JP2004110496A - Serviceman management system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To automatically select a suitable serviceman for a request of repair to the utmost extent. <P>SOLUTION: The serviceman updates state information 13 at real time. The state information 13 shows at least a position on a map and the operating state of the serviceman at present onward. Priority is given based on the skill and experience of the servicemen, and a list of servicemen is prepared in the order of priority. Further, the serviceman who can be assigned to a new request of repair is searched based on the state information of the servicemen. In the case there is a request of repair from a certain customer, the service is assigned to the serviceman closest to the location of the customer and having a free time. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a serviceman management system that enables schedule management when a serviceman is dispatched for after-sales service of equipment.
[0002]
[Prior art]
After-sales service of sold equipment is an important business as an equipment manufacturer. In particular, for equipment used by customers for business, it is necessary to have a service person visit as soon as possible when a repair request is made. Depending on this response, customers can be expanded or lost. At the same time, service technicians are required to have both technical skills and business responsiveness. Therefore, the manager is required to make a decision to assign a job to a suitable serviceman when a repair request is received. Conventionally, the training of service technicians has been enhanced to improve their capabilities and homogenize them, and service technicians who are on standby are sequentially assigned to repair requests. A method in which the skills and years of experience of the serviceman are registered in a database, and the responsible person selects the most suitable person for the applicable work from the waiting serviceman when a repair request is received from the customer. Has been adopted.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, the conventional techniques as described above have the following problems to be solved.
For example, there is a case where there is no person who is suitable for the job among the waiting servicemen. In this case, no response can be made until a suitable service person returns to the office. In addition, when some repair requests are received, the responsible persons are mechanically assigned in order, so that when a new repair request comes, a suitable person may not be found. This causes the customer to wait for a long time and cannot provide appropriate services.
The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and provides a serviceman management system that records predetermined information in a database for all servicemen and optimizes serviceman assignment. Aim.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a serviceman management system capable of automatically selecting a suitable person as much as possible in response to a repair request.
[0004]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention employs the following configuration to solve the above points.
<Configuration 1>
A means for acquiring state information representing at least the position on the map and the operating state of the serviceman, and storage means for storing the state information and the skill information representing the skill of the serviceman in a browsable manner; When a repair request and its visiting place are designated, for the skills required for the repair request, refer to the above-mentioned skill information, select a candidate serviceman, and, on the map of the visiting place, A serviceman management system for displaying and outputting a result of selecting a candidate serviceman based on the position of the serviceman and referring to the state information.
[0005]
The serviceman is a person who performs repairs and inspections and maintenance of the equipment, and stores the state information in the storage means. The state information is information indicating at least the position on the map and the operating state of the serviceman since the present time, and clarifies when and where the state is in a clear range from the present to the future. The reason for including the future state information is to determine whether the next new task can be assigned. Since the location information includes the location information, the serviceman who is closest to the next destination is listed as a high priority candidate. The operating state is information indicating at what time the apparatus is operating. The method of acquiring the state information is arbitrary. The browsing method of the state information and the skill information is arbitrary. The storage format of the state information and the skill information and the type of the storage device are arbitrary. A web page format that can be browsed by a browser or a database format that can be browsed only by a specific application program may be used. When the position on the map and the operating state are clarified, it is possible to automatically calculate whether or not it is physically assignable from the relationship between the position of the repair request visit destination.
[0006]
<Configuration 2>
The serviceman management system according to the configuration 1, wherein the selected serviceman is displayed with priority given based on a predetermined criterion and output.
[0007]
By selecting a service person who can respond from the skill information and, for example, prioritizing according to years of experience and listing candidates, it is possible to reduce the burden of the service person assignment work of the administrator. If the difficulty level of the repair request is low, the inexperienced person is listed so that the priority is higher. Therefore, when a repair request with a high degree of difficulty comes later, a service person with a long experience is assigned.
[0008]
<Configuration 3>
The serviceman management system according to configuration 1, wherein the status information is input from a serviceman terminal device via a network.
[0009]
The configuration of the terminal device of the service person is arbitrary. A mobile terminal or a mobile phone is suitable. By obtaining information in real time, quick assignment processing becomes possible.
[0010]
<Configuration 4>
In the serviceman management system according to the configuration 1, it is assumed that the position information out of the state information is automatically input from the serviceman's terminal device through the network, and the operation state is predicted and input with reference to the serviceman's schedule. Characteristic serviceman management system.
