JP2016151826A - Work request device, production management system and production management method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To schedule work to efficiently conduct the work even under an environment with sudden generation of work.SOLUTION: A work request device includes: state holding means configured to hold a state of the own device; monitoring means configured to monitor the state of the own device and update the state of the own device held by the state holding means when the state of the own device changes; generation means configured to obtain the state of the own device from the state holding means when the state of the own device changes, and generate work information requesting work to deal with the state of the own device; and work request transmission means configured to transmit the work information to another device provided outside the own device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to a work requesting apparatus, a production management system, and a production management method.

  A method for creating and managing a work schedule for each worker engaged in each work while managing the progress of the work process by using a server and a network for a work process determined in advance in a factory or the like. Generally done well.

  In Patent Document 1, for the purpose of optimizing the placement of each worker and improving productivity, the progress of the work is grasped in the server, and how the workers are arranged according to the progress situation. A production management system for determining the above is disclosed.

  However, the above-described conventional management method has a problem that it is not possible to create a schedule for efficiently executing work in an environment where work that is not originally planned occurs unexpectedly. In addition, the above-described conventional management method has a problem in that the cost is high because a server is used.

  Moreover, the production management system described in Patent Document 1 drafts a work plan while grasping the progress of work. However, in an environment where work that does not exist in the plan occurs unexpectedly, there is a problem that it is not possible to appropriately arrange workers or increase productivity.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, and can perform work scheduling for efficiently executing work even in an environment where work occurs unexpectedly. An object is to provide a possible work requesting apparatus.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the work requesting device according to the present invention described in claim 1 monitors the status of the device itself, status holding means for holding the status of the device, and the status of the device has changed. A monitoring unit for updating the status of the own device held in the status holding unit, and when the status of the own device changes, the status of the own device is acquired from the status holding unit, and the status of the own device It includes generation means for generating work information for requesting work to cope with the above, and work request transmission means for transmitting the work information to another apparatus provided outside the own apparatus.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a work requesting apparatus capable of grasping the progress of work and scheduling work for efficiently executing the work even in an environment where work occurs unexpectedly. Can do.

It is a figure explaining the outline | summary of the production management system which concerns on this embodiment. 2 is a hardware block diagram of an MFP constituting the production management system according to the present embodiment. FIG. It is a hardware block diagram of the smart device which comprises the production management system concerning this embodiment. 2 is a functional block diagram of an MFP constituting the production management system according to the present embodiment. FIG. It is a functional block diagram of the smart device which comprises the production management system which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure explaining the flow of a signal when MFP which comprises the production management system concerning this embodiment transmits a work request with respect to a smart device. It is a figure explaining the flow of a signal when MFP which comprises the production management system which concerns on this embodiment transmits the progress of work with respect to a smart device. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation when an MFP configuring the production management system according to the present embodiment transmits a work request to a smart device. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation when the MFP configuring the production management system according to the present embodiment grasps the worker's work status and updates the work status. It is a flowchart explaining operation | movement of the smart device which comprises the production management system which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure explaining the example of a work schedule when a new work is added in the production management system concerning this embodiment. It is a figure explaining the example of a schedule in case the operation requested in the production management system concerning this embodiment does not end in time. It is a figure explaining the example of a schedule in the case of moving work between workers in the production management system concerning this embodiment. It is a figure explaining the example of the work information which MFP which comprises the production management system concerning this embodiment produces | generates. It is a figure explaining the example which subdivided the work which MFP which constitutes the production management system concerning this embodiment performs. It is a figure explaining the example when urgent interruption work occurs in the production management system concerning this embodiment. FIG. 17 is a sequence diagram for explaining the flow of signals from the occurrence of an emergency interrupting work shown in FIG. 16 to the transmission of a work request in the production management system according to the present embodiment. It is a figure explaining the example which adjusts a work schedule according to progress of work in the production management system concerning this embodiment. It is a figure explaining the example which adjusts a work schedule according to progress of work in the production management system concerning this embodiment.

