JP2020046870A - Maintenance support device, maintenance support system, maintenance support method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To suppress a total cost that is required to address failures while taking a situation in which a failure occurs again into consideration.SOLUTION: The maintenance support device includes a storage unit that stores a suspicious component group and a repetitive failure rate of components, a cost calculating unit that calculates, on the basis of the cost of exchanging a component and the repetitive failure rate, a total component exchange cost to be incurred in achieving a state where no failure occurs again in the case where, when the same failure occurs again after an exchange candidate component included in the suspicious component group is exchanged, a second suspicious component included in the suspicious component group is exchanged, and an exchange component determining unit that determines an exchange target component from among two or more exchange candidate components on the basis of the total component exchange cost.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a maintenance support device, a maintenance support system, a maintenance support method, and a program.

  When a failure occurs in a device to be maintained, a maintenance technician determines whether component replacement is necessary according to the cause of the failure and the content of the failure. When the maintenance technician determines that component replacement is necessary, the maintenance technician performs component replacement.

  For example, a maintenance technician specifies a part to be replaced and replaces the part based on his / her own experience according to the cause of the failure. Alternatively, the maintenance technician uses a database in which the cause of the failure is associated with the part to be replaced, and specifies the part to be replaced according to the cause of the failure, and replaces the part. Alternatively, the maintenance technician specifies a part to be replaced according to the content of the failure and replaces the part.

  However, even when a maintenance engineer replaces a part, the same failure may occur again.

  The maintenance plan creation device described in Patent Literature 1 calculates a reliability for the system to achieve a function based on a list of parts and reliability data of the parts. Furthermore, the maintenance plan creation device described in Patent Literature 1 calculates a maintenance cost based on a list of parts and information on maintenance costs for each part. Then, the maintenance plan creation device described in Patent Literature 1 presents a maintenance case that maintains the reliability at or above a predetermined value together with the maintenance cost.

  The failure information management device described in Patent Literature 2 manages the recovery progress of a failure that has occurred in a communication network service providing system, and when a suspension period of the failure is longer than a predetermined value, the operator is notified as a chronic failure. Notify. Further, the failure information management device described in Patent Literature 2 manages the number of times of failure based on the same cause, and when the number of times of failure is greater than a predetermined number, notifies the operator as a continuous failure. .

JP-A-2011-06088 JP-A-10-229395

  The disclosure of the above-mentioned prior art document is incorporated herein by reference. The following analysis has been made in light of the present invention.

  As described above, even when a maintenance technician replaces a part, the same failure may occur again. In such a case, in order to prevent the failure from reoccurring, the maintenance technician may need to replace a higher-level module including the component causing the failure.

  However, if the maintenance technician replaces the component causing the failure without considering the possibility that the same failure will reoccur, the component replacement may be repeated every time the failure reoccurs. As a result, the total cost of replacing parts increases.

  On the other hand, when replacing a higher-level module including a component causing a failure, the cost of one component replacement may be higher than replacing only the component causing the failure. However, replacing a higher-level module including a component causing a failure may prevent the failure from occurring again. In that case, in order to prevent the failure from reoccurring, the total cost of replacing the higher-level module may be lower than the total cost of replacing only the component that caused the failure.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a maintenance support device, a maintenance support system, a maintenance support method, and a program that contribute to suppressing the total cost required for troubleshooting while considering that the failure will reoccur. I do.

According to a first aspect, a maintenance support device is provided. The maintenance support device includes a storage unit that stores a suspected component group and a repetitive failure rate of components included in the suspected component group.
Further, the maintenance support apparatus may be configured such that, for the replacement candidate part included in the suspected part group, when the same failure occurs again after the replacement candidate part is replaced, the second suspected part included in the suspected part group is replaced. A cost calculation unit is provided for calculating the total cost of component replacement up to a state where the failure does not occur again when replacement is performed, based on the component replacement cost and the repetition failure rate.
Further, the maintenance support device includes a replacement part determination unit that determines a replacement target part from two or more replacement candidate parts based on the total part replacement cost.

According to a second aspect, a maintenance support system is provided. The maintenance support system includes a monitoring target device and a maintenance support device.
The monitoring target device stores model number identification information corresponding to the fault that has occurred, and fault information that associates the fault identification information corresponding to the fault with the corresponding model number identification information, the fault identification information, and the suspected component group. , A storage unit. Further, the storage unit stores repetitive fault information in which information for specifying a component included in the suspected component group is associated with a repetitive fault rate.
Further, the maintenance support device includes a communication unit that receives the failure notification information from the monitoring target device.
Further, the maintenance support device includes a failure analysis unit that identifies a suspected component group related to the occurred failure based on the failure notification information and the failure information.
Further, the maintenance support apparatus may be configured such that, for the replacement candidate part included in the suspected part group, when the same failure occurs again after the replacement candidate part is replaced, the second suspected part included in the suspected part group is replaced. A cost calculation unit is provided for calculating the total cost of component replacement up to a state where the failure does not occur again when replacement is performed, based on the component replacement cost and the repeated failure rate.
Further, the maintenance support device includes a replacement part determination unit that determines a replacement target part from two or more replacement candidate parts based on the total part replacement cost.

