JP2002288368A - Maintenance task system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a maintenance task system capable of quickly performing a maintenance work corresponding to a request after accepting the request. SOLUTION: A portable terminal server acquires the positional information of a portable terminal, and informs a maintenance server of the information. The maintenance server acquires the positional information of a serviceman who owns the portable terminal on the basis of the received information, and manages the information and further manages the set place information of a device owned by each customer. At the time of receiving a request for the maintenance work of the device from the customer, the portable terminal server decides a serviceman to be dispatched for performing the maintenance work of the device on the basis of the set place information of the device and the positional information of the serviceman.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a maintenance service system for performing maintenance work such as inspection and repair of a predetermined device, and more particularly to a maintenance service system capable of efficiently dispatching service personnel.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In particular, in a device such as a copying machine which is interrupted when a failure occurs, maintenance work such as quick inspection and repair is required. Therefore, the customer's satisfaction with the company (maintenance company) is determined by how quickly repairs are made after the failure is notified.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-137 discloses a conventional technique relating to such maintenance work. According to this conventional technique, the customer's telephone number, address, and map information are managed, and the location on the map is determined from the telephone number of the caller at the time of the failure call, so that the customer can be handled smoothly.

[0004]

[0005] However, in many cases, servicemen performing repairs go outside to perform maintenance work such as periodic inspections and repairs. For this reason, it is extremely difficult for a maintenance company to determine which service person to dispatch for maintenance work on the device when receiving notification of the device failure or request for repair / inspection. Also, when there are many models to be supported, each service person cannot always maintain all the models. Usually, a dispatch request to a service person is often made by telephone from an operator of a company performing maintenance. Therefore, when the service person is at the customer's site, there are cases where the call cannot be answered. Furthermore, when receiving a dispatch request, the serviceman also needs to change his / her schedule information.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide a maintenance service system capable of promptly performing maintenance work in response to a maintenance / inspection request from a customer. I do.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a maintenance service system according to the first aspect of the present invention manages a maintenance server having installation location information of each device and a mobile terminal of each serviceman. A mobile terminal server, the mobile terminal server having means for managing the current location information of the service person from the location information of the mobile terminal, and the maintenance server performs maintenance work on the device by a customer. When the request is received, a service technician determining means for performing maintenance work of the apparatus based on the installation location information and the current location information of each service technician managed by the portable terminal server is provided.

A maintenance service system according to a second aspect of the present invention is a maintenance service system having a maintenance server having installation location information of each device and a mobile terminal server for managing a mobile terminal of each serviceman. The mobile terminal server has means for managing the current location information of the serviceman from the location information of the mobile terminal, and the maintenance server, when receiving a failure notification from the device, installs the location information and each service managed by the mobile terminal server. A service technician determining means for performing maintenance work on the apparatus from the current position information of the technician.

[0008] The invention described in claim 3 is claim 1 or 2.
In the maintenance business system described in the above, the maintenance server further manages the model information of each device and the model information in charge of each serviceman, and the determining means further takes into account the model information and the model information in charge. A service technician who performs maintenance work of the device is determined.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the maintenance service system according to any one of the first to third aspects, the maintenance server further manages schedule information of each serviceman, and the determining means further includes a scheduler. A service technician who performs maintenance work of the device in consideration of the information is determined.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the maintenance service system of the fourth aspect, the maintenance server further comprises:
A means for updating the schedule information of the service technician who performs the maintenance work determined by the determination means, and presenting the schedule information of each service technician to each service technician via a portable terminal.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the maintenance service system according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the maintenance server further causes the device determined by the determination means to perform a maintenance operation via the portable terminal server. It is characterized by having means for changing the schedule information in the portable terminal of the service technician to the schedule information for performing maintenance work of this device.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the maintenance service system according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, the maintenance server further includes means for judging urgency information of the maintenance work of the device, and Further, a service technician who performs maintenance work of the apparatus is determined in consideration of urgency information.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention. The serviceman 10 has a portable information terminal 11 such as a mobile phone. In particular, it is preferable to always carry this terminal when going outside.

The portable information terminal server 12 manages the location of each serviceman based on information on the base station accessed by each portable information terminal 11. That is, the current position information is determined. Then, for example, when there is a change in this information, the change is notified to the maintenance server 16 sequentially. A known method can be adopted as a method for managing the area (current position information calculating method).