  Next, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, in each figure, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the part which is the same or it corresponds, The duplication description is simplified thru | or abbreviate | omitted suitably. Hereinafter, although this embodiment is described, this embodiment is not limited to the embodiment described below. In the embodiment described below, the creation of a work plan in which workers in a printing factory are engaged is described with a specific example. However, the present invention is also applied to other production systems that perform work composed of a plurality of processes. The invention can be applied.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described. The present embodiment aims to improve productivity in a printing factory by using smart devices. First, the outline of the production management system according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an outline of a production management system according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 1, an MFP (Multi Function Peripheral) is described as an example of the work requesting device.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the production management system 100 according to the present embodiment is premised on being used in a printing factory having MFPs 21 to 29 (hereinafter, also referred to as MFP 20) including a plurality of printers. In this printing factory, each of a plurality of workers 31 and 32 (hereinafter also referred to as a worker 30) carries out work while possessing smart devices 41 and 42 (hereinafter also referred to as a smart device 40). Yes.

  For example, when a failure occurs in the MFPs 23 and 24, the work contents corresponding to the failure are transmitted to the smart devices 41 and 42 possessed by the workers 31 and 32, respectively. The smart devices 41 and 42 add the transmitted work content to the schedule and give instructions to the workers 31 and 32. That is, the smart devices 41 and 42 receive a work request corresponding to a failure that occurs in the MFPs 23 and 24 and give instructions to the workers 31 and 32. Thereby, the workers 31 and 32 can work efficiently, and the productivity of the production management system 100 can be improved.

  Next, the hardware blocks of the MFP constituting the production management system according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a hardware block diagram of the MFP constituting the production management system according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the MFP 20 has a configuration in which a controller 200 and an engine unit (Engine) 600 are connected by a PCI (Peripheral Component Interface) bus. The controller 200 is a controller that controls the entire MFP 20 and controls drawing, communication, and input from an operation unit (not shown). The engine unit 600 is a printer engine or the like that can be connected to a PCI bus, and is, for example, a monochrome plotter, a 1-drum color plotter, a 4-drum color plotter, a scanner, or a facsimile unit. The engine unit 600 includes an image processing unit such as error diffusion and gamma conversion in addition to a so-called engine unit such as a plotter.

  The controller 200 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 210, a north bridge (NB) 230, a system memory (MEM-P) 220, and a south bridge (SB) 240. Further, the controller 200 includes a local memory (MEM-C) 270, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) 260, and a hard disk drive (HDD) 280. The north bridge (NB) 230 and the ASIC 260 are connected by an AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) bus 250. The system memory (MEM-P) 220 further includes a ROM (Read Only Memory) 220a and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 220b.

  The CPU 210 performs overall control of the MFP 20, and has a chip set including a north bridge (NB) 230, a system memory (MEM-P) 220, and a south bridge (SB) 240. Connected with other devices.

  The north bridge (NB) 230 is a bridge for connecting the CPU 210, the system memory (MEM-P) 220, the south bridge (SB) 240, and the AGP bus 250. The north bridge (NB) 230 includes a memory controller that controls reading and writing of the system memory (MEM-P) 220, a PCI master, and an AGP target.

  The system memory (MEM-P) 220 is a system memory used as a memory for storing programs and data, a memory for developing programs and data, a drawing memory for printers, and the like, and includes a ROM 220a and a RAM 220b. The ROM 220a is a read-only memory used as a memory for storing programs and data, and the RAM 220b is a writable and readable memory used as a program and data development memory, a printer drawing memory, and the like.

  The south bridge (SB) 240 is a bridge for connecting the north bridge (NB) 230 to a PCI device and peripheral devices. The south bridge (SB) 240 is connected to the north bridge (NB) 230 via a PCI bus, and a network interface (I / F) unit and the like are also connected to the PCI bus.

  The ASIC 260 is an integrated circuit (IC) for image processing having hardware elements for image processing. The ASIC 260 has a role of a bridge for connecting the AGP bus 250, the PCI bus, the HDD 280, and the local memory (MEM-C) 270, respectively. Further, the ASIC 260 includes a PCI target and an AGP master, an arbiter (ARB) that forms the core of the ASIC 260, and a memory controller that controls the local memory (MEM-C) 270.

  The ASIC 260 includes a plurality of DMACs (Direct Memory Access Controllers) that rotate image data by hardware logic or the like. The ASIC 260 includes a PCI unit that performs data transfer with the engine unit 600 via the PCI bus.

  An FCU (Facsimile Control Unit) 300 and a USB (Universal Serial Bus) 400 are connected to the ASIC 260 via a PCI bus. Further, an IEEE (the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 1394 interface 500 is connected to the ASIC 260.

