JP2014191696A - Information management method and information management system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To acquire information by means corresponding to a business risk in an information management system.SOLUTION: A first management system 1 of an information management system 10 periodically patrols an information database 6 of a transaction destination to collect contained chemical substance information (environmental information) related to components or materials, and stores it in an information storage part 11. A second management system 2 receives an information request from a design support system 4, and searches for information matching the information request from a second information storage part 21, and when there does not exist any matching information in the second information storage part 21, determines a significance division on the basis of the division information of a division information storage part 22. The first management system 1 determines information acquisition means on the basis of the significance division, and acquires the information of a model designated in the information request from the transaction destination designated in the information request in accordance with the determination. The second management system 2 outputs the acquired information to the design support system 4.

Description

  The present invention relates to an information management technique for acquiring and managing information from a plurality of suppliers. More specifically, the present invention relates to an information management method and system for acquiring and managing information that needs to be stored for business use by means according to business risk.

  In recent years, operations such as development, manufacture, and sales of products (green products) that consider the environment and safety have been expanded. In order to develop, manufacture and sell green products, it is obliged to obtain and store information (environmental information) indicating the chemical substances contained in the parts and materials used in the products.

  A general method for acquiring environmental information is a company that develops, manufactures, and sells green products, and stores the environmental information (hereinafter simply referred to as “stores”), Individually request environmental information regarding parts or materials from companies that manufacture and sell materials (hereinafter simply referred to as “suppliers”), and each supplier specifies, for example, an “article information sheet (AIS)”. Created environmental information in the standard format and responded.

  AIS is a basic information transmission sheet for disclosing information on chemical substances in products recommended by the “Article Management Promotion Council (JAMP)” and corresponds to the mass, part, material, and control target of articles. Enter information such as presence / absence of substance, substance name / content / concentration per article, etc., and use it to communicate environmental information to the custodian who is located downstream in the supply chain (downstream user) Is done.

  As a conventional method of information collection, in order to efficiently collect information that is lacking in product evaluation, information necessary for product evaluation is listed, information that is not held in the parts database is extracted and listed, and information sources There is known a system that extracts an information source of insufficient information from a database and sends an information request message to the extracted information source.

  In addition, as another conventional method of information collection, in order to monitor the progress of delivery, process management that considers the reliability of suppliers and the importance of parts is performed, and the frequency of checking progress according to the importance of parts There are known systems for changing.

JP 2005-107883 A JP 2006-119686 A

In the conventional acquisition of environmental information, information is exchanged between a custodian of environmental information and a plurality of suppliers, resulting in the following problems.
・ It is desirable that the requested environmental information can be acquired on the same day, but it may be difficult to obtain it early because it depends on the supplier. The custodian requests environmental information regardless of the credibility of the responding supplier, such as the status of compliance with the response date of environmental information.
・ The custodian needs to check whether the acquired environmental information satisfies the required environmental information items. For example, it is necessary to check whether there is a format error or incompleteness in the environmental information that has been answered, such as whether the described numerical value is valid or whether an essential item is described.
・ It is desirable that the environmental information is always the latest information, but it may be difficult to obtain updated information in a timely manner.

  As described above, the conventional collection method has a problem that it takes time to collect environmental information itself. Furthermore, when the acquired environmental information is inadequate, there is a problem that not only re-acquisition of the environmental information requires more time but also the re-examination of the part adoption itself may occur. These problems cause the green product delivery time to be extended, resulting in various business risks such as the impact on the development and shipment of the green product, and the reliability of the product itself being impaired.

  Conventionally, requests for environmental information are made uniform without taking into account the lightness of business risks that may arise due to the acquisition status of environmental information on parts and materials, but the risk of green products is also reduced according to the importance of business. There is a need to.

  Furthermore, since the supplier also creates and responds to environmental information in accordance with the format of the requester each time it is requested, there is a problem that the work burden related to provision of environmental information is increased.

  An object of the information management system and the information management method disclosed as one aspect of the present invention is to collect information acquired from an external supplier related to a product by selecting an acquisition means considering business importance. It is to provide an information management method and system.

  An information management method disclosed as one aspect of the present invention is a method of collecting and managing information from a plurality of providers, and a computer executes the following processing.

