WO2001061552A2 - Procede et systeme visant a solliciter l'accomplissement d'une tache de la part d'un employe - Google Patents

Procede et systeme visant a solliciter l'accomplissement d'une tache de la part d'un employe Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2001061552A2
WO2001061552A2 PCT/US2001/005667 US0105667W WO0161552A2 WO 2001061552 A2 WO2001061552 A2 WO 2001061552A2 US 0105667 W US0105667 W US 0105667W WO 0161552 A2 WO0161552 A2 WO 0161552A2
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
task
employee
information
determining
activity level
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/US2001/005667
Other languages
English (en)
Other versions
WO2001061552A8 (fr
Inventor
Keith Bemer
Russel P. Sammon
David H. Douglas
Raymond J. Mueller
Magdalena Fincham
Andrew P. Golden
Geoffrey M. Gelman
Andrew S. Van Luchene
Peter J. Vogel
Original Assignee
Walker Digital, Llc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
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Publication date
Application filed by Walker Digital, Llc filed Critical Walker Digital, Llc
Priority to AU2001243224A priority Critical patent/AU2001243224A1/en
Publication of WO2001061552A2 publication Critical patent/WO2001061552A2/fr
Publication of WO2001061552A8 publication Critical patent/WO2001061552A8/fr

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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q10/00—Administration; Management
    • G06Q10/10—Office automation; Time management
    • G06Q10/109—Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting
    • G06Q10/1091—Recording time for administrative or management purposes
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q10/00—Administration; Management
    • G06Q10/06—Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
    • G06Q10/063—Operations research, analysis or management
    • G06Q10/0631—Resource planning, allocation, distributing or scheduling for enterprises or organisations
    • G06Q10/06311—Scheduling, planning or task assignment for a person or group
    • G06Q10/063114—Status monitoring or status determination for a person or group
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q10/00—Administration; Management
    • G06Q10/10—Office automation; Time management
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q10/00—Administration; Management
    • G06Q10/06—Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
    • G06Q10/063—Operations research, analysis or management
    • G06Q10/0639—Performance analysis of employees; Performance analysis of enterprise or organisation operations
    • G06Q10/06398—Performance of employee with respect to a job function

Definitions

  • the invention relates to methods and systems for prompting employees to perform tasks and, more particularly, relates to methods and systems for prompting employees working in retail establishments to perform tasks depending on activity levels of the employees.
  • the methods and systems are used for prompting employees such as sales clerks and cashiers operating point-of-sale terminals in retail establishments such as stores and restaurants to perform additional tasks.
  • employees are often called on to perform work sporadically. Such employees experience some periods of time when they must work continuously or nearly continuously to meet customer demand, and experience other periods of time when little or no work activity is needed to meet customer demand. During periods of low work activity, employees often relax, chat with one another, or perform other non- productive or relatively non-productive activities. However, there often are productive tasks that the employees could have performed during such periods of low activity. Thus, it would be desirable to provide methods and systems that reduce or eliminate the amount of non-productive time of employees during low activity periods, by assigning additional productive tasks to such employees during these periods of low activity.
  • a sales clerk operating a point-of-sale terminal at a store may need to work continuously to process the many transactions being initiated by the store's customers during a peak-period such as the lunch hour, but may need to work little to process the few transactions that occur during a non-peak period such as during late afternoon.
  • a cashier operating a point-of-sale terminal at a quick-service restaurant may need to work continuously to process the restaurant's customers during the peak periods for lunch and dinner, but may need to work little to process the few customers who eat during the non-peak period between lunch and dinner. In both situations, the employees may simply relax between servicing customers during periods of low activity, rather than performing more productive tasks such as cleaning the floor.
  • the managers of retail establishments usually attempt to minimize the amount of relatively non-productive time ("downtime") of their supervised employees to increase the efficiency and profitability of the business.
  • One way in which managers attempt to minimize the amount of relatively non-productive time of their employees is to schedule more employees to work during peak periods than during non-peak periods.
  • Another way in which the managers of retail establishments attempt to minimize the non-productive time of employees is to manually assign the employees to perform productive tasks during periods of low activity. For example, a manager of a store may ask an employee to re-stock the shelves during slow periods. However, the manager may be unable or unwilling to assign each employee to perform a productive task during each period of low activity. Managers in many jobs, particularly in the retail industry, may be over-worked, under-motivated, or otherwise unable or unwilling to provide adequate guidance to employees. Managers may be too busy to assign tasks to employees, may be unaware that some tasks should be performed (e.g., may not know that a floor should be mopped due to a recent spill), or may forget to assign employees to perform tasks outside of their normal responsibilities. Thus, it would be desirable to provide methods and systems to help managers of retail establishments to efficiently and reliably assign employees to perform tasks during low activity periods.
  • Some tasks may be assigned to be performed too early while other tasks are assigned to be performed too late, and some lower-priority tasks may be assigned to be performed before some higher-priority tasks. For example, a manager may ask an employee to take out the trash when the trash is only half full or has already overflowed, or may ask an employee to mop the kitchen floor instead of the higher-priority task of mopping the dining room floor.
  • managers may assign some tasks without insuring that the proper resources will be available to perform the tasks, or may assign tasks to non- optimal or inappropriate employees. For example, a manager may ask an employee to mop the kitchen floor when the only mop is already being used by another employee to mop the dining room floor, or may ask a highly-trained employee to mop a floor when that task could be performed by a new hire. Often, a manager may assign a particular employee to perform a particular task simply because the manager happens to think of the task and see the employee at a particular point in time. Thus, it would be desirable to provide methods and systems to help managers take different types of information into account when determining what tasks should be performed, when those tasks should be performed, and which employees should be selected to perform those tasks.
  • a manager may tell an employee at 9:00 am to take out the trash whenever he or she has free time. However, by noon, the employee may have forgotten to take out the trash. It would thus be desirable to provide methods and systems to help insure that tasks which have been assigned are actually performed.
  • the invention provides methods and systems for prompting an employee working in a retail establishment to perform a task depending on the activity level of the employee and/or other factors such as the priority of the task, estimated duration of the task, skills of the employee, etc.
  • the activity level is representative of how busy the employee is with at least one activity, or of how busy the employee is expected to become with at least one activity in the future.
  • the employee is provided with a real-time prompt to perform the task when the activity level indicates that he or she is available to perform the task.
  • One embodiment of the invention provides a computer-implemented method for prompting an employee working in a retail establishment to perform a task.
  • the method includes determining information about a task to be performed, determining information about an employee which includes at least a monitored activity level of the employee and, depending on at least the activity level, outputting a prompt to the employee to perform the task.
  • the prompt may be output even when the activity level is greater than zero, and instructions may also be output about how to perform the task.
  • the method may include outputting an indication that the task may have been performed, and/or verifying that the task has been performed.
  • the step of determining information about a task to be performed may include receiving information about the task from any of a variety of sources, determining when the task should be performed, and/or selecting the task to be performed from a plurality of tasks.
  • the step of determining information about an employee may include receiving information from any of a variety of sources, determining if the employee's activity level is a low activity level, and/or selecting the employee from a plurality of employees.
  • the step of outputting a prompt to the employee to perform the task may include outputting any of a variety of types of prompts, and/or transmitting data representative of the prompt to an output device.
  • Another embodiment of the invention includes determining information about a task that should be performed, determining information about a transaction level (e.g., a transaction rate) representative of a level of transactions being processed by a point-of-sale terminal and, depending on at least the transaction level, transmitting a prompt (e.g., to a point-of-sale terminal) indicating that the task should be performed.
  • a transaction level e.g., a transaction rate
  • Another embodiment of the invention includes determining a task to be performed, determining a benefit that would be associated with performing the task, determining information about an activity being performed by an employee, determining a cost that would be associated with not performing the activity and, depending on a relationship between the benefit and the cost, outputting a prompt to the employee to perform the task instead of performing the activity.
  • the cost-benefit analysis may be performed by using a comparison between numerical values that have been associated with the benefit and with the cost, or by evaluating a cost-benefit rule.
  • Another embodiment of the invention provides a system for prompting an employee working in a retail establishment to perform a task.
  • the system includes means for determining information about a task to be performed, means for determining information about an employee which includes at least a monitored activity level of the employee, and means for outputting a prompt to the employee to perform the task depending on at least the activity level.
  • the prompt may be output even when the activity level of the employee is greater than zero.
  • the system may optionally include means for outputting an indication that the task may have been performed, and/or means for verifying that the task has been performed.
  • FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary embodiment of a method for prompting an employee to perform a task in accordance with the present invention
  • FIG. 2A is a hardware block diagram showing a first exemplary embodiment of a computer system used to implement the method illustrated in FIG. 1 ;
  • FIG. 2B is a hardware block diagram showing another exemplary embodiment of a computer system used to implement the method illustrated in FIG. 1;
  • FIG. 3 is a hardware block diagram showing an exemplary embodiment of the computer shown in FIG. 2A or 2B, which includes several exemplary databases;
  • FIG. 4 is a table representing an embodiment of the task database shown in FIG. 3 for storing information about tasks to be performed, wherein the task database is populated by sample values for illustration only;
  • FIG. 5 is a table representing an embodiment of the employee database shown in FIG. 3 for storing information about employees, wherein the employee database is populated by sample values for illustration only;
  • FIG. 6 is a table representing an embodiment of the assigned task database shown in FIG. 3 for storing information about tasks assigned to employees, wherein the assigned task database is populated by sample values for illustration only;
  • FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing another embodiment of a method for prompting an employee to perform a task which includes receiving information from an input device about a task that should be performed by an employee;
  • FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing another embodiment of a method for prompting an employee to perform a task which includes determining when the task should be performed, which affects when a prompt is output for performing the task;
  • FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing another embodiment of a method for prompting an employee to perform a task which includes determining if the employee has a low activity level and, if so, determining a task that the employee should perform and outputting a prompt to the employee indicating that he/she should perform the task;
  • FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing another embodiment of a method for prompting an employee to perform a task which includes determining if there is a low transaction level using information from at least one point-of-sale terminal about at least one transaction level and, if so, determining information about a task that should be performed and transmitting a prompt indicating that the task should be performed;
  • FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing another embodiment of a method for prompting an employee to perform a task which includes outputting an indication that the task may have been performed (i.e., includes outputting a "completion alert");
  • FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing another embodiment of a method for prompting an employee to perform a task which includes verifying that the employee performed the task and, if so, optionally providing compensation to the employee;
  • FIG. 13 is a flow chart showing another embodiment of a method for prompting an employee to perform a task which includes outputting a prompt to the employee to perform a task instead of an activity being performed by the employee depending on a relationship between a benefit that would be associated with performing the task and a cost that would be associated with no longer performing the activity.
  • the disclosed methods and systems help increase employee productivity by assigning tasks during periods of low activity.
  • An employee's activity level is determined and, when that level indicates that the employee has entered a period of low activity, a prompt is output to the employee to perform a task.
  • employees can be kept busy performing productive tasks.
  • customer-service employees may be kept busy even during periods of low customer demand.
  • Employee morale may even be improved as employees are kept busy and are no longer unsure of what tasks to perform during their "downtime”.
  • the increased productivity may allow employees to work shorter shifts, allow employers to hire fewer employees, and/or allow employers to pay higher compensation to their employees.
  • Employers are also likely to increase the efficiency and profitability of their businesses.
  • the disclosed methods and systems help to properly schedule or prioritize tasks in an optimal fashion, even in busy and complex work environments, by efficiently and reliably providing real-time prompts to employees to perform tasks during periods of low activity.
  • These methods and systems also help to improve communications between managers and employees, such as by providing instructions to employees about how to perform tasks.
  • the prompts and/or instructions may even be provided when a manager is unable or unwilling to manually provide prompts and/or instructions.
  • a manager's workload can be reduced to allow the manager to work on other tasks or take a break, and/or the manager can be assigned to supervise a larger number of employees.
  • these methods and systems can work autonomously without the manager even being present, or can be used to process information of which the manager is not even aware.
  • the real-time prompts can be output in a manner which improves the scheduling of tasks, and the prioritization by which multiple tasks are performed. Further, the real-time prompts can be output only when the proper resources are available to perform the tasks, and may be assigned only to employees whom the manager would like to perform the tasks.
  • an "employee” is an individual who is used by an employer to perform a job or task, and is typically paid by the employer.
  • Employees may operate point-of-sale (POS) terminals, may interact directly or indirectly with customers, and may receive prompts and/or instructions.
  • POS point-of-sale
  • employees may be sales clerks, cashiers, telemarketers, call-center operators, janitors, maintenance personnel, distribution personnel, blue-collar or white-collar workers, etc.
  • the term “employee” as used herein may include an individual classified as an "independent contractor” in other legal contexts.
  • An “employer” is an individual, business or other entity that utilizes one or more employees to perform a job.
  • employees are managed by at least one "manager", who has the duty of managing the employees (e.g., setting their hours and duties, providing instructions for performing various job- related tasks, and monitoring their job performance).
  • the manager may be permitted to provide various inputs to the disclosed methods and systems, including prompts, instructions, schedules, priorities, etc.
  • the manager may verify that a task has been performed.
  • a "customer" is an individual, acting on his own behalf or on behalf of another, who purchases one or more products, or who visits a retail establishment and has the potential or ability to make a purchase.
  • a "prompt” is a message output to at least one employee which describes or identifies at least one task that at least one employee should or should not perform, or should continue or discontinue to perform.
  • an employee may receive a page stating: "Joe, please clean up a spill in aisle 3".
  • a "task” is at least one action performed by at least one employee, or a result of at least one action performed by at least one employee.
  • An “instruction” is a description of how at least one employee should or should not perform at least one task.
  • an "activity level” is a measurement representative of how busy an employee is with at least one activity, or of how busy an employee is expected to become with at least one activity. The measurement may be specific to the employee, or may be for an entire establishment (e.g., for a store or restaurant which employs the employee).
  • a "low activity level” is an activity level for an employee which indicates that the employee is not busy (e.g., has extra time available that could be used for performing an additional task) or is expected to become not busy, or that the employee is available to perform a task.
  • a “threshold value” is a value below which an activity level is determined to be a low activity level.
  • a threshold value may be a predetermined value, a dynamic value which changes based upon a parameter, or a relative value. As an example of the latter, a threshold value may be determined relative to the activity level of a number of employees, such that the threshold value is set at a relatively high value when all of the employees are busy.
  • An "activity function” is a formula or other algorithm that yields an activity level based on at least one input value.
  • a “transaction level” is a measurement representative of a number of transactions being performed or processed by at least one employee per unit time (i.e., representative of a transaction rate), and may depend on any of a number of factors. A transaction level is thus a specific form of an activity level.