According to a third aspect, a maintenance support method is provided. The maintenance support method is executed by a maintenance support device including a storage unit that stores a suspected component group and a repetition failure rate of components included in the suspected component group.
In the maintenance support method, when the same failure occurs again after the replacement candidate part is replaced with respect to the replacement candidate part included in the suspected part group, the second suspected part included in the suspected part group is replaced. In this case, the method includes calculating the total cost of component replacement up to a state in which the failure does not occur again based on the component replacement cost and the repetitive failure rate.
Further, the maintenance support method includes a step of determining a replacement target part from two or more replacement candidate parts based on the total part replacement cost.
Note that the present method is associated with a specific machine called a maintenance support device having a storage unit.

According to a fourth aspect, a program is provided. The program stores a suspected component group and a repetitive failure rate of components included in the suspected component group, and controls a computer that controls a maintenance support device including a storage unit, regarding a replacement candidate component included in the suspected component group. If the same failure occurs again after the replacement candidate part is replaced, the total replacement cost until the failure no longer occurs when the second suspected part included in the suspected part group is replaced. Is calculated based on the component replacement cost and the repetition failure rate.
Further, the program causes the computer to execute a process of determining a replacement target component from two or more replacement candidate components based on the total component replacement cost.
This program can be recorded on a computer-readable storage medium. The storage medium can be non-transient, such as a semiconductor memory, hard disk, magnetic recording medium, optical recording medium, and the like. The present invention can be embodied as a computer program product.

  According to each viewpoint, a maintenance support device, a maintenance support system, a maintenance support method, and a program that contribute to reducing the total cost required for handling a failure while considering that the failure occurs again are provided.

It is a figure for explaining an outline of one embodiment. It is a block diagram showing an example of the whole composition of maintenance support system 1 concerning a 1st embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a device information database 101. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a failure database 102. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a failure history database 103. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an exchange work database 104. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a failure analysis database 105. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a parts center database 106. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a parts inventory database 107. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a component delivery database 108. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation of the maintenance support device 100. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation of the maintenance support device 100. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a computer 500 that implements the maintenance support device 100.

  First, an outline of an embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. It should be noted that the reference numerals in the drawings attached to this outline are added for convenience of each element as an example for facilitating understanding, and the description of this outline is not intended to limit the invention in any way. Further, connection lines between blocks in each block diagram include both bidirectional and unidirectional. The one-way arrow schematically indicates the flow of a main signal (data), and does not exclude bidirectionality. Further, in a circuit diagram, a block diagram, an internal configuration diagram, a connection diagram, and the like shown in the disclosure of the present application, although not explicitly shown, an input port and an output port exist at an input terminal and an output terminal of each connection line. The same applies to the input / output interface.

  As described above, there is a demand for a maintenance support device that contributes to suppressing the total cost required for handling a failure while considering that the failure will occur again.

  Thus, as an example, the maintenance support device 1000 shown in FIG. 1 is provided. The maintenance support device 1000 includes a storage unit 1001, a cost calculation unit 1002, and a replacement part determination unit 1003.

  The storage unit 1001 stores a suspected component group and a component repetition failure rate. The repetition failure rate is a probability that the same failure occurs again in the same device within a predetermined period after the replacement of components. The suspected component group is a set of two or more components.

  When the same failure occurs again after the replacement candidate part is replaced with respect to the replacement candidate part, the cost calculation unit 1002 determines whether the failure occurs again when the second suspected part included in the suspected part group is replaced. The total component replacement cost up to the point where the error disappears is calculated based on the component replacement cost and the repetition failure rate. Here, it is assumed that the replacement candidate part is a part included in the suspected part group. The part replacement cost is a cost for replacing a part. For example, the part replacement cost includes a part price, a replacement work cost, a delivery cost, and the like.

  The replacement part determination unit 1003 determines a replacement target part from two or more replacement candidate parts based on the total part replacement cost.

  Here, when a plurality of components are replaced before the failure reoccurs, the cost calculation unit 1002 determines the replacement cost of the plurality of components and the repetition failure rate of the plurality of components. Calculate the total cost of replacing parts. On the other hand, in the case where re-occurrence of a failure is eliminated by replacing one component, the cost calculation unit 1002 calculates the component replacement cost of the one component as the total component replacement cost. Therefore, the total component replacement cost differs for each component (replacement candidate component) that is replaced first when a failure occurs.

  For example, the cost calculation unit 1002 determines the total cost of replacing a plurality of components until the failure no longer occurs again and the cost of replacing one component so that the failure no longer occurs again. It is assumed that the total exchange cost is calculated. In this case, the replacement part determination unit 1003 determines a replacement target part based on the two parts replacement total costs.

  As described above, the maintenance support device 1000 calculates the total cost required for component replacement in consideration of the occurrence of a failure again. Then, the maintenance support device 1000 determines a replacement target component based on the calculated total cost. As a result, the maintenance support apparatus 1000 contributes to reducing the total cost required for handling the failure while considering that the failure will occur again.