  That is, the computer 1) circulates information databases of a plurality of preset suppliers for each preset period, collects information on chemical substances contained in parts or materials, and collects the collected information as Store in the information storage unit in association with the model identifying the material and the supplier identifying the supplier of the information, and 2) accepting an information request in which the model and the customer are specified, from the information storage unit Search for information that matches the model and the supplier, and 3) hold category information indicating preset category values for each part or material classification, each part or material type and each supplier. When the information storage unit does not have information that matches the model and the business partner, the information requested information is based on the category value of one category or a plurality of categories of the category information. 4) Determine information acquisition means based on the importance classification, and acquire information related to the information request from the business partner specified in the information request according to the determined information acquisition means Execute the process.

  According to the information management method described above, information acquired from an external supplier in relation to a product can be collected by selecting an acquisition unit corresponding to the business risk.

It is a figure which shows the structural example in the 1st Example of the information management system to disclose. It is a functional block diagram in one Example of two management systems with which the information management system to disclose is provided. It is a figure which shows the example of the environmental information as 1st information memorize | stored in a 1st information storage part in a 1st Example. It is a figure which shows the example of the environmental information as 2nd information memorize | stored in a 2nd information storage part in a 1st Example. It is a figure which shows the example of the division information memorize | stored in a division information storage part in a 1st Example. It is a figure which shows the example of the correspondence information of the importance classification which a 1st management system hold | maintains in a 1st Example. It is a figure which shows the example of a processing flow of the periodic collection process of the environmental information by the 1st management system in a 1st Example. It is a figure which shows the example of a processing flow of the provision process of environmental information by the 2nd management system in a 1st Example. It is a figure which shows the example of a processing flow of the collation process of environmental information by the 1st management system in a 1st Example, and an information request notification process. It is a figure which shows the system configuration example in the 2nd Example of an information management system. It is a figure which shows the functional block structural example of the 1st management system in a 2nd Example. It is a figure which shows the example of the correspondence information of the component number in a 2nd Example. It is a figure which shows the hardware structural example of the 1st management system of the information management system to disclose, and a 2nd management system.

  Embodiments of an information management system disclosed as one aspect of the present invention will be described below.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example in a first embodiment of a disclosed information management system 10.

  The information management system 10 to be disclosed is a system that collects and stores environmental information related to products, manages the information, and provides environmental information related to a requested component. The first management system 1 and the second management system 2 Is provided.

  The first management system 1 and the second management system 2 are connected to a network 3 that is an intranet, for example, and can perform data communication with each other. The network 3 is also connected with a design support system 4 that supports the design and manufacture of green products, and the second management system 2 has a function of communicating with the design support system 4.

  The system configuration example shown in FIG. 1 shows a case where there is one design support system 4 connected to the second management system 2, but a plurality of design support systems 4 may be connected to the second management system 2. Good.

  The first management system 1 is a public information database 6 (6A, 6B, and the like) that accumulates environmental information of a plurality of suppliers who are suppliers of parts and materials used in green products, for example, via a network 5 that is the Internet. 6C,... Is periodically circulated, environmental information regarding parts and materials is acquired, and the acquired environmental information is accumulated as first information.

  The second management system 2 acquires environmental information related to parts and materials for which information has been requested from the environmental information (first information) collected and accumulated by the first management system, and provides it to the design support system 4 and 2 stored as information. More specifically, when the second management system 2 receives a request for environmental information (information request) related to a part or material from the design support system 4, environmental information corresponding to the second information stored in the own system exists. If so, the environment information is transmitted to the design support system 4. If there is no environmental information corresponding to the second information, the second management system 2 classifies the importance based on the business importance of the requested parts and materials, the reliability of the provider of the environmental information, etc. And the first management system 1 is notified of the calculated importance classification and an inquiry (verification request) for the presence or absence of environmental information. The importance category is information indicating the degree of the significance of the influence of environmental information acquisition on business risks related to green products.

  When the first management system 1 receives this inquiry (verification request), if there is environmental information corresponding to the first information, the first management system 1 returns it to the second management system 2, and if there is no corresponding environmental information, it corresponds to the importance category. The acquisition means is selected, the environment information is acquired from the business partner by the selection means, and is transmitted to the second management system 2.

  FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of an embodiment of two information management systems provided in the disclosed information management system 10.

  The first management system 1 includes a first information storage unit 11, an information collection unit 12, a request reception unit 13, an information collation unit 14, a request notification unit 15, a request information acquisition unit 16, and an information accuracy determination unit 17.

  The 1st information storage part (database) 11 memorizes the information used as the origin of the environmental information collected from information database 6 (6A, 6B, 6C, ...) of a supplier.

  The information collection unit 12 acquires environmental information from each of a plurality of predetermined customer information databases 6 (6A, 6B, 6C,...) At predetermined time intervals, and first information as first information. Accumulate in the storage unit 11. The environment information stored in the first information storage unit 11 is information including items and contents corresponding to the standard format of AIS recommended by JAMP, but does not have to be information having the same data configuration. The information collecting unit 12 may edit and accumulate environmental information in a format different for each supplier information database 6 so as to correspond to the configuration of data items in the first information storage unit 11.

  The information collection unit 12 manages whether the environmental information stored in the first information storage unit 11 has been transmitted to the second management system 2, and the information collected by the periodic tour has already been transmitted to the second management system 2. If the update information of the environmental information (information that matches the supplier code and model and has a new registration date), the acquired update information that has been collected is transmitted to the second management system 2.

  Furthermore, the information collecting unit 12 can accumulate the history information of the regular cyclic collection process in a storage unit (not shown in FIG. 1) managed by the first management system 1.

  The request receiving unit 13 receives from the second management system 2 a verification request and importance classification of environmental information specifying a verification key.

  The information collation unit 14 searches the first information storage unit 11 using information identifying the business partner specified as the collation key (customer code) and information identifying the part or material (model), and the search result Is transmitted to the second management system 2. When the content of the first information does not correspond to the data item of the second information storage unit 21 managed by the second management system 2, the information verification unit 14 converts the first information to the data of the second information storage unit 21. Edit and send to correspond to the item.

  The request notification unit 15 determines the environment information acquisition means and the acquisition confirmation interval based on the received importance classification when the first information that matches the verification key does not exist in the first information storage unit 11. Based on the decision, request information to the relevant business partner. Furthermore, the request notification unit 15 requests the supplier to provide information even when the accuracy of the environmental information collected by the information collection unit 12 and stored in the first information storage unit 11 is determined to be low.

  The request information acquisition unit 16 accumulates environmental information acquired from a business partner in response to a request for information provision in the first information storage unit 11 and transmits it to the second management system 2.

  The information accuracy determination unit 17 is stored in the first information storage unit 11 when the environmental information collected by the information collection unit 12 has a description omission or the like and does not satisfy predetermined items to be described as environmental information. If the environmental information is not updated even after a predetermined period, it is determined that the accuracy of the information is low, and the corresponding supplier code and model are notified to the supplier classification management unit 23.

  For example, the information accuracy determination unit 17 obtains the update frequency of the environmental information collected from the information database 6 of each supplier based on the history information of the cyclic collection process of the information collection unit 12 held by the first management system 1. Then, based on the update frequency, the division value of the business partner is calculated. Alternatively, the information accuracy determination unit 17 obtains a description ratio of environmental information collected from the information database 6 of each supplier, for example, a description ratio of items entered for items required in the AIS, and based on the description ratio. Determine the compartment value.

  The second management system 2 includes a second information storage unit 21, a category information storage unit 22, a supplier category management unit 23, a model category management unit 24, a component classification category management unit 25, an information request reception unit 26, and a second information A search unit 27, an information output unit 28, an importance category determination unit 29, a matching request unit 210, and an information acquisition unit 211 are provided.

  The second information storage unit 21 stores the environmental information acquired from the first management system 1 as second information. The environment (second information) stored in the second information storage unit 21 is the environment information subject to the information request, for example, information including data items and contents corresponding to the AIS standard format.

  The category information storage unit 22 stores a supplier category, a model category, a component category category, and an importance category.

  The supplier classification management unit 23 determines a supplier classification for each supplier (partner code) of parts and materials, and registers it in the classification information storage unit 22. The supplier category is a category indicating the reliability of each supplier as a provider of environmental information, and a plurality of categories (category values) corresponding to the level of reliability are set. The supplier category management unit 23 calculates the category value of the supplier based on the determination result of the information accuracy determination unit 17 of the first management system 1.

