WO2023209811A1

WO2023209811A1 - Plant material matching device and plant material matching method

Info

Publication number: WO2023209811A1
Application number: PCT/JP2022/018905
Authority: WO
Inventors: 仁志片岡; 万宇李; 智広大堀; 潤一郎平岡
Original assignee: 日揮グローバル株式会社
Priority date: 2022-04-26
Filing date: 2022-04-26
Publication date: 2023-11-02
Also published as: JPWO2023209811A1; JP7467021B2

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a plant material matching device with which it is possible to match surplus materials held by plant operators with necessary materials required by other plant operators. [Solution] A plant material matching device 2 is provided with: a necessary material analysis unit 203 that enters described content of detailed specifications included in a request into a detailed specification extraction model to obtain a detailed specification feature quantity of a necessary material; a surplus material analysis unit 201 that acquires the essential specifications of each surplus material from material information, and enters the material information into the detailed specification extraction model to obtain a detailed specification feature quantity of the surplus material; a candidate material narrowing-down unit 204 that narrows down those of the surplus materials, the essential specifications of which match the essential specifications of the necessary material, as candidate materials; and a matching processing unit 205 that performs matching on the basis of the degree of similarity calculated by entering the detailed specification feature quantity of the necessary material and the detailed specification feature quantity of each candidate material into a degree-of-similarity calculation model.

Description

Plant material matching device and plant material matching method

The present invention relates to a plant material matching device and a plant material matching method.

Since a large number of materials are used in a plant, the plant operator who manages the plant keeps inventory of materials procured in advance for replacement (also called spare parts, spare parts, etc.) and materials left over during construction. It is necessary to hold them and manage their inventory appropriately. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a plant equipment maintenance information management device that manages the inventory quantity of spare parts using spare part numbers, names, etc. as information for managing the inventory of spare parts.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 1-250171

In preparation for maintenance work, plant operators keep multiple materials of different types (surplus materials) in stock, including materials procured in advance for replacement and materials left over during construction. Due to various circumstances such as the occurrence of abnormalities or breakdowns, delays in the delivery of procured materials, etc., we may not be able to respond with the surplus materials of the types we own, and materials (required materials) that need to be urgently procured may arise. .

In such cases, if compatible materials can be shared between multiple plant operators, it would be possible to procure the necessary materials in a timely manner. However, each plant operator manages surplus materials using management rules unique to the plant operator. Therefore, even if other plant operators have surplus materials that are compatible with the necessary materials needed by a plant operator, due to the difference in management rules as mentioned above, the necessary materials may not be available. It was difficult to match surplus materials to

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and is a plant material matching method that allows surplus materials held by other plant operators to be matched with necessary materials needed by a plant operator. The purpose is to provide a device and a plant material matching method.

In order to achieve the above object, a plant material matching device according to one aspect of the present invention includes:
Upon receiving a request including essential specifications of necessary materials used in a plant and detailed specifications of said necessary materials, one or more plant operators manage material information based on management rules specific to said plant operators. A plant material matching device that matches the surplus material to the request from the surplus material that is
a necessary materials analysis unit that obtains detailed specification features of the necessary materials by inputting descriptive content describing the detailed specifications included in the request into a detailed specification extraction model;
For each of the surplus materials, an essential specification acquisition process of acquiring the essential specifications of the surplus materials from the material information, and inputting the material information into the detailed specification extraction model to obtain the detailed specifications of the surplus materials. a surplus materials analysis unit that performs detailed specification feature acquisition processing to acquire feature quantities;
a candidate material narrowing section that narrows down, as candidate materials, among the surplus materials, the surplus materials in which the essential specifications of the surplus materials match the essential specifications of the necessary materials;
For each of the candidate materials, the degree of similarity of the detailed spec feature amount is calculated by inputting the detailed spec feature amount of the necessary material and the detailed spec feature amount of the candidate material into a similarity calculation model. , and a matching processing unit that performs the matching based on the calculated similarity.

According to the plant material matching device according to one aspect of the present invention, when a request including the essential specifications and detailed specifications of necessary materials is received from a plant operator, the candidate material narrowing section selects the essential specifications of the surplus materials from among the surplus materials. narrows down the surplus materials that match the required specifications of the required materials as candidate materials, and the matching processing unit inputs the written content that describes the detailed specifications of the required materials into the detailed specifications extraction model, thereby obtaining the detailed specifications of the required materials. The similarity of the detailed specification features is calculated by inputting the feature values and the detailed specification features of the candidate materials obtained by inputting the material information of the candidate materials into the detailed specification extraction model into the similarity calculation model. , Based on the calculated similarity, matching of surplus materials with requests for necessary materials is performed. Therefore, even if each plant operator manages surplus materials based on its own management rules, other plants may It is possible to match surplus materials held by businesses.

Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will be made clear in the detailed description of the invention described below.

1 is an overall diagram showing an example of a plant material matching system 1 and a plant 10. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a plant material matching device 2. FIG. 2 is a functional explanatory diagram showing an example of an inventory information management section 200 and a surplus materials analysis section 201. FIG. 2 is a data configuration diagram showing an example of an inventory information database 210. FIG. 3 is a functional explanatory diagram showing an example of a request reception unit 202, a necessary material analysis unit 203, a candidate material narrowing down unit 204, and a matching processing unit 205. FIG. It is a hardware configuration diagram showing an example of a computer 900 configuring each device. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of inventory information collection processing for surplus materials 12 in the plant materials matching system 1. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of matching processing of surplus materials 12 with necessary materials 13 in the plant materials matching system 1. FIG. 9 is a flowchart (continuation of FIG. 8) illustrating an example of matching processing of surplus materials 12 with necessary materials 13 in the plant materials matching system 1. 9 is a flowchart (continuation of FIG. 9) showing an example of matching processing of surplus materials 12 with necessary materials 13 in the plant materials matching system 1. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a request input screen 6. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a matching result screen 7. FIG.