  The operation display unit 290 is directly connected to the ASIC 260. A local memory (MEM-C) 270 is a local memory used as a copy image buffer and a code buffer. The HDD 280 is a storage for storing image data, programs, font data, and forms. The HDD 280 stores a license file for an application executed on the MFP 20.

  The AGP bus 250 is a bus interface for a graphics accelerator card that has been proposed to speed up graphic processing. The AGP bus 250 speeds up the graphics accelerator card by directly accessing the system memory (MEM-P) 220 with high throughput.

  Next, the hardware block of the smart device that constitutes the production management system according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 3 is a hardware block diagram of a smart device constituting the production management system according to the present embodiment.

  The smart device 40 includes a CPU 420, a RAM 440, a ROM 430, a display 410, a modem 450, and a Wi-Fi (registered trademark) 460. However, the Modem 450 may be built in the CPU 420. The CPU 420 controls the entire smart device 40 and is connected to the RAM 440, ROM 430, Display 410, and Modem 450.

  The RAM 440 is a system memory used as a memory for storing programs and data, a memory for developing programs and data, and the like. The ROM 430 is a storage for storing an OS (Operating System), applications, and data. The Modem 450 is a device for connecting to a mobile phone line, for example. The Wi-Fi 460 is a device for performing wireless communication between the smart device 40 and the wireless communication device.

  Next, a functional block diagram of the MFP constituting the production management system according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of the MFP constituting the production management system according to the present embodiment.

  The MFP 20 includes an MFP status holding unit 201, an MFP status monitoring unit 202, a work information generation unit 203, a work request transmission unit 204, a work status holding unit 205, a work status monitoring unit 206, and a work status transmission unit 207.

  The MFP status holding unit 201 holds information related to the current status of the MFP 20 such as the status of the apparatus itself, for example, the status of paper supply and the status of the paper discharge tray. The MFP status monitoring unit 202 constantly monitors the current status of the MFP 20 and updates the status held in the MFP status holding unit 201 if there is a change. The work information generation unit 203 acquires the status of the MFP 20 held by the MFP status holding unit 201, and copes with a worker who possesses a smart device that is an example of another device provided outside in order to cope with the status of the MFP 20. To determine whether to submit a work request. The work information generation unit 203 generates information necessary for work when sending a work request, and transmits the information to the work request transmission unit 204.

  The work request transmission unit 204 transmits a work request to the smart device 40 when information necessary for the work is transmitted from the work information generation unit 203. The work status holding unit 205 holds the status of how much the requested work has progressed. The work status monitoring unit 206 monitors how much the requested work has progressed, updates the information stored in the work status holding unit 205, and transmits the work progress status to the work status transmission unit 207. The work status transmission unit 207 transmits the work progress status transmitted from the work status monitoring unit 206 to the smart device 40.

  Next, a functional block diagram of a smart device constituting the production management system according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of a smart device constituting the production management system according to the present embodiment.

  A smart device 40 that is an example of a schedule generation device includes a work schedule holding unit 401, a work schedule creation unit 402, a work request reception unit 403, and a work status holding unit 404. The smart device 40 includes a work schedule adjustment unit 405, a work instruction display unit 406, and a work status reception unit 407.

  The work schedule holding unit 401 holds a schedule for performing a work request. The work schedule creation unit 402 receives a work request from the work request reception unit 403, determines the execution order of the work requests, creates a work schedule, and stores the work schedule in the work schedule holding unit 401. The work request receiving unit 403 receives a work request from the MFP 20 and transmits it to the work schedule creating unit 402.

  The work status holding unit 404 holds the current work progress status. The work schedule adjustment unit 405 performs adjustment by comparing the progress of work and the work schedule. The work schedule adjustment unit 405 corrects the work schedule and saves it in the work schedule holding unit 401 if the work is not progressing according to the schedule. The work instruction display unit 406 acquires the progress status of the current work from the work status holding unit 404 and displays the work to be executed next on a screen or the like. The work status receiving unit 407 receives the work progress status from the MFP 20 and stores it in the work status holding unit 404.

  Next, a signal flow when the MFP configuring the production management system according to the present embodiment transmits a work request to the smart device will be described. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a signal flow when the MFP configuring the production management system according to the present embodiment transmits a work request to the smart device.