When receiving this notification, the maintenance server 16 manages the location information of the service person 10. That is, the current position information of each serviceman is grasped. As a method of realizing this system, for example, it is conceivable to have a mobile phone company provide the function of the mobile information terminal server 12. When communicating with mobile phones, it is essential to manage which base station each mobile phone is in, so ask them to provide a service that can obtain current location information for the specified mobile phone. Can be realized by:

As will be described later, the maintenance server 16 only needs to obtain the current location information of each serviceman when receiving a maintenance work request. Therefore, a management method of the current position information other than the above can be adopted. For example, when a request for maintenance work is received, the portable terminal server 12
The current position information of each serviceman may be determined, and this information may be input. Further, the mobile terminal server 12 may be made to determine the current location information of each serviceman at predetermined time intervals and input this information.

The maintenance server 16 includes a service station 14 in addition to the current location information of the serviceman 10.
Manages the location information of the device being maintained. That is, it manages the installation location information of each device.

The operator 17 receives a call 18 from a customer 19.
When a repair request is received by such means as the above, a service person most suitable for maintenance service of the apparatus can be determined from the installation location information and the current position information. This determination is preferably made by the maintenance server 16. That is, the location of the device requiring the maintenance service (the location where the device is installed) is grasped from the installation location information. From the current position information and the position of the device, a serviceman to be dispatched to the device is determined.

The method of determining the service person is as follows.
Any method can be adopted. For example, any one of the service technicians within a predetermined range from the above device may be selected / determined. Further, the service technicians located near the apparatus may be listed up, and an arbitrary person may be selected / determined from the listed service technicians.

Further, the maintenance server 16 may manage the model information of the device to be maintained. In this case, information on the model in charge of each serviceman is also managed. That is, since each serviceman holds a model capable of performing maintenance work as assigned model information, a serviceman optimal for maintenance service of each device can be dispatched.
For example, information on equipment requiring maintenance (model information)
And data as shown in Table 2 as serviceman information (charged model information).

[0021]

[Table 1]

[0022]

[Table 2]

According to these two tables, when a repair request is received from the customer A, the serviceman at the nearest location can be determined to be the serviceman C. However, the serviceman C cannot repair the copy. Accordingly, the maintenance server 16 or the operator determines a person to be dispatched to the customer A from the serviceman A and the serviceman B who can repair the copying machine. Although it is possible to arbitrarily determine which of the servicemen A and B is to be dispatched, for example, a person near the customer A may perform a maintenance service.

The maintenance server 16 may manage schedule information of each serviceman as shown in Tables 3 and 4.

[0025]

[Table 3]

[0026]

[Table 4]

According to this table, the serviceman A is 1
The schedule is determined from 0:00 to 13:00. Here, when a request for repairing the machine arrives at the service station 14 at 12:00, the serviceman B may perform a maintenance service. That is, the serviceman A cannot perform the maintenance service unless 13:00 or later. On the other hand, the serviceman B is 1
No maintenance service is scheduled to be performed between 1:00 and 16:00. Therefore, the maintenance server 16 or the operator determines / selects the serviceman B as a person who performs the maintenance service even if the serviceman A is located closer to the installation location of the apparatus. In this manner, when determining / selecting a serviceman to be dispatched, an optimal serviceman can be dispatched by making a determination in consideration of schedule information of each serviceman.

When managing the schedule information, the maintenance server 16 updates the schedule information with the changed schedule information. Further, the schedule information may be presented to the mobile terminal of each serviceman.
For example, each serviceman may access the maintenance server 16 from a mobile terminal and download his / her schedule information. That is, if the user confirms his / her schedule information managed by the maintenance server 16 via the portable terminal, he / she can grasp his / her own schedule. In addition, by checking whether the schedule information has been updated, it is possible to know whether a new schedule has been added. It should be noted that the change / addition to the schedule may be notified to the service person by updating the schedule information in this way and / or by other methods,
For example, a schedule change notification describing the schedule content after the change may be sent to the portable terminal of the service person.

Note that schedule information of a service person who owns the portable terminal may be registered in advance in each portable terminal. In this case, the maintenance server 1
6. If the schedule information is updated to the changed information,
Notify that the schedule has been changed / added.

The maintenance server 16 may determine the urgency information of the maintenance work. This urgency can be set arbitrarily. That is, the maintenance server 16 determines what kind of maintenance work is necessary, and determines which urgency corresponds to each work content. Hereinafter, the urgency (rank) is divided into "A" and "B", and "A" has a higher urgency of maintenance / repair. In other words, the urgency is "A"
The maintenance service shall require immediate repair. Further, the maintenance service having the urgency “B” is less urgent than the maintenance service having the urgency “A”. The maintenance server 16 may add urgency information to the schedule information. This is illustrated in Tables 5 and 6.