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following, the scope necessary for explanation to achieve the purpose of the present invention will be schematically shown, and the scope necessary for explanation of the relevant part of the present invention will be mainly explained, and the parts where explanation is omitted will be It is based on technology.

(Configuration of plant material matching system 1)
FIG. 1 is an overall diagram showing an example of a plant material matching system 1 and a plant 10. The plant material matching system 1 functions as a system that supports plant operators 4 (A, B, C, . . . , X) by matching materials 11 used in the plant 10.

The plant 10 is, for example, any plant such as a natural gas plant, a crude oil production plant, an oil refining plant, a chemical plant, a hydrogen plant, an ammonia plant, a power generation plant, a renewable energy plant, a nuclear power plant, a steel plant, etc. Not limited to examples. The plant 10 is comprised of various materials 11 for processing arbitrary fluids such as gas, liquid, and fluid granular materials. The plant 10 carries out a manufacturing process for manufacturing products from raw materials by having the plant operator 4 perform operation management, maintenance work, repair work, and the like.

The materials 11 are arbitrary components that are classified and managed as members, equipment, equipment, etc. that make up the plant 10. Examples of the types of members include piping, flanges, joints, gaskets, power lines, communication lines, and the like. Examples of the types of equipment include reaction columns, distillation columns, tanks, boilers, heating furnaces, heat exchangers, and the like. Types of equipment include, for example, instruments that measure the flow rate, pressure, temperature, liquid level, components, etc. of fluid flowing through piping, and output sensor signals indicating the measurement results; Controllers and plants that are connected to controllers, instruments, and controllers such as valves, pumps, and compressors that control the flow rate, pressure, temperature, liquid level, and components of fluids, and perform operational control of manufacturing processes, emergency shutdowns, etc. Examples include a power supply device that supplies power to each part of 10. Note that the material 11 is not limited to the above example, and the method of sorting the material 11 is not limited to the above example.

The type of material 11 to be used is determined according to the installation location, purpose, function, etc. of the material 11, and the type of material 11 is specified by specifying various specifications. In the spec, for example, spec parameters (numerical values, item values, etc.) are specified for each of a plurality of spec items. Specification items include the type, size, shape, material, etc. of the material 11. Then, in the plant material matching system 1, among the multiple specification items, the specification items whose specification parameters must match are treated as "required specifications", and the materials 11 are compared in detail during the matching. The specification items for this purpose are handled as "detailed specifications".

Materials 11 are replaced during maintenance work or repair work, or when an abnormality (or a sign of failure) or failure occurs. 12 materials) are kept as a spare. Note that the plant operator 4 may also retain the materials 11 left over during construction as the surplus materials 12. Then, the plant operator 4 registers these surplus materials 12 in the surplus materials database device 41 based on the management rules specific to the plant operator 4, thereby registering the inventory information of the plurality of surplus materials 12 (for example, , material information for each type of surplus material 12, inventory quantity, storage location, etc.). On the other hand, due to various circumstances such as the occurrence of sudden abnormalities and breakdowns, and delays in the delivery of procured materials, the plant operator 4 cannot cope with the situation with only the surplus materials 12 of the types it owns, and urgently needs to procure them. Material 11 (hereinafter referred to as "required material 13") may be generated.

Therefore, the plant materials matching system 1 uses surplus materials 12 held by a plant operator 4 (hereinafter referred to as "cooperating operators"; corresponds to cooperating operators A to C in FIG. 1) and It functions as a system that performs matching with necessary materials 13 required by a different plant operator 4 (hereinafter referred to as "request operator"; in the example of FIG. 1, corresponds to request operator X). Each of the plurality of plant operators 4 can be either a cooperating operator or a requesting operator depending on the situation, but it is also possible to simply use the plant material matching system 1 as a cooperating operator or as a requesting operator. It is sufficient to simply use the plant material matching system 1 as a person.

The plant material matching system 1 includes a plant material matching device 2 as its main component. The plant material matching device 2 connects a management operator terminal device 30 used by the management operator 3 of the plant material matching system 1 and a plant operator used by a plurality of plant operators 4 via a wired or wireless network 5. It is connected to a terminal device 40 and a surplus material database device 41. Each device is configured with, for example, a general-purpose or dedicated computer (see FIG. 6 described later), and is configured to be able to mutually transmit and receive various data via the network 5. Note that the number of devices and the configuration of the network 5 are not limited to the example shown in FIG. 1.

The plant material matching device 2 is composed of, for example, a server-type computer or a cloud-type computer. The plant materials matching device 2 collects inventory information regarding surplus materials 12 from cooperating businesses and registers it in the inventory information database 210. When the plant materials matching device 2 receives a request for necessary materials 13 from a requesting business, it matches the surplus materials 12 with the request from the surplus materials 12 of cooperating businesses registered in the inventory information database 210. The processing results are output to the requesting provider as a response.

The management company terminal device 30 is composed of, for example, a stationary computer or a portable computer, and is used by the management company 3. The management business terminal device 30 has programs such as applications and browsers installed therein, accepts various input operations, and outputs various information via a display screen and audio. The management business terminal device 30 displays, for example, the contents of the inventory information database 210, the contents of the request, the matching processing results, etc. on the display screen, and displays, for example, the inventory registered in the inventory information database 210 on the display screen. The management operator 3 is supported by accepting input operations for checking and correcting information and checking and correcting responses.

