article is discharged at the appropriate discharge station 4 when the carrier carrying the article reaches that discharge station. Preferably, the system is capable of handling articles extending over one or over a plurality of carriers.

In a first embodiment of the invention, the support system for management of maintenance is connected to the control means or in a second preferred embodiment of the invention connected to a number of distributed micro controllers or similar adapters for connection to the industrial application. The malfunction or logging signals is generated e.g. by means of inductions, encoding units, scanners or similar.

Preferably, a distributed i/o node system is based on commercially available industrial network components and i/o modules. They allow to distribute the control i/o and place i/o modules close to the respective mechanical components of the sorter which they interface. Preferably, the network components and i/o modules are capable of communicating through a standard industrial network, e.g., DeviceNet, ControlNet or ProfiBus. The use of commercially available products allow that a user of the control system according to the invention be supplied with control components which are familiar to the user, and at the same time it is ensured that spare parts are easily retrievable.

Fig. 2 shows the control system for the industrial application. The system comprises a plurality of ISD-nets 1 6 interconnecting the machine controller 7 and parts of the sorter system 2. The ISD-nets 1 6 comprise

• a network to which at least some and preferably all inductions are connected and providing communication between the machine controller and the inductions (I- net),

• a network connected to at least some article identification devices, such as bar code scanners and providing communication between the machine controller and the identification means, e.g., scanners (S-net),

• a network to which at least some and preferably all discharge stations are connected and providing communication between the machine controller and the discharge stations (D-net).

In the embodiment of Fig. 2, a warehouse control system 1 5 and a warehouse management system 1 5a is further provided and connected to the Ethernet 1 3. The control system comprises a control server computer 5 controlling operation of the industrial application, i.e. the sorter 2. The system of Fig. 2 further comprises a number of work stations 6, a number of terminals 10 connectable to parts of the sorter 2 and/or to a data network 1 2. A further data network 1 3 is provided to which the control server 5 and the work stations 6 are connected. A Warehouse management system 1 5, 1 5a is further connected to the data network 1 3.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the system may comprise means for electronically receiving, storing, processing and sending information concerning maintenance and status of the referenced application. This is preferably done by means of a PC or similar means for electronically data processing.

In a further preferred embodiment of the invention the means for electronically data processing is connected to a local or global network of computers and machines constituting the referenced application and the IT-infrastructure of the organisation running the application.

Fig. 3 shows the main parts of system according to the present invention in which a server 1 7 includes processor means. A "backbone" 1 8 is provided in a data network, such as a LAN or similar network. A terminal 1 9, such as shop floor satellite and a control server 20 of the industrial application is provided. The functions of these elements of the system will be discussed in further detail below. The control server 20 of Fig. 3 can constitute or be part of the control server 5 of Fig. 2, and the backbone 1 8 can be part of the data network 1 3 of Fig. 2.

The satellite 1 9 may comprise a workstation, a PC or similar means for electronically data processing, means for electronically storing and various means for user and system interaction. The means for electronically data processing is configured so as to receive input from the application, process the input and provide output to the operator concerning state of the application, maintenance tasks to be done, items in stock etc.

In a preferred embodiment, the elements of the invention are of the following type and configuration:

• The server means in the maintenance system may comprise or run:

- an SQL database, - a VT220 terminal sessions for the handheld terminals,

- Microsoft Windows session for a local user,

- communication means for communicating with the controller of the industrial application or similar computer and other external controlling systems.

• A number of satellites are each running local sessions. They connect to the SQL database server.

• A number of handheld VT220 terminals with IR barcode scanner. They each run a VT220 terminal session on the server of the maintenance system.

• A number of Terminal Charging Units, each with a capacity of charging 6 terminals.

• A number of RF (Radio Frequency) Access Points communicating with the handheld terminals.