  • a "priority” is a preference associated with a task indicating a ranking for performing that task relative to performing at least one other task. Typically, a high-priority task will be performed before a low-priority task.
  • a "weight” is a value associated with a task which affects the frequency by which that task will be performed relative to the frequency by which at least one other task will be performed. Typically, a task with a high weight will be performed more frequently than a task with a low weight.
  • An "element of randomness” is an element which appears to cause a particular task to be selected in a non-predictable or haphazard manner, possibly but not necessarily in accordance with a priority or weight associated with the particular task, but which does not affect the result by which tasks are selected over a large number of selections.
  • a "point-of-sale (POS) terminal” is a device located at a point-of-sale for a product (i.e., a good or service) that performs functions relating to processing a transaction (e.g., a purchase, exchange, return, query, etc.).
  • a POS terminal includes a processor, at least one input device operable by an employee using the POS terminal, and at least one output device for providing a prompt and possibly instructions to the employee.
  • An "input device” is a device operable to receive an input.
  • An input device may be operated by a person such as an employee, manager or customer, or may be a sensor for sensing a physical parameter.
  • An “output device” is a device for presenting information to a person such as an employee, manager or customer.
  • An output device may be, for example, a display for displaying a prompt and instructions to an employee.
  • a "computer” is a device that may communicate (e.g., electrically, optically, etc.) with one or more input devices, output devices, POS terminals, or other computers, and which performs at least one function of the methods and systems disclosed herein.
  • a computer may or may not reside in a POS terminal.
  • a quick-service restaurant is staffed by a manager (e.g., Doug Maclntyre) who supervises a number of employees (e.g., Ron Jefferson, Jenny Masterson, Peter Smith and Claire Conrad).
  • the manager can also be considered to be an employee who is available to perform tasks.
  • Ron and Jenny are employed as cashiers, and are primarily responsible for operating point- of-sale (POS) terminals to process customer transactions (e.g., taking customer orders, gathering and preparing food and drink products ordered by the restaurant's customers, accepting customer payments and providing change).
  • POS point- of-sale
  • Peter and Marie are employed as cooks, and are primarily responsible for cooking and preparing the food to be served.
  • the activity levels of the employees will generally depend on the number of customers being served by the restaurant. During a shift, the employees' activity levels will typically fluctuate, and the activity level of each employee will change relative to the activity levels of other employees.
  • exemplary tasks will typically need to be performed at particular times and/or under particular conditions to efficiently run the restaurant.
  • Exemplary tasks that will need to be performed include taking out trash from the kitchen once per hour, taking out trash from the dining room at 10:00 am, 1 :00 pm, 5:00 pm and 9:00 pm, unclogging the toilet in the men's restroom whenever it becomes clogged, unpacking new food deliveries when they arrive each Friday, changing the frying oil each day or whenever the oil becomes too dirty, and assisting customers that push a help button.
  • tasks may be many other tasks that will also need to be performed.
  • Each task may have an estimated duration, such as 3 minutes for taking out trash from the kitchen and 10 minutes for taking out trash from the dining room, and it is generally preferable that an employee complete each task once that task is started (although, in some situations, it may become necessary to interrupt an employee who is performing a task to perform a higher priority task, or return to a previous activity).
  • an employee completes each task once that task is started (although, in some situations, it may become necessary to interrupt an employee who is performing a task to perform a higher priority task, or return to a previous activity).
  • it may be preferable to perform one of the tasks before another For example, it may be preferable to take out trash from the dining room before taking out trash from the kitchen.
  • the need to perform a particular task may also change over time.
  • each of the other employees may have only a limited set of tasks which are appropriate to be assigned to that employee.
  • a manager such as Doug to efficiently and reliably provide manual assignments to each of the employees to perform all of the tasks that should be performed at the proper time.
  • the methods and systems disclosed herein can help a manager such as
  • Method 10 for prompting an employee such as a sales clerk, cashier or cook working in a retail establishment such as a store or a quick- service restaurant to perform a task in accordance with the present invention is shown.
  • Method 10 includes determining information about a task to be performed (step 12), determining information about an employee (step 14), and outputting a prompt to the employee to perform the task (step 16).
  • Method 10 may include the optional step of verifying that the task has been performed (step 18). Each step is described below after first describing exemplary computer systems that may be used to implement method 10.
  • method 10 may determine that a particular task needs to be performed (at step 12) before selecting a particular employee to perform that task (at step 14).
  • method 10 may first determine that a particular employee has become available to perform a task (at step 14) before selecting a particular task that should be performed by that employee (at step 12).
  • method 10 combines features of both the "task- driven” and “employee-driven” embodiments by monitoring tasks that need to be performed and employees that become available to perform tasks simultaneously.
  • method 10 selects an employee to perform that task and, if a particular employee becomes available to perform a task, method 10 selects a task to be performed by that employee.
  • This mixed embodiment advantageously responds to the need to perform tasks as they arise together with the desire to keep employees busy at all times in order to increase operating efficiency.
  • Method 10 may be implemented in any of various computer systems, including a system with a single computer (e.g., a central computer), a network of computers in communication with each other (e.g., via a local area network, a wide area network, the Internet, etc.), or one or more controllers.
  • a computer system 20 for implementing method 10 includes a computer 22 in communication with each of a plurality of point- of-sale (POS) terminals 24 A, 24B and 24C.
  • Computer 22 may include a processor, a program executed by the processor, a storage device for storing the program and data structures, and a communication port.
  • POS terminals 24A, 24B and 24C perform functions related to processing transactions at point-of-sale locations (e.g., processing purchases, exchanges, returns, queries, etc.), and functions relating to outputting prompts to employees operating the POS terminals to perform tasks and outputting instructions to the employees about how to perform tasks. Some or all of the functions of computer 22 may also be implemented in the POS terminal(s). Computer system 20 can also include more or fewer than the three (3) POS terminals depicted in FIG. 2A.
  • Computer 22 receives input signals from at least one input device 26 in response to actions by a manager who is operating computer 22, and transmits output signals to at least one output device 28 to provide output indications to that manager.
  • Each POS terminal 24 A, 24B, 24C receives input signals from at least one respective input device 30A, 30B, 30C in response to actions by an employee who is operating the respective terminal, and transmits output signals to at least one respective output device 32A, 32B, 32C to provide output indications to that respective employee.
  • Each input device operated by a person can include one or more input devices, each of which may include a switch, a keypad, a computer keyboard, a POS terminal keypad or keyboard, a touch screen, a microphone, a bar-code scanner, a magnetic stripe reader, a telephone, a telephone automatic call distributor (ACD) or private branch exchange (PBX), etc.
  • Each output device 28, 32A, 32B, 32C includes one or more output devices, each of which may include a video screen such as a cathode ray tube (CRT) monitor, a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a light-emitting diode (LED) screen, and may also include a light-bulb or LED with two-states (e.g., on/off), a printer, an audio speaker, headphones, an earphone, a telephone, a beeper, a pager, a cellular telephone, a laptop personal computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), or a wearable computer equipped with a video display and/or an audio output.
  • a video screen such as a cathode ray tube (CRT) monitor, a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a light-emitting diode (LED) screen
  • a light-bulb or LED with two-states e.g., on/off
  • a printer an audio speaker
  • headphones an earphone
  • computer 22 also receives input signals from at least one sensor 34 responsive to a physical parameter related to a task that should be performed or has been performed, and/or a customer input device 36 responsive to actions of a customer that relate to a task to be performed or that has been performed.
  • sensor 34 may be a temperature sensor (e.g., a thermistor, thermocouple, etc.), a pressure sensor, a photosensor, a flow sensor, a mass sensor, a sonic ranger, an infrared sensor, a video sensor, a weight sensor, an electrical continuity sensor, a global positioning system (GPS) receiver, a radio frequency (RF) receiver, etc.
  • GPS global positioning system
  • RF radio frequency
  • Each sensor 34 can be coupled directly or indirectly to computer 22, and its signal may be further processed by computer 22 before being used.
  • Customer input device 36 may be any of the types of input device described above, and will typically be mounted in a location which is conveniently accessible by a customer. Specific examples of physical parameters related to tasks that may be measured by sensor 34, and of customer actions related to tasks that may be detected by customer input device 36, are described below.
  • Each POS terminal 24A, 24B, 24C is operated by an employee such as a cashier or a sales clerk, with each respective input device 30A, 30B, 30C used to input information in response to actions of the employee, and each respective output device 32A, 32B, 32C used to output information to the employee.
  • Each input device 30A, 30B, 30C can be used to input information about a customer transaction, such as information about a product being purchased, returned or exchanged by a customer, a payment made by a customer, a query about whether a product desired by a customer is in stock, etc.
  • Each input device 30A, 30B, 30C may also be used by an employee to input information about a task that the employee prefers to perform, about a task that the employee has already performed, about a task that the employee has noticed should be performed (e.g., information about a recent spill that should be cleaned), to request instructions for performing a task that the employee has been assigned to perform, to communicate a message to the employee's manager, to provide information about another employee's performance of a task, etc.
  • An employee could also use at least one input device to enter information about customer transactions, and could use at least one other input device to enter information related to tasks and instructions.
  • Each output device 32A, 32B, 32C of POS terminals 24A, 24B, 24C can be used to output information about a customer transaction to a respective employee, such as information about the total sales price of a customer purchase, an amount of change due to a customer, whether a product desired by a customer is in stock, etc.
  • Each output device 32A, 32B, 32C may also be used to output a prompt to the respective employee to perform a task, to output instructions to the employee about how to perform a task, to output information about a compensation earned or to be earned by the employee for performing a task, or to communicate a message from the manager to the employee.
  • At least one output device could also be used to output information to the employee about customer transactions, with at least one other output device used to output information about tasks and instructions for performing tasks.
  • computer 22 is operated by a manager or other person (e.g., a senior employee) with the authority to modify the operation of computer system 20.
  • a manager or other person e.g., a senior employee
  • input device 26 that manager or person can add, delete or modify information about at least one task to be performed or that has already been performed, information about at least one employee, and/or information about at least one task that has been assigned.
  • Examples of task-related information that may be added, deleted or modified include information about the identity of a task, a prompt to output to an employee to assign a task to the employee, an expected duration of a task, when and/or under what conditions a task should be performed, a priority of a task, instructions for performing a task, a compensation that can be earned for performing a task, tasks that could be combined and performed together or vice-versa, etc.
  • Examples of employee- related information that may be added, deleted or modified include information about the identity of an employee, the name of an employee, appropriate tasks for an employee, the skills or responsibilities of an employee, messages to be output to an employee, etc.
  • Examples of information about assigned tasks that may be added, deleted or modified include information about whether an assigned task has been completed or completed co ⁇ ectly, etc.
  • the manager or other person who operates computer 22 can receive information relating to the operation of the business, the performance or activity level of each employee, the tasks that have been or will be assigned, the compensations earned by employees, etc.
  • no manager is involved in the operation of the computer system.
  • computer system 20 may not include input device 26 and/or output device 28, or there may be no manager currently operating devices 26 and/or 28.
  • a manager may choose to be involved in the operation of computer system 20 at particular times, but may allow computer system 20 to run autonomously at other times. It could be, for example, that a manager of a restaurant may choose to be involved in the operation of computer system 20 during all times except when he needs to be away from computer 22 to visit suppliers.
  • computer system 20 can help to schedule or prioritize tasks regardless of whether a manager is cu ⁇ ently present.
  • Computer 22 may also receive an authentication code generated by a verification device 38 which indicates that a task was performed by an employee.
  • verification device 38 provides an authentication code directly to computer 22 upon a task being performed.
  • a self-cleaning oven may include a verification device that generates an authentication code upon completion of a self-cleaning cycle, and may communicate this code electronically to computer 22 (e.g., via a LAN).
  • This authentication code may indicate that the self-cleaning cycle was properly initiated by an employee (who may, for example, have been required to lock the oven and manipulate control devices on the oven to initiate the self-cleaning cycle).
  • a toilet could generate an authentication code whenever its flow sensor indicates that the toilet was unclogged by an employee, and the authentication code could be communicated via an optical link to computer 22.
  • verification device 38 provides an authentication code indirectly to computer 22 via a person.
  • a self-cleaning oven may include a verification device that generates an authentication code upon completion of a self-cleaning cycle initiated by an employee, and displays this code on a display device to be read by the employee. The employee could then operate input device 30 A, 30B or 30C to provide this authentication code to computer 22.
  • FIG. 2 A uses a dashed line to indicate that the communication of the authentication code from verification device 38 to computer 22 may occur either directly (via a communication medium) or indirectly (via a person).
  • FIG. 2B another embodiment of a computer system 40 for implementing method 10 includes a computer 42 which communicates directly with a plurality of employee terminals, each including an input device 44 A, 44B, 44C and/or an associated output device 46 A, 46B, 46C.
  • Computer 42 includes a processor, a program executed by the processor, a storage device for storing the program and data structures, and a communication port.
  • Each employee terminal may be, for example, a PDA, or a portable walkie-talkie worn by the employee, including a microphone to convert the employee's voice into electrical signals and earphones for providing sound to the employee.
  • Each employee terminal may also be a terminal which displays information to an employee who works in a customer-service related position but has only indirect customer contact, such as a cook or dishwasher in a restaurant, a clerk who manages inventory in a store, or another employee who works behind the scenes in a retail establishment.
  • Computer system 40 can include more than or fewer than the three (3) employee terminals depicted in FIG. 2B, and each employee terminal may have an output device (e.g., an earphone or a display screen) but no input device, or vice-versa.
  • Computer 42 communicates with an input device 48 and an output device 50, which are similar to input device 26 and output device 28 in FIG. 2A.
  • Other system embodiments including other numbers and combinations of computers, processors, controllers, input devices, output devices and terminals, may also be used for implementing the method of the present invention.
  • method 10 may be implemented, the exemplary steps of method 10, including steps 12 - 18, are described in detail. Although the following discussion generally assumes that method 10 will be performed using computer system 20 of FIG. 2 A, this discussion also applies when method 10 is performed using computer system 40 of FIG. 2B, except for the particular hardware components involved. It will be appreciated that method 10 may also be performed using other hardware configurations, such as where each POS terminal performs some or even all the functions that are described below as being performed by computer 22.
  • method 10 includes determining information about a task to be performed. This step may include determining or selecting the task (i.e., what task should be performed?) and/or determining when a particular task should be performed.
  • a "task" is at least one action performed by at least one employee, or a result of at least one action performed by at least one employee.