The plant operator terminal device 40 is composed of, for example, a stationary computer or a portable computer, and is used by the plant operator 4. The plant operator terminal device 40 has programs such as applications and browsers installed therein, accepts various input operations, and outputs various information via a display screen and audio. The plant operator terminal device 40 displays the contents of the surplus materials database device 41 and the matching processing results on the display screen, registers new surplus materials 12 in the surplus materials database device 41, and registers the registered surplus materials 12. The plant operator 4 is supported by accepting input operations such as confirming and correcting the necessary materials 13, instructing requests for necessary materials 13, and confirming responses.

The surplus materials database device 41 is composed of, for example, a server-type computer or a cloud-type computer. The surplus materials database device 41 includes a database for managing surplus materials 12, and manages inventory information of a plurality of surplus materials 12 held by itself based on management rules specific to the plant operator 4. Note that the plant operator terminal device 40 and the surplus materials database device 41 may be realized by one device.

Here, the management rules are rules that define the content of material information used in managing the surplus materials 12, and are determined by each plant operator 4. Material information is information given to each surplus material 12 based on management rules, and includes, for example, the material name and specification parameters (numeric values, (item values, etc.). The material information is recorded, for example, as a character string having a predetermined length. The management rules include, for example, management items, the order in which the management items are written, and the writing rules for the management items. The management items specify a material name and a specification item to be managed among a plurality of specification items, such as "material name," "size," "shape," and "material." In the notation order of management items, the order in which material names and specification parameters for managed specification items are written as character strings is specified. For example, 1st = "Material name", 2nd = "Material", 3rd = "size", and the fourth = "shape". The notation rules for management items specify the rules for notating material names and specification parameters for managed specification items. For example, when recording the diameter for "size", the prefix "DN" is added. specified to record the size in millimeters. Since the management rules are determined for each plant operator 4 as described above, for example, the specification items to be managed differ depending on each plant operator 4. Further, the notation rules for assigning material names to surplus materials 12 also differ depending on each plant operator 4.

(Configuration of plant material matching device 2)
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the plant material matching device 2. As shown in FIG. The plant material matching device 2 includes a control unit 20 configured with a processor etc., a storage unit 21 configured with an HDD, SSD, memory etc., a communication unit 22 which is a communication interface with the network 5, a keyboard, a mouse etc. The input unit 23 includes an input unit 23, and a display unit 24 includes a display or the like. Note that the input section 23 and the display section 24 may be omitted.

The storage unit 21 stores an inventory information database 210, an essential specification extraction model 211, a detailed specification extraction model 212, a similarity calculation model 213, and a plant material matching program 214, as well as an operating system, other programs, and various data. etc. to be memorized.

The control unit 20 executes the plant material matching program 214 stored in the storage unit 21 to control the inventory information management unit 200, the surplus material analysis unit 201, the request reception unit 202, the necessary material analysis unit 203, and the candidate material narrowing down unit. 204, a matching processing section 205, and a procurement support processing section 206.

FIG. 3 is a functional explanatory diagram showing an example of the inventory information management section 200 and the surplus material analysis section 201. In order to simplify the explanation, FIG. 3 shows an example in which inventory information on surplus materials 12 is collected from two plant operators 4 (cooperative operators A and B) among the plant operators 4. , inventory information on surplus materials 12 is similarly collected from other plant operators 4.

The inventory information management unit 200 collects inventory information regarding the surplus materials 12 from the surplus materials database device 41 managed by the cooperating business operator, and registers it in the inventory information database 210 of the storage unit 21. For example, when a predetermined collection condition is met (when a time period has elapsed, when the surplus materials database device 41 is updated, when a collection instruction is received from the management company 3, etc.), the inventory information management unit 200 By acquiring the latest inventory information (which may be a difference from the previous one) from the surplus materials database device 41, for example, material information for each type of surplus materials 12, the number of items in stock, storage locations, etc. are acquired. Then, the inventory information management unit 200 stores the essential specs and detailed spec features of the surplus material 12 acquired from the material information of the surplus material 12 through the essential spec acquisition process and detailed spec feature acquisition process described below as inventory information. It is registered in the information database 210.

For each surplus material 12 to which material information has been assigned, the surplus material analysis unit 201 performs essential spec acquisition processing to obtain the essential specifications of the surplus material 12 from the material information, and inputs the material information into the detailed specification extraction model 212. By doing so, a detailed spec feature acquisition process is performed to acquire the detailed spec feature of the surplus material 12.

Material information includes material names assigned to surplus materials 12 and specification items (type, size, shape, material, etc. of surplus materials 12) in order for cooperating businesses to manage the types of surplus materials 12 they own. Contains specification parameters (numeric values, item values, etc.). Therefore, in the essential spec acquisition process, the material information of the surplus materials 12 at each cooperating business is extracted from the essential spec extraction model 211 created for each cooperating business (in the example of FIG. The essential specifications of the surplus materials 12 are acquired by inputting them into the created essential

specifications extraction models

211A and 211B). As the essential specifications extraction model 211, for example, a rule-based model is used for reproducing knowledge obtained by the management company 3 analyzing material information (management rules) of each cooperating company. The essential specification extraction model 211 is used, for example, to search for a specific word from a character string that constitutes material information, or to interpret the meaning of a character string located in a specific range of the entire character string.

In addition, in the detailed spec acquisition process, the detailed spec feature amount of the surplus material 12 is acquired by inputting the material information of each cooperating company into the detailed spec extraction model 212. As the detailed specification extraction model 212, for example, a machine-learned natural language model for vectorizing character strings forming material information is used. In that case, the material information input to the detailed specification extraction model 212 is converted into a vector and output as a detailed Subek feature amount. Although the detailed specification extraction model 212 is basically a common natural language model used by each cooperating company, a natural language model created for each cooperating company may be used. Further, the detailed specification extraction model 212 may be one that has been subjected to machine learning using technical terms used in the plant 10 and materials 11, for example.