[First Embodiment]
The first embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the entire configuration of the maintenance support system 1 according to the present embodiment. The maintenance support system 1 includes a maintenance support device 100 and a monitoring target device 200. Although FIG. 2 shows one monitored device 200, this is not intended to limit the number of monitored devices 200 to one. Needless to say, the maintenance support system 1 may include two or more monitoring target devices 200.

  The maintenance support device 100 is connected to one or more monitored devices 200 via the network 300. The network 300 may be the Internet, an intranet, a LAN (Local Area Network), or the like, and details thereof are not limited.

  The monitoring target device 200 is an information processing device (computer) such as a server and a PC (Personal Computer). When a failure is detected in the processing executed by the monitored device 200, the monitored device 200 transmits information on the detected failure (hereinafter, referred to as failure notification information) to the maintenance support device 100 via the network 300. I do.

  The maintenance support device 100 receives the failure notification information from the monitoring target device 200 via the network 300. The maintenance support device 100 analyzes the received failure notification information and outputs the maintenance support information. Here, the maintenance support information is information including the necessity of component replacement, information on a component to be replaced (hereinafter, referred to as a component to be replaced), and the like.

  Next, the configuration of the maintenance support device 100 will be described in detail.

  The maintenance support device 100 includes a communication unit 10, a control unit 20, an input unit 30, an output unit 40, a storage unit 50, a failure analysis unit 61, a cost calculation unit 62, and a replacement part determination unit 63. It is comprised including. The maintenance support apparatus 100 may include hardware and software (not shown).

  The communication unit 10 communicates with the monitoring target device 200 via the network 300. The communication unit 10 receives the failure notification information from the monitoring target device 200 via the network 300. For example, the communication unit 10 is realized using a NIC (Network Interface Card) or the like.

  The control unit 20 controls the entire maintenance support device 100. For example, the control unit 20 is realized using a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or the like.

  The input unit 30 receives information based on a user operation. For example, the input unit 30 is realized using a keyboard, a touch panel, a voice input unit, and the like. The input unit 30 is not particularly limited as long as it can receive information based on a user operation.

  The output unit 40 outputs information. Specifically, the output unit 40 outputs the maintenance support information. For example, the output unit 40 may output the maintenance support information to a display (not shown), a projector, or the like. Further, for example, the output unit 40 may cause a printer (not shown) to print the maintenance support information. Further, for example, the output unit 40 may transmit the maintenance support information to a predetermined terminal (not shown) via the communication unit 10.

  The storage unit 50 stores information necessary for operating the maintenance support device 100. The storage unit 50 stores a device information database 101, a failure database 102, a failure history database 103, a replacement work database 104, and a failure analysis database 105. Further, the storage unit 50 stores a parts center database 106, a parts inventory database 107, and a parts delivery database 108. The storage unit 50 is realized by a magnetic disk device, an optical disk device, a semiconductor memory, and the like.

  Hereinafter, each database stored in the storage unit 50 will be described in detail.

  The device information database 101 stores device information. The device information includes customer information, parts center group information, device identification information, and model number identification information.

  The device identification information is information for identifying the monitoring target device 200. The model number identification information is information for identifying the model number of the monitoring target device 200. In the following description, the device identification information is also referred to as a device code. In the following description, the model number identification information is also referred to as a model code.

  The customer information is information on the customer who owns the monitored device 200 corresponding to the device information. The customer information includes a customer name, a customer address, and the like. In the following description, a customer holding the monitored device 200 is simply referred to as a customer.

  The parts center group information is information for specifying a set of parts centers. The parts center group information stored in the device information database 101 corresponds to the parts center group information stored in the parts center database 106. Note that the parts center indicates a place where parts are stored. The parts center may be a warehouse or the like that stores parts.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the device information database 101. The device information database 101 shown in FIG. 3 stores a customer name, a customer address, a parts center group, a device code, and a model code in association with each other. For example, FIG. 3 shows that the customer address of “customer name: ABC” is “XXX”. Further, FIG. 3 shows that a customer of “customer name: ABC” is a monitored device 200 of “device code: AAAAAAAA, model code: NNNNNNN” and a monitored device 200 of “device code: BBBBBBBB, model code: MMMMMM”. Is provided.

  Further, in FIG. 3, the parts center group information corresponding to the customer of "customer name: ABC" is "1". Here, it is assumed that the parts center database 106 stores information shown in FIG. Referring to the parts center database 106 shown in FIG. 8, the part centers corresponding to “parts center group information: 1” are “base A”, “base B”, “base C”, and “base D”. Therefore, referring to FIGS. 3 and 8, the parts centers corresponding to the customer of “customer name: ABC” are “base A”, “base B”, “base C”, and “base D”.

  The failure database 102 stores failure information. The failure information includes model number identification information (model code), information for identifying the content of the failure, a suspected component group, and necessity of component replacement. Here, the information for identifying the content of the fault is referred to as fault identification information or an event code.

  In the following description, a component that may cause a failure is referred to as a suspect component. Further, a module including the suspected component is referred to as a higher-order suspected component or a second suspected component. Further, in the following description, a module including one higher-level suspected component is also referred to as a higher-level suspected component or a second suspected component. Here, the higher-level suspected component (second suspected component) includes a device in which a failure has occurred. Further, the suspected component or the second suspected component included in the upper suspected component is referred to as a lower suspected component of the upper suspected component.