  The supplier category management unit 23 may register the category value of each supplier input by the operation of the administrator of the first management system 1 in the category information storage unit 22.

  The type classification management unit 24 determines the type classification for each part or material employed in the green product and registers it in the classification information storage unit 22. The type classification indicates the importance of procurement of each part or material used in green products, and multiple classifications (category values) corresponding to the level of procurement difficulty are set. . The type classification management unit 24 determines the classification for each type, which is part or material identification information, based on, for example, the number of items that can be procured with a single order, the delivery date, the price fluctuation, and the like. The type classification management unit 24 may register the type classification value input by the operation of the administrator in the classification information storage unit 22.

  The part classification category management unit 25 determines a part classification category for each type of part or material employed in the green product and registers it in the category information storage unit 22. The parts classification category indicates the importance of laws and regulations for each part or material classification, and the importance of environmental information in operation, and there are multiple categories (category values) corresponding to the necessity of environmental information. Is set. For each predetermined classification of parts or materials, the part classification classification management unit 25 determines a classification based on, for example, the obligation to retain environmental information based on laws and regulations, the severity of penalties, and the like. The part classification category management unit 25 may register the category value input by the operation of the administrator in the category information storage unit 22.

  The information request receiving unit 26 receives from the design support system 4 an environment information acquisition request (information request) in which a supplier code and model are specified.

  The second information search unit 27 searches the second information storage unit 21 using the supplier code and model specified in the information request as a search key, and acquires the corresponding environmental information.

  The information output unit 28 converts environment information corresponding to the information request into data in a preset format, for example, an AIS data file, and transmits the environment information to the design support system 4 that transmitted the information request.

  The importance level classification determination unit 29, when the environmental information corresponding to the information request does not exist in the second information storage unit 21, the supplier classification and type corresponding to the customer code and model specified in the information request The importance category is determined based on the case category and the component category category. The importance category is a category indicating the severity of the impact of environmental information acquisition on business risks related to green products, and a plurality of categories (category values) corresponding to the severity of the impact are set.

  The importance level determination unit 29 determines the importance level using any one, any combination, or all of the supplier category, the model category, and the component classification category. Furthermore, the importance level classification determination unit 29 can determine the importance level classification by arbitrarily weighting the classification used for the determination. The importance category may be determined using a category prepared in advance other than the above categories (partner category, model category, and component category category). The importance level determination unit 29 can change the importance level for each preset period or for each opportunity.

In this embodiment, four categories of “A”, “B”, “C”, and “N” are provided in descending order of importance of the environmental information acquisition as the importance category, and the weighting of the category used for the determination, etc. Therefore, it is assumed that each importance category corresponds to the following business risk factors.
"Importance category" A "= Business risk factor based on laws and regulations related to parts and materials (parts and materials that have a very high need for acquiring environmental information and have a very high business risk if they cannot be acquired),
Importance category “B” = business risk factor due to difficulty in procurement of parts and materials (parts and materials that require a little high business risk if environmental information is not necessary)
Importance category “C” = Business risk factor due to fluctuations in the price of parts and materials (parts and materials that are highly necessary to acquire environmental information and have high business risks when they cannot be acquired),
Importance category "N" = low or no business risk (parts and materials that do not have high business risk when environmental information is not necessary and cannot be acquired)
The verification request unit 210, when the environmental information requested for information does not exist in the second information storage unit 21, the verification key indicating the transaction code and model specified in the information request, and the determined importance classification The designated verification request is transmitted to the first management system 1.

  The information acquisition unit 211 acquires the environment information requested for collation from the first management system 1 and stores it in the second information storage unit 21 and notifies the information output unit 28 of it.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of environment information as the first information stored in the first information storage unit 11.

  In the first information storage unit 11, for each business partner (business partner code), environmental information (mass, parts information, etc.) of each model, information on a person in charge of providing the environmental information (business name, company name) Information, a person in charge, a person-in-charge e-mail address, etc.), and the first information including the registration date (registration date) of the environmental information. The first information may include a flag indicating that the environment information has been transmitted to the second management system 2.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of environment information as second information stored in the second information storage unit 21.