In addition, every time the latest inventory information is acquired by the inventory information management unit 200, the surplus material analysis unit 201 performs essential spec acquisition processing and detailed specification feature amount acquisition for the newly collected latest inventory information. All you have to do is process it.

FIG. 4 is a data configuration diagram showing an example of the inventory information database 210. In the inventory information database 210, inventory information of the surplus materials 12 held by each plant 10 is registered. The inventory information database 210 has, for example, a record for each surplus material ID for identifying the type of surplus materials 12, and each record includes material information, holding company, inventory quantity, storage location, essential specifications, and detailed specifications. etc. have fields that can be registered. For example, the surplus material ID is issued by the inventory information management section 200 each time the inventory information management section 200 registers inventory information of a new surplus material 12, and is assigned to the surplus material 12. The inventory information database 210 may be referenced from the management company terminal device 30, and editing operations such as adding, deleting, and modifying each data can be performed by the management company 3 on the display screen of the management company terminal device 30. It may be possible to do so.

The data structure of the inventory information database 210 is not limited to the above example, and may be changed as appropriate, and some of the above data may be omitted, or data other than the above may be added. Further, part or all of the inventory information database 210 may be stored in an external device (or devices) that can be connected to the network 5. In that case, the control section 20 may All you have to do is access the external device.

FIG. 5 is a functional explanatory diagram showing an example of the request reception unit 202, the necessary material analysis unit 203, the candidate material narrowing down unit 204, and the matching processing unit 205. In FIG. 5, to simplify the explanation, a case will be described in which a request for the necessary materials 13 is received from one plant operator 4 (request operator X) among the plant operators 4, but other plant operators 4 Similarly, requests for necessary materials 13 are accepted from .

The request reception unit 202 receives a request including the essential specifications and detailed specifications of the necessary materials 13 from the plant operator terminal device 40 used by the requesting operator. For example, the request reception unit 202 inputs essential specifications and detailed specifications, causes the plant operator terminal device 40 to display a display screen for accepting request instructions, and via the display screen, requests from the requesting operator are It functions as a user interface by accepting instructions. A request is generated based on a request instruction from a requesting business operator. The request includes, for example, specification content specifying the essential specifications of the necessary material 13, and description content describing the detailed specifications of the necessary material 13 as a character string.

Similar to the detailed specification acquisition process of the surplus material analysis unit 201, the required material analysis unit 203 inputs the descriptive content (character string) describing the detailed specifications included in the request into the detailed specification extraction model 212, thereby obtaining the required materials. 13 detailed specification features are acquired. Note that the specification content specifying the essential specifications included in the request represents the essential specifications as is, so the required material analysis unit 203 does not need to analyze the essential specifications included in the request, but the specification of the essential specifications Depending on the content, the required specifications of the necessary materials 13 may be acquired by inputting the specified contents of the required specifications into the required specifications extraction model 211, similar to the required specifications acquisition process of the surplus material analysis unit 201.

The candidate material narrowing down unit 204 narrows down surplus materials 12 registered in the inventory information database 210 to surplus materials 12 whose essential specifications match the essential specifications of the necessary materials 13, as candidate materials 12a. That is, the candidate material narrowing down unit 204 performs filter processing using essential specifications as a filter, and the candidate materials 12a correspond to the result of narrowing down to surplus materials 12 that match at least the essential specifications of the necessary materials 13.

The matching processing unit 205 inputs the detailed specification feature amount of the required material 13 and the detailed specification feature amount of the candidate material 12a into the similarity calculation model 213 for each of the candidate materials 12a, thereby calculating the similarity of the detailed specification feature amount. The degree of similarity is calculated, and matching is performed based on the calculated degree of similarity. As the similarity calculation model 213, for example, a calculation model for calculating the cosine similarity between two vectors as detailed specification feature amounts is used. Note that the similarity calculation model 213 may be defined by a calculation formula that inputs two detailed specification feature quantities, or may be defined by a distance function (for example, Euclidean distance, Manhattan distance, etc.) between two detailed specification feature quantities. It may also be something that calculates.

As described above, by performing matching in two stages by the candidate material narrowing down unit 204 and the matching processing unit 205, the candidate material 12a that satisfies the essential specifications of the necessary material 13 and is similar to the detailed specification feature amount of the necessary material 13 is output as the matching processing result.

Then, when outputting the matching processing result as a response, the matching processing unit 205 causes a display screen showing the processing result to be displayed on the management operator terminal device 30 or the plant operator terminal device 40, and via the display screen. , functions as a user interface by receiving various instructions from the management company 3 and the requesting company.

Specifically, the matching processing unit 205 assigns rankings to the candidate materials 12a in descending order of similarity of detailed specification feature amounts, and outputs the ranking assignment results as a response to the request receiving source. The request receiving source is the plant operator terminal device 40 used by the requesting operator that issued the request instruction when the request was accepted by the request receiving unit 202. The response includes, for example, a list of candidate materials 12a that is a result of narrowing down the candidate materials 12a, inventory information (for example, material information, inventory quantity, storage location, etc.) for each candidate material 12a, and a ranking for each candidate material 12a. This is the data that contains.