  The suspected component group includes a suspected component and a component (second suspected component) that is a higher order component of the suspected component.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the failure database 102. The failure database 102 shown in FIG. 4 stores a model code, an event code, a suspected component group, and necessity of component replacement in association with each other. For example, FIG. 4 shows that the suspected component group corresponding to the failure information of “model code: NNNNNNN, event code: 0xA0000001” is “component: PA0000001”, “component: PA0000002”, “component: PA0000003”, and “component: PA000000004”. Is included. FIG. 4 shows that the parts corresponding to the failure information of “model code: NNNNNNN, event code: 0xA0000001” need to be replaced.

  The failure history database 103 is a database that stores failure history information. The failure history information includes a device code, an event code, and component replacement history information.

  The part replacement history information is information related to a part replacement history. The part replacement history information includes information for specifying a replaced part and a replacement date. For example, the information specifying the component may be information indicating the name of the component and the type of the component.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the failure history database 103. The failure history database 103 shown in FIG. 5 stores the device code, the event code, the replacement part, and the last replacement date in association with each other. For example, FIG. 5 shows that, when a failure of “event code: 0xA000001” occurs in the monitoring target device 200 of “device code: AAAAAAAA”, “part: PA0000001” was replaced on February 10, 2018. Show.

  The replacement work database 104 stores part replacement cost information. The part replacement cost information is information on the cost of part replacement. The part replacement cost information includes information on the price of the part and information on the cost of the replacement work.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the exchange work database 104. The replacement work database 104 shown in FIG. 6 stores a model code, an event code, a part, a price of the part, and a cost for the replacement work in association with each other. For example, FIG. 6 shows the price of a part and the cost of replacement work for a part related to the failure of “model code: NNNNNNN, event code: 0xA0000001”.

  The failure analysis database 105 stores repeated failure information related to the suspected part. Further, the failure analysis database 105 stores repeated failure information related to the higher-order suspected part. The repetitive fault information is information on repetitive faults.

  Here, the repetitive failure is a re-occurred failure corresponding to the same device code and the same event code, and is a target of parts replacement work within a predetermined period (for example, within three months) from the time of occurrence of the failure. It is assumed that this is a failure.

（１） In the following description, it is assumed that the failure analysis database 105 stores a repeated failure rate as repeated failure information. The repetitive failure rate is the probability that a recurring failure will occur after replacement of a part. The maintenance support device 100 repeatedly calculates the failure rate based on the following equation (1).

(1)

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the failure analysis database 105. The failure analysis database 105 shown in FIG. 7 stores a model code, an event code, a component, and a repeated failure rate in association with each other. For example, FIG. 7 shows the repetition failure rate of “part: PA0000001” in the failure of “model code: NNNNNNN, event code: 0xA0000001”. Further, FIG. 7 shows the repetition failure rate of the higher-order suspected parts “part: PA0000002”, “part: PA0000003”, and “part: PA0000004” of “part: PA0000001”.

  The parts center database 106 stores parts center group information and a set of parts centers in association with each other.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the parts center database 106. For example, FIG. 8 shows that the part centers corresponding to “parts center group information: 1” are “base A”, “base B”, “base C”, and “base D”.

  The parts inventory database 107 stores parts inventory information at the parts center. The parts inventory information is information on parts inventory. The parts inventory information includes a parts center, parts stored in the parts center, and a stock number for each part.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of the parts inventory database 107. For example, in FIG. 9, “parts: PA0000001, inventory: 10”, “parts: PA0000002, inventory: 0”, and “parts: PA0000003, inventory: 2” in “parts center: base A”. "," Parts: PA0000004, inventory: 5 "are stored.

  The parts delivery database 108 stores parts delivery cost information. The part delivery cost information is information on the cost of delivering parts (delivery cost) from the parts center to the customer address. Specifically, the parts delivery cost information includes a parts center, parts, a customer address, and delivery costs.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the component delivery database 108. For example, FIG. 10 shows that the cost of delivering “parts: PA0000001” from “parts center: base A” to “customer address: XXX” is 1,000 yen.

  Next, the failure analysis unit 61 will be described in detail.

  The failure analysis unit 61 specifies a suspected component group related to the occurred failure based on the failure information. Then, the failure analysis unit 61 specifies the repeated failure rate of the components included in the suspected component group based on the repeated failure information.

  Specifically, the failure analysis unit 61 acquires failure notification information in which model number identification information corresponding to the occurred failure and failure identification information corresponding to the occurred failure are associated with each other. Further, the failure analysis unit 61 specifies a suspected component group related to the occurred failure based on the failure notification information and the failure information.

  More specifically, the failure analysis unit 61 acquires failure notification information from the monitoring target device 200 via the communication unit 10. The failure notification information includes customer information, device identification information (device code) corresponding to the occurred failure, model number identification information (model code) corresponding to the occurred failure, and failure identification information (event Code).