  The second information storage unit 21 stores, as second information, the environmental information that is the target of the information request, that is, the first information that matches the supplier code and model specified in the information request. The example shown in FIG. 4 includes the environmental information of the type A of the customer A and the environmental information of the type F of the customer C from the environmental information stored in the first information storage unit 11 shown in FIG. Represents the target of the information request and stored in the second information storage unit 21.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the division information stored in the division information storage unit 22.

  The classification information storage unit 22 stores importance classification and one or more classifications used for determination of importance classification, for example, supplier classification and model classification, as classification information. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the classification information in the case of determining the importance classification (A, B, C, N) using the supplier classification, the model classification, and the parts classification classification is shown.

  In the supplier category, category values (a, b, c,...) Are set for each supplier code. Similarly, for the type classification and the component classification, a classification value is set for each type and each component classification.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of correspondence information of importance categories held by the first management system 1.

  In the importance level correspondence information, environmental information acquisition means and intervals of acquisition and notification (notification period and collection period) are set for each importance level.

  The request notification unit 15 refers to the importance level correspondence information shown in FIG. 6 and determines the acquisition means, the collection period, and the notification period corresponding to the importance level received from the second management system 2.

  In the example of the correspondence information shown in FIG. 6, when the importance classification is “A”, “notification of information provision request (notification)” as the acquisition means, and “immediately and thereafter every day from the notification transmission interval (notification period)” "Is set.

  In this case, the request notification unit 15 immediately creates a notification message for requesting provision of the environmental information of the “model” designated by the verification key, and the verification key (the business partner and the customer information) in the first information storage unit 11. A notification message is transmitted to the address (email address) of the person in charge registered in the first information that matches the (model). Thereafter, the request notification unit 15 repeats the transmission of the notification message every day until the requested environmental information is acquired.

  Further, when the importance category is “B”, “notification of information provision request (notification)” is set as the acquisition means, and “immediately and every week” is set as the notification period. In this case, the request notification unit 15 immediately creates a notification message for requesting provision of environmental information of “model” designated by the collation key, and is registered in the first information of the first information storage unit 11. A notification message is sent to the addressee of the person in charge. Thereafter, the request notification unit 15 repeats transmission of the notification message once a week until the requested environment information is acquired.

  Further, when the importance category is “C”, “notification of cyclic collection and information provision request (cyclic collection and notification)” is set as the acquisition means, and “every week” is set as the collection period and the notification period.

  In this case, the request notifying unit 15 requests the information collecting unit 12 to collect patrols every week from the current processing time point. Further, when the requested environment information has not been acquired within one week from the current processing point, the request notification unit 15 requests to provide the “model” environment information specified by the collation key. The notification message is transmitted to the address of the person in charge registered in the first information of the first information storage unit 11, and the transmission of the notification message is repeated once a week until the requested environmental information is acquired.

  When the information collection unit 12 receives a request for patrol collection every week, for example, when a normal periodic patrol collection process is executed every two weeks, the information collection unit 12 requests the information database 6 of the requested business partner. A collection process is performed every week.

  When the important category is “N”, only “cyclic collection” is set as the acquisition means. In this case, the request notification unit 15 entrusts the collection of the requested environmental information to, for example, a periodic patrol collection process every two weeks performed by the information collection unit 12 and does not transmit a notification message for requesting information provision.

  The processing flow of the information management system 10 will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a processing flow example of the periodic collection process of environment information by the first management system 1.

  In the first management system 1, the information collecting unit 12 circulates a predetermined supplier information database 6 for each predetermined period, and the information in the supplier information database 6 is stored in the first information storage unit 11. It is checked whether there is any registration or update of environmental information by collating with the first information stored in (step S10). If new environmental information is registered in the supplier information database 6 ("new registration exists" in step S11), the process proceeds to step S12, and the environmental information existing in the first information storage unit 11 is updated. If it is (“updated” in step S11), the process proceeds to step S14, and if there is no change in the environment information existing in the first information storage unit 11 (“none” in step S11), the process proceeds to step S18. .

  In the process of step S12, the information collection unit 12 acquires the environmental information newly registered in the supplier information database 6, and further stores the acquired environmental information in the first information storage unit 11 (step S13).