The matching processing unit 205 assigns a ranking to the candidate material 12a based on the degree of similarity of the detailed specification feature amount and at least one of the inventory quantity and procurement cost of the candidate material 12a, and sends the results of the ranking to the response. It may also be output as . For example, the matching processing unit 205 may correct the ranking based on the degree of similarity of detailed specification feature amounts in accordance with the inventory quantity and procurement cost of the candidate materials 12a. Specifically, the matching processing unit 205 may increase the ranking of the candidate material 12a that has a relatively large inventory, or may increase the ranking of the candidate material 12a that has a relatively low procurement cost. good. For example, the procurement cost includes, in addition to the cost when the cooperating company procures the candidate material 12a, the cost of transporting the candidate material 12a from the storage location of the cooperating company to the place of use (plant 10) of the candidate material 12a at the requesting company. It may be calculated by taking into consideration the cost when doing so.

Further, the matching processing unit 205 may output only the candidate materials 12a that are higher than a predetermined rank among the candidate materials 12a as a response as a result of assigning the ranking, or the similarity of the detailed specification feature amount may be output as a response. Only candidate materials 12a whose value is higher than a predetermined reference value may be output as a response.

Furthermore, before outputting the response to the request receiving source, the matching processing unit 205 outputs the response to the management business operator 3, and the management business operator 3 sends the results of narrowing down the candidate materials 12a, the calculation results of similarity, and , when a modification instruction for any of the ranking assignment results is received, a response reflecting the modification instruction may be output to the request receiving source. For example, when the matching processing unit 205 receives a correction instruction to delete a part of the candidate materials 12a from the narrowing-down results of the candidate materials 12a, the matching processing unit 205 is configured to remove the candidate materials 12a to be deleted based on the correction instruction. A response is output based on the candidate material 12a. Further, when the matching processing unit 205 receives a modification instruction to modify the similarity calculation result for a specific candidate material 12a, the matching processing unit 205 modifies the similarity calculation result according to the modification instruction, and A response is output based on the ranking that reflects the similarity calculation results. Furthermore, when the matching processing unit 205 receives a correction instruction to replace a part of the ranking with respect to the ranking assignment result, the matching processing unit 205 outputs a response based on the ranking after replacing the ranking according to the correction instruction. do. As a result, the matching processing results that have been confirmed and corrected by the management company 3 are output to the request receiving source, so the validity of the matching processing results is ensured, and the matching standards of the management company 3 are can be reflected as necessary.

Further, after outputting the response to the request receiving source, the matching processing unit 205 outputs the selected material 12b indicating the selection result selected by the requesting business operator as the necessary material 13 for the request among the candidate materials 12a from the request receiving source. When received, at least one of the detailed specification extraction model 212 and the similarity calculation model 213 may be updated based on the ranking assignment result and the selected material 12b. For example, when a candidate material 12a to which a lower ranking has been assigned as a result of ranking is selected as the selected material 12b, the matching processing unit 205 determines that the detailed specification feature amount of the lower candidate material 12a is the required material 13. The detailed specification extraction model 212 may be updated so that the detailed specification feature quantity of the candidate material 12a at the lower level is close to the detailed specification feature quantity of the required material 13. The similarity calculation model 213 may be updated so that the similarity calculation model 213 is calculated. Thereby, the selection result of the requesting company is fed back to at least one of the detailed specification extraction model 212 and the similarity calculation model 213, so that the matching accuracy of the matching processing unit 205 can be improved.

The procurement support processing unit 206 performs support processing for the requesting business to procure the selected material 12b from the cooperating business based on the requesting business' instruction to select the selected material 12b. For example, the procurement support processing unit 206 sends and receives various data between the cooperating business and the requesting business to carry out procedures such as contracts, payments, transportation, etc. Support procurement.

FIG. 6 is a hardware configuration diagram showing an example of a computer 900 that constitutes each device.

Each of the plant material matching device 2, the management business terminal device 30, the plant business terminal device 40, and the surplus material database device 41 is configured by a general-purpose or dedicated computer 900. As shown in FIG. 6, the computer 900 includes a bus 910, a processor 912, a memory 914, an input device 916, an output device 917, a display device 918, a storage device 920, and a communication I/F (interface) as its main components. 922 , an external device I/F section 924 , an I/O (input/output) device I/F section 926 , and a media input/output section 928 . Note that the above-mentioned components may be omitted as appropriate depending on the purpose for which the computer 900 is used.

The processor 912 includes one or more arithmetic processing units (CPU (Central Processing Unit), MPU (Micro-processing unit), DSP (digital signal processor), GPU (Graphic cs Processing Unit), etc.), and the entire computer 900 It operates as a control unit that oversees the The memory 914 stores various data and programs 930, and includes, for example, a volatile memory (DRAM, SRAM, etc.) that functions as a main memory, a nonvolatile memory (ROM), a flash memory, etc.

The input device 916 includes, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a numeric keypad, an electronic pen, etc., and functions as an input unit. The output device 917 is configured with, for example, a sound (voice) output device, a vibration device, etc., and functions as an output section. The display device 918 is configured with, for example, a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, electronic paper, a projector, etc., and functions as an output unit. Input device 916 and display device 918 may be configured integrally, such as a touch panel display. The storage device 920 is configured with, for example, an HDD, an SSD, etc., and functions as a storage unit. The storage device 920 stores various data necessary for executing the operating system and programs 930.