  • the specific task that an employee may be prompted to perform will typically depend on the type of retail establishment in which the employee works. For example, if the retail establishment is a quick-service restaurant, tasks may include taking out trash from the kitchen or dining room, unclogging a toilet in the men's restroom, unpacking a new food delivery, changing the frying oil, mopping a floor, cleaning dishes, assisting another employee, assisting a customer, preparing a product, retrieving a product from inventory, cleaning up a spill, greeting a customer, etc.
  • tasks may include rearranging a store display, restocking a shelf, noticing and removing defective items from a shelf, vacuuming a floor, etc. It will be apparent that a variety of other types of tasks may need to be performed in other types of work settings.
  • the task to be performed may also include receiving information about a specific task to be performed. For example, an employee who is not busy may receive a prompt to "ask the manager if any work needs to be done". In this example, the manager can tell the employee what task, if any, should be performed by the employee.
  • the "task" which an employee may be prompted to perform involves taking a break.
  • a prompt may instruct an employee to "take a 15 minute lunch break".
  • Method 10 can advantageously help schedule breaks during periods of low work activity ("downtimes") when employees are not otherwise busy so that the employees will be ready for work when the amount of work increases. Regardless of whether the employees are busy or not, method 10 can also provide other advantages by scheduling breaks. For example, method 10 can schedule breaks to help keep employees fresh and alert, or to help avoid violating a work rule for an employee (e.g., to insure that an employee is given a break that is required by his union contract).
  • Computer 22 may receive information about tasks to be performed from a variety of sources. For example, computer 22 may receive such information from a person via an input device, from at least one POS terminal, from a sensor for sensing a physical parameter related to a task to be performed, from a source external to the retail establishment, from itself, or from a task database. Further, computer 22 may receive information about tasks to be performed from multiple sources. For example, computer 22 may receive information about a spill that needs to be cleaned up from a person, while also receiving information about frying oil that needs to be changed from a photosensor optically coupled to the frying oil used by a FRYOLATOR cooking unit.
  • Information about a task to be performed can be provided to computer 22 by a person such as a manager (e.g., via input device 26), an employee (e.g., via input device 30A, 30B or 30C), or a customer (e.g., via customer input device 36).
  • a manager e.g., via input device 26
  • an employee e.g., via input device 30A, 30B or 30C
  • a customer e.g., via customer input device 36
  • An employee who provides information about a task to be performed may or may not be the employee eventually selected to perform the task.
  • a manager who provides information about a task may or may not manage the selected employee, and a customer who provides information about a task may or may not receive personal service from that employee.
  • Receiving information about a task to be performed from a person is particularly appropriate for information that would be difficult for computer
  • Information about a task may also be provided by a person located remotely (e.g., at another retail establishment in a franchise or at a home office).
  • Information about a task to be performed can also be provided to computer 22 by one or more of POS terminals 24A, 24B, 24C.
  • computer 22 may receive information from all of the POS terminals in a restaurant about the number of transactions that have taken place, and may use this information to determine when to output a prompt to an employee to take out the trash from the dining room (e.g., take out the trash after 50 transactions have occurred since the trash was last taken out).
  • computer 22 may receive information from POS terminals representing the type and amount of inventory items that have been sold, and may use this information to output a prompt to an employee to perform a task related to inventory (e.g., bring up two cases of soda from the stockroom after 48 sodas are sold).
  • a POS terminal communicates with one or more input devices or sensors to obtain information related to a task to be performed.
  • the POS terminal or terminals that provide information about a task to be performed may or may not include the terminal that is operated by the employee eventually selected to perform the task.
  • information about a task to be performed can be provided to computer 22 by sensor 34, which senses a physical parameter related to the task.
  • computer 22 may receive a signal from a photosensor optically coupled to the frying oil in a FRYOLATOR cooking unit that senses the condition of the frying oil, and may output a prompt to an employee to change the oil whenever the sensed signal indicates that the oil is dirty.
  • computer 22 may receive a signal from a flow sensor fluidly coupled to the toilet in the men's restroom that senses the flow from the toilet, and may output a prompt to an employee to unclog the toilet whenever the sensed signal indicates that the toilet has become clogged.
  • computer 22 may receive a signal from a weight sensor for sensing the weight of the trash in a trash receptacle, and may output a prompt to an employee to take out the trash from the trash receptacle whenever the sensed signal indicates that the receptacle is full.
  • computer 22 may receive a signal from an optical or weight sensor for detecting the amount of an inventory item, and may output a prompt to an employee to restock the item whenever the sensed signal indicates the amount of the item is low (e.g., less than two items) or is expected to become low soon.
  • Information about a task to be performed may also be provided to computer 22 from an external source such as another computer or a computer network such as the Internet.
  • the received information could include information about a sporting event, a weather report, the stock market, etc.
  • computer 22 could receive information from an Internet sporting news service indicating that a game being played at a local stadium just ended, and can use this information to predict when a large influx of people who attended the game will be expected to arrive and to output prompts to various employees to perform tasks in preparation for that influx of people.
  • information about a task to be performed can also be provided to computer 22 by computer 22 itself.
  • computer 22 uses a clock (such as internal clock 64 described in relation to FIG. 3) to track the amount of time that has elapsed since a task was last performed, and can use this information to output a prompt to an employee to perform the task once a particular amount of time has elapsed.
  • computer 22 may output a prompt to an employee to take out the trash from the dining room once 3 hours has elapsed since that task was last performed.
  • computer 22 may consider one or a combination of factors in determining when the task should be performed.
  • the factors that may be considered in determining when one task should be performed may differ from the factors considered in determining when a different task should be performed.
  • computer 22 may access a schedule.
  • the schedule may specify that a task should occur periodically, or that a task should occur at one or more specific times. For an example of a task that should occur periodically, computer 22 may determine that the task of taking out trash from the kitchen should occur once per hour. For such tasks, computer 22 may use an internal clock (e.g., clock 64 shown in FIG. 3) to determine when it is time to perform the task.
  • the periodicity of the task may be stated in a number of ways, including once every X hours, X times every Y minutes, X times per week, etc.
  • computer 22 may determine that the task of taking out trash from the customer dining room should occur at 10:00 am, 1 :00 pm, 5:00 pm and 9:00 pm.
  • the schedule may cause a particular task to be performed at one or more specific times of the shift, day, week, month, year, etc.
  • computer 22 may adjust the actual time that a prompt is output to instruct an employee to perfo ⁇ ri the task based on the activity level of the employee. For example, if a task should be performed at 10:00 am, but all of the employees are too busy to perform that task at 10:00 am, computer 22 may wait until a later time to output the prompt (e.g., the prompt may be output at 10:22 am when one employee becomes free).
  • the time at which a task should be performed may also be expressed in a non-specific manner (e.g., "Empty the trash at about 1 :00 pm"). The non-specific time gives the employee a general idea about when a task should be performed while allowing the employee to exercise some discretion about the exact time for performing the task. If the task is not performed immediately, one or more reminders may also be output.
  • Computer 22 may determine when other tasks should be performed based upon the amount of time that has elapsed since the task was last performed. For example, computer 22 may determine that the task of taking out the trash from the kitchen should occur one hour after the trash was last taken out. This "elapsed time" method of determining when a task should be performed differs from the "periodic” method discussed in the paragraph above in that computer 22 takes into account the actual time that the task was last performed, rather than the time when the task was last scheduled to be performed.
  • the periodic method will cause computer 22 to determine that the task should be performed again at 1 :30 pm (i.e., once per hour), while the elapsed time method causes computer 22 to determine that the task should be performed again at 1 :45 pm (i.e., one hour after the task was last performed).
  • Computer 22 may determine when still other tasks should be performed based upon information about at least one event that has occurred since the task was last performed. For example, if information is received about a spill that has occurred in the customer dining room since the floor in that area was last mopped, computer 22 may determine that the task of mopping the floor in that area should be performed.
  • Computer 22 may determine when some tasks should be performed based upon whether performing those tasks is necessary. For example, computer 22 may determine that the task of mopping the floor should be performed since it may be necessary to mop the floor whenever the floor is dirty, or whenever a spill has occurred.
  • the times when certain tasks should be performed may be determined by computer 22 upon considering whether one or more resources for performing the tasks will be available for performing the tasks at those times. This consideration of available resources may take into account the availability of an employee qualified to perform the task, the availability of multiple employees if multiple employees are needed to perform the task, and/or the availability of particular equipment if that equipment is needed to perform the task. For example, if Ron, Jenny and Doug are the only employees qualified to perform the task of changing the frying oil, and this task must be performed by two employees, then computer 22 will determine that the task of changing the frying oil can only be performed at a time when at least two of Ron, Jenny and Doug are available. For another example, if a restaurant is equipped with only one mop, computer 22 will determine that the task of mopping an area of the floor can only be performed at a time when the mop is not being used to mop another area of the floor.
  • a task may be selected or deselected based upon the amount of work involved in performing the task (e.g., is there sufficient time to perform the task?). For example, if the estimated duration for performing the task of changing the frying oil is 30 minutes, computer 22 can refrain from assigning an employee to perform the task of changing the oil if there are only 15 minutes left in the shift being worked by the employee.
  • the amount of work involved in performing a task may also be considered in relationship to the activity level of an employee in determining when to perform the task and/or which employee should be selected to perform the task. For example, only tasks that have a short estimated duration could be assigned to an employee when the activity level of the employee indicates that he or she is relatively busy, while tasks that have a longer estimated duration could be assigned when the employee is idle.
  • computer 22 may select the task to be performed from a plurality of tasks in a number of different ways. In one embodiment, if more than one task should be performed at any given time, computer 22 considers a priority associated with each of those tasks to determine or select the task to be performed. For example, at any given time, computer 22 could determine that there are two tasks that should be performed: cleaning the bathroom and washing the windows. If the priority associated with cleaning the bathroom is higher than the priority associated with washing the windows, computer 22 may select the task of cleaning the bathroom since that task has the higher priority. In the event that two tasks having the same priority should be performed, computer 22 could randomly select one of the tasks to be performed.
  • the priority associated with a task may be a predetermined or constant priority set by a manager or by computer 22 and stored in a memory for later use.
  • the priorities associated with cleaning the bathrooms or washing the windows may both be constant such that computer 22 will always select the task of cleaning the bathrooms over washing the windows.
  • the priority associated with a task may depend on a parameter, with the priority being determined during operation of computer system 20. For example, the priority associated with the task of washing the windows could normally be a low value, but could be raised to a high priority on the third Tuesday of every month to help insure that this task is performed occasionally.
  • the priority associated with a particular task could also be a function of when that task was last performed. For example, the priority associated with the task of washing the windows could be initialized at a low value, which could increase incrementally each week until eventually the priority reaches a high value. Then, when the windows are washed, the priority associated with this task could be reset to its low initial value.
  • computer 22 may consider a weight that has been associated with each task to select the task to be performed.
  • the weight associated with a task affects the frequency by which that task will be performed relative to the frequency by which at least one other task will be performed. For example, if the weight associated with the task of cleaning the bathroom is twice the weight associated with the task of washing the windows, computer 22 will select the task of cleaning the bathroom twice as often as it selects the task of cleaning the windows.
  • a task may be selected only a certain percentage of the time. For example, the task of checking for burnt-out light bulbs may be selected on only 5% of the days, or an average of checking once every 20 days.
  • an element of randomness may be applied to cause a task to be selected based upon its priority, weight or percentage in a non- predictable manner, but without affecting the overall result by which tasks are selected over a large number of selections. For example, while computer 22 may randomly select the task of checking for burnt-out light bulbs on any one day using a 5% percentage, this task will be selected on 5% of all the days over a large number of days.
  • tasks are selected to be assigned in a completely random fashion (e.g., based upon the result of a random number generator). For example, after determining that there are 5 tasks that all need to be performed, computer 22 could randomly select one of these 5 tasks to be assigned to an employee via a prompt. In this embodiment, a manager could manually assign any task that needs to be performed if the random outcome fails to select that task for too long of a time.
  • computer 22 is capable of selecting multiple tasks to be performed simultaneously. For example, computer 22 could determine that an employee should perform the task of unpacking a new food delivery as well as the task of taking out trash from the kitchen, and could output a prompt to an employee to perform both tasks. To avoid confusion, computer 22 could select multiple tasks that are related to each other. Multiple tasks could be related to each other if they will both be performed in the same location, or if they both involve the same type of skill, the same type of equipment, etc. For example, a single prompt may be output to an employee to instruct the employee to take out the trash from the kitchen and to take out the trash from the customer dining room since both tasks are related to taking out trash. To determine relationships among tasks, each task may be classified as having one or more characteristics, that may be stored in a task database such as that described below, with tasks being related when they share one or more of these common characteristics.
  • computer 22 may select a task to be performed based upon at least one employee who becomes available to perform the task.
  • the task may be selected based upon a skill, responsibility or other parameter associated with the employee (e.g., the employee's location, a relationship between the employee's activity level and the task's estimated duration, information about at least one other employee, etc.).
  • computer 22 may monitor the activity levels of a plurality of employees (e.g., Ron, Jenny, Peter and Claire), only one of whom (e.g., Peter) has been trained to perform a particular task (e.g., unclog the toilet in the men's restroom). If Peter then becomes available to perform a task, computer 22 may select the task of unclogging the toilet in the men's restroom to take advantage of Peter's unique skill.
  • computer 22 may consider an employee's preference when selecting a task to be performed by the employee. For example, Ron may use his input device 30 A, 3 OB or 30C to indicate that he prefers to perform the task of changing the frying oil, with this information stored in a database. If Ron then becomes available to perform a task, and the tasks that should be performed include taking out the trash from the customer dining room and changing the frying oil, computer 22 will select the task of changing the oil to be performed by Ron. Alternatively, computer 22 may consider a manager's preference when selecting a particular task to be performed by an employee.
  • computer 22 allows an employee to select the one (or more) task that he or she will perform from a plurality of tasks that should be performed.
  • an employee e.g., Ron
  • an employee e.g., Ron
  • the employee may then select one (or more) of the tasks from the list which he or she will perform, possibly by pressing an input switch 30A, 30B, 30C on the POS terminal 24A, 24B, 24C.
  • the selected task is then assigned to the employee.
  • computer 22 may select a task to be performed based upon a skill, responsibility, preference or other parameter associated with at least one other employee. For example, if Ron becomes available to perform a task, computer 22 may select the task of taking out trash from the kitchen rather than changing the frying oil so that, if Claire later becomes available, Claire can be assigned the task of unpacking the new food delivery rather than taking out the trash from the kitchen. In this way, computer 22 takes into account Claire's skill in unpacking new food deliveries when assigning the task to Ron. In another example, if Jenny prefers the task of changing the frying oil, computer 22 may assign Ron the task of taking out trash from the kitchen instead of changing the frying oil such that the task of changing the frying oil can be assigned to Jenny when she becomes available later. In this way, computer 22 takes Jenny's preference into account when assigning the task to Ron.