  In FIG. 6, (1) First, the MFP 20 connects to the smart device 40 in charge of work. (2) Then, the MFP 20 transmits the generated work request to the smart device 40. (3) The smart device 40 schedules the work for adding the work request received from the MFP 20 to the schedule.

  Next, a signal flow when the MFP configuring the production management system according to the present embodiment transmits the progress of work to the smart device will be described. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a signal flow when the MFP configuring the production management system according to the present embodiment transmits work progress to the smart device.

  (1) First, the MFP 20 connects to the smart device 40 that has transmitted the work request. (2) Then, the work progress is transmitted. (3) The smart device 40 receives the work progress and updates the work progress information. (4) The smart device 40 updates the display of the work instruction for the worker according to the progress of the work.

  Next, an operation when the MFP configuring the production management system according to the present embodiment transmits a work request to the smart device will be described. FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the operation when the MFP configuring the production management system according to the present embodiment transmits a work request to the smart device.

  First, in the process of step S251, the MFP 20 acquires and updates the status status of the MFP 20. The status status of the MFP 20 is information relating to the current status of the MFP 20, and includes, for example, the paper supply status (remaining amount), the status of the paper discharge tray, the amount of waste toner bottles, and the like. In the process of step S252, the work that will occur in the future is calculated from the status status of the MFP 20 acquired and updated in the process of step S251, and it is determined whether or not a work request is made to a worker working in the factory. Specific examples of work that will occur in the future include toner replenishment, paper replenishment, carry-out of printed matter accumulated in a paper discharge tray, and the like.

  In the process of step S252, if work will occur within a certain period in the future, it is determined that it is necessary to make a work request to the worker (step S252: Yes), and in the process of step S253, the MFP 20 Generate information. If no work occurs within a certain period, it is determined that it is not necessary to request a work from the worker (step S252: No), the process returns to step S251, and the status is updated again. In the process of step S254, the MFP 20 transmits the work information generated in the process of step S253 to the smart device 40, and the process ends. However, as long as the MFP 20 continues to operate, the processing returns to the start after the processing is completed.

  Next, an operation when the MFP configuring the production management system according to the present embodiment grasps the work status of the worker and updates the work status will be described. FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining the operation when the MFP constituting the production management system according to the present embodiment grasps the work status of the worker and updates the work status.

  First, in the process of step S271, the MFP 20 determines whether there is an incomplete work request. If it is determined that there is no uncompleted work request (step S271: No), the process returns to the start. If it is determined that there is an incomplete work request (step S271: Yes), the process proceeds to step S272. In the process of step S272, the MFP 20 confirms the work status.

  After confirming the work status in the process of step S272, it is determined in the process of step S273 whether the work status is updated. If it is determined that there is no update in the work situation (step S273: No), the process returns to step S272, and the MFP 20 confirms the work situation. If it is determined that the work status is updated (step S273: Yes), the process proceeds to step S274, and the MFP 20 transmits the updated work progress status to the smart device 40.

  Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the work request is completed in the process of step S275. If it is determined that the work request has not ended (step S275: No), the process returns to step S272, and the MFP 20 checks the work status. If it is determined that the work request has been completed (step S275: Yes), the process is terminated. However, as long as the MFP 20 continues to operate, the processing returns to the start after the processing is completed.

  Next, the operation of the smart device constituting the production management system according to this embodiment will be described. FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the smart device constituting the production management system according to this embodiment. Since the work request transmitted from the MFP 20 and the progress status of the work are not known when and when the smart device 40 is transmitted, the smart device 40 is always in a reception standby state. The work schedule and the work progress are updated when a work request or work progress transmitted from the MFP 20 is received.

  First, in the process of step S451, the smart device 40 determines whether there is an incomplete work request. If it is determined that there is no uncompleted work request (step S451: No), the process returns to the start. If it is determined that there is an uncompleted work request (step S451: Yes), the process proceeds to step S452, and the smart device 40 displays the work content.

  In the process of step S453, the smart device 40 determines whether there is an update in the progress status of the work transmitted from the MFP 20. If it is determined that there is no update in the work progress (Step S453: No), the process returns to Step S452, and the smart device 40 displays the current work content. If it is determined that there is an update in the progress status of the work (step S453: Yes), the process proceeds to S454, and the smart device 40 updates the display of the work content.