  The failure analysis unit 61 refers to the device information database 101 and specifies device information corresponding to the failed device based on the failure notification information. Further, the failure analysis unit 61 refers to the failure database 102 and specifies failure information corresponding to the occurred failure based on the failure notification information.

  The failure analysis unit 61 specifies the suspected component group and whether or not the component needs to be replaced based on the specified failure information. As described above, the suspected component group includes the suspected component related to the fault that has occurred and the component (second suspected component) that is a higher order component of the suspected component.

  Further, the failure analysis unit 61 refers to the failure history database 103 and specifies failure history information corresponding to the device in which the failure has occurred. Specifically, the failure analysis unit 61 refers to the failure history database 103 and specifies the failure history information based on the device identification information included in the specified device information.

  Further, the failure analysis unit 61 responds to the same device identification information as the device identification information included in the failure notification information and the same failure identification information as the failure identification information included in the failure notification information based on the failure history information. It is determined whether or not the part to be replaced has been replaced within a predetermined period.

  If the suspected component corresponding to the same device identification information and the same failure identification information is replaced within a predetermined period, the failure analysis unit 61 determines that the suspected component is repeatedly related to the failure. . On the other hand, if the suspected part corresponding to the same apparatus identification information and the same failure identification information has not been replaced within a predetermined period, the suspected part corresponding to the failure notification information is repeatedly associated with the failure. Otherwise, the failure analysis unit 61 determines.

  In addition, the failure analysis unit 61 refers to the failure analysis database 105 and identifies repeated failure information related to the suspected component. Specifically, the failure analysis unit 61 refers to the failure analysis database 105 and specifies the repetition failure rate of the suspected component.

  Further, the failure analysis unit 61 refers to the failure analysis database 105 and specifies repeated failure information related to the higher-order suspected part. Specifically, the failure analysis unit 61 refers to the failure analysis database 105 and specifies the repetition failure rate of the higher-order suspected component.

  For example, assume that a memory error has occurred in the monitoring target device 200. Then, it is assumed that the failure of the monitored device 200 has been resolved by the maintenance technician performing the memory replacement. However, after that, it is assumed that the same memory error has occurred in the same monitoring target device 200 within a predetermined period. In this case, the memory as the suspected part is repeatedly related to the failure. Therefore, it is assumed that the failure of the monitored device 200 has been eliminated by the maintenance technician replacing the CPU that controls the memory. Here, the CPU corresponds to the suspected component related to the repetitive failure together with the memory (suspicious component) in the repetitive failure.

  After that, it is assumed that the same memory error has occurred in the same monitoring target device 200 within a predetermined period thereafter. Therefore, it is assumed that the maintenance technician has replaced the motherboard on which the memory is mounted, and the failure of the monitored device 200 has been resolved. Here, the motherboard corresponds to a higher-order suspected component of the memory (suspected component).

  As described above, when the same failure occurs again after replacing the suspected part, the maintenance technician replaces the suspected part with a higher-order suspected part of the suspected part in order to avoid the failure from occurring again. Then, the maintenance technician repeats replacement with the higher-level suspected component until the failure does not occur again.

  Next, the cost calculator 62 will be described in detail.

  The cost calculator 62 refers to the replacement work database 104 and specifies the component replacement cost information based on the model number identification information and the failure identification information.

  The cost calculation unit 62 refers to the parts center database 106 and specifies one or more parts centers corresponding to the device information specified by the failure analysis unit 61. Specifically, the cost calculation unit 62 refers to the parts center database 106, and specifies one or more parts centers based on the parts center group information included in the device information specified by the failure analysis unit 61. .

  Further, the cost calculation unit 62 refers to the parts inventory database 107 and identifies parts inventory information corresponding to the identified parts center.

  Specifically, the cost calculation unit 62 refers to the parts inventory database 107 and determines whether or not the specified part center has a stock of the target part (the suspected part or the higher-order suspected part of the suspected part). Here, when two or more parts centers are specified based on the parts center group information, the cost calculation unit 62 specifies a part center to be determined based on the priority order of the parts centers among the two or more parts centers. I do. Then, the cost calculation unit 62 determines whether or not the specified part center to be determined has a stock of the target part (the suspected part or the higher-order suspected part of the suspected part).

  When there is no stock of the target part in the part center to be determined, the cost calculation unit 62 changes the part center to be determined based on the priority order of the part center. Then, the cost calculation unit 62 determines whether or not the target part (the suspected part or the higher suspected part of the suspected part) is in stock at the new part center to be determined.

  In addition, the cost calculation unit 62 refers to the parts delivery database 108 and specifies the cost of delivering parts (delivery cost) from the parts center to the customer address.

  Further, the cost calculation unit 62 calculates the total component replacement cost for at least one of the replacement candidate components of the suspected component and the higher-order suspected component in consideration of the repetition failure rate.