  • computer 22 may determine information about a task to be performed by predicting that a task should be performed based upon a current parameter and/or using historical information. For example, if historical information stored during the last five years indicates that a pub will receive twice as many orders for beer on St. Patrick's day than on a typical day, computer 22 may select the task of bringing up extra cases of beer on St. Patrick's day even before patrons begin to arrive.
  • method 10 includes determining information about an employee. This step may include determining or selecting an employee (i.e., which employee should be selected to perform a task?) and/or an activity level of an employee (e.g., how busy is an employee with at least one activity, or how busy is the employee expected to become with at least one activity?).
  • an employee i.e., which employee should be selected to perform a task
  • an activity level of an employee e.g., how busy is an employee with at least one activity, or how busy is the employee expected to become with at least one activity?.
  • One situation in which method 10 may not need to determine or select the employee who will perform a task is the situation where there is only a single employee who must perform all of the tasks. In this situation, the employee is predetermined and need not be selected by computer 22. Thus, in this situation, method 10 may only determine this employee's activity level.
  • Computer 22 can determine or select which employee will be prompted to perform a task based upon any of a number of factors. For example, an employee may be selected based upon a low activity level, a low transaction level, the task to be performed, the skills or responsibilities of the employee, the location of the employee, the time the employee has available, the employee's or a manager's preference, or another factor or combination of factors which affects the selection of the employee. The selection of an employee may also depend on information about another employee, and may include an analysis of how to best utilize the skills or attributes of several employees.
  • computer 22 may output a prompt to the new employee to unpack the food delivery even if that employee has a higher activity level than the experienced employee, in order to insure that any new POS customers will receive prompt service.
  • an employee's activity level is a measurement representative of how busy the employee is with at least one activity or is expected to become with at least one activity
  • a low activity level is an activity level which indicates that an employee is not busy or is expected to become not busy, and/or is available to perform a task.
  • An employee's activity level may thus be considered to be low either when the employee is not busy in an absolute sense (e.g., when the employee clearly has time available to perform a task), or when the employee is not busy in a relative sense (e.g., when the employee is not busy compared to another employee or group of employees, or is not busy when the importance of performing the task is taken into account).
  • Computer 22 may determine that the employee is expected to become not busy based on information about future activities.
  • Computer 22 can determine an activity level of an employee, and can determine if an activity level is a low activity level, in various different ways.
  • computer 22 uses a measurement of a transaction level to determine if an employee is available to perform a task (i.e., a transaction level is a specific form of an activity level).
  • This embodiment is most applicable to cashiers or sales clerks who perform transactions at POS terminals, but may also be applied to other employees who perform measurable transactions (e.g., a cook at a quick-service restaurant who prepares food for customer orders on a transaction-by-transaction basis, perhaps in situations where a cook reads orders from a video terminal and operates a switch on the terminal to indicate when each order is prepared).
  • a cook at a quick-service restaurant who prepares food for customer orders on a transaction-by-transaction basis, perhaps in situations where a cook reads orders from a video terminal and operates a switch on the terminal to indicate when each order is prepared.
  • the transaction level at an employee's POS terminal is high (e.g., greater than a threshold value)
  • the employee is likely to be too busy to perform a task.
  • the transaction level is low (e.g., not greater than the threshold value)
  • the employee is likely to have time available to perform a task.
  • One way for computer 22 to determine that a POS terminal (and thus the employee operating that POS terminal) has a low transaction level is to monitor the rate of transactions being processed by the POS terminal, and then compare the transaction rate to a threshold value that is indicative of a low transaction rate.
  • the transaction rate is a measure of the number of transactions being processed per unit time. If the transaction rate at the POS terminal falls below a threshold value, computer 22 may determine that the POS terminal has a low transaction level, such that the employee operating the POS terminal may be available to perform a task.
  • computer 22 may determine that the POS terminal has a low transaction level since this transaction rate is less than a threshold value of one transaction every 3 minutes, and may output a prompt to the employee operating the POS terminal to instruct the employee to perform a task.
  • a measured transaction rate may not accurately reflect the true activity level of an employee operating a POS terminal. For example, it may be that an employee can only process one transaction every 5 minutes because she also has to cook all of the french fries needed by a restaurant.
  • the POS terminal may include a "cancel" switch which, when operated by an employee in response to a prompt, indicates that he or she is too busy to perform an additional task.
  • the POS terminal may also allow the employee to enter a reason why she is too busy (e.g., using a keyboard, or one or more switches dedicated to specific reasons, such as an "I'm too busy cooking french fries to do anything else" switch).
  • Operating a cancel switch may also send a message to a manager to allow the manager to verify that the employee had a legitimate reason for canceling the assigned task.
  • Computer 22 may also consider any of a variety of other factors when determining if a POS terminal has a low transaction level. The determination of a low transaction level may depend on the task to be performed. For example, if an important task should be performed (e.g., unpacking a new food delivery), the threshold value used by computer 22 to determine if a POS terminal has a low transaction level may be increased to make it more likely that the measured transaction level of the POS terminal will not be greater than the threshold value. In one embodiment, computer 22 may store different threshold values for different tasks, such that tasks that should be performed within a shorter amount of time will have higher threshold values, and tasks that may be performed within a longer amount of time will have lower threshold values.
  • a transaction level may be considered to be a low transaction level whenever the transaction level decreases, indicating a relative lull in the employee's activities.
  • the threshold value for at least one task is a dynamic value that depends on when the respective task was last performed. As the amount of time that elapses since a task was last performed increases, the threshold value for the task is increased to make it more likely that a measured transaction level will be considered to be a low transaction level (and a prompt to perform the task will be output). The threshold value is then reset to its initial value after the task is performed.
  • Computer 22 may also determine whether a transaction level is a low transaction level based upon information received about a plurality of POS terminals. In one embodiment, computer 22 receives information about transaction levels being processed by each of a plurality of POS terminals, and computes a threshold value used to determine a low transaction level as a function or expression of that information. For example, computer 22 may monitor the transaction levels of four POS terminals in a restaurant, determine the average transaction level of those four POS terminals, and then determine that any POS terminal having a transaction level significantly below the average transaction level has a low transaction level. A prompt to perform a task could then be transmitted to any POS terminal having a low transaction level.
  • the average transaction level may also cause computer 22 to refrain from assigning any additional tasks to be performed. For example, if the average transaction level indicates that a quick-service restaurant is extremely busy, computer 22 could refrain from assigning an additional task to any of the cashiers since instructing even the least busy cashier to perform an additional task may create too much additional work for the other cashiers. Computer 22 could also compute other functions of the information received about a plurality of POS terminals in determining whether a POS terminal has a low transaction level, such as by computing a weighted average of the transaction levels, or by determining if the transaction level of a POS terminal is low by comparing that transaction level relative to transaction levels of other POS terminals.
  • computer 22 determines if a transaction level is a low transaction level based upon the number of POS terminals cu ⁇ ently in operation, and/or based upon the total transaction level of the retail establishment. For example, computer 22 may compare the number of POS terminals that are cu ⁇ ently processing transactions with an optimum number of terminals that should be used to process the total transaction level of the retail establishment. If the cu ⁇ ent number of POS terminals in operation is greater than the optimum number, the POS terminal with the lowest transaction level may be determined to have a low transaction level.
  • any of the POS terminals could be determined to have a low transaction level without regard to the transaction level of that specific POS terminal (such that the determination of a low transaction level for that POS terminal is an approximation).
  • the number of POS terminals in operation is less than the optimum number of POS terminals for processing the total transaction level, an employee who is cu ⁇ ently on break or performing a task may be reassigned to operating a POS terminal.
  • Computer 22 may consider a variety of other factors in determining if the transaction level for a POS terminal is low. One of these factors is the employee who is operating the POS terminal. In one embodiment, a higher threshold value is appropriate for determining if a faster employee has time available to perform a task, while a lower threshold value is appropriate for determining if a slower employee has time available to perform a task. For example, Ron may be an efficient employee with time available to perform a task whenever his transaction rate is less than 30 transactions per hour, while Jenny may be a less efficient employee with time available to perform a task only when her transaction rate is less than 15 transactions per hour.
  • the threshold value for determining if Ron has a low transaction rate may thus be higher (e.g., 30 transactions/hour) than the threshold value for determining if Jenny has a low transaction rate (e.g., 15 transactions/hour).
  • computer 22 determines the speed of each employee for use in setting the threshold value for that employee by monitoring the transactions being performed by each POS terminal.
  • Computer 22 may receive data indicating the identity of the employee operating each POS terminal (e.g., via an input device operated by the employee, or by a manager).
  • a characteristic of a POS terminal e.g., a higher threshold value may be appropriate for determining if an employee operating a POS terminal at a drive-through, express or cash-only checkout lane has time available to perform a task since that employee is likely to be able to process higher transaction rates without being busy
  • a characteristic of at least one transaction e.g., a higher threshold value may be appropriate for transactions that are faster since the employee is likely to have more time available when processing fast transactions, or for less profitable transactions since it is less costly to reassign employees who are performing less profitable transactions
  • the time of day e.g., higher threshold values may be appropriate during a busy meal time at a quick-service restaurant than between meals to insure that employees will be assigned to perform at least some tasks even during busy meal times
  • a rate of change of a transaction level e.g., a higher threshold value may be appropriate if the rate of transactions is increasing since the employee is
  • a measurement of customer traffic provides an indication of a transaction or activity level.
  • Customer traffic may be measured, for example, using one or more weight sensors for measuring the presence of customers in a line for a POS terminal, or the number of cars waiting in a drive-through lane.
  • the level of transactions being processed by a POS terminal operated by each employee provides a convenient and reliable indication of how busy the employee is with at least one activity.
  • a transaction level is just one way to monitor how busy an employee is with at least one activity, and there are many other ways to monitor the employee's activity level. Some of these other ways may provide a more reliable indication of how busy an employee is with at least one activity in certain situations, and/or may be usable even in situations where an employee is not processing transactions or is processing transactions that may not be easily measurable.
  • computer 22 can determine if the employee has a low activity level by comparing the monitored activity level to a threshold value indicative of a low activity level. If the activity level of an employee is high (e.g., greater than a threshold value), the employee is likely to be too busy to perform a task. However, if the activity level is low (e.g., not greater than the threshold value), the employee likely has time available to perform a task. For example, computer 22 may determine that a cook at a quick-service restaurant has a low activity level if no food has been ordered, or if the warming bins for keeping cooked foods warm are already full. By transmitting a prompt for display to the employee using an output device, an employee having a low activity level can be instructed to perform a task, thus reducing the amount of downtime for that employee.
  • a threshold value indicative of a low activity level.
  • Computer 22 can determine the activity level of an employee by monitoring information about an input queue for the employee.
  • An input queue is a list or sequence of items that need to be produced or of activities that need to be performed. Input queues are often a ⁇ anged or sequenced so that the first items or activities added to the queue will be the first items or activities that are produced or performed (i.e., "first-in; first-out”). However, as used herein, an input queue is also intended to cover situations where the items or activities are arranged or sequenced differently, such as in a stack (i.e., "first-in; last-out"), according to a priority or weighting, or in another a ⁇ angement. An input queue may even cover situations where the items or activities have no particular a ⁇ angement (e.g., where the items are thrown into an in-basket).
  • the state of an input queue may be a particularly good indication of the activity level of an employee who works in a production job, such as an employee who operates a machine tool in a factory, or a cook who prepares or cooks food in a quick- service restaurant.
  • the activity level of a machine-tool operator may be determined based upon the number of widgets thrown into an in-basket for the operator, or the activity level of a cook may be determined based upon a list of uncooked orders.
  • Computer 22 can determine if such an employee has a low activity level by monitoring the length of his or her input queue (e.g., the number of items listed in the input queue).
  • a machine-tool operator could be determined to have a low activity level if the depth of widgets in his or her in-basket is no more than 6 inches high, or a cook could be determined to have a low activity level if his or her input queue lists no more than two customer orders to be cooked.
  • Computer 22 can receive information about the length of an input queue from a variety of sources, including from one or more sensors (e.g., sensors coupled to the in-basket of a machine-tool operator may provide signals indicative of the depth of widgets in the basket), one or more POS terminals (e.g., all of the POS terminals in a quick-service restaurant may provide information indicative of the food items that have been ordered by customers and need to be cooked), one or more input devices (e.g., input device 26, 30A, 30B, 30C or 36) operated by a person (e.g., a manager, employee or customer), or other source of input queue information.
  • sensors e.g., sensors coupled to the in-basket of a machine-tool operator may provide signals indicative of the depth of widgets in the basket
  • POS terminals e.g., all of the POS terminals in a quick-service restaurant may provide information indicative of the food items that have been ordered by customers and need to be cooked
  • input devices e.g., input device 26,
  • An output queue is a storage area for placing items that have been produced for future use. As with input queues, output queues are often a ⁇ anged or sequenced such that the first items added to the queue will be the first items that will be used (i.e., "first-in; first- out”). However, as used herein, an output queue is also intended to cover situations where the items are a ⁇ anged or sequenced differently, such as in a stack (i.e., "first-in; last-out"), according to a priority or weighting, or in another a ⁇ angement. An output queue may even cover situations where the items are placed into the queue with no particular a ⁇ angement (e.g., where the items are thrown into an out-basket).
  • the state of an output queue may be a particularly good indication of the activity level of an employee who works in a production job, such as an employee who operates a machine tool in a factory, or a cook who prepares or cooks food in a quick- service restaurant.
  • the activity level of a machine-tool operator may be determined based upon the number of machined widgets thrown into an out-basket by the operator, or the activity level of a cook may be determined based upon the amount of cooked food placed into warming bins by the cook.
  • Computer 22 can determine if such an employee has a low activity level by monitoring the length of his or her output queue (e.g., the number or amount of items placed in the output queue).
  • Computer 22 can receive information about the length of an output queue from a variety of sources, including one or more sensors (e.g., sensors coupled to the out-basket of a machine-tool operator may provide signals indicative of the depth of machined widgets in the basket), one or more input devices (e.g., input device 26, 30A, 30B, 30C, 36) operated by a person (e.g., a manager, employee or customer), or other source of information.
  • sensors e.g., sensors coupled to the out-basket of a machine-tool operator may provide signals indicative of the depth of machined widgets in the basket
  • input devices e.g., input device 26, 30A, 30B, 30C, 36 operated by a person (e.g., a manager, employee or customer), or other source of information.