The communication I/F section 922 is connected to a network 940 such as the Internet or an intranet (which may be the same as the network 5 in FIG. 1) by wire or wirelessly, and exchanges data with other computers according to a predetermined communication standard. It functions as a communication unit that sends and receives information. The external device I/F section 924 is connected to an external device 950 such as a camera, printer, scanner, reader/writer, etc. by wire or wirelessly, and serves as a communication section that sends and receives data to and from the external device 950 according to a predetermined communication standard. Function. The I/O device I/F unit 926 is connected to an I/O device 960 such as various sensors and actuators, and transmits, for example, a detection signal from a sensor, a control signal to an actuator, etc. with the I/O device 960. It functions as a communication unit that sends and receives various signals and data. The media input/output unit 928 includes, for example, a drive device such as a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) drive or a CD (Compact Disc) drive, a memory card slot, and a USB connector, and is configured to handle media such as DVDs, CDs, memory cards, and USB memories. Data is read and written to (non-temporary storage medium) 970.

In the computer 900 having the above configuration, the processor 912 calls the program 930 stored in the storage device 920 to the memory 914 and executes it, and controls each part of the computer 900 via the bus 910. Note that the program 930 may be stored in the memory 914 instead of the storage device 920. The program 930 may be recorded on the medium 970 in an installable file format or an executable file format, and provided to the computer 900 via the media input/output unit 928. The program 930 may be provided to the computer 900 by being downloaded via the network 940 via the communication I/F unit 922. Further, the computer 900 implements various functions realized by the processor 912 executing the program 930, for example, using an FPGA (field-programmable gate array), an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit), etc. Even if it is realized with hardware such as good.

The computer 900 is, for example, a stationary computer or a portable computer, and is any type of electronic device. The computer 900 may be a client computer, a server computer, or a cloud computer.

(Operation of plant material matching system 1)
A series of operations performed by the plant material matching system 1 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 7 to 12.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of inventory information collection processing for surplus materials 12 in the plant material matching system 1 according to the present embodiment. Here, a case will be described in which conditions for collecting inventory information on surplus materials 12 are commonly set for the surplus materials database devices 41 managed by each cooperating business operator.

First, in step S100, the inventory information management unit 200 of the plant material matching device 2 monitors whether predetermined collection conditions for collecting inventory information of the surplus materials 12 are met. As a result, when the inventory information management unit 200 determines that the collection conditions are satisfied (step S100: "Yes"), in step S110, it transmits an inventory information acquisition request to each surplus material database device 41, In response, the latest inventory information in each surplus material database device 41 is acquired. Note that if the collection conditions for the surplus material database devices 41 are different, it is sufficient to send the inventory information acquisition request only to the surplus material databases for which the collection conditions are satisfied. Moreover, monitoring of inventory information collection conditions may be performed on the cooperating business operator side (for example, the plant operator terminal device 40 or the surplus materials database device 41).

Next, in step S120, the surplus material analysis unit 201 sequentially selects the surplus materials 12 to be processed from the inventory information of the surplus materials 12 acquired in step S110 and registered in the inventory information database 210, and performs essential specification acquisition processing. By performing a loop process that repeats (step S121) and detailed spec feature acquisition process (step S122), essential specs and detailed specs for each of the surplus materials 12 are acquired.

In step S121, the surplus material analysis unit 201 inputs the material information given to the surplus material 12 to be processed into the essential specification extraction model 211 corresponding to the cooperating business that owns the surplus material 12. Obtain the essential specifications of surplus materials 12.

Next, in step S122, the surplus material analysis unit 201 acquires the detailed specification feature amount of the surplus material 12 by inputting the material information of the surplus material 12 to be processed into the detailed specification extraction model 212.

Then, in step S123, the inventory information management unit 200 registers the essential specifications and detailed specifications of the surplus material 12 acquired in steps S121 and S122 in the inventory information database 210. At this time, the inventory information management unit 200 registers not only the essential specifications and detailed specifications of the surplus materials 12, but also material information, inventory quantity, storage location, etc. in the inventory information database 210. Then, the process of steps S121 to S123 is repeated for all the surplus materials 12, and the process exits from the loop process of S120.

As described above, when the series of processes shown in FIG. Inventory information of materials 12 is accumulated. In the above series of processes, steps S100 to S120 and S123 correspond to an inventory information management process, and steps S120 to S122 correspond to a surplus material analysis process.

FIGS. 8 to 10 are flowcharts illustrating an example of matching processing of surplus materials 12 with necessary materials 13 in the plant materials matching system 1 according to the present embodiment. Here, the requesting business operator accesses the plant material matching device 2 using the plant business terminal device 40 and inputs a request instruction for the necessary materials 13 on the request input screen displayed on the plant business terminal device 40. Let me explain the case.

First, in step S200 shown in FIG. Display the input screen 6.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the request input screen 6. The request input screen 6 includes an essential specification input field 60 and a detailed specification input field 61 for the necessary materials 13, and a request button 62 for issuing a request instruction. Spec parameters are input into the required spec input field 60 by specifying numerical values or item values (options) for spec items such as type, size, material, etc., for example. The detailed specification input field 61 is entered by, for example, writing a character string.

In step S201, the plant operator terminal device 40 inputs the content input on the request input screen 6, that is, the specification content specifying the essential specifications of the necessary materials 13 in the essential specification input field 60, and the detailed specification input field. At step 61, when the detailed specifications of the necessary materials 13 are received as a request instruction in the form of a character string, a request including them is sent to the plant material matching device 2.

Next, in step S210, the request reception unit 202 of the plant material matching device 2 receives the request sent in step S201, and in step S220, the required material analysis unit 203 analyzes the detailed specifications included in the request. By inputting the descriptive content (character string) describing the above into the detailed specification extraction model 212, the detailed specification feature amount of the required material 13 is acquired.

Next, in step S230, the candidate material narrowing down unit 204 refers to the inventory information database 210, and among the surplus materials 12 registered in the inventory information database 210, the essential specifications of the surplus materials 12 are accepted in step S210. Surplus materials 12 that match the essential specifications of the necessary materials 13 included in the request are narrowed down as candidate materials 12a.