[0011]
If the position information is acquired in real time using a known position information acquisition technology, almost sufficient state information can be acquired without the service person being conscious. The serviceman's schedule includes the service schedule in detail and is recorded in advance in the status information. By referring to this schedule and matching the position information, the operating state can be predicted. If there is a notification of a schedule change from a service person, the operating status may be updated.
[0012]
<Configuration 5>
The serviceman management system according to Configuration 1, further comprising: means for acquiring nearby traffic information based on the position information of the serviceman; and means for calculating travel time using the position information and the traffic information. A serviceman management system characterized by the following.
[0013]
The traffic information is used to accurately calculate the travel time required when the service person moves to the next customer. Thus, it is possible to calculate the idle time of the serviceman and determine whether a new repair request can be assigned.
[0014]
<Configuration 6>
In the serviceman management system according to the configuration 1, in the skill information, the serviceman selected based on the general criterion, including the information on the speed of the work, is displayed in a priority order based on the speed of the work. A serviceman management system characterized by outputting.
[0015]
The selection based on the general criteria refers to a case where the selection is normally made based on the repair content and the state information. Assign a quick service technician for urgent repairs. In addition, when the free time is short, if the work is quick, a new repair request can be assigned without affecting other schedules.
[0016]
<Configuration 7>
In the serviceman management system described in the configuration 1, in the skill information, the serviceman selected by the general standard including the capability information on the customer service business other than the repair business is given priority based on the customer service business. A serviceman management system characterized by being attached and displayed.
[0017]
The customer service operation is, for example, a maintenance contract operation. From the contents of the repair request, when a plurality of candidates are given, or when it is considered appropriate to proceed with the maintenance contract, a service person who is skilled in maintenance contract work is assigned.
[0018]
<Configuration 8>
In the serviceman management system according to the first aspect, by referring to the position information and the state information of each serviceman, the traveling route of the vehicle loaded with the repair parts and the point at which parts can be supplied to more servicemen. A serviceman management system, comprising: means for determining a route to pass through; and means for notifying a corresponding serviceman of a traveling route of the vehicle.
[0019]
If a repair request is assigned to a service person on a case-by-case basis, there may be a shortage of parts on hand. Using the position information and the state information of each serviceman, a vehicle loaded with repair parts travels along a traveling route that passes through a point where parts can be supplied to more servicemen. The type and amount of the repair parts to be loaded may be arbitrary. One or a plurality of vehicles may be run.
[0020]
<Configuration 9>
A process of acquiring state information indicating at least the position on the map and the operating state of the serviceman since the present time, a process of storing the state information and skill information indicating the skill of the serviceman in a browsable manner, and repairing When a request and its visit are specified, refer to the above skill information for the skill required for the repair request, select a candidate serviceman, and position the visit on the map. And a process of displaying and outputting a result of selecting a candidate serviceman on the basis of the above-mentioned state information based on the computer.
[0021]
It is an invention of a computer program for realizing the system of configuration 1. Operates on a server or the like connected to the network.
[0022]
<Configuration 10>
A serviceman management system according to the configuration 9, wherein the selected serviceman is displayed with priority given based on a predetermined criterion and output.
[0023]
It is an invention of a computer program for realizing the system of configuration 2.
[0024]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described using specific examples.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a specific example of the system of the present invention.
As shown in the figure, a management terminal 10 for managing the assignment of a serviceman to a repair request includes a storage device 11 and an arithmetic processing device 20. The storage device 11 stores state information 13, skill information 14, repair request data 15, and the like. The arithmetic processing unit 20 includes an information collecting unit 21, a repair request receiving unit 22, a serviceman assigning unit 23, and a priority calculating unit 24. These means are computer programs for operating the computer of the management terminal 10.
[0025]
The management terminal 10 receives notification of status information from the service personnel M1, M2, M3, and M4, which are moving or working, through the network 1. The notification is recorded in the storage device 11 each time. In the example of this figure, the serviceman M1 is working on the current repair request. The serviceman M2 is moving by car or the like, and the serviceman M3 is taking a break. The service person M4 is waiting at a service center or the like. Such status information is notified through the network 1. The network 1 is a network for various types of information communication, such as the Internet and a telephone line network. It can be a wired network or a wireless network.
[0026]
The management terminal 10 functions as a web server, and the storage device 12 stores a web page for receiving status information from each serviceman. Each of the web pages can be browsed through a network by using a predetermined URL (Uniform Resource Locator). The web page is created in the form of HTML (Hyper Text Mark-up Language), SGML (Standard Generalized Mark-up Language), XML (extensible Markup Language), and the like. Since the types of status information are limited, they may be input in a selection format.