Fig. 6 shows the data relationship between the processor means of the maintenance system. The satellite can perform other tasks than handling the maintenance task, and comprises a PC or similar means for processing data. The satellite is connected to the network and runs a regular operation system like Windows 95, Windows NT, UNIX, LINUX or MS-DOS.

The functions of the satellites may comprise functions for: - administrative maintenance comprising registration of assets and similar facilities, preventive maintenance comprising functions for standardising the jobs defined for assets of identical type, facilities for defining job templates and facilities for referencing work descriptions, repetitive frequencies, priorities, due dates, last date etc, - back reporting including facilities to back report work types recorded doing the job, spare parts used doing the job etc, corrective maintenance/supervision including facilities for real time detection of faults meaning that fault signals are being detected by the system with a high frequency, determining fault type, determining fault priority, generating fault description and fault report, stock control including facilities for recording spare parts and their number, location, manufacturer, supplier, reference to drawings, quantities on stock, quantities ordered but not delivered, date of delivery and reorder quantities, logbook including facilities for fault statistics, operations statistics, maintenance statistics etc.

In the present context, aspect facilities means all assets related to the industrial application as well as resources in terms of service personnel tools necessary for maintaining the industrial application and IT-infrastructure. Back-reports means reports of actual states, conditions or events into the maintenance system of the present invention.

In the present context, administrative maintenance means detailed registration of each asset in a flexible hierarchy with extensive reports. The asset hierarchy supports any level of detail and history as well as optional driving counters. As part of the asset structure design, standard tasks are defined not only according to which skills are required to carry out the associated jobs, but also according to spare parts which are handled in a central asset stock control.

Preventive maintenance means handling planning and scheduling of maintenance tasks based on any given counter such as for the number of events, time or the relation to other assets. Each task is issued on a job-card with efficient work descriptions and possible causes determined by the processor means, thus enabling a fast and user-friendly back-reporting. All job-cards are designed from a pool of templates, which allows the task lists to be expanded and modified to any given need.

In the present context, corrective maintenance means real-time supervision, where a number of diagnoses are gathered and processed pr. second. The number of diagnosis gathered pr. second is preferably 10-1 50, more preferably 25-1 25, such as 40-100, such as 50-75. Each diagnose is referenced with a master diagnose list, which may be supplemented with special grouped focus areas as well as with automatically summing up specific diagnoses directly in a central back-up system. An optional relation builder allows the supervisor to link completed corrective tasks to preventive jobs, thus making sure the corrective measures will not be needed in the preventive planned future. As a supplement to the system identified tasks, the corrective maintenance allows for any observant technician to add tasks to be logged as part of the overall statistics.

The means for system interaction may comprise a modem or similar telephone line connection and a LAN network adapter or an adapter of similar kind of network. The means for user interaction comprise a screen or a touch screen and a printer or similar means for outputting data to the user, a keyboard, a mouse, track ball, barcode reader and/or similar means for entering data into the system. The LAN 18 may comprise hobs to each interacting part of the system, e.g. to the production equipment constituting the application, e.g., in terms of a satellite, the server or to a world-wide connection to a server at a suppliers site.

When the system is being started for the first time after installation, it should preferably be initialized. The system can be set up, so that the initialization procedure can only be done by the supervisor or by permit of the supervisor. During initialization, all assets of the application and their characteristics are being determined and established as files in an asset database. During this procedure, the mode or status of all parts such as counters, valves, and similar units exiting in multiple states are being determined and stored in the database.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention this is done automatically, based on an interface protocol between the controller of the application and system. In this embodiment the system can be updated with status and conditions of the application on daily or weekly basis.

Fig. 4 schematically shows the most important elements of a preferred embodiment of the invention in which the system is divided into three modes of operation:

1 . Supervisor, 2. Technician and

3. Documentation and reporting

1 . The supervisor or plant manager has access to all facilities, which are accessible from the server or another access terminal. These administrative maintenance tasks include supervision, configuration, planning, evaluation and reporting as well as overall user management of the maintenance system.