Next, in step S240, the matching processing unit 205 performs a loop process of sequentially selecting candidate materials 12a to be processed from among the candidate materials 12a narrowed down in step S240, and repeating the process of calculating the degree of similarity of detailed specification features. By doing this, the degree of similarity of the detailed specification feature amount is calculated for each of the candidate materials 12a.

In step S241, the matching processing unit 205 inputs the detailed specification feature amount of the necessary material 13 and the detailed specification feature amount of the candidate material 12a to be processed into the similarity calculation model 213. Calculate similarity.

Then, in step S250 shown in FIG. 9, the matching processing unit 205 determines the similarity of the detailed spec feature of each of the surplus materials 12 to the detailed spec feature of the necessary material 13, which is obtained as a result of the loop processing in step S240. A ranking is given to each of the candidate materials 12a in descending order of degree. At this time, the matching processing unit 205 may give the ranking by further considering at least one of the inventory quantity and the procurement cost of the candidate materials 12a.

Next, in step S260, the matching processing unit 205 sends a response including the results of narrowing down the candidate materials 12a in step S230, the results of calculating the degree of similarity in step S241, and the results of assigning rankings in step S250. The response is generated and transmitted to the management operator terminal device 30 before being transmitted to the request receiving source (plant operator terminal device 40 of the requesting operator).

Next, in step S261, the management business terminal device 30 displays a response confirmation/correction screen (not shown) based on the response transmitted in step S260, and in step S262, the management provider terminal device 30 displays a response confirmation/correction screen (not shown). When the confirmation result of the response is received from the management business operator 3 on the screen, the confirmation result is transmitted to the plant material matching device 2. The confirmation result includes a modification instruction indicating the content of modification of the response by the management company 3, or an instruction to approve the response by the management company 3.

Then, in step S263, the matching processing unit 205 receives the confirmation result of the response transmitted in step S262, and in step S264 determines whether the confirmation result includes an instruction to modify the response. As a result, if the matching processing unit 205 determines that the confirmation result includes a response modification instruction (step S264: "Yes"), the response is modified by reflecting the modification instruction in the response in step S265. do. Note that if the response confirmation result does not include a response modification instruction but includes an approval instruction (step S264: "No"), the response is not modified.

Next, in step S270, the matching processing unit 205 generates a modified response that reflects the modification instruction in step S263 (if the response confirmation result is an approval instruction, the same as the response generated in step S260), It is transmitted to the request receiving source (plant operator terminal device 40 of the requesting operator).

Then, in step S271 shown in FIG. 10, the plant operator terminal device 40 displays the matching result screen 7 based on the response transmitted in step S270.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the matching result screen 7. The matching result screen 7 includes a list display column 70 that displays the results of narrowing down the candidate materials 12a and the results of assigning rankings in a list format, and selects the selected material 12b from the candidate materials 12a displayed in the list display column 70. and a selection button 72 for instructing selection of the selected material 12b.

In step S272, when the plant operator terminal device 40 receives a selection instruction in which the requesting operator selects the selected material 12b from the candidate materials 12a on the matching result screen 7, the plant operator terminal device 40 transmits the selection instruction to the plant material matching device 2. do.

Then, in step S273, when the matching processing unit 205 receives the instruction to select the selected material 12b transmitted in step S272, in step S274, the matching processing unit 205 receives the ranking assignment result in step S250 and the selection of the selected material 12b. Based on the instruction, at least one of the detailed specification extraction model 212 and the similarity calculation model 213 is updated. Note that the matching processing unit 205 may inquire of the management company 3 (management company terminal device 30) whether or not to update the detailed specification extraction model 212 and the similarity calculation model 213. Further, when the selection instruction for the selected material 12b satisfies a predetermined selection condition (for example, when the candidate material 12a with the first ranking is selected as the selected material 12b), the matching processing unit 205 uses the detailed specification extraction model 212 and the similarity calculation model 213 may not be updated.

Next, in step S280, the procurement support processing unit 206, based on the selection instruction for the selected material 12b received in step S273, selects the selected material 12b from the cooperative business entity in which the requesting company owns the selected material 12b. We support various procedures for procuring.

As described above, the series of processes shown in FIGS. 8 to 10 are completed. In the above series of processes, step S210 is a request reception process, step S220 is a necessary material analysis process, step S230 is a candidate material narrowing down process, steps S240 to S274 are a matching process, and step S280 is a procurement support process. Equivalent to.

As described above, according to the plant material matching device 2 according to the present embodiment, when a request including the essential specifications and detailed specifications of the necessary materials 13 is received from the plant operator 4 (requesting operator), the candidate material narrowing down unit 204 narrows down the surplus materials 12 whose essential specifications match the essential specifications of the necessary materials 13 from the surplus materials 12 as candidate materials 12a, and the matching processing unit 205 describes the detailed specifications of the necessary materials 13. Detailed specification features of the necessary material 13 obtained by inputting the description content into the detailed specification extraction model 212 and candidate material 12a obtained by inputting the material information of the candidate material 12a into the detailed specification extraction model 212. The degree of similarity of the detailed specification characteristic amount is calculated by inputting the detailed specification characteristic amount into the similarity calculation model 213, and matching of the surplus material 12 with the request for the necessary material 13 is performed based on the calculated degree of similarity. Therefore, since each plant operator 4 manages the material information of the surplus materials 12 according to management rules specific to the plant operator 4, it may be difficult to match materials 11 that are originally compatible. Even if there is, it is possible to match the necessary materials 13 required by the plant operator 4 (requesting operator) with surplus materials 12 held by other plant operators 4 (cooperating operators).