[0027]
[Status information]
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a specific example of the state information.
For example, in the schedule 31 of a certain serviceman as shown in FIG. 2A, the company visits the company A from 9:30 to 10:00 in the morning to provide a service for a repair request. Further, after that, he moves to the company B by 10:45 and performs the work for the repair request of the company B until 12:00. Then, after taking a break for a while, he moves to the company C and performs work for the company C's repair request from 14:00 to 15:30. With such a schedule, for example, the state information of this service person at 11:00 is as shown in FIG. That is, as shown in the state information 32 in the figure, at 11:00, the data is that the company B is working. Also, after 12:00 after the work of the company B, the state information 33 becomes as shown in FIG. That is, at 12:10, the content is that the user is taking a break in front of XX station. Further, when the work at Company C is completed before 15:00, the state information 34 at 15:00 is in a state of traveling on a road xx, as in the state information 34 shown in FIG.
[0028]
The service person notifies the management terminal 10 of the status information as needed using his / her mobile phone or mobile terminal. The current time can be acquired on the management terminal 10 side at the timing of notification. The current position can also be automatically acquired by a known position information acquisition system. The sender identification can be automatically recognized by the caller telephone number notification. Therefore, notification of the status information is possible only by selecting one from the list of the status information. This type of information transmission processing is a well-known processing, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted. FIG. 2E shows a time chart of the schedule of FIG. Looking at the time chart 35, the moving time and idle time indicated by the arrow and the actual working time indicated by the hatched band are clear. In such a schedule, for example, when a new repair request is to be assigned to this serviceman, the available time shown in the figure is checked. By checking the width of the vacant time, it is determined whether or not there is a width obtained by adding the travel time to the location of the intended repair requester and the repair work time.
[0029]
[Input and update of status information]
In this system, the service person updates the status information 13 in real time and stores the status information 13 in the storage device 11 in a state that can be browsed by the administrator. The state information 13 is information indicating at least the position on the map and the operating state of the serviceman since the present time. The current location of the serviceman is where it is, where it is moving, where it is taking a break, where it is being repaired, and where it is going to go and at what time. For example, the daily schedule of the serviceman is directly input as the initial value data of the state information. If you are acting according to the schedule, even if you update the status information with the notification from the service person, the content hardly changes. When another repair request is assigned to the service man's idle time, it is preferable to input the status information for the schedule on the server side. Further, when the temporal schedule is changed due to the progress or delay of the work, the current position on the map and the operating state are recorded in the state information in real time. In this way, by recording the status information of all the servicemen under management in real time, not only the serviceman waiting at the headquarters but also the serviceman on the go and the schedule has free space. Can be treated as effectively as waiting and new work can be assigned. For example, when a certain customer requests a repair, the service can be assigned to a service person who is closest to the location of the customer and has free time.
[0030]
[Serviceman skill information (skill information)]
The skill information 14 of each serviceman is acquired and updated at an appropriate timing, and is stored in the storage device 11 so as to be viewable by an administrator. For example, the skill information 14 is updated at the time of recruiting a service person, at the end of a certain period of training, or at another timing. The skill information 14 is skill information such as which field each serviceman is good at repairing equipment in and which field is not specialized. Used to prevent accidental assignment of non-specialized work. The skill information also includes characteristic information such as particularly quick work or outstanding handling of a specific device. Used for selection when there is more than one service person in charge. Assign a quick service technician for urgent repairs. Assign an experienced service person for important customers. If you are trained not only in equipment repair technology but also in operations such as maintenance contracts, this is also included in the characteristic information. As a result, it is possible to have the serviceman not only perform the repair work but also solicit a maintenance contract, collect information, and perform a contract procedure.
[0031]
[Serviceman Assignment Behavior]
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a control screen when a serviceman is assigned.
The screen 40 shown in the figure is a screen for inputting the content of a repair request when a new repair request is received and searching for a suitable service person. The screen 40 is provided with drop-down lists 41 and 42, text boxes 43, 44 and 45, buttons 46 and 47, and the like. The drop-down list 41 is used to input a target device for repair request, and is used to select a product code of the target device from a list prepared in advance. The drop-down list 42 is for selecting and inputting a failure site. In the drop-down list 42, a list of parts of the target device where a failure occurs is displayed and can be selected. In the text box 43, a symptom or the like explained by the repair request destination is input. In the text box 44, the customer name is input. In the text box 45, the telephone number of the customer is input. This telephone number is also used to check the location of the customer on the map. The button 46 is clicked to automatically search for a suitable service person for this repair request. The button 47 is for clearing all input items.