  • Computer 22 may consider a variety of other factors in determining if the activity level of an employee is low. Some of these factors are the same as or similar to the factors which may be used in determining if the transaction level for a POS terminal is low. For example, these factors may include the employee, a characteristic of at least one activity being performed, the time of day, a rate of change of the activity level, at least one potential activity not yet performed, information about an input queue, at least one past activity already performed, information about an output queue, the task to be performed, and/or information about a plurality of activities being performed by a plurality of employees. In various embodiments, any of these factors could be used to modify the threshold value indicative of a low activity level. In another embodiment, computer 22 may determine that an employee has a low activity level such that a prompt may be output based only upon an anticipated activity level.
  • computer 22 determines the activity level of an employee using an activity function (i.e., a formula or other algorithm that yields an activity level based upon at least one input value).
  • an activity function i.e., a formula or other algorithm that yields an activity level based upon at least one input value.
  • a cashier's activity level may be determined as a function of a rate of transactions being processed at a POS terminal operated by the cashier (e.g., 0.6 transactions/minute) and a factor that depends on a characteristic of the POS terminal (e.g., located at an express lane).
  • the cashier's activity level is equivalent to the transaction level of the POS terminal being operated by the employee.
  • Such a function may be represented by the formula:
  • activity _level f(transaction_rate,POS_location_factor) (1)
  • the inputs to an activity function can include any of the factors discussed above, and the output may be a numerical value representing an activity level, such as the product of the transaction rate and the factor associated with the location of the POS terminal:
  • computer 22 determines that an employee has a low activity level if the output of his or her activity function is less than a threshold value:
  • computer 22 will determine that the cashier has a low activity level, and may then output a prompt to the cashier to perform a task that should be performed.
  • different prompts may be associated with different activity functions and/or different thresholds.
  • computer 22 can also take into account the complexity or volume of each transaction. This will help to provide an accurate activity level indication even though some transactions may be for only one or a few items, while others are for many items. For example, an activity level may take into account both the transaction rate and the number of items purchased in each transaction.
  • computer 22 may determine that an employee has a low activity level by comparing his or her monitored activity level to a threshold value indicative of a low activity level. If the activity level is high (e.g., greater than the threshold value), the employee is likely to be too busy to perform a task. If the activity level is low (e.g., not greater than the threshold value), the employee is likely not busy and has time available to perform a task. Computer 22 will determine that an employee is not busy if his or her activity level is zero (i.e., the employee is idle), and also if the activity level is greater than zero but not greater than the threshold value (i.e., the employee is performing activities but at a low level).
  • computer 22 can distinguish between an employee performing activities who is too busy to perform a task and an employee performing activities who is not busy and has time available to perform a task.
  • the ability to distinguish between such employees can be advantageous in certain situations. For example, a cashier at a quick-service restaurant may be called on to service a small but relatively steady flow of customers. If computer 22 could only distinguish between this cashier being idle and being active, this cashier would not be assigned to perform any tasks despite the fact that this cashier is likely to have enough time available between customers to perform tasks.
  • Computer 22 can advantageously assign tasks to this cashier even when his or her activity level is low but non-zero.
  • computer 22 may determine or select an employee from a plurality of employees based upon at least one task to be performed. For example, if a spill has occu ⁇ ed in the produce section of a grocery store, computer 22 may select an employee who works in the produce section of the store to perform the task of cleaning up the spill. The selection of an employee based upon at least one task to be performed may depend upon a number of different factors.
  • an employee may be selected to perform a particular task if the employee's responsibilities include performing the task.
  • Peter may be responsible for keeping the restrooms clean and functional. If the toilet in the men's restroom becomes clogged, computer 22 may select Peter to perform the task of unclogging the toilet since this task falls within the realm of Peter's responsibilities.
  • an employee may be selected to perform a particular task if the employee's skill level is appropriate for performing the task. For example, Peter may be the only employee who is skilled in performing plumbing-related tasks. If the toilet in the men's restroom becomes clogged, computer 22 may select Peter to perform the task of unclogging the toilet since Peter's skills are appropriate to perform this task.
  • An employee may also be selected to perform a particular task if the employee's location is appropriate for performing the task. For example, if a spill occurs in aisle "3", computer 22 may select an employee located in aisle "4" to perform the task of cleaning up the spill since this employee is located proximate to the spill (e.g., this employee is closest to the spill of any employees who have time available).
  • An employee may be selected to perform a task based on a relationship between the activity level of the employee and the estimated duration of the task. For example, if a task has an estimated duration of ten minutes, computer 22 may select an employee with an activity level that will allow him to work on the task for ten minutes.
  • An employee may be selected to perform a task based on information about at least one other employee. For example, in a situation where there are only two people working at a quick-service restaurant, a cashier and a cook, computer 22 may select the cook to perform the task of taking out the trash from the kitchen to allow the cashier to remain at his or her POS terminal in order to greet any customers who a ⁇ ive.
  • determining an employee based upon a task may include accessing a task database to determine information about the task (e.g., required skills), and accessing an employee database to determine information about an employee (e.g., skill levels). Exemplary embodiments of both of these databases are described below.
  • Computer 22 may receive information about employees from any of a variety of sources. For example, such information may be received from at least one input device operable by a person, POS terminal, sensor, computer or external source.
  • Information about employees may be used by computer 22 in selecting at least one employee to perform a task and/or to monitor an activity level of at least one employee.
  • Information about an employee can be provided to computer 22 by a person such as a manager (e.g., via input device 26), an employee (e.g., via input device 30A, 30B or 30C), or a customer (e.g., via customer input device 36).
  • Computer 22 can use this information to monitor the activity level of the employee.
  • a manager may use input device 26 to indicate that few hamburgers are being ordered at a restaurant such that a prompt should be output to the grill cook to perform a task.
  • an employee may press a switch on a POS terminal (e.g., an "I'm free" button) to indicate that he or she has a low activity level and would like to be assigned a task to perform (possibly in exchange for an additional compensation).
  • An employee may provide information about himself or herself, or another employee.
  • a manager may provide information about an employee regardless of whether he manages the employee, and a customer may provide information about an employee regardless of whether he or she has or will receive personal service from the employee.
  • Information about an employee can also be provided to computer 22 by one or more POS terminals 24A, 24B, 24C.
  • computer 22 may receive information from a POS terminal about the number of hours worked by the employee operating that POS terminal, or about the ambient noise level at that POS terminal.
  • the POS terminal communicates with one or more input devices or sensors to obtain information related to an activity level of an employee. This information may (or may not) then be transmitted to computer 22 for processing.
  • information about an employee can be provided to computer 22 by sensor 34, which senses a physical parameter related to an employee, such as a physical parameter related to an activity level of the employee.
  • computer 22 could receive a signal from weight sensors (e.g., strain gauge sensors) located in the pavement of the drive-through lane of a quick-service restaurant which generate signals representative of how many cars are in the input queue leading to a drive-through window.
  • Computer 22 could use these signals to determine the activity level of the cashier working the POS terminal for the drive-through window.
  • an optical bin could be used to sense the number of pre-cooked food items stored in a warming bin, which computer 22 could use to determine the activity level of a cook.
  • Information about an employee can also be provided to computer 22 by computer 22 itself.
  • computer 22 can use a clock (such as internal clock 64 described in relation to FIG. 3) to determine whether it is a time (e.g., 3:00 pm) when few people are likely to be eating at a restaurant, and can use this information to determine that the activity levels of the cashiers are likely to be low.
  • Computer 22 may also maintain an employee database such as that discussed below.
  • information about an employee may be provided to computer 22 from an external source such as from another computer, a computer network such as the Internet, or a communication device such as a telephone. The received information could include information about a specific employee, or information that will affect the employees such as information about a sporting event, the weather, the stock market, etc.
  • an employee could provide information to computer 22 via her cellular phone indicating that she is stuck in traffic and will be late, or from an Internet sporting news service indicating that a game being played at a local stadium just ended, either of which may be used in predicting the activity levels of the working employees.
  • method 10 includes outputting a prompt to an employee to perform a task.
  • the prompt will typically identify at least one task that the employee should or should not perform, and may also include instructions or hints about how the employee should perform that task.
  • Method 10 may output different types of prompts.
  • a first type of prompt is directed to a specific employee.
  • a prompt may be directed to a specific employee by including an employee identifier within the prompt that uniquely identifies the employee for whom the prompt is intended.
  • computer 22 may transmit data representative of a prompt which, when displayed on a video terminal viewable by multiple employees of a restaurant, states: "Ron: Please take out the trash from the kitchen” or "Employee No. 103: Please take out the trash from the kitchen".
  • the employee identifier in the prompt can reduce or eliminate confusion as to which employee has been assigned to perform the task.
  • computer 22 can address a prompt to the output device for the selected employee, and the displayed prompt itself need not identify the selected employee.
  • Another type of prompt is directed to multiple employees. This type of prompt may be used if multiple employees are experiencing low activity levels, or if more than one employee is needed to perform a particular task.
  • the prompt could read: "Ron and Jenny: Please change the frying oil.”
  • Another type of prompt describes a specific task to be performed.
  • This type of prompt may be as simple as a single word displayed on an output device (e.g., "Trash") or a single indicator (e.g., a lit light bulb above the printed word "Trash”), or may include a description of the task to be performed (e.g., "Empty the trashcans from the kitchen into a large trash bag, tie the bag using a twist-tie and throw the bag into the dumpster behind the restaurant.”).
  • a prompt can advantageously be used to help a manager communicate instructions to employees about how a particular task should be performed.
  • computer system 20 can operate to provide instructions for performing a task separately from the prompt.
  • an employee who would like to receive instructions from a manager, computer 22 or other source may operate an "instructions" switch on her POS terminal, or another input device, to cause computer 22 to output the requested instructions for display to her on the output device of her POS terminal.
  • a prompt may describe multiple tasks to be performed, which may be related to each other to reduce any confusion (e.g., "Throw out trash from the kitchen and the dining room").
  • a prompt may instruct a single employee to perform a single task, a single employee to perform multiple tasks, multiple employees to perform a single task, or multiple employees to perform multiple tasks.
  • Another type of prompt may describe a general task to be performed, with or without identifying any specific task. For example, an employee with a low activity level may be instructed to "Walk through the customer dining room to see if any work needs to be done (e.g., such as cleaning up a spill, or emptying the trash)".
  • the prompt describes both a specific task (i.e., "Walk through the customer dining room") and a general task (i.e., "see if any work needs to be done”).
  • Another type of prompt instructs an employee to select a particular task to be performed from a plurality of tasks that should be performed.
  • computer 22 may determine that the tasks of taking out the trash from the customer dining room and changing the frying oil both need to be performed, and could output a prompt that instructs Ron to select which task he would prefer to perform. Ron could then push a switch on his POS terminal indicating his prefe ⁇ ed task.
  • An employee could also select multiple tasks that he or she would like to perform.
  • prompts may be output to multiple employees with instructions for each employee to operate an input device to select a prefe ⁇ ed task. As each employee makes a selection, computer 22 could output an updated prompt to the remaining employees which deletes any choice already selected by another employee.
  • an employee may be allowed to decline performing a task that he or she has been assigned to perform (e.g., an employee who has hurt his back may be allowed to actuate an input device to indicate that he cannot take out trash from the kitchen). If the employee declines to perform a first task, he may receive a prompt to perform a second task.
  • a prompt that is output to an employee to perform a task may include information about a compensation that will be provided to the employee if the employee performs the task, and/or if the task is performed co ⁇ ectly. Further information about outputting prompts that include information about compensations that may be provided for performing actions or behaviors is set forth in co-pending and commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 09/540,710, entitled “Method and System for Motivating an Employee to Perform a Behavior Related to an Upsell", filed on March 31, 2000, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
  • computer 22 transmits data representative of the prompt to an output device (e.g., output device 32A, 32B or 32C).
  • an employee associated with the output device then has the opportunity to view or otherwise sense the prompt and respond accordingly.
  • the output device is associated with a POS terminal being operated by the employee.
  • a POS terminal may have an LCD screen that displays a textual prompt to the cashier operating the POS terminal.
  • the prompt may include information that identifies the employee (e.g., "Ron— Please take out the trash").
  • An output device may also be associated with a specific employee.
  • an earphone walkie-talkie may be associated with the specific employee who wears it, and can be used by computer 22 to transmit an audio prompt to that employee.
  • the employee may receive different prompts at different times and in different locations.
  • An output device could also be associated with a plurality of employees.
  • an audio prompt could be transmitted to the intercom system of a quick-service restaurant to allow the prompt to be heard by all of the employees.
  • the prompt may include an employee identifier to avoid any ambiguity about the selected employee (e.g., "Ron: Please take out the trash from the kitchen").
  • a very simple indication can be used to provide a prompt to an employee.
  • a blinking light on a POS terminal may provide an indication to an employee operating the POS terminal that he has been assigned the task of taking out the trash.
  • an employee could understand that he has been assigned the task of cleaning up a spill whenever his beeper goes off.
  • additional information such as instructions for performing a task may be output to an employee as part of a prompt, or in addition to a prompt.
  • This additional information may be output using the same output device as that used to output the prompt, or may be output using a different output device.
  • a cook may receive a prompt to unclog the toilet in the men's restroom on a video terminal used to display customer orders that need to be cooked
  • instructions could be provided to the cook on a walkie-talkie device to allow the cook to receive the instructions at the location where he or she will perform the task.
  • the instructions may be provided before the task is performed, as the task is being performed, and/or in response to a request from the employee for instructions for performing the task.
  • an employee may receive an additional prompt instructing him to finish a task more quickly, or perform the task in a different manner. For example, if the estimated duration for the task of taking out trash from the kitchen is three minutes, and the employee has taken ten minutes to take out the trash, computer system 20 may output a prompt to the employee (e.g., via an alphanumeric pager) to hurry up. In another example, a manager who observes an employee inco ⁇ ectly stocking a shelf could send a prompt to the employee to perform the task co ⁇ ectly.
  • a notification may be output to an employee to stop performing a task he was previously assigned to perform.
  • an employee performing the task of cleaning windows could be provided with a notification (e.g., via an intercom system) to stop cleaning the windows and return to his POS terminal.
  • a notification could be issued for a variety of reasons.
  • such a notification could be issued in response to an increase or a predicted increase in a transaction level (e.g., a cashier could receive a notification to return to his POS terminal to help process customer transactions if the transaction level of a restaurant increases), in response to an increase in an activity level (e.g., a cook could receive a notification to return to the restaurant's grill if a busload of customers has just a ⁇ ived), in response to the need to perform a more important task (e.g., an employee who has been cleaning the parking lot for the last 15 minutes could receive a page to unclog the toilet in the men's restroom), in response to the employee taking too long to perform a task (e.g., Ron could receive a prompt to change the frying oil if he has been unable to complete taking trash out from the kitchen after ten minutes), in response to the end of a shift or a scheduled break time, etc.