The supervisor configures the maintenance system according to the maintenance policy of the company. The supervisor may generate a table with maintenance tasks and related internal or external resources. Moreover the supervisor is being supplied with management information such as average waiting time for a technician, prices for various maintenance tasks, certainty for correction of critical defectives etc. Based on this information the supervisor can react proactively on the maintenance policy of the company, e.g. apply for money for more technicians, apply for allowance for use of more external resources etc.

2. The technician accesses the job-cards and the corresponding back-reports. In a preferred embodiment this is done from a PC based workstation located at strategic locations on the plant floor. In an extended access version of the maintenance system, the technician may further leverage the investment through portable handheld terminals that allows the back-reporting and asset control to be handled right next to the assets. The general mode of operation provides interaction between application, supervisor and the technician. Regardless of the origin - being a diagnose calling for corrective maintenance or a diagnose counter initialising a preventive task - the technician handles the task described on the printed job-card and back-reports according to the conditions found. In most cases the most likely causes for the back-reporting will be predicted by the maintenance system and thus be available as check-off marks on the actual job-card.

When a technician has been assigned a specific task he is given permission to access and alter selected information related to the specific asset. E.g. he can access information concerning the specific parts to be serviced/replaced and he can change information on the asset, e.g. according to the changes he makes to the asset during the service. At the same time the technician is requested to enter data concerning which stock parts that has been used and the duration of the operation. This information is being used to update stock lists and to maintain an experience database containing estimates of expected duration and/or cost of standard preventive maintenance procedures.

A typical procedure is as follows:

1 . The system database is installed an configured for a specific application and the maintenance system database has been continuously updated with information on the availability and capability of technicians, spare parts etc. as well as the conditions of the industrial application.

2. An error occurs in the application.

3. The maintenance system picks up the error signal and assigns a unique identifier, the "CM-AlertlD" to the situation.

4. The supervisor dispatches the alert to the technical staff, either personally to a specific pager or, if no one in particular is required, to all available pagers.

5. The technician(s) reads the pagers display, which displays the general failure type and the specific CM-AlertlD.

6. The technician walks to the nearest terminal or satellite. An available satellite identifies the technician and points to the an alert icon, e.g., on a touch-screen, and selects the CM-AlertlD from the current activity list.

7. If item number 6 above is not completed within a specified timeframe the CM-AlertlD will be repeated to available pagers.

8. At the satellite, the CM-Alert is described in general terms with one or more of the likely remedies to clearing the error. If the event has previously been back reported, any such manual comments from colleagues will be directly available.

9. Should the technician require further information, such may be obtained either by punching up a job card associated with the event or by clicking into the electronic documentation. 1 0. Once familiar with the assignment the technician prints out the job card and walks to the indicated location. If the technician does not carry a barcode scanner personally, a scanner is picked op from the nearest docking - typically a computer terminal, such as a satellite.

1 1 . At the location the technician scans the asset's unique barcode, the personal badge and the job card's 'start'-bar.

1 2. The technician clears the error.

1 3. Once having completed the maintenance task, the technician starts the application and scans one of the available 'finish'-bars on the job card. These bars represent the likely causes as well as an open-ended, i.e. manual back-report to be completed later at the satellite.

14. The maintenance system picks up the start-sign, and the supervisor may directly see the cause or wait for the manual back reporting.

1 5. Once at the satellite, the technician will, once identified, be requested to submit any back-reports identified as manual by the barcode on the job card.

3. The documentation and reporting allows all aspects of the plant maintenance to be evaluated and documented in the many extensive reports provided by the maintenance system. The standard reports include assets, diagnoses and operation statistics. These reports may be used 'as is' or modified by the supervisor on the dedicated configuration screens, which brings access to the underlying logbook that records all necessary information about the application. In general all aspects of the maintenance may be viewed in isolation or aggregated into compound reports showing key performance indicators such as availability, efficiency and overall performance.