  In the process of step S14, the information collection unit 12 acquires updated environment information (update information) in the supplier information database 6, and updates the first information storage unit 11 with the update information (step S15). Furthermore, the information collection unit 12 checks whether the updated environment information in the first information storage unit 11 is already provided to the second management system 2 (step S16). If the updated environment information is already provided (Y in step S16), the information collecting unit 12 transmits the updated environment information to the second management system 2 (step S17), and the updated environment information is If it is information that has not been provided yet (N in Step S16), the process proceeds to Step S18, and the information collecting unit 12 determines whether there is an information database 6 of a business partner scheduled to go around (Step S18). If there is a customer to visit (Y in Step S18), the process returns to Step S10, and if there is no customer to visit (N in Step S18), the process ends.

  Through the processing in step S <b> 17, in the second management system 2, the information acquisition unit 211 updates the second information storage unit 21 with the updated environment information received from the first management system 1.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a processing flow example of environment information providing processing by the second management system 2.

  In the second management system 2, when the information request receiving unit 26 receives an information request from the design support system 4, the second information search unit 27 performs the first operation based on the supplier code and model specified in the information request. 2 The information storage unit 21 is searched (step S30). If there is no environmental information that matches the supplier code and model in the second information storage unit 21 (N in Step S31), the process proceeds to Step S32, and if there is matching environmental information (Y in Step S31), Step The process proceeds to S37.

  In the process of step S32, the importance category determination unit 29 stores the corresponding supplier category and model category stored in the category information storage unit 22 based on the supplier code and model specified in the information request. Then, the classification value of each component classification category is acquired to determine the importance category (step S32). In addition, since the process which determines an importance classification | category with a some division value is known, description of a process is abbreviate | omitted.

  The collation request unit 210 notifies the first management system 1 of the collation request using the supplier code and model specified in the information request as a collation key, and the determined importance classification (step S33).

  After that, it waits for the reception of environment information from the first management system 1 (N in Step S34 and Step S35), and when the environment information requested for collation is acquired from the first management system 1 (Y in Step S35), it is received. The environmental information is registered in the second information storage unit 21 (step S36), and the received environmental information is transmitted to the design support system 4 that requested the information (step S37).

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a processing flow example of the environment information matching process and the information request notification process by the first management system 1.

  In the first management system 1, when the request accepting unit 13 accepts the collation request notified by the process in step S33 of the processing flow shown in FIG. 8, the information collating unit 14 accepts the collation key (customer code, model). The first information storage unit 11 is searched by (case) (step S40). If there is environmental information corresponding to the first information storage unit 11 (Y in step S41), the process proceeds to step S411, and if there is no environmental information corresponding to the first information storage unit 11 (N in step S41), step The process proceeds to S42.

  In the process of step S42, the importance classification notified together with the collation request is determined (step S42). If the importance classification is “A” or “B” (“A / B” in step S42), step S43 is performed. If the importance category is “C” (“C” in step S42), the process proceeds to step S46, and if the importance category is “N” (“N” in step S42), The process proceeds to step S411.

  In the process of step S43, the request notification unit 15 sets the environmental information acquisition means to “notification” based on the correspondence information of the importance classification, and the importance classification related to the information request notification that has already been set. The priority of notification is switched compared to. Further, the request notification unit 15 sets a notification period for the information request notification (step S44), and immediately transmits a notification message (information request notification) addressed to the mail address of the person in charge of the business partner of the corresponding environmental information. (Step S45).

  In the processing of step S46, the request notification unit 15 sets the collection period by setting the environmental information acquisition means to “cyclic collection” based on the correspondence information of the importance level classification, and further sets the collection period to the information collection unit 12. In addition to requesting the collection process for each collection period set, an information request notification for patrol collection is set (step S47), and a notification period is set (step S48). For example, if the interval of the regular patrol acquisition process normally performed by the information acquisition unit 12 is every two weeks, the collection period is set as every week, and the patrol collection is requested to the corresponding business partner.