[0032]
The information collecting means 21 shown in FIG. 1 collects the service person's skill information 14 at an arbitrary timing in advance and records it in the storage device 11. Further, the state information 13 is collected at an arbitrary timing and recorded in the storage device 11. The repair request receiving means 22 displays the screen 40 shown in FIG. 3 and receives input of repair request contents by an administrator or the like. When the contents of the repair request are input, a button of serviceman search 46 is clicked. At this time, the serviceman assigning means 23 is activated, and the serviceman search and assignment process is started. After the input of the repair request content, when the processing such as the search for the serviceman is completed, the repair request receiving means 22 records the result as the repair request data 15 in the storage device 11. Note that one or more serviceman candidates suitable for the assignment of the repair work are displayed in a list. When a plurality of service personnel are displayed in a list, the administrator selects and determines one of them. The qualified person may be displayed automatically.
[0033]
In FIG. 3, when a button 46 for serviceman search is clicked, a screen 50 is displayed. On this screen 50, a list 51 of the searched service personnel is displayed. In this list, the name of the serviceman, the state of the serviceman, the skill of the serviceman, the experience of the serviceman, and the like are displayed. Further, an option button 52 for deciding which serviceman to select is provided. If either is selected, the serviceman has been assigned to the repair request. The result is displayed in the text box 53. When the button 54 is clicked, such information is recorded in the repair request data 15, and processing for notifying the assigned serviceman of the result by e-mail or the like is executed.
[0034]
In the screen 50 shown in the figure, the result that three servicemen are suitable for the current repair request is output. At this time, priorities are assigned based on the skills and experiences of the three servicemen, and a list of servicemen is displayed in the order of priority. In this example, the priority is determined on condition that the content of the repair request is relatively simple. In other words, all three servicemen have no technical problem with respect to this repair request. At this time, compare skills and experience as shown in the figure. If a new difficult repair request comes immediately after this repair request, it is necessary to leave a highly skilled service person. Therefore, priorities are set such that service personnel with less experience years are assigned to higher ranks using experience years as a parameter. Therefore, if the service person listed at the top is selected, the optimum selection can be made. This selection may ultimately be based on the intention of the manager or the like.
[0035]
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a method of supplying parts to a serviceman.
As shown in (a) of the figure, when the servicemen M1, M2, M3, M4, and M5 are working or moving at their respective locations, these servicemen may request an unscheduled repair request. The truck 60 for supplying the missing parts at the time of reception is run. At this time, a traveling route for traveling the truck 60 is determined based on the positional relationship of all servicemen. First, as shown in the figure, the waypoints P, Q, R, and S are determined in advance based on the position of each serviceman. Then, the traveling route R is determined so as to connect these points. What is necessary is just to draw a loop that passes near all target service personnel at an appropriate timing.
[0036]
In order to perform such processing, geographic information 26 and traffic information 27 shown in FIG. 1 are obtained. The repair parts list 61 may be created in advance based on the contents of the repair request from the serviceman. The repaired part may be loaded on the truck 60 and run at each of the P, Q, R, and S points according to the timetable 63 shown in the figure. By such a method, parts can be promptly supplied to a serviceman who has a shortage of parts. When the service person informs the management terminal 10 that the parts are insufficient, it suffices to request the delivery of the parts to a truck running in the nearest place. The status information includes information on the next visit destination of the serviceman and the content of the repair request. Therefore, for example, parts to be prepared can be determined in advance according to the repair contents of the serviceman, and the parts can be delivered by truck before the serviceman arrives at the next visit.
[0037]
5 and 6 are specific operation flowcharts of the system of the present invention.
Steps S1 to S3 are information collection processing. First, in step S1, a serviceman schedule is registered. The initial value of the state information is input. The input timing is arbitrary. It is good to input at the time when the schedule of each serviceman is decided. Updated as needed. The schedule is updated when a new repair request is assigned. In step S2, the skill information of the serviceman is registered. This is also performed from time to time. It is updated when a serviceman to be managed newly joins or is transferred to another department. It is also updated when the service person has received some training. In step S3, the status information is received from the serviceman, and the content is registered. This is also performed at any time by a service person.
[0038]
In parallel with the above-described database registration and update processing, the following allocation processing is performed at any time.