  Specifically, the cost calculation unit 62 selects two or more replacement candidate parts from the parts included in the suspected part group. Then, the cost calculation unit 62 calculates the replacement cost of the replacement candidate part, the repetition failure rate of the replacement candidate part, the component replacement cost of the second suspected part, and the repetition failure rate of the second suspected part. , And the total cost of component replacement until the failure no longer occurs is calculated for each replacement candidate component. In the following description, the component replacement cost of the replacement candidate component is also referred to as a first component replacement cost. In the following description, the repetition failure rate of the replacement candidate part is also referred to as a first repetition failure rate. In the following description, the component replacement cost of the second suspected component is also referred to as a second component replacement cost. In the following description, the repetition failure rate of the second suspected component is also referred to as a second repetition failure rate.

  Here, the cost calculation unit 62 calculates the total replacement cost of the replacement candidate component based on the first replacement cost, the second replacement cost, and the repetition failure rate of the lower order component of the second suspected component. Is calculated.

  Then, the cost calculation unit 62 calculates the sum of the component price, the replacement work cost, and the delivery cost (first component replacement cost) for the replacement candidate component. Further, the cost calculation unit 62 determines, for each of the higher-level suspected parts corresponding to the replacement candidate parts, the sum of the part price, the replacement work cost, and the delivery cost (a second part replacement cost), Is calculated by multiplying the lower failure suspect part by the repetition failure rate. Until the repetition failure rate of the one-step lower part becomes 0%, the product of the second part replacement cost and the repetition failure rate of the one-step lower part suspected part for each higher-order suspected part corresponding to the replacement candidate part. Is calculated.

  Then, the cost calculation unit 62 calculates the total sum of the sum of the products and the first sum relating to the replacement candidate parts as the total part replacement cost of the replacement candidate parts. The cost calculation unit 62 selects each component included in the suspected component group as a replacement candidate component, and calculates a total component replacement cost of each replacement candidate component.

（２）
Ｋ_ｍ：交換候補部品ｍの部品交換総費用
ａ_ｍ：交換候補部品ｍの値段
ａ_ｉ：上位被疑部品の値段
ｂ_ｍ：交換候補部品ｍの交換作業費
ｂ_i：上位被疑部品の交換作業費
ｃ_ｍ：交換候補部品ｍの配送費
ｃ_i：上位被疑部品の配送費
ｒ_ｉ-1：繰り返し障害率
ここで、ａ_ｍとｂ_ｍとｃ_ｍとの和は、上記の第１の部品交換費用に相当する。また、ａ_iとｂ_iとｃ_iとの和は、上記の第２の部品交換費用に相当する。 Specifically, the cost calculation unit 62 calculates the total component replacement cost of the replacement candidate component based on the following equation (2). In equation (2), it is assumed that the higher the value of the subscript i, the higher the component.

(2)
K _m : Total replacement cost of replacement candidate part m a _m : Price of replacement candidate part m a _i : Price of upper suspected part b _m : Replacement work cost of replacement candidate part m b _i : Replacement work cost of higher suspected part c _m: shipping costs c _i of the replacement candidate component m: Top faulty component shipping costs r _i-1: repetition failure rate, where the sum of a _m and b _m and c _m, the first part replacement of the Equivalent to cost. The sum of a _i , b _i, and c _i corresponds to the second component replacement cost.

  Next, the replacement part determination unit 63 will be described in detail.

  The replacement part determination unit 63 determines a replacement target part based on the total part replacement cost of the suspected part and the total part replacement cost of one or more higher-order suspected parts.

  For example, the replacement part determination unit 63 may determine the replacement candidate part corresponding to the minimum total replacement cost of the two or more replacement candidate parts as the replacement target part.

  Specifically, the replacement part determination unit 63 specifies the minimum total part replacement cost among the total replacement cost of the replacement candidate parts of at least one of the suspected part and the higher-order suspected part. Then, the replacement part determination unit 63 may determine a replacement candidate part corresponding to the specified minimum total part replacement cost as a replacement target part.

  The replacement part determination unit 63 outputs maintenance support information. For example, the replacement part determination unit 63 may cause the display (not shown) to display the maintenance support information via the output unit 40. Further, the replacement part determination unit 63 may cause the printer (not shown) to print the maintenance support information via the output unit 40. Further, the replacement part determination unit 63 may notify the maintenance support information to a predetermined terminal (not shown) via the communication unit 10.

  As described above, the maintenance support information includes information on whether parts need to be replaced, information on parts to be replaced, and the like. For example, the maintenance support information may include information such as a price of a replacement target part, a cost for replacement work, a delivery cost, customer information, device identification information, and model number identification information.

  Next, the operation of the maintenance support device 100 will be described in detail.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the maintenance support device 100.

  In step A1, the failure analysis unit 61 acquires failure notification information from the monitoring target device 200. As described above, the failure notification information includes customer information, device identification information (device code), model number identification information (model code), and failure identification information (event code).

  In step A2, the failure analysis unit 61 specifies device information corresponding to the failed device among the device information registered in the device information database 101 based on the failure notification information. Specifically, the failure analysis unit 61 uses the device identification information and the model number identification information included in the failure notification information as search keys, and selects, among the device information registered in the device information database 101, the device in which the failure has occurred. The device information corresponding to is specified.

  In step A3, the failure analysis unit 61 specifies failure information based on the failure notification information. As described above, the fault information includes the model number identification information (model code), the fault identification information (event code), the suspected component group, and the necessity of component replacement. Further, as described above, the suspected component may be two or more components.