  The request notification unit 15 determines whether the environmental information related to the notification of the information request has been acquired (step S49). If the environmental information requested by the information collection unit 12 or the request information acquisition unit 16 has not been acquired (step S49) N), a notification message (information request) is transmitted (step S410), the process returns to step S49, and if the requested environment information is acquired (Y in step S49), the acquired environment information is the first information. Registration in the storage unit 11 (step S411).

  Hereinafter, another embodiment of the information management system 10 will be described.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration example in the second embodiment of the information management system 10.

  In the second embodiment, the information management system 10 includes a plurality of second management systems 2 provided in each of a plurality of companies. For example, a second management system 2X, 2Y, 2Z,... Of a custodian (Company X, Company Y, Company Z,...) That manufactures green products and collects and stores environmental information passes through the network 7 that is the Internet, for example. 1 It is connected to the management system 1.

  The functional block configuration of the second management system 2 in the second embodiment, the function of each processing unit, the information to be stored, and the like are substantially the same as those in the first embodiment shown in FIG. The environmental information stored in the unit 21 is registered in association with identification information (part number) unique to each manufacturer for identifying parts and materials instead of the model.

  The first management system 1 in the second embodiment has a further new function in order to respond to information requests from a plurality of second management systems 2.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a functional block configuration example of the first management system 1 in the second embodiment.

  The first management system 1 further includes a correspondence information storage unit 110 and a part number / model correspondence management unit 111 in addition to the functional block configuration in the first embodiment shown in FIG.

  Correspondence information storage unit 110 corresponds to each custodian (Company X, Company Y, Company Z) between a part number used by the custodian and a part number associated with a model indicating a corresponding part or material. Store information.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of part number correspondence information. In the correspondence information of the part number, the correspondence between the part number of the custodian and the model is registered for each custodian.

  In the second embodiment, when the part number / model correspondence management unit 111 receives a collation request from the second management system 2, the part number / model correspondence management unit 111 specifies the collation request based on the part number correspondence information in the correspondence information storage unit 110. The part number thus converted is converted into a corresponding model and passed to the information matching unit 14. Further, the part number corresponding to the corresponding model is added to the environment information acquired by the information acquisition unit 12 or the request information acquisition unit 16 and transmitted to the second management system 2.

  In the third embodiment, which is still another embodiment, the information management system 10 has the system configuration shown in FIG. 10, and the correspondence information storage unit 110 and the part number / model correspondence management unit 111 shown in FIG. It is provided in the second management system 2 provided for each custodian (Company X, Company Y, Company Z), and the first management system 1 has a functional block configuration shown in FIG.

  In the third embodiment, each second management system 2 manages the association between its own part number and model, and is designated by an information request from its own design support system 4 (not shown in FIG. 10). The part number is converted to the supplier's model and transmitted to the first management system 1.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the first management system 1 and the second management system 2 in the embodiment.

  The first management system 1 and the second management system 2 are implemented by a computer 100 in which a CPU 101, a main storage unit (DRAM) 102, an auxiliary storage unit (HDD) 103, and a network card 104 are connected via an internal network or the like. Can do.

  In the computer 100 that implements the first management system 1 and the second management system 2, an execution program that executes processing for realizing each function of the first management system 1 or the second management system 2 and information necessary for the processing Is stored in the auxiliary storage unit 102, and the execution program is loaded into the main storage unit 103 to realize the processing. The first information storage unit 11, the correspondence information storage unit 110, the second information storage unit 21, and the classification information storage unit 22 are each realized by the auxiliary storage unit 102. The data communication functions of the first management system 1 and the second management system 2 are realized by the network card 104.

  The execution program is not only a recording medium such as a CD-ROM, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, or flexible disk, but also other storage devices provided at the end of the communication line. It may be stored in a computer hard disk or the like.

  The elements constituting the first management system 1 and the second management system 2 may be realized in any combination. A plurality of components may be realized as one member, and one component may be configured from a plurality of members. Moreover, the 1st management system 1 and the 2nd management system 2 are not limited to embodiment mentioned above, Of course, various improvement and change may be performed in the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention.

  As described above, in the information management system 10, the first management system 1 selects an environment information acquisition unit according to the importance category determined from the supplier (supplier), the model, and the component classification, and the environment. Set the period for notifying information requests. Therefore, it is possible to realize the collection of environmental information according to the business risk in adopting green product parts.