[0031]

[Table 5]

[0032]

[Table 6]

[0033] The serviceman A starts from 10:00 to 13:
Until 00, the emergency information ranks A for repair. On the other hand, the serviceman B is 10: 0
From 0 to 12:00, the rank of the urgency information is in charge of repair of B. Here, rank A at 11:00
Is repaired by the customer F, the serviceman B can arrive before 13:00 even if the serviceman A is closer to the installation location.
, The maintenance / repair can be performed with priority given to urgent repairs. Further, the repair of the customer E having the urgency B may be performed after the repair of the customer F is completed.

Next, FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment according to the present invention. A failure self-diagnosis function is added to the maintenance target devices 1 and 2. When a failure occurs, these devices notify the maintenance server 16 of the failure using the network 23 or a public line. Subsequent operations can employ the same operations as in the first embodiment.

[0035]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, when a request for maintenance of an apparatus is made, a service person who is closest to the place designated by the request can be dispatched. Therefore, it is possible to promptly respond to a customer request.

Further, according to the present invention, when a request for maintenance of an apparatus is made, a service person who can handle the requested model of the apparatus and has the service closest to the place designated by the request. A man can be dispatched. Therefore, it is possible to promptly respond to a customer request.

Further, according to the present invention, the maintenance server can manage the schedule information of the serviceman, and can determine the serviceman to be dispatched according to the schedule information. Therefore, a service person having the most suitable ability can be dispatched promptly in response to a request from a customer.

Further, according to the present invention, the maintenance server can change the schedule of the service person. Therefore, it is possible to promptly deal with an unexpected situation such as when an urgent request is received.

Further, according to the present invention, the maintenance server can notify the service person of the schedule change through the network. Therefore, there is no need for the operator and the serviceman to exchange schedule confirmations and the like over the telephone, thereby increasing the efficiency of work.

According to the present invention, the maintenance server ranks and manages each request according to the degree of urgency, and gives priority to requests with high urgency. Therefore, the response capability of the entire system can be improved, and it is possible to sufficiently cope with customer requests.

Further, according to the present invention, a failure is automatically diagnosed on the device side, and when there is a failure, a notification is sent to the maintenance server. Therefore, it is possible to notify a maintenance request before the customer notices, and it is possible to promptly deal with a failure of the device.

Further, according to the present invention, the user of the device
It is not necessary to request the service station for maintenance.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 serviceman 11 portable information terminal 12 portable information terminal server 13 network 14 service station 15 telephone 16 maintenance server 17 operator 18 telephone 19 customer 20 serviceman 21 portable information terminal 22 portable information terminal server 23 network 24 maintenance target device 2 25 maintenance target Equipment 1 26 Service station 27 Operator 28 Maintenance server

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A maintenance business system comprising: a maintenance server having installation location information of each device; and a mobile terminal server managing a mobile terminal owned by each serviceman, wherein the mobile terminal server has a The maintenance server has means for calculating the current position information of the serviceman from the position information, wherein the maintenance server manages the current position information, and when a request for maintenance work of the apparatus is received from a customer, the installation location information and the A maintenance service system comprising: a determination unit that selects a service person who performs maintenance work on the apparatus from current position information of each service person managed by the mobile terminal server. 2. A maintenance business system comprising: a maintenance server having installation location information of each device; and a mobile terminal server managing a mobile terminal owned by each serviceman, wherein the mobile terminal server has a The maintenance server has means for calculating the current position information of the serviceman from the position information, and the maintenance server manages the current position information, and when the failure notification is received from the device, the installation location information and the mobile terminal server are And a determining means for selecting a serviceman to perform the maintenance work on the device from the current position information of each serviceman to be managed. 3. The maintenance server further manages model information of each device and model information in charge of each serviceman, and the determining unit further takes into account the model information and model information in charge. 3. The maintenance business system according to claim 1, wherein a service person who performs maintenance work of the apparatus is determined. 4. The maintenance server further manages schedule information of each serviceman, and the determining unit further determines a serviceman to perform maintenance work of the device in consideration of the schedule information. The maintenance service system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: 5. The maintenance server further includes means for updating schedule information of a serviceman who performs the maintenance work determined by the determination means, and updates the schedule information of each serviceman via the mobile terminal. 5. The method according to claim 4, wherein
Maintenance business system described in. 6. The maintenance server further includes, via the portable terminal server, schedule information in a portable terminal of a serviceman who performs maintenance work of the device determined by the determination unit, and performs maintenance work of the device. 5. The maintenance service system according to claim 1, further comprising means for changing schedule information to be performed. 7. The maintenance server further includes means for judging urgency information of the maintenance work of the device, wherein the deciding means further performs the maintenance work of the device in consideration of the urgency information. 7. The maintenance service system according to claim 1, wherein a service person to be performed is determined.