  In step A4, the failure analysis unit 61 determines whether the suspect component needs to be replaced. Specifically, based on the specified fault information, the fault analysis unit 61 determines whether or not the suspected component needs to be replaced. When the failure analysis unit 61 determines that the suspected part does not need to be replaced (No branch of step A4), the replacement part determining unit 63 outputs that the suspected part does not need to be replaced (step A5). . Then, the maintenance support device 100 ends the process of determining a replacement part.

  On the other hand, when the failure analysis unit 61 determines that the suspected component needs to be replaced (Yes branch in step A4), the failure analysis unit 61 specifies failure history information corresponding to the device in which the failure has occurred. (Step A6).

  In step A7, the failure analysis unit 61 determines whether or not the suspected part repeatedly involves a failure. When the suspected part does not repeatedly relate to the failure (No branch of step A7), the process proceeds to step A9 shown in FIG. On the other hand, if the suspected part repeatedly relates to the failure (Yes branch of step A7), the failure analysis unit 61 deletes the previously replaced part from the suspected part group included in the specified failure information (step S7). A8). Then, the processing makes a transition to Step A9 shown in FIG.

  Subsequently, the operation of the maintenance support device 100 will be described with reference to FIG.

  In step A9, the failure analysis unit 61 specifies repeated failure information related to the suspected component.

  In step A10, the cost calculation unit 62 specifies information on the price of each component and the cost of the replacement work included in the suspected component group.

  In step A11, the cost calculation unit 62 specifies parts center information corresponding to the customer's device.

  In step A12, the cost calculation unit 62 specifies the parts stock information for the parts center included in the parts center information.

  In step A13, the cost calculation unit 62 specifies the delivery cost of the part from the parts center to the customer address.

  In Step A14, the cost calculating unit 62 calculates the total cost of replacing the suspected component and the total cost of replacing the higher-order suspected component in consideration of the repetitive failure rate.

  In step A15, the replacement part determination unit 63 determines a part having the minimum total part replacement cost as a replacement target part.

  In step A16, the replacement part determination unit 63 outputs maintenance support information including information on the part to be replaced.

  Hereinafter, the process of specifying the replacement target component will be specifically described.

  For example, assume that the device information database 101 stores the information shown in FIG. It is also assumed that the failure database 102 stores the information shown in FIG. It is also assumed that the exchange work database 104 stores the information shown in FIG. It is also assumed that the failure analysis database 105 stores the information shown in FIG. It is also assumed that the parts center database 106 stores the information shown in FIG. It is also assumed that the parts inventory database 107 stores information shown in FIG. It is also assumed that the parts delivery database 108 stores the information shown in FIG. It is also assumed that the failure analysis unit 61 has acquired the failure notification information “customer name: ABC, customer address: XXX, device code: AAAAAAAA, model code: NNNNNNN, event code: 0xA0000001”.

  In that case, the failure analysis unit 61 refers to the failure database 102 and, based on the failure notification information, determines the suspected component group “parts: PA0000001”, “parts: PA0000002”, “parts: PA0000003”, and “parts: PA0000004”. Identify. Further, the failure analysis unit 61 refers to the failure database 102 and determines that the parts need to be replaced.

The failure analysis unit 61 refers to the failure analysis database 105,
Parts: PA0000001, repetition failure rate: 30%
Parts: PA0000002, repetition failure rate: 5%
Parts: PA0000003, repetition failure rate: 2%
Parts: PA0000004, repetition failure rate: 0%
Is specified.

Further, the cost calculation unit 62 refers to the exchange work database 104,
Parts: PA0000001, price of parts: 2,000 yen, cost of replacement work: 6,000 yen Parts: PA0000002, price of parts: 3,000 yen, cost of replacement work: 8,000 yen Parts: PA0000003, price of parts: 5,000 yen, replacement It is specified that the cost of the work: 10,000 yen The part: PA0000004, the price of the part: 10,000 yen, and the cost of the replacement work: 15,000 yen.

  Further, the failure analysis unit 61 refers to the device information database 101 and specifies “parts center group information: 1”. Then, the failure analysis unit 61 refers to the parts center database 106, and finds “base A”, “base B”, “base C”, “base D” as a part center corresponding to “part center group information: 1”. To identify. Here, it is assumed that the priority order of the parts centers corresponding to “parts center group information: 1” is “base A”, “base B”, “base C”, and “base D” in this order.

Further, the cost calculation unit 62 refers to the parts inventory database 107 and, in the “parts center: base A”, the parts: PA0000001, the number of stocks: 10 parts: PA0000002, the number of stocks: 0 parts: PA0000003, the number of stocks: 2 Individual parts: PA0000004, inventory number: 5 pieces are specified. Therefore, the cost calculation unit 62 determines that “parts: PA0000001”, “parts: PA0000003”, and “parts: PA0000004” can be delivered from “parts center: base A”.

Further, the cost calculation unit 62 refers to the parts inventory database 107, and in “parts center: base B”,
Part: PA0000002, inventory number: 20 pieces. Therefore, the cost calculation unit 62 determines that “parts: PA0000002” can be delivered from “parts center: base B”.