  In the process of step S455, it is determined whether or not there is an incomplete work request. If it is determined that there is an incomplete work request (step S455: No), the process returns to step S452, and the smart device 40 displays the work content. If it is determined that there is no uncompleted work request (step S455: Yes), the process is terminated. However, as long as the MFP 20 continues to operate, the processing returns to the start after the processing is completed.

  Next, an example of a work schedule when a new work is added in the production management system according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a work schedule when a new work is added in the production management system according to the present embodiment.

  Consider a work schedule when a new work D is added to the schedule for performing work A, work B, and work C that have already been requested as shown in FIG. In the work schedule shown in FIG. 11A, the work time of work D does not fit in any of the plurality of idle times existing after the completion of work A, work B, and work C. Can't insert. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 11B, the time for performing the new work D is secured by lowering the work start time of the work B after the work D is completed.

  Next, an example of a schedule when the requested work in the production management system according to this embodiment does not end in time will be described. FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining an example of a schedule in a case where the requested work in the production management system according to the present embodiment does not end in time.

  As shown in FIG. 12A, a work schedule when there is no free time for inserting a new work into the work schedule will be considered. As shown in FIG. 12A, the work schedule already contains work A, work B, and work C, and a new work D cannot be added.

  Therefore, the work is selected so that the work with a high priority is finished within the deadline on the basis of the priority indicating the degree to which the work is required to finish within the deadline. Here, it is assumed that work with a low priority value is work with high priority. As shown in FIG. 12B, the work C having the lowest priority among the work A to the work D (the highest priority value) is performed after the work end time limit has passed.

  Next, an example of a schedule for transferring work between workers in the production management system according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining a schedule example in the case where work is moved between workers in the production management system according to the present embodiment.

  In FIG. 13, when the amount of work requests received by the worker (1) increases and becomes uneven with the amount of work requests received by the other workers (2), other workers ( 2) Some work requests are moved. Thereby, the work amount of the worker (1) and the worker (2) can be equalized. In the example of FIG. 13, the work B of the worker (1) is moved to the worker (2) to form a work schedule.

  Next, an example of work information generated by the MFP constituting the production management system according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 14 is a diagram for describing an example of work information generated by the MFP constituting the production management system according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 14, the work information includes a work name, work content, work target MFP, scheduled work time, work start time limit, work end time limit, and priority. The work name is set so that the MFP that generates work information is a specific MFP. The work content describes the work content that the worker wants to go. The work target MFP inputs a keyword representing an MFP that generates work information.

  As the scheduled work time, the amount of time required for each work is registered in advance in the MFP, and the time required for the work content is set. The work start time limit represents the time after which work can be started. The work end time limit represents the time when the work is completed. As for the priority, the importance of each work is registered in advance, and the importance of the work content is set.

  Next, an example in which work performed by the MFP configuring the production management system according to the present embodiment is subdivided will be described. FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining an example in which work performed by the MFP constituting the production management system according to the present embodiment is subdivided.

  In the MFP 20, in order to finely manage the progress of work, it is necessary to subdivide the work. The work is subdivided so that the MFP 20 can grasp the progress of the work. In FIG. 15, the MFP 20 can grasp the paper supply every 2000 sheets and the opening and closing of the tray, and is subdivided into the work of paper supply every 2000 sheets. The MFP 20 grasps to which process the work has been completed among the subdivided work, and transmits it to the smart device 40 as work progress information.

  Next, an example when an urgent interruption work occurs in the production management system according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example when an urgent interrupting operation occurs in the production management system according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 16, the production management system 100 according to the present embodiment can cope with an emergency interruption work. For example, when a failure occurs in the MFP 20 due to a paper jam or the like, it is necessary to quickly restore the production management system 100 so as not to reduce the productivity. In this case, an early recovery is possible by making an interrupt work request that can be dealt with urgently.

  In other words, an emergency interrupt work request is realized by sending a work request to the worker who has the shortest travel time to the MFP 20 in which a failure has occurred and the time required to complete the currently executed work. be able to. The time until the current work is completed can be calculated based on the progress of the work. The distance between the MFP 20 and the smart device 40 can be calculated using, for example, the radio wave density.