All asset information can at any time and from any level be accessed through the asset browser. The asset browser is a graphical way of representing the hierarchy and all related information of an item being part of the application. In the asset browser an asset is formed by an icon having pointers to and from other icons representing respectively the asset it belongs to and the assets that it constitutes (or owns). E.g. an electro motor may be part of a transportation device and the electro motor may constitute (or own) parts like a stator, a rotor, brushes, bearings etc. When the user selects the icon representing the asset information related to the history is achieved, e.g. who has been servicing the part, when it has been serviced, what kind of faults have ever been detected etc.

The documentation can furthermore link to other documentation systems of the company or to external systems for provision of final documentation reports. These systems could be word, excel etc.

Fig. 5 shows the main functions of the system according to the present invention. The boxes marked "CSC" in Fig. 5 represent control means controlling operation of the industrial application, cf. reference numeral 5 in Fig. 2 and reference numeral 20 in Fig. 3. The box "CMS data" in Fig. 5 represents part of the system according to the invention. The outgoing arrows form the "CMS data" box represent information passed to other parts of the system or exterior systems or humans.

Fig. 7 shows an asset browser for graphical presentation of information in a system according to the invention. The browser represent "MACHINERY MAIN COMPONENTS" at a highest hierarchical level. At a lower hierarchical level, "DIESEL ENGINE AGGREGATES" are represented, and at a still lower level, "ENGINE AGGREGATES FOR EL. PRODUCTION" are represented, while lower levels represent machine parts, such as "CYLINDER HEAD NO. 1 ", "INLET VALVE CYL. NO V. For a spare part, a due maintenance task is shown. Thus, in Fig. 7 "INLET VALVE CYL. NO. 1 " is due for control and adjustment of clearance. The task has been generated on 9 September 1 997, and a human resource has been assigned to the task.

Information representing stockpile of specific spare parts may be shown in the hierarchical structure in the browser. Thus, spare part stock pile of a given part or component of the industrial application, e.g., the machinery, may be shown. Furthermore, information relating to running time or status of parts or components may be shown. Information relating to the history of a part, e.g., when and why it has been maintained and who has carried out the maintenance task may be shown. Fig. 8 shows an overview of counter data principals, and Fig. 9 shows an overview of main data relations. The arrows in the diagrams illustrate relations between the entities or components represented by boxes.

Fig. 10 shows an example of a monitor layout of a handheld terminal, the monitor displaying login information and requesting the user to enter his user name and password. Once the user has logged in to the system, a monitor picture as illustrated in Fig. 1 1 is presented to the user. The user may select to obtain information related to stock control or to perform stock control, he/she may retrieve a maintenance job list and/or obtain information on job numbers, alarm signals may be retrieved/reviewed, and the user has the option of logging off from the system. If the user selects the job list option, a picture as illustrated in Fig. 1 2 is displayed to the user on the handheld terminal. From the job list, a certain job may be selected, in which case a picture as illustrated in Fig. 1 3 is displayed to the user.

Claims

1 . A support system for management of maintenance of mechanical and/or electrical components,

the support system comprising or being connected to a control system for controlling operation of the mechanical and/or electrical components, the control system comprising data processing means and communication means for passing data to and from the data processing means,

2. A system according to claim 1 , wherein the step of logging of events comprises real-time logging.

3. A system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the communication means comprise a radio signal sender integrated in or connected to the server means and a radio signal receiver comprised in or connected to the further processor means or in a remote terminal.

4. A system according to claim 3, wherein the remote terminal may comprise a handheld terminal of an operator.

5. A system according to any of claims 1 -4, wherein said processor means are adapted to generate, from at least the signal representing one or more of said events and from a predetermined maintenance schedule stored in storage means comprised in or connected to the server, the maintenance signal indicating when the mechanical and/or electrical components are due for maintenance.