  In addition, since the information management system 10 performs periodic patrol collection and notification of information provision requests at arbitrary intervals, it is possible to acquire environmental information in a timely manner.

  In the information management system 10, the first management system 1 periodically collects and stores environmental information from the supplier regardless of whether there is a request for environmental information. Therefore, it is not necessary to request the supplier to provide environmental information each time an information request is made from the design or manufacturing side, and the rate at which necessary environmental information can be immediately provided to the requesting side can be increased.

  In addition, suppliers who provide environmental information need only accumulate environmental information in their own storage devices, create environmental information in the format required by their suppliers (custodians) at each request, There is no need to provide it, and the workload associated with providing environmental information can be reduced.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Information management system 1 1st management system 11 1st information storage part 12 Information collection part 13 Request reception part 14 Information collation part 15 Request notification part 16 Request information acquisition part 17 Information system determination part 110 Corresponding information storage part 111 Part number * Type correspondence management unit 2 Second management system 21 Second information storage unit 22 Classification information storage unit 23 Supplier classification management unit 24 Type classification management unit 25 Parts classification division management unit 26 Information request reception unit 27 Second information search unit 28 Information Output Unit 29 Importance Level Determining Unit 210 Verification Request Unit 211 Information Acquisition Unit 3 Network (Intranet)
4 Design support system 5 Network (Internet)
6 Business information database

Claims (5)

An information management method for collecting and managing information from a plurality of providers, wherein a computer
The information database of a plurality of suppliers set in advance is circulated every preset period, information on contained chemical substances related to parts or materials is collected, and the collected information is used to identify the parts and materials. Save the information in the information storage unit in association with the supplier identifying the supplier of information,
Accepts an information request in which a model and a business partner are specified, and searches the information storage unit for information that matches the model and the business partner,
Classification information indicating preset classification values for each part or material classification, each part or material type, and each supplier is held, and the information storage unit matches the model and the supplier. If the information does not exist, determine the importance category of the requested information based on the category value of one category or a plurality of categories of the category information,
An information acquisition unit is determined based on the importance classification, and a process of acquiring and outputting information related to the information request from a business partner specified in the information request according to the determined information acquisition unit is executed. A featured information management method. The computer is
When the importance classification is a high importance classification, the information acquisition means determines the information provision request notification and execution interval for the business partner specified in the information request,
2. The information management method according to claim 1, wherein an information provision request of a type specified in the information request is notified to a business partner specified in the information request at the determined execution interval. The supplier category is a category indicating reliability as a provider of environmental information for each supplier, a plurality of categories corresponding to high and low reliability are set, and the type category is assigned to the product. It is a category indicating the importance of procurement for each part or material used, and a plurality of categories corresponding to the level of difficulty in procurement are set. Or, it is a category that shows the importance of the law or the importance of operational information for each material classification, and multiple categories corresponding to the necessity of information are set.
The information management method according to claim 1, wherein: The computer is
When items included in the information stored in the information storage unit are less than a predetermined ratio with respect to predetermined description items, or when the information stored in the information storage unit is not updated even after a predetermined period And determining that the accuracy of the information is low,
When determining the importance category, for a business partner related to information determined to have low accuracy, the category value is calculated based on the determination instead of the set category value. The information management method according to claim 1 or 2. A system that collects and manages information from multiple providers,
An information storage unit that stores information on chemical substances contained in parts or materials in association with a type that identifies parts or materials and a business partner that identifies a supplier of information;
A category information storage unit for storing category information indicating preset category values for each type of component or material, for each type of component or material, and for each supplier;
An information acquisition unit that circulates a preset information database of a plurality of suppliers for each predetermined period, collects information on chemical substances contained in parts or materials, and stores the collected information in the information storage unit;
An information search unit that accepts an information request in which a model and a business partner are specified, and searches the information storage unit for information that matches the model and the business partner;
When there is no information matching the type and the business partner in the information storage unit, the importance classification of the requested information based on the classification value of one classification or a plurality of classifications of the classification information An importance classification determination unit for determining
An information acquisition unit that determines information acquisition means based on the importance category, and acquires information related to the information request from a business partner specified in the information request according to the determined information acquisition means;
An information output system comprising: an information output unit that outputs information acquired based on the information request.

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