  In the case of FIG. 16, the worker B has a time to finish the current work of 3 minutes, a moving time of 50 seconds, and a time to start work of 3 minutes and 50 seconds. On the other hand, the worker A has a time of 2 minutes and a movement time of 20 seconds until the end of the current work, and a time of 2 minutes and 20 seconds until the work starts. Therefore, an emergency interruption work is requested to the worker A who has the shortest time to start work.

  Next, in the production management system according to the present embodiment, the flow of signals from the occurrence of the emergency interrupting work shown in FIG. 16 to the transmission of the work request will be described. FIG. 17 is a sequence diagram for explaining the flow of signals from the occurrence of the emergency interrupting work shown in FIG. 16 to the transmission of a work request in the production management system according to the present embodiment.

  First, when an emergency interrupt work occurs in the MFP 20 (step S221), the MFP 20 acquires the current work end time and the current position information for each of the smart device A 40A and the smart device B 40B. The request signal is output. The MFP 20 calculates a time for each smart device to start work based on the current work end time and current position information of each device transmitted from each smart device (step S224). Then, an interruption work that can be dealt with urgently is requested to the smart device 40 that can start working the earliest among the smart devices (steps S225 and S226).

  Next, an example of adjusting the work schedule in accordance with the progress of work in the production management system according to the present embodiment will be described. 18 and 19 are diagrams illustrating an example of adjusting the work schedule according to the progress of work in the production management system according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 18, at the time when 30 minutes have passed, the work A, which has a work time of 10 minutes on the schedule, actually takes 30 minutes, and the originally scheduled work schedule is delayed. . Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 19, when the work A is completed, the work start times of the work B and the work C are each lowered by 20 minutes, thereby correcting the original work schedule shown in FIG. . When the work schedule is deferred, if the last work has passed the work end deadline, the work order is changed so that the work with higher priority is finished within the work end deadline.

  The operation flow of the production management system according to the present embodiment shown in FIGS. 8 to 10 and FIG. 17 can be executed by a program on a computer. That is, the CPUs 210 and 420 incorporated in the MFP 20 and the smart device 40 constituting the production management system load programs stored in the ROMs 220a and 430, respectively. Then, each processing step of the program is performed sequentially.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the MFP transmits a work request to the smart device, and the smart device receives the work request and performs scheduling. The MFP monitors the work progress and transmits it to the smart device, and the smart device adjusts the schedule based on the work progress. By performing these, scheduling can be performed without using a server. In addition, the schedule can be adjusted according to the progress of the work.

  The smart device and the MFP use a method such as Wi-Fi, which is one of wireless LAN (Local Area Network) standards, or Bluetooth (registered trademark), which is one of short-range wireless communication standards. Can be connected. Then, when the smart device and the MFP are connected, work progress information is transmitted and scheduled. This makes it possible to grasp the progress of work and perform scheduling.

  As described above, according to the present invention, even in an environment where work occurs unexpectedly, it is possible to grasp the progress of the work and perform work scheduling for efficiently executing the work. A work request apparatus, a production management system, and a production management method can be obtained.

  Note that this form does not limit the scope of the present invention, and the MFP may have a function for scheduling work and a function for updating the progress of work. Further, the smart device may have a function of controlling an MFP, transmitting a work request to the MFP, and a function of monitoring the progress of work. Further, a plurality of MFPs and smart devices may be included in the production management system, and any MFP and any smart device may have any function.

  In addition, the system configuration in which the smart device and the MFP described in this embodiment are connected is an example, and it goes without saying that there are various system configuration examples depending on applications and purposes.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention has been described so far, embodiment of this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above. That is, other embodiments, additions, changes, deletions, and the like can be changed within the scope that can be conceived by those skilled in the art, and as long as the effects of the present invention are exhibited in any aspect, the scope of the present invention is included. It is included.