First, in step S11, when a repair request is received via a network or by telephone, facsimile, or the like, in step S12, the repair request content is input on the screen 40 described with reference to FIG. Then, in a step S13, it is determined whether or not the search button 46 (FIG. 3) of the service person is pressed. When the search is started, the process proceeds to step S14, and the service persons are narrowed down by using the state information 13 and the skill information 14 of the service persons. First, it narrows down based on the skill information and determines whether there is an extractor. If there is no extracted one, the process ends. This is a state where a service person who can be assigned has paid out. If there is an extractor, the process proceeds to step S16, and one extractor is selected. The number of extracted service personnel may be one or two or more. Then, in step S17, the status information of each serviceman is acquired. In the next step S18, map information and traffic information are obtained. In step S1, the idle time of the serviceman is calculated, and it is determined whether a new repair request can be assigned. If it is determined in step S20 that the serviceman can be assigned, the process proceeds to step S21, and the serviceman is added to the list for output.
[0039]
In step S22, it is determined whether the processing has been completed for all the extracted servicemen. If not, the process returns to step S16, and the same process is repeated for the next extractor. When the processing for all the service persons is completed, the process proceeds to step S23, and the priority order is calculated. The priority may be determined by comparing and rearranging the items, focusing on the items specified in advance by the administrator. In step S24, the list is edited based on the result of the ranking, and a screen 50 as shown in FIG. 3 is displayed. In step S25, the repair request data is updated, and in step S26, a notification is made to the serviceman. The above process supports the serviceman assignment process.
[0040]
The computer programs installed in the arithmetic processing device may be configured by combining independent program modules, or may be configured by an integrated program as a whole. All or part of the processing controlled by the computer program may be configured by hardware having equivalent functions. Further, the above-described computer program may be used by being incorporated into an existing application program. The computer program for realizing the present invention as described above can be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, and installed and used in an arbitrary information processing apparatus. In addition, it can be downloaded and used in the memory of any computer through a network.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a specific example of the system of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example of state information.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a control screen when a serviceman is assigned.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a component supply method for a serviceman.
FIG. 5 is a specific operation flowchart (1/2) of the system of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a specific operation flowchart (2/2) of the system of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
Reference Signs List 1 network, 10 management terminal, 11 storage device, 13 state information, 14 skill information, 15 repair request data, 20 arithmetic processing device, 21 information collecting means, 22 repair request receiving means, 23 serviceman assigning means, 24 priority calculation means

Claims (10)

Means for acquiring state information representing at least the position on the map and the operating state of the serviceman since the present,
Storage means for storing the state information and the skill information representing the skill of the serviceman in a browsable manner,
When a repair request and its visit are specified, for the skill required for the repair request, refer to the skill information, select a candidate serviceman, and, on the map of the visit, A serviceman management system for displaying and outputting a result of selecting a candidate serviceman with reference to the state information based on a position. The serviceman management system according to claim 1,
A serviceman management system, wherein the selected serviceman is displayed and output with priorities based on predetermined criteria. The serviceman management system according to claim 1,
A serviceman management system, wherein the status information is input from a serviceman's terminal device through a network. The serviceman management system according to claim 1,
A serviceman management system characterized in that, among the status information, position information is automatically input from a serviceman's terminal device through a network, and an operation state is predicted and input by referring to a serviceman's schedule. The serviceman management system according to claim 1,
Means for obtaining traffic information of the neighborhood based on the location information of the serviceman;
Means for calculating travel time using the location information and traffic information. The serviceman management system according to claim 1,
A serviceman management system comprising: a serviceman selected based on a general criterion, including information on a work speed in the skill information, and displaying and displaying the serviceman with a priority order based on the work speed. . The serviceman management system according to claim 1,
A service characterized in that, in the skill information, including service capability information on customer service operations other than repair operations, service personnel selected by general standards are displayed and output with priorities based on the customer service operations. Man management system. The serviceman management system according to claim 1,
Means for referring to the position information and state information of each serviceman to determine the traveling route of the vehicle loaded with the repair parts as a route passing through a point where parts can be supplied to more servicemen,
Means for notifying a corresponding serviceman of the travel route of the vehicle. A process of acquiring state information representing at least the current position on the map and the operating state of the serviceman,
A process of storing the state information and the skill information representing the skill of the serviceman in a browsable manner,
When a repair request and its visit are specified, for the skill required for the repair request, refer to the skill information, select a candidate serviceman, and, on the map of the visit, A serviceman management program for causing a computer to execute a process of displaying and outputting a result of selecting a candidate serviceman with reference to the state information based on a position. The serviceman management program according to claim 9,
A serviceman management system, wherein the selected serviceman is displayed and output with priorities based on predetermined criteria.

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