6. A system according to any of claims 1 -4, wherein said processor means are adapted to generate, from at least the signal representing one or more of said events, the maintenance signal indicating when the mechanical and/or electrical components are due for maintenance, the events representing a malfunction of one or more of the mechanical and/or electrical components.

7. A system according to claim 6, wherein the signal representing one or more events is manually entered into the processor means.

8. A system according to claim 6, wherein the signal representing one or more events is automatically generated by malfunction detecting means, and wherein the processor means are adapted to, from the signal representing one or more events, to generate a malfunction signal.

9. A system according to claim 8, wherein the processor means are adapted to generate the malfunction signal from input from one or more detectors or measurement instruments comprised in or located near the m/e components and operatively connected to the processor means.

10. A system according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the processor means are adapted to generate one of a group of predetermined malfunction signals in response to one of a group of predetermined combinations of events.

1 1 . A system according to any of claims 8-10, wherein the malfunction signal is based on a statistical function of one or more of events.

1 2. A system according to any of claims 1 -1 1 , further comprising interfacing means allowing an operator or a machine to enter data representing consumption of spare parts into the processor means of the server.

5 1 3. A system according to claim 1 2, wherein the interfacing means comprise a keyboard, a scanner, such as a bar code reader, radio signal sending and receiving means, a screen or a monitor, such as a touch screen, a touch pad, track ball, a mouse.

10 14. A system according to claim 1 2 or 1 3, wherein the server may comprise or is connected to a spare part stock database, the system comprising communication means adapted to pass data between the server and the database, so as to update the database in response to the consumption of spare parts.

15 1 5. A system according to any of claims 1 1 -14, further comprising means for updating stored values or information representing one or more running conditions, operations, operation history or stock inventory in response to factual conditions, operations, operation histories or stock inventories.

20 1 6. A system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the monitoring system may comprise a graphical system for graphical representation of data representing the number and the types of the components of the system and/or data representing status of one or more of said components and/or data representing availability of spare parts and/or data representing availability and/or working

25 schedule of service personnel and/or data representing an operation schedule of the mechanical and/or electrical system.

1 7. A system according to claim 1 6, wherein the graphical system is adapted to display data in a hierarchical structure, the support system further comprising user

30 interface means for user selection of items and/or levels in the hierarchical structure, the support system being adapted to display data in response to the user selection.

1 8. A system according to claim 1 7, wherein the graphical system is adapted to display only user selected levels of the hierarchical system.

1 9. A system for management of maintenance of mechanical and/or electrical components in a plurality of production facilities, each production facility comprising a plurality of mechanical and/or electrical components, each production facility 5 comprising a support system for management of maintenance of mechanical and/or electrical components according to any of claims 1 -18,

said system comprising: a main server computer, 10 - a computer network for transmitting data between the server means of each of the support systems and the main server computer, said main server computer being adapted to perform operations based on data received from the support system of each of the production facilities.

15 20. A conveyor system comprising a plurality of interacting mechanical and/or electrical components and a control system for controlling operation of the mechanical and/or electrical components, the control system comprising data processing means and communication means for passing data to and from the data processing means,

20 the conveyor system further comprising a support system for management of maintenance of the conveyor system, the support system being connected to the control system

25 the support system comprising:

- a server means comprising data input means for real-time logging of events related to operation of the mechanical and/or electrical components,

30 - a processor means adapted to generate, from at least a signal representing one or more of said events, a maintenance signal indicating when the mechanical and/or electrical components are due for maintenance, - communication or interfacing means for passing the maintenance signal to a further processor means adapted or programmed to activate a maintenance action in response to the maintenance signal or to an operator.

21 . A conveyor system according to claim 20, wherein the mechanical and/or electrical components comprise at least one of the following components:

- at least one conveyor unit for carrying items,

- means for unloading items carried by the at least one conveyor unit,

- means for moving the conveyor unit along a conveyor path,

- means for loading items onto the conveyor unit,

- means for identifying items and/or conveyor units, such as scanners, bar code readers and/or radio transmitters/receivers, infrared transmitters/receivers,

- means for measuring dimensions of items,

- means for weighing items.