  • the notification may be received via an output device associated with the specific employee, or via an output device associated with a pluralit
  • computer 22 could later output another prompt to the employee to return to and complete the first task.
  • computer 22 may only determine that the second task has a higher priority than the first task before outputting the prompt. In this case, the prompt may be output without first determining an activity level of the employee.
  • a prompt may be output to an employee selected to perform a task.
  • the computer system may output a prompt to a manager to instruct the manager to prompt an employee to perform a task, or may output a prompt to a first employee to instruct the first employee to prompt a second employee to perform a task.
  • a manager receives a message each time an employee is prompted to perform a task to inform the manager that the employee was assigned the task.
  • method 10 may include the step of verifying that a task that at least one employee has been assigned to perform was, in fact, performed.
  • the verification may be performed manually by a manager or other person, possibly in response to an indication or "verification request" that is presented to the person that the task may have been performed.
  • the verification may be automatically performed by computer 22 using information received from an input device operated by a person, a POS terminal, a sensor, itself, an external source, or multiple such sources.
  • computer 22 after outputting a prompt to an employee to perform a task, computer 22 outputs an indication that the task may have been performed. For example, after outputting a prompt to Ron to take out trash from the kitchen, computer 22 may transmit data to output device 28 to display the message: "Doug — Verify that Ron took out the trash.” This indication may be refe ⁇ ed to as a "verification request" since it requests its recipient to verify whether the task was performed. The indication does not itself constitute verification that a task was performed, but is used as a catalyst to initiate a verification process. In other words, the indication signals only that an employee may have performed a task.
  • the indication is transmitted to notify a manager that a task may have been performed to allow the manager to manually verify if the task was performed.
  • the manager i.e., Doug
  • the manager could then manually check the trash cans in the kitchen to verify whether they were emptied.
  • An indication that a task may have been performed may be output in response to information received by computer 22 from any of a variety of sources.
  • the indication is output in response to a signal generated by an input device operated by an employee after performing a task.
  • the input device may be a switch located on a POS terminal operated by the employee (e.g., input device 30A, 30B, 30C), or another input device accessible to the employee.
  • a cashier may receive a prompt to perform the task of taking out trash from the kitchen. After taking out the trash, the cashier may push a button on his POS terminal to indicate that he finished.
  • computer 22 sends an indication to the cashier's manager to request the manager to verify whether the task was performed. The manager may then manually verify whether the task was performed by the cashier.
  • An indication that a task may have been performed may also be output in response to a signal generated by a sensor for sensing a physical parameter which indicates that the task may have been performed.
  • computer 22 may receive signals from a sensor (e.g., a global positioning system (GPS) receiver worn by an employee) which represent the employee's location. The indication that the task may have been performed may then be output based upon the employee's location. For example, if computer 22 determines that a machine-tool operator who received a prompt to perform the task of sweeping the shop floor has returned to his machine tool, computer 22 may send an indication to a foreman that the floor may have been swept.
  • GPS global positioning system
  • signals from a sensor coupled to the panel which indicate that the panel has been opened and closed may be used by computer 22 to generate an indication that the task of changing the oil may have been performed.
  • the indication merely indicates that the task may have been performed, and does not constitute a verification that the task was, in fact, performed. For example, it could be that the machine-tool operator merely got up to get a cup of coffee, or that the restaurant employee merely opened and closed the panel for some other purpose.
  • an indication that a task may have been performed is generated automatically (e.g., at the time a prompt is output to perform the task, or after the estimated duration for performing the task has passed).
  • a prompt may have been output to Peter to perform the task of unclogging the toilet in the men's restroom at 11 :55 am, with this task having an estimated duration of 20 minutes.
  • Computer 22 may have stored the time that the prompt was output (i.e., 11:55 am), and may then output an indication that the task may have been performed at or after 20 minutes has passed since the prompt was output.
  • computer 22 may add extra time to the estimated duration before generating the indication.
  • computer 22 may wait an extra 6 minutes, such that the indication will be output at 12:21 pm (i.e., 11 :55 pm + 20 minutes estimated duration + 6 minutes extra time). By adding this extra time, computer 22 may help prevent false alarms where an employee just misses completing a task before a manager verifies whether the task was performed.
  • An indication that a task may have been performed may also be generated automatically if, for example, no signal is received in a reasonable period of time from an input device that should have been operated by an employee after completing a task, since the employee may simply have forgotten to operate the input device after having completed performing the task.
  • computer 22 stores information about each task that has been assigned in an assigned task database (such as that described below), and uses the assigned task database to generate an indication when each task may have been performed.
  • the assigned task database may store information such as the employee who was assigned to perform the task, the time that a prompt was output to the employee to perform the task, and the time when the task is or was expected to have been completed.
  • An indication that a task may have been performed may then be generated based upon the time when the task was expected to have been completed (e.g., time of the prompt + estimated duration of the task + any extra time).
  • a manager verifies that the task was performed.
  • the manager may perform this verification in response to receiving an indication (i.e., a verification request) that the task may have been performed (e.g., via a pager, cellular phone or other output device).
  • the manager may perform this verification based upon his awareness of the prompts that were output to the employees (and may also have been output to the manager via output device 28, or may have been output to both the employee and the manager via an intercom system, public video terminal, etc.).
  • Manual verification is particularly appropriate when the completion of a task is difficult or inconvenient to measure. For example, it may be appropriate to have a manager manually verify that the task of cleaning a bathroom or the task of setting up a window display has been performed since the completion of either of these tasks may be difficult to measure.
  • the manager uses his input device 26 to provide information to computer 22 about whether the task was or was not performed, and/or about how the task was performed (e.g., how long did the task take to be performed? Was the task performed co ⁇ ectly?). How the task was performed may also depend on a result of a task (e.g., is the floor that was mopped by an employee really clean?), or on a manager's observance of the employee performing the task. The use of this information by computer 22 is described below.
  • a manager may verify whether one or more tasks has been performed in a variety of ways.
  • a manager may manually verify whether each individual task has been performed, perhaps in response to receiving a verification request for that task. For example, a manager could manually verify that the task of taking out trash from the kitchen was performed in response to receiving the message: "Verify that Ron took out the trash from the kitchen".
  • Tasks may also be grouped together and verified as a batch.
  • computer 22 may store information about each task that has been assigned (e.g., in an assigned task database), and may make this information available to a manager when it is time to verify that a group of tasks have been performed (e.g..).
  • computer 22 could generate an audio prompt to remind a manager to verify that the assigned tasks have been performed, and could allow the manager to print out a copy of the assigned task database for use as a checklist when verifying that each task was performed). Any task that was already verified, or that does not need verification, could be flagged or otherwise removed from the assigned task database.
  • a recording device e.g., a video or audio recorder
  • the recorded information could later be reviewed by a manager to verify whether and/or how the employee performed the task.
  • a video camera could be placed facing a dumpster in the parking lot of a restaurant.
  • a manager could then review a tape recorded by the video camera to verify whether an employee actually performed the task of taking out trash in response to a prompt, and/or to determine how the employee took out the trash (e.g., did the employee take a smoking break when he was outside, or was the employee careless in throwing out the trash so that some of the trash spilled?).
  • the manager may decide to perform this review only if suspicious that the employee did not actually perform this task or did not perform this task correctly, or if a dispute arises between the employee and the manager about performance of the task.
  • the verification that a task has been performed in response to a prompt may also be performed automatically by computer 22, possibly using signals received from one or more sensors or POS terminals.
  • computer 22 may receive signals from a photosensor optically coupled to the frying oil within a FRYOLATOR cooking unit that may be processed to determine that the oil has been changed recently. In this case, the indication from the sensor indicates the task was definitely performed. Such signals may also be indicative of how the task was performed.
  • computer 22 may be able to process the signals from the photosensor to determine whether the employee waited enough time to drain all of the oil from the cooking unit before pouring the new frying oil into the cooking unit (e.g., signals indicating that the frying oil is only partially clean may indicate that the employee did the task poorly).
  • computer 22 may assume that a task has been performed by an employee if an expected result of the task has occu ⁇ ed.
  • the measurement used for verification is an expected result of the task, but is not a direct measurement of the task itself.
  • a verification request may itself be considered to be adequate verification that a task was performed.
  • a sensor may be used to sense whether an access panel to an oven has been opened. If the panel has been opened recently, computer 22 may determine that an employee has cleaned the oven since opening the oven is an expected result of cleaning the oven but is not a direct measurement of whether the oven was cleaned. While possible that an employee may have opened the access panel without cleaning the oven, this would be unlikely.
  • computer 22 receives an indication of whether a task was performed, and/or about how a task was performed, from another person such as another employee or customer. For example, whenever a first employee is assigned a task, a second employee could receive a verification request to verify that the task was performed. For another example, a customer could operate customer input device 36 to indicate if a task was performed, and/or to indicate customer satisfaction. A transaction log of a POS terminal could also be used as a measurement of customer satisfaction.
  • computer 22 receives an authentication code which indicates that a task has been performed.
  • the authentication code may be generated by verification device 38 in response to a task being completed.
  • the authentication code may be communicated to computer 22 upon a task being performed, or may be displayed on a display screen of verification device 38 and then entered into computer system 20 by the employee. For example, after an employee performs the task of cleaning a self-cleaning oven, the oven could display an authentication code (e.g., 12038) indicating that the oven has been cleaned. The employee could then enter this authentication code into a POS terminal to indicate that the task has been completed.
  • an employee speaks a word or words, or makes a sound, to indicate that a task has been performed.
  • This word or words is used by computer system 20 to verify the performance of the task.
  • a voice recognition system is used to verify that the employee spoke the required word(s).
  • computer 22 can perform a number of different functions based upon the result of the verification.
  • One function computer 22 may perform is to track which tasks have and have not been performed. For any task which has not been performed, computer 22 may then send out a reminder to the employee originally assigned to the task to perform the task, or may output a prompt to a second employee to perform the task (in which case computer 22 may also send an indication to the first employee that he or she is no longer assigned to perform the task).
  • computer 22 could output a reminder to Ron to take out the trash, or could output a prompt to Jenny to take out the trash while also sending an indication to Ron that he is no longer assigned to perform this task.
  • Computer 22 may also provide a benefit to the employee for performing a task based upon whether performance of the task is verified.
  • the benefit may be determined in accordance with information provided to the employee by a prompt. For example, on receiving a signal from an input device operated by a manager indicating that an employee mopped a floor, computer 22 could credit the employee with the $0.25 compensation specified in the prompt which assigned this task to the employee.
  • Different types of benefits can be provided to an employee for performing a task, including money, points earned towards prizes or promotions, products, services, job responsibilities, time off from work, recognition, etc. Whether a benefit is provided, or how much of a benefit is provided, may depend on how well a task was performed (e.g., a manager can provide computer 22 with information about how clean a window is).
  • a benefit, or its amount may also depend on how long it took to perform a task, how long it took for an employee to respond to the prompt to perform the task, the employee, the task, a benefit provided to another employee, or another parameter. For example, an employee may receive $0.25 for mopping a floor within 10 minutes of receiving a prompt to mop the floor, but only $0.10 for mopping the floor between 10 and 20 minutes of receiving such a prompt, unless the employee had a good reason for needing more than 10 minutes, such as having been assigned an intervening task (e.g., helping a customer).
  • a benefit may be provided at different times, such as immediately (e.g., "Please take a 10 minute break as a reward for having washed all of the windows"), at the end of a shift (e.g., "Please make yourself a free dinner for having performed all of your tasks today"), or as part of a paycheck.
  • employees could receive a pay raise or a promotion based upon a pattern of performing tasks. For example, an employee could become eligible for a pay raise or a promotion once he or she responds to prompts within five (5) minutes, 80% or more of the time.
  • an employee could also be assessed a penalty for not performing a task, or for not performing a task co ⁇ ectly.
  • the assessment of a penalty is analogous to the provision of a benefit, discussed above.
  • Information about benefits earned by an employee for performing tasks, or about penalties assessed for not performing tasks, may be provided to the employee via output device 32A, 32B or 32C.
  • computer 22 may output a message to an employee "You just earned $0.25 for mopping the floor”.
  • a system for providing benefits and penalties to employees for performing or not performing behaviors is disclosed in co-pending and commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 09/540,710, entitled “Method and System for Motivating an Employee to Perform a Behavior Related to an Upsell", filed on March 31 , 2000 and incorporated herein by reference.
  • various databases are employed for storing information about tasks to be performed, for storing information about employees, and/or for storing information about tasks that have already been assigned.
  • Various aspects of these embodiments are now described in relation to FIGs. 3 - 6.
  • computer 22 of FIG. 2A includes a processor 60, a data storage device 62 in communication with processor 60, a clock 64 which provides a clock signal to processor 60, and one or more communication ports 66 also in communication with processor 60.
  • Processor 60 includes one or more microprocessors, such as one or more Intel PENTIUM® microprocessors.
  • Data storage device 62 includes any of a variety of memory devices, such as random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), floppy disk, hard disk, optical disk or a combination thereof. Although data storage device 62 may be proximate to processor 60, data storage device 62 may also be located remotely from processor 60 and coupled thereto via a remote communication medium (e.g., the Internet).
  • a remote communication medium e.g., the Internet
  • Data storage device 62 stores a program 68 which includes instructions executed by processor 60, and also stores data structures including a task database 70, an employee database 72 and an assigned task database 74, each accessible to processor 60.
  • assigned task database 74 is not used, and any verification that employees have performed assigned tasks is performed by a manager.
  • Clock 64 provides timing signals for controlling execution of processor 60, and for determining information such as the time of day. the amount of time elapsed since a particular task was last performed, the time that a prompt to perform a particular task was output, or the time that a particular task was completed.
  • a real-time clock coupled to processor 60 may be used to perform timekeeping functions, with this clock being located internally or externally to computer 22.
  • Communication port 66 includes one or more input/output interface circuits for communicating with each POS terminal 24A, 24B, 24C, input device 26, output device 28, sensor 34, customer input device 36, and any other input devices, output devices or computer systems.
  • Computer 42 in FIG. 2B has a structure similar to that of computer 22, with appropriate modifications such as to the interfaces of communication port 66.
  • task database 70 is represented by a table which stores information about at least one task that an employee may be assigned to perform.
  • task database 70 includes a task identifier field 80 for storing an identifier that uniquely identifies that task, a task field 82 for storing a description of that task, an estimated duration field 84 for storing an estimated amount of time that task is expected to take, a condition field 86 for storing one or more conditions which define when that task should be performed, and a priority field 88 for storing a priority associated with that task.