20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 20A, 20B MFP
31, 32 Workers 40, 41, 42, 40A, 40B Smart device 200 Controller 201 MFP status holding unit 202 MFP status monitoring unit 203 Work information generating unit 204 Work request transmitting unit 205, 404 Work status holding unit 206 Work status monitoring unit 207 Work status transmission unit 210, 420 CPU
220 System memory (MEM-P)
220a, 430 ROM
220b, 440 RAM
230 North Bridge (NB)
240 South Bridge (SB)
250 AGP bus 260 ASIC
270 Local memory (MEM-C)
280 HDD
290 Operation display section 300 FCU
400 USB
401 Work schedule holding unit 402 Work schedule creation unit 403 Work request reception unit 405 Work schedule adjustment unit 406 Work instruction display unit 407 Work status reception unit 410 Display
450 Modem
460 Wi-Fi
500 IEEE1394
600 Engine (Engine)

JP-A-11-300585

Claims (11)

Status holding means for holding the status of the own device;
Monitoring means for monitoring the status of the own device and updating the status of the own device held in the status holding means when the status of the own device changes;
When the status of the own device changes, a generation unit that obtains the status of the own device from the status holding unit and generates work information for requesting work to deal with the status of the own device;
Work request transmitting means for transmitting the work information to another device provided outside the device;
A work requesting apparatus characterized by comprising: Progress status holding means for holding the progress status of the requested work;
Progress monitoring means for monitoring the progress of the work and updating the progress of the work held in the progress holding means when the progress of the work changes;
Work status transmission means for transmitting the updated work progress status to the other device;
The work requesting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:   The other apparatus includes a receiving unit that receives the work information, a schedule creation unit that creates a schedule of the requested work based on the received work information, a progress status of the work, and a schedule of the work. The work requesting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a schedule adjusting unit configured to compare and adjust the work schedule.   The other apparatus includes a work status holding unit that holds a progress status of a current work, a display unit that acquires the progress status of the current work from the work status holding means, and displays a work to be executed next, The progress status of the updated work is held in the work status holding means and displayed on the display means when the updated work progress status is received. Work request device.   The schedule adjustment means is newly requested when the time required for the newly requested work does not fall within any of the plurality of idle times existing after the completion of the already requested work. The work request apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a work is inserted at any one of the plurality of idle times, and a start time of the requested work that is executed after the work is inserted is lowered. .   The newly requested work has a priority indicating the degree to which it is required to be completed within a predetermined time limit, and the newly requested work and a plurality of already requested work are classified into the predetermined work. The schedule adjustment means lowers the start time of the work with the lowest priority among the already requested work after the end time limit of the work has passed. The work requesting apparatus according to claim 5, wherein:   Among the other devices, when the work amount requested of one device exceeds a predetermined amount, the work amount of the one device and the work amount of the other device become non-uniform, the schedule adjusting means 4. The work requesting apparatus according to claim 3, wherein among the work requested to the one apparatus, a predetermined work is moved to be executed by the other apparatus. 5.   When the time required for the requested work exceeds a predetermined work time, the schedule adjusting means decrements each work start time of a plurality of already requested work following the requested work. The work requesting apparatus according to claim 3, wherein:   When requesting one of a plurality of other devices for work that can urgently cope with the situation of the own device, the work request transmission means terminates the work currently being executed in each of the plurality of other devices. The work information is transmitted to the other device that can be dealt with earliest based on time and position information of each of the plurality of other devices. The work request device described. A production management system including a work requesting device that requests work to deal with the situation of the device itself, and a schedule generation device that creates a schedule of work requested from the work requesting device,
The work requesting device is:
Status holding means for holding the status of the own device;
Monitoring means for monitoring the status of the own device and updating the status of the own device held in the status holding means when the status of the own device changes;
When the status of the own device changes, a generation unit that obtains the status of the own device from the status holding unit and generates work information for requesting work to deal with the status of the own device;
Work request transmission means for transmitting the work information to the schedule generation device,
The schedule generation device includes:
Receiving means for receiving the work information;
Schedule creation means for creating a schedule of the requested work based on the received work information;
A production management system comprising: schedule adjustment means for comparing the progress of the work with the work schedule and adjusting the work schedule. A production management system management method comprising: a work requesting device that holds a status of the own device and requests a work to cope with the status of the own device; and a schedule generation device that creates a schedule of the work requested from the work requesting device Because
Monitoring the status of the device itself, and when the status of the device changes, updating the status of the device to be held;
When the status of the own device has changed, obtaining the updated status of the own device, and generating work information for requesting work to deal with the status of the own device;
Transmitting the work information;
Receiving the work information transmitted in the transmitting step;
Creating a schedule of the requested work based on the work information received in the receiving step;
Comparing the progress of the work with the work schedule and adjusting the work schedule;
The management method characterized by including.