22. A conveyor system according to claim 20 or 21 , wherein the support system further comprises any of the features of claims 1 -1 8.

23. A method for managing maintenance of mechanical and/or electrical components in an industrial application,

the method comprising:

controlling operation of the mechanical and/or electrical components by means of a control system, the control system comprising data processing means and communication means for passing data to and from the data processing means, logging events related to operation of the mechanical and/or electrical components by means of a server means having data input means,

generating, from at least a signal representing one or more of said events, a maintenance signal indicating when the mechanical and/or electrical components are due for maintenance,

passing the maintenance signal to a further processor means adapted or programmed to activate a maintenance action in response to the maintenance signal or to an operator,

activating a maintenance action in response to the maintenance signal.

24. A method according to claim 23, wherein the step of logging events comprises real-time logging.

25. A method according to claim 23 or 24, wherein the step of passing the maintenance signal is performed by means of communication means comprising a radio signal sender integrated in or connected to the server means and a radio signal receiver comprised in or connected to the further processor means or in a remote terminal.

26. A method according to claim 25, wherein the remote terminal comprises a handheld terminal of an operator, the method comprising notifying the operator of the presence of a maintenance signal by means of the hand-held terminal.

27. A method according to any of claims 23-26, comprising generating, from at least the signal representing one or more of said events and from a predetermined maintenance schedule stored in storage means comprised in or connected to the server, the maintenance signal indicating when the mechanical and/or electrical components are due for maintenance.

28. A method according to any of claims 23-27, comprising generating, from at least the signal representing one or more of said events, the maintenance signal indicating when the mechanical and/or electrical components are due for maintenance, the events representing a malfunction of one or more of the mechanical and/or electrical components.

5 29. A method according to claim 28, comprising manually entering the signal representing one or more events into the processor means.

30. A method according to claim 28, comprising automatically generating the signal representing one or more events by malfunction detecting means, and generating a

10 malfunction signal from the signal representing one or more events.

31 . A method according to claim 30, comprising generating the malfunction signal from input from one or more detectors or measurement instruments comprised in or located near the m/e components and operatively connected to the processor means.

15

32. A method according to claim 30 or 31 , comprising generating one of a group of predetermined malfunction signals in response to one of a group of predetermined combinations of events.

20 33. A method according to any of claims 30-32, wherein the malfunction signal is based on a statistical function of one or more of events.

34. A method according to any of claims 23-33, further comprising entering data representing consumption of spare parts into the processor means of the server.

25

35. A method according to claim 34, wherein data are entered by means of an interfacing means comprising a keyboard, a scanner, such as a bar code reader, radio signal sending and receiving means, a screen or a monitor, such as a touch screen, a touch pad, track ball, a mouse.

30

36. A method according to claim 34 or 35, wherein the server may comprise or is connected to a spare part stock database, the method comprising passing data between the server and the database, so as to update the database in response to the consumption of spare parts.

37. A method according to any of claims 33-36, further comprising updating stored values or information representing one or more running conditions, operations, operation history or stock inventory in response to factual conditions, operations,

5 operation histories or stock inventories.

38. A method according to any of claims 23-37, wherein data representing the number and the types of the components of the system and/or data representing status of one or more of said components and/or data representing availability of

10 spare parts and/or data representing availability and/or working schedule of service personnel and/or data representing an operation schedule of the mechanical and/or electrical system are graphically monitored.

39. A method according to claim 38, wherein the graphical monitoring displays data 15 in a hierarchical structure.

40. A method according to claim 39, wherein data are displayed in response to the user selection.

20 41 . A method according to claim 40, wherein only user selected level(s) of the hierarchical system is/are displayed.