  • Task database 70 may also have more or fewer fields, or different fields, than those shown in FIG. 4.
  • task database 70 may also include an instruction field for storing such instructions.
  • such instructions could be stored in an instruction database (not shown) which uses the task identifier as an index.
  • task database 70 could have an additional field for storing the time when each task was last performed, or could not include expected duration field 84 if the various tasks are to be assigned without taking their expected duration into account.
  • a unique record 90A-90F is associated with each task. Based upon the information stored within record 90A, for example, information stored in task database 70 indicates that task identifier T-l- 091231 is associated with a task described as "take out trash from kitchen” (which may also be used as a prompt to output to an employee to perform that task), which has an estimated duration of "3 minutes", should be performed "once per hour", and has a priority value of "4".
  • Task database 70 may have more or fewer than the six (6) records that are shown, based upon the number of tasks that may be assigned to be performed.
  • each task stored in task field 82 may be used as a prompt which is output to an employee to instruct the employee to perform that task.
  • computer 22 may output a prompt defined by field 82 of record 90A to the employee using output device 32A, 32B or 32C of the POS terminal 24A, 24B or 24C being operated by the employee.
  • the prompt associated with each task may be stored in a prompt database (not shown) that uses the task identifier as an index.
  • the estimated duration stored in field 84 in association with each task indicates the estimated amount of time that an employee will need to perform that task. For example, taking out trash from the kitchen is estimated to take 3 minutes.
  • the estimated duration for each task may be set by a manager using input device 26, or may be determined or adjusted by computer 22 based upon historical information about how long it has taken to perform that task in the past. In one embodiment, different estimated durations can be associated with a single task, based upon an estimate of how long it will take a particular employee to perform that task. For example, field 84 of record 90A may indicate that Doug will probably take 3 minutes to take out the trash for the kitchen, while Ron will probably take 5 minutes to perform that same task.
  • the estimated duration of a task may also depend on the relative difficulty of the task. For example, the estimated duration of the task of taking out trash from the dining room may be 10 minutes during non-meal times, but may be 20 minutes during busy meal times due to the higher amounts of trash that are typically generated during meal times.
  • the condition stored in field 86 in association with each task indicates one or more factors that will be considered by computer 22 in determining when that task should be performed. Different types of conditions are possible.
  • the condition may include performing a task according to a schedule, such as performing the task periodically (e.g., once per hour) or at one or more specific times (e.g., 10:00 am, 1 :00 pm, 5:00 pm, and 9:00 pm).
  • Other conditions include performing a task based on an amount of time that has elapsed since the task was last performed (e.g., two hours after the task was last performed), based on at least one event that has occu ⁇ ed since the task was last performed (e.g., after 30 customer transactions have been processed, or a customer has pushed a help button to request assistance by an employee), based on whether performing the task is necessary (e.g., as soon as any safety hazard is detected), or based on whether the appropriate resources needed to perform the task are available (e.g., when multiple employees are available, when an employee is available for whom the task is appropriate, when the equipment needed to perform the task will be available, when an employee has enough time available to perform the task, etc.).
  • an amount of time that has elapsed since the task was last performed e.g., two hours after the task was last performed
  • at least one event that has occu ⁇ ed since the task was last performed e.g., after 30 customer transactions have been processed, or
  • Computer 22 may consider multiple factors or variables which generally relate to a particular task to determine if (and/or when) that task should be performed.
  • the factors or variables may be combined using logical and/or mathematical functions or expressions. For example, multiple factors or variables relating to a task may be combined into a Boolean expression, which must be true for the task to be selected.
  • Boolean modifiers and conjunctions e.g., AND, OR, XOR, NOT, NAND, etc.
  • constants e.g., 0, 1, 0.02, 15%, ⁇ , TRUE, "yellow", "raining”, etc.
  • a threshold activity level associated with each task is also stored in a separate field (not shown) of task database 70.
  • the threshold activity level associated with a task indicates the level of activity below which an employee should be prompted to perform the task. For example, if the threshold activity level for the task of taking out trash from the kitchen is "4", and the monitored activity level of Jenny is "3.2", computer 22 may determine that Jenny has time available to perform the task of taking out trash from the kitchen since her activity level of "3.2" is less than the threshold activity level associated with the task of taking out trash from the kitchen.
  • the threshold activity level field will thus provide an indication of the relative importance of each of the tasks that has been stored within a record of task database 70.
  • the priority stored in field 88 in association with each task will be considered by computer 22 when selecting the task to be performed when conditions indicate that more than one task may be performed.
  • each task has been assigned a priority value of between 1 and 10, with 1 being the lowest priority and 10 the highest.
  • computer 22 will select the task of taking out trash from the dining room since its priority value of 5 or 7 is higher than the priority value of 4 assigned to the task of taking out trash from the kitchen.
  • lower priority values could represent higher priorities (e.g., a priority value of 1 could be associated with the highest priority tasks), and vice-versa.
  • Tasks of varying priorities could also be stored in different databases, with the tasks stored in higher-priority databases selected before the tasks stored in lower-priority databases.
  • database 70 could store weights associated with each task.
  • the priority assigned to a task may be constant (e.g., a priority value of 4 is assigned to the task of taking out trash from the kitchen), while the priority assigned to another task may depend on a parameter (e.g., the priority value assigned to the task of taking out trash from the dining room is 5 if performed within 15 minutes of its scheduled time, but is 7 if not performed within that window).
  • the priority associated with a task may also be a function of when that task was last performed. For example, the initial priority value assigned to the task of mopping the floor of the customer dining room may be 4, which may be incremented by 1 for each hour that passes until it reaches 10, with the priority value being reset to 4 whenever the floor is mopped.
  • This priority scheme reflects the rule that, although it may always be beneficial to have the floor of the dining room freshly mopped, the need to mop the floor will increase as time passes since the floor was last mopped.
  • the priority associated with a task may also depend on the time since the condition for the task became true. For example, the initial priority value for the task of assisting a customer may be 7, with that value being incremented by 1 for each minute that has passed since the customer pushed a help button (subject to the maximum priority value of 10).
  • Some or all of the information stored in task database 70 may have been determined well before any of the tasks need to be performed (e.g., before the start of a shift). However, in some embodiments, some or all of the information stored in task database 70 may be updated during operation of computer system 20 (i.e., "on the fly"). For example, a manager may add, delete or modify any of the information stored in task database 70 using input device 26 based upon cu ⁇ ent observations or knowledge. For example, if a manager learns that the toilet in the men's restroom is clogged, he or she may use input device 26 to add the task of "unclog the toilet in the men's restroom" to task database 70, and/or to increase the priority associated with this task. In this way, the manager may use task database 70 to disseminate information to the employees.
  • People other than the manager may also be allowed to update at least some of the information stored in task database 70.
  • an employee could use his or her input device 30A, 30B or 30C to add information about a spill that needs to be cleaned up, or a customer could use customer input device 36 to enter such data.
  • restrictions can be placed on the type of information which may be updated by employees and/or customers.
  • computer 22 could be programmed to prevent the employee or customer from changing information about any task already entered into task database 70.
  • any information entered into system 20 by employees or customers is forwarded to the manager, who then uses input device 26 to indicate whether that information should be stored in task database 70 and, if so, to indicate any related information (e.g., what priority should be assigned to a new task?).
  • any related information e.g., what priority should be assigned to a new task?.
  • restrictions are also placed on the type of information that the manager may input. These restrictions could be placed, for example, by a home office.
  • information about tasks that employees may be assigned to perform is determined by accessing the task database.
  • information about tasks may be determined in other ways which may or may not include accessing a database.
  • tasks to be performed may be selected by a manager, or selected from a plurality of tasks using a random method.
  • tasks to be performed may be selected by accessing a database which stores rules for selecting tasks.
  • One exemplary rule is: given a number of tasks that should be performed, select the task that will have the greatest positive impact on the quality of the customer experience (which could be determined using a "customer experience" ranking associated with each task).
  • employee database 72 is represented by a table which stores information about at least one employee.
  • employee database 72 includes an employee identifier field 100 for storing an identifier that uniquely identifies that employee, an employee name field 102 for storing that employee's name, an activity level field 104 for storing a value which represents how busy that employee is with at least one activity, and an appropriate tasks field 106 for storing the identifiers of tasks appropriate for that employee to perform.
  • Employee database 72 may have more or fewer fields, or different fields, than those shown in FIG. 5.
  • employee database 72 could include a "transaction level” field for storing a value which represents the rate of transactions being processed by each employee, instead of or in addition to activity level field 104.
  • field 106 could store a list of tasks appropriate for the employee (e.g., instead of storing task identifier "T-3-092384", field 106 of record 108C could store a description or prompt for the task "Unclog the toilet in the men's restroom").
  • employee database 72 could store other information related to appropriate tasks for each employee, such as by including one or more fields for storing information about each employee's skills, responsibilities, quality of work (i.e., how well does an employee perform one or more tasks?), preferences, position, rank, seniority, etc.
  • a field for storing information about the skills of each employee could indicate that Peter and Doug are the only employees who have plumbing skills. Then, if a task needs to be performed that requires plumbing skills, such as unclogging a toilet in a restroom, computer 22 would only select Peter or Doug.
  • a unique record 108A-108E is associated with each employee. Based on record 108A, for example, information stored in employee database 72 indicates that employee identifier E- 1-908234 has been associated with Ron Jefferson, an employee who has an activity level of 4.0, for whom the appropriate tasks include taking out trash from the kitchen (task identifier T-l- 091231), taking out trash from the dining room (task identifier T-2-092833) and changing the frying oil (task identifier T-5-623784).
  • Employee database 72 may have more or fewer than the five (5) records shown, based upon the number of employees.
  • the activity level stored in field 104 for each employee is representative of how busy that employee is with at least one activity. This information may be stored in field 104 by computer 22 during operation of computer system 20.
  • each employee has been associated with an activity level value of between 1.0 and 10.0, with 1.0 being the lowest activity level and 10.0 being the highest. For example, if the conditions indicate that the trash should be taken out from the kitchen, computer 22 is most likely to select Jenny as the employee who should be assigned to perform this task since Jenny's activity level of 3.2 is the lowest activity level of any of the employees for whom taking out the trash from the kitchen is an appropriate task.
  • the information about appropriate tasks that may be performed by each employee may be used merely as non- binding indications about who should perform each task.
  • the manager may prefer that Ron, Jenny or Claire be selected to perform the task of taking out trash from the kitchen before Peter is selected to perform that task. In this case, Peter can still be selected to take out trash from the kitchen if Ron, Jenny and Marie are all too busy to perform this task.
  • the information about appropriate tasks that may be performed by each employee can be interpreted by computer 22 as strict instructions about who is and is not allowed to perform each task.
  • a manager may specify that Peter is the only employee besides himself who is allowed to perform any plumbing task. In this case, Ron, Jenny or Claire will not be selected to unclog the toilet in the men's restroom even if Ron, Jenny and Claire are idle and Peter is busy with cu ⁇ ent activities.
  • computer 22 may output a prompt to a first employee to perform a task, and may later output a message to replace the first employee with a second employee when the second employee becomes available, perhaps since the skills of the second employee are better suited for the task.
  • assigned task database 74 is represented by a table which stores information about at least one task that has been assigned to at least one employee.
  • assigned task database 74 includes an assigned task field 110 for storing the task identifier for that assigned task, an employee identifier field 112 for storing the employee identifier for the at least one employee assigned to perform that assigned task, a prompt time field 114 for storing the time at which a prompt was output to the at least one employee to perform that assigned task, a completion time field 116 for storing the time at which that assigned task was completed (if at all), and a completion verification field 118 for storing information about the completion status for that assigned task.
  • the completion status may depend on information received from a person, sensor or other input device.
  • Assigned task database 74 may also include other fields.
  • database 74 could also include a field for storing information about how a task was performed (e.g., was the task performed co ⁇ ectly, or was the task fully or only partially completed?).
  • a unique record 120A-120J each having fields 110, 112, 114, 116 and
  • Assigned task database 74 can include more or fewer than the ten (10) tasks that are shown in FIG. 6.
  • a new record similar to records 120A-120J is created by computer 22 whenever a prompt is output to at least one employee to perform a task. For each new task that is assigned to at least one employee, computer 22 stores the identifier of the assigned task in field 110, stores the identifier of the at least one employee in field 112, and stores the time that the prompt was output in field 114 of the record for that task.
  • Field 116 is used to store the completion time for each assigned task. If the assigned task needs verification, computer 22 initially stores "PENDING" in field 116 to indicate that completion of that task is pending (e.g., record 120H). Later, after receiving information indicating whether the assigned task was completed, computer 22 updates field 116 to store the time the assigned task was completed (e.g., record 120B), or to store the time that the assigned task was found to be incomplete (e.g., record 120F). If, however, the assigned task does not need verification, computer 22 initially stores "N/A" or the estimated time of completion in field 116 (e.g., record 120C or 120A, respectively). The estimated time of completion may be determined by adding the estimated duration of the task to the time that the prompt was output.
  • Field 118 is used to store information about the completion status for each assigned task. If the assigned task needs verification, computer 22 initially stores "PENDING" in field 118 to indicate that completion of the task will need verification (e.g., record 120H). Later, after receiving information about completion of the task, computer 22 updates field 118 to indicate that performance of the assigned task was successfully "VERIFIED" (e.g., record 120B), or was found to be "INCOMPLETE" (e.g., record 120F). In the latter case, computer 22 can reassign the task to the same or a different employee.
  • VERIFIED e.g., record 120B
  • ICOMPLETE e.g., record 120F
  • records 120F and 120J indicate that the task of changing the frying oil, originally assigned to Doug by a prompt that was output at 11 :12 am, was re-assigned to Ron by a prompt output at 12:30 pm after completion of this assigned task by Doug was found by computer 22 to be incomplete. If, however, the assigned task does not need verification, computer 22 stores "NOT NECESSARY" in field 118 for that task to indicate that verification is not needed (e.g., record 120A).
  • Assigned task database 74 can be used for a number of purposes. For example, a manager can request a printout of the data stored in assigned task database
  • computer 22 can provide the manager with a printout of only those tasks that still need to be verified.
  • a manager can also use the information within database 74 as a record of when each task was last performed. Further, computer 22 could use database 74 to track when each task was last performed, which may influence when a prompt to perform that task again will be output.
  • computer 22 may use assigned task database 74 to determine when that task was last performed in evaluating whether the condition for performing that task again has become true (e.g., has 1 hour elapsed since the task was last performed?).
  • assigned task database 74 could include another field for storing information about verification requests.
  • assigned task database 74 could include an additional "verification request time field" for storing the time at which computer 22 will issue or has issued an indication to a manager that an assigned task may have been performed (i.e., a verification request).