(Other embodiments)
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and can be implemented with various modifications without departing from the spirit of the present invention. All of these are included in the technical idea of the present invention.

In the above embodiment, the functions of each part of the plant material matching device 2 have been described as being realized by one device, but the functions of each part are distributed among multiple devices to be realized by multiple devices. Good too. Further, the control unit of the management company terminal device 30 may function as the plant material matching device 2 by executing the plant material matching program 214.

In the above embodiment, a case has been described in which the plant material matching system 1 operates according to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 7 to 10, but the execution order of each step may be changed as appropriate, or some steps may be omitted. You can. For example, in the matching processing shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, steps S260 to S265 may be omitted, and step S274 may be omitted.

1...Plant material matching system, 2...Plant material matching device,
3... Management business operator, 4... Plant operator, 5... Network,
6...Request input screen, 7...Matching result screen,
10...Plant, 11...Materials, 12...Surplus materials,
12a... Candidate materials, 12b... Selected materials, 13... Necessary materials,
20...Control unit, 21...Storage unit, 22...Communication unit, 23...Input unit, 24...Display unit,
30... Management operator terminal device, 40... Plant operator terminal device,
41... Surplus materials database device,
200... Inventory information management department, 201... Surplus materials analysis department, 202... Request reception department,
203... Required material analysis section, 204... Candidate material narrowing down section, 205... Matching processing section,
206...Procurement support processing department, 210...Inventory information database,
211, 211A, 211B...Required spec extraction model,
212... Detailed specification extraction model, 213... Similarity calculation model 214... Plant material matching program

Claims

Upon receiving a request including essential specifications of necessary materials used in a plant and detailed specifications of said necessary materials, one or more plant operators manage material information based on management rules specific to said plant operators. A plant material matching device that matches the surplus material to the request from among the surplus materials that are available,
a necessary materials analysis unit that obtains detailed specification features of the necessary materials by inputting descriptive content describing the detailed specifications included in the request into a detailed specification extraction model;
For each of the surplus materials, an essential specification acquisition process of acquiring the essential specifications of the surplus materials from the material information, and inputting the material information into the detailed specification extraction model to obtain the detailed specifications of the surplus materials. a surplus materials analysis unit that performs detailed specification feature acquisition processing to acquire feature quantities;
a candidate material narrowing section that narrows down, as candidate materials, among the surplus materials, the surplus materials in which the essential specifications of the surplus materials match the essential specifications of the necessary materials;
For each of the candidate materials, the degree of similarity of the detailed spec feature amount is calculated by inputting the detailed spec feature amount of the necessary material and the detailed spec feature amount of the candidate material into a similarity calculation model. , a matching processing unit that performs the matching based on the calculated similarity,
Plant material matching device.
The matching processing unit ranks the candidate materials in descending order of the degree of similarity;
Outputting the ranking assignment result as a response to the request receiving source;
The plant material matching device according to claim 1.
The matching processing unit assigns a ranking to the candidate materials based on the degree of similarity and at least one of the inventory quantity and procurement cost of the candidate materials;
Outputting the ranking assignment result as a response to the request receiving source;
The plant material matching device according to claim 2.
The matching processing unit outputs the response to the matching management business before outputting the response to the reception source,
When an instruction to modify any of the candidate material narrowing results, the similarity calculation results, and the ranking assignment results is received from the management business operator, the response reflecting the modification instructions is sent to the receiving source. Output,
The plant material matching device according to claim 2 or 3.
After the matching processing unit outputs the response to the reception source,
When a selected material selected as the necessary material for the request from among the candidate materials is received from the reception source;
updating at least one of the detailed specification extraction model and the similarity calculation model based on the ranking assignment result and the selected material;
A plant material matching device according to claim 2 or 3.
further comprising an inventory information management unit that collects inventory information regarding the surplus materials from the plant operator and registers it in a storage unit,
The surplus material analysis department
Performing the essential spec acquisition process and the detailed spec feature acquisition process on the newly collected inventory information,
The inventory information management department is
registering the essential specs and the detailed spec features of the surplus material acquired by the essential spec acquisition process and the detailed spec feature acquisition process as the inventory information in the storage unit;
The candidate material narrowing down department is
Referring to the inventory information registered in the storage unit, narrowing down the candidate materials based on the essential specifications of the surplus materials registered as the inventory information;
The matching processing unit is
referring to the inventory information registered in the storage unit and performing the matching based on the detailed specification feature amount of the candidate material registered as the inventory information;
A plant material matching device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
Using a computer, one or more plant operators receive a request including essential specifications of necessary materials used in a plant and detailed specifications of the necessary materials, and one or more plant operators A plant material matching method that matches the surplus material to the request from surplus materials whose material information is managed,
a necessary materials analysis step of acquiring detailed specification features of the necessary materials by inputting descriptive content describing the detailed specifications included in the request into a detailed specification extraction model;
For each of the surplus materials, an essential specification acquisition process of acquiring the essential specifications of the surplus materials from the material information, and inputting the material information into the detailed specification extraction model to obtain the detailed specifications of the surplus materials. a surplus material analysis step that performs detailed specification feature acquisition processing to acquire feature quantities;
A candidate material narrowing down step of narrowing down, as candidate materials, among the surplus materials, the surplus materials whose essential specifications match the essential specifications of the necessary materials;
For each of the candidate materials, the degree of similarity of the detailed spec feature amount is calculated by inputting the detailed spec feature amount of the necessary material and the detailed spec feature amount of the candidate material into a similarity calculation model. , a matching processing step of performing the matching based on the calculated similarity,
Plant material matching method.