  • completion time field 116 already stores information indicating that an assigned task has been completed (e.g., based upon a sensed signal indicating that the task has already been completed)
  • computer 22 could suppress output of the verification request.
  • the verification request time for an assigned task may be different than the completion time for an assigned task. In particular, the former refers to the time that a verification request is output to request a person to verify that an assigned task has been performed, while the latter refers to the time that an assigned task is completed.
  • a method of prompting an employee to perform a task which uses task database 70, employee database 72 and/or assigned task database 74 can be used to help Doug manage the restaurant reliably and efficiently.
  • Doug can use employee database 72 to store information about all of the employees who work at the restaurant.
  • Doug may have used his input device 26 to create a record for each employee who works at the restaurant, including Ron Jefferson (record 108 A), Jenny Masterson (record 108B), Peter Smith (record 108C), Claire Conrad (record 108D) and himself (record 108E).
  • Doug may also have entered a list of appropriate tasks. There may, of course, be records for any other employees who work at the restaurant.
  • Doug can use task database 70 to store information about all of the tasks that may need to be performed at particular times and/or under particular conditions.
  • Doug may have used his input device 26 to create a record for each task that may need to be performed, including taking out trash from the kitchen once per hour (record 90A), taking out trash from the customer dining room at 10:00 am, 1 :00 pm, 5:00 pm and 9:00 pm (record 90B), unclogging the toilet in the men's restroom whenever a flow sensor indicates it is clogged (record 90C), unpacking new food deliveries when they a ⁇ ive each Friday (record 90D), changing the frying oil each day or whenever a photosensor indicates that the oil is dirty (record 90E), and assisting a customer whenever the customer pushes a help button (record 90F).
  • Doug may also have entered an estimated duration (field 84), and a priority by which the tasks should be prioritized if a conflict arises.
  • field 84 an estimated duration by which the tasks should be prioritized if a conflict arises
  • system 20 After entering this information, Doug can use computer system 20 to help assign tasks to his employees using method 10.
  • system 20 first determines if any task stored in task database 70 needs to be performed (step 12) by evaluating the conditions for performing the tasks stored in field 86, taking into account the priority of each task that needs to be performed if more than one task needs to be performed. After determining that a particular task needs to be performed, system 20 determines an employee from employee database 72 to perform that task (step 14), taking into account the activity level of the employee and the tasks that are appropriate for the employee.
  • system 20 first determines if any employee with an entry in employee database 72 has become available to perform a task (step 14) before selecting a particular task from task database 70 (step 12) that should be performed by that employee, taking into account factors such as the priority of each task, the tasks appropriate for the employee, the activity level of the employee, and the estimated duration of each task.
  • system 20 combines features of both the “task-driven” and “employee- driven” embodiments by monitoring tasks that need to be performed and employees that become available to perform tasks simultaneously. If a particular task arises that needs to be performed, system 20 selects an employee from employee database 72 to perform that task and, if a particular employee becomes available to perform a task, system 20 selects a task from task database 70 to be performed by that employee.
  • system 20 outputs a prompt to the employee to perform the task (step 16) and creates a new record in assigned task database 74 to track the task.
  • the prompt is output
  • Doug may receive an indication that the task may have been performed to allow him to verify that the task was performed (step 18).
  • Doug can use input device 26 to provide information to system 20 that the task was performed. If, during operation of system 20, Doug believes that a change should be made about a particular task, he can use input device 26 to modify the information stored within task database 70. If Doug believes that a change should be made about a particular employee, he can use input device 26 to modify the information stored within employee database 72.
  • system 20 may further use system 20 to communicate with his employees (e.g., receive questions, provide instructions, etc.).
  • system 20 can help Doug to perform his job of managing the quick-service restaurant, and can allow Doug to spend more of his time thinking about how to improve the operation of the restaurant by allowing him to effectively "delegate" some responsibilities to system 20.
  • system 20 can also provide prompts to the employees of the quick-service restaurant even when a manager such as Doug is not available.
  • a method 200 for prompting an employee to perform a task includes receiving information from an input device about a task that should be performed (step 202), determining information about an employee (step 204) and outputting a prompt to the employee to perform the task (step 206).
  • Method 200 is thus similar to method 10, except that step 202 specifies that the information about a task to be performed is received from an input device such as an input device operated by a person (e.g., a manager, employee or customer) or a sensor.
  • Method 200 also does not include any step which is similar to optional verification step 18 of method 10. Refe ⁇ ing to FIG.
  • a method 210 for prompting an employee to perform a task includes determining a task to be performed (step 212), dete ⁇ nining when the task should be performed (step 214), determining information about an employee which includes an activity level determined by monitoring at least one activity of the employee (step 216) and, depending on the activity level of the employee and when the task should be performed, outputting a prompt to the employee to perform the task (step 218).
  • steps 212 and 214 specify determining both a task to be performed and when such a task should be performed.
  • step 216 specifies determining an activity level by monitoring at least one activity level of the employee and, compared to step 16, step 218 specifies outputting a prompt to the employee to perform the task depending on the activity level of the employee and when the task should be performed.
  • a method 220 for prompting an employee to perform a task includes receiving information about an activity level of an employee (step 222). If the employee has a low activity level (i.e., the employee likely has time available to perform a task) (step 224), method 220 includes determining a task that the employee should perform (step 226) and outputting a prompt to the employee indicating that he should perform the task (step 228). However, if the employee does not have a low activity level (i.e., the employee is too busy to perform a task, or is expected to become too busy to perform a task), then the method ends without any prompt being output to the employee to perform a task. Method 220 thus represents an "employee-driven" embodiment of the invention.
  • a method 230 for prompting an employee to perform a task includes receiving information about at least one transaction level from at least one POS terminal (step 232). If the transaction level is low (i.e., the employee likely has time available to perform a task) (step 234), method 230 includes determining information about a task that should be performed (step 236) and transmitting a prompt indicating that the task should be performed (step 238). If the transaction level is not low (i.e., the employee is too busy to perform a task), the method ends without any prompt being output to the employee to perform a task. Similar to method 220, method 230 represents an "employee-driven" embodiment of the invention, except the transaction level of at least one POS terminal is the specific form of activity level used to determine if the employee is likely to have time available.
  • a method 240 for prompting an employee to perform a task includes determining information about a task to be performed (step 242), determining information about an employee (step 244), outputting a prompt to the employee to perform the task (step 246), and outputting an indication that the task may have been performed (step 248).
  • Method 240 is thus similar to method 10, except that step 248 ofmethod 240 in FIG. 11 has replaced step 18 of method 10 in FIG. 1.
  • a method 250 for prompting an employee to perform a task includes determining information about a task to be performed (step 252), determining information about an employee (step 254), outputting a prompt to the employee to perform the task (step 256), and verifying that the task has been performed (step 258). Until this point, method 250 is the same as method 10. Then, method 250 includes determining whether the task has been performed (step 260). If so, method 250 includes providing compensation to the employee (step 262). If not, method 250 ends (as shown), or performs another step such as assessing a penalty to the employee, or providing an indication to a manager that the employee did not perform the task.
  • a method 270 for prompting an employee to perform a task includes determining a task to be performed (step 272), determining a benefit that would be associated with performing the task (step 274), determining information about an activity being performed by an employee (step 276), and detrmining a cost that would be associated with not performing the activity (step 278).
  • Method 270 also includes comparing the benefit with the cost (step 280) and, if the benefit is greater than the cost, outputting a prompt to the employee to perform the task instead of performing the activity (step 258). However, if the benefit is not greater than the cost, method 270 does not output a prompt to the employee to perform the task.
  • Method 270 thus represents an embodiment of the invention which includes performing a cost-benefit analysis to determine if an employee should perform a task different than his cu ⁇ ent activity, or should continue to perform that activity. By performing the cost-benefit analysis, method 270 optimizes the value of the employee by causing that employee to work on the task or activity that will be the most valuable.
  • the benefit that would be associated with performing each task may be assigned a numerical value indicative of the amount of the benefit to the establishment, and the cost that would be associated with not performing each activity may be assigned a numerical value indicative of the amount of the cost to the establishment.
  • the values could be stored in one or more databases in association with the particular task or activity.
  • the values could be predetermined values, or could be determined as a function of one or more variables.
  • the cost-benefit analysis could then be performed by comparing the numerical value for the task to be performed by the employee with the numerical value of the activity currently being performed.
  • a manager could specify that the monetary value of having a cashier process transactions at a POS terminal is equal to $5/hour, while the monetary value of having the cashier perform the task of taking out trash from the kitchen is equal to $3.50/hour.
  • computer 22 would determine that the cost that would be associated with not having the cashier perform the activity of processing transactions (i.e., $5/hour) is greater than the benefit that would associated with having the cashier perform the task of taking out trash from the kitchen (i.e., $3.50/hour). In this case, computer 22 would not output a prompt to the cashier to take out the trash.
  • the benefit that would be associated with having the cashier take out the trash from the kitchen could be a dynamic benefit that is determined based upon the formula:
  • the benefit would be equal to $5.50, and computer 22 would then determine that the cost that would be associated with not having the cashier perform the activity of processing transactions (i.e., $5/hour) is less than the benefit that would be associated with having the cashier perform the task of taking out the trash from the kitchen (i.e., $5.50/hour). In this case, computer 22 would output a prompt to the cashier to take out the trash.
  • the values used to determine the benefit or cost may depend upon any of a large variety of variables, such as when the task was last performed, the employee, the task, the activity, the time of day, or any of the other variables discussed herein.
  • the relationship between the benefit and cost which determines if a prompt will be output to an employee to perform a task depends on a cost-benefit rule. For example, one rule may be that the benefit associated with performing any task that will improve customer safey is always greater than the cost associated with not performing any activity with only an economic impact. Based upon this rule, the analysis may determine that a prompt should be output to instruct an employee to clean up a spill in the dining area rather than cook hamburgers on the grill.
  • computer 22 after determining that an employee is in a period of low activity (i.e., a downtime), is configured to output a prompt to the employee to perform a task that is unrelated to the core business of the employer, such as by performing a task for a third-party.
  • This task may involve performing paid work for a third party. For example, if Peter's monitored activity level indicates that Peter has time available to perform other work in addition to his duties at a retail establishment, computer 22 may output a prompt instructing Peter to make calls on behalf of a call center, possibly with the understanding that any earnings made by Peter from the call center will be split with the retail establishment.
  • both the retail establishment and the employee could benefit financially from the employee's downtime.
  • the prompt may be output to instruct an employee to perform unpaid work for a third party. For example, Peter may be prompted to make unpaid fund-raising phone calls on behalf of a charity. This alternative would allow employers to effectively contribute the free time of its employees to help charities, community organizations, or other worthwhile causes.
  • computer 22 could output a prompt to a first employee to teach a second employee how to perform a task. In this way, the second employee could be trained to perform the task such that it would later be appropriate to output a prompt to the second employee to perform the task.
  • this prompt would be output when both the first and the second employees have low activity levels.

Abstract

L'invention concerne un procédé visant à solliciter l'accomplissement d'une tâche de la part d'un employé travaillant dans un établissement de vente au détail. On détermine l'information relative à cette tâche, et l'information relative à l'employé, y compris au moins un niveau d'activité contrôlé pour cet employé, et en fonction de ce ou ces niveaux d'activité, la sollicitation est envoyée à l'employé. La phase de détermination de l'information relative à une tâche peut consister aussi à sélectionner la tâche et/ou à déterminer le moment de son accomplissement. La phase de détermination de l'information relative à l'employé peut également consister à sélectionner l'employé. Généralement, la sollicitation intervient lorsque le niveau d'activité est très faible, et même lorsque ce niveau est supérieur à zéro. On peut également fournir une indication d'accomplissement et/ou une vérification d'accomplissement. Selon une variante, la décision d'envoyer la sollicitation ou de laisser l'employé exécuter l'activité en cours déprend du résultat d'une analyse coût-avantage. Le niveau d'activité peut être un niveau de transaction (par exemple, taux de transaction) pour un employé exploitant un terminal point de vente.
PCT/US2001/005667 2000-02-17 2001-02-15 Procede et systeme visant a solliciter l'accomplissement d'une tache de la part d'un employe WO2001061552A2 (fr)

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US60/183,272 2000-02-17
US57905600A 2000-05-26 2000-05-26
US09/579,056 2000-05-26

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SG158742A1 (en) * 2001-09-04 2010-02-26 Technology Licensing Corp Diagnostic data interchange
US7634598B2 (en) 2005-08-17 2009-12-15 Permanent Solution Industries, Inc. Dynamic total asset management system (TAMS) and method for managing building facility services
WO2008011537A3 (fr) * 2006-07-19 2008-11-06 Chacha Search Inc Procédé, système et support lisible par un ordinateur utiles à la gestion d'un système informatique destiné au service de tâches initiées par un utilisateur
US7873532B2 (en) * 2006-07-19 2011-01-18 Chacha Search, Inc. Method, system, and computer readable medium useful in managing a computer-based system for servicing user initiated tasks
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US20100063624A1 (en) * 2006-08-02 2010-03-11 Kieran Richard Hyland Monitoring Method And System
US10831468B2 (en) 2009-07-23 2020-11-10 S3G Technology Llc Modification of terminal and service provider machines using an update server machine
US11662995B2 (en) 2009-07-23 2023-05-30 S3G Technology Llc Network efficient location-based dialogue sequence using virtual processor
US11210082B2 (en) 2009-07-23 2021-12-28 S3G Technology Llc Modification of terminal and service provider machines using an update server machine
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US20150213396A1 (en) * 2014-01-29 2015-07-30 Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. Sales clerk operation management apparatus, sales clerk operation management system, and sales clerk operation management method
US10049333B2 (en) * 2014-01-29 2018-08-14 Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. Sales clerk operation management apparatus, sales clerk operation management system, and sales clerk operation management method
US20180341891A1 (en) * 2017-05-25 2018-11-29 Spot You More, Inc. Task monitoring
JP2020522082A (ja) * 2017-05-25 2020-07-27 スポット・ユー・モア・インコーポレイテッド タスク監視
CN110945543A (zh) * 2017-05-25 2020-03-31 点你多多公司 任务监控
WO2018217910A1 (fr) * 2017-05-25 2018-11-29 Spot You More, Inc. Surveillance de tâches
US11295252B2 (en) 2017-11-27 2022-04-05 Spot You More, Inc. Smart shelf sensor
US10891571B2 (en) 2018-08-23 2021-01-12 Capital One Services, Llc Task management platform
CN111429036A (zh) * 2020-04-24 2020-07-17 广东电网有限责任公司 一种审计人员工作效率的监测方法和装置
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