Further, the cost calculation unit 62 refers to the parts delivery database 108 and, from “parts center: base A”, to “customer address: XXX”, “parts: PA0000001”, “parts: PA000000003”, “parts: PA000000004” Identify the delivery costs for delivering. Specifically, the cost calculation unit 62
Parts: PA0000001, delivery cost: 1000 yen Parts: PA0000003, delivery cost: 3000 yen Parts: PA0000004, delivery cost: 5000 yen.

Further, the cost calculation unit 62 refers to the parts inventory database 107 and specifies a delivery cost for delivering “parts: PA0000002” from “parts center: base B” to “customer address: XXX”. Specifically, the cost calculation unit 62
It specifies that the part is PA0000002 and the delivery cost is 1000 yen.

  The cost calculation unit 62 calculates the total cost of the “parts: PA0000001”, “parts: PA0000002”, “parts: PA0000003”, and “parts: PA0000004” until the failure rate becomes zero.

When “part: PA0000001” is set as a replacement candidate part, the total part replacement cost is as follows.
Parts replacement total cost of "Parts: PA0000001" =
("Parts: PA0000001" price + replacement work cost + delivery cost) +
(Price of “part: PA0000002” + cost of replacement work + delivery cost) × Repetition failure rate of “part: PA0000001” +
(Price of “part: PA0000003” + cost of replacement work + delivery cost) × Repetition failure rate of “part: PA0000002” +
(Price of "part: PA0000004" + cost of replacement work + delivery cost) x repetition failure rate of "part: PA0000003"

That is, when “part: PA0000001” is set as a replacement candidate part, the total part replacement cost is as follows.
Parts replacement total cost of "Parts: PA0000001" =
(2000 + 6000 + 1000) +
(3000 + 8000 + 1000) × 0.3 +
(5000 + 10000 + 3000) × 0.05 +
(10000 + 15000 + 5000) × 0.02
= 14100 yen

Further, when “part: PA0000002” is set as a replacement candidate part, the total part replacement cost is as follows.
Total cost of replacing parts for "Parts: PA0000002" =
(Price of “Parts: PA0000002” + Expense for replacement work + Delivery cost) +
(Price of “part: PA0000003” + cost of replacement work + delivery cost) × Repetition failure rate of “part: PA0000002” +
(Price of "part: PA0000004" + cost of replacement work + delivery cost) x repetition failure rate of "part: PA0000003"

That is, when “part: PA0000002” is set as the replacement candidate part, the total part replacement cost is as follows.
Total cost of replacing parts for "Parts: PA0000002" =
(3000 + 8000 + 1000) +
(5000 + 10000 + 3000) × 0.05 +
(10000 + 15000 + 5000) × 0.02
= 13500 yen

When “part: PA0000003” is set as a replacement candidate part, the total part replacement cost is as follows.
Total cost of replacing parts for "Parts: PA0000003" =
(“Parts: PA0000003” price + replacement work cost + delivery cost) +
(Price of "part: PA0000004" + cost of replacement work + delivery cost) x failure rate of part "PA0000003"

That is, when “part: PA0000003” is set as a replacement candidate part, the total part replacement cost is as follows.
Total cost of replacing parts for "Parts: PA0000003" =
(5000 + 10000 + 3000) +
(10000 + 15000 + 5000) × 0.02
= 18600 yen

When “part: PA0000004” is set as a replacement candidate part, the total part replacement cost is as follows.
"Parts: Total cost of replacing parts for PA0000004" =
("Parts: PA0000004" price + replacement work cost + delivery cost)

That is, when “part: PA0000004” is set as a replacement candidate part, the total part replacement cost is as follows.
"Parts: Total cost of replacing parts for PA0000004" =
(10000 + 15000 + 5000)
= 30,000 yen

  As described above, among the replacement candidate parts, the part with the lowest total part replacement cost is “part: PA0000002”. Therefore, the replacement part determination unit 63 determines “part: PA0000002” as the replacement target part.

  As described above, the maintenance support device 100 according to the present embodiment, when a component failure occurs repeatedly, when a higher-order component of the suspected component is replaced, the component replacement total until the failure no longer occurs again. The cost is calculated based on the component replacement cost and the repetition failure rate. Then, the maintenance support apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment calculates the total cost of component replacement for two or more components, and, among the calculated total cost of component replacement, the component corresponding to the minimum total cost of component replacement, (Parts to be replaced). Therefore, the maintenance support device 100 according to the present embodiment contributes to reducing the total cost required for handling the failure while considering that the failure will reoccur.

  FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a computer 500 that implements the maintenance support device 100.

  For example, the computer 500 includes a CPU 501, a communication interface 502, a memory 503, an input / output interface 504, and the like, which are interconnected by an internal bus. The communication interface 502 is an NIC or the like. The memory 503 is a magnetic disk device, an optical disk device, a semiconductor memory, or the like. The input / output interface 504 is an interface such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display, and an interface such as a keyboard and a touch panel.

  The functions of the maintenance support device 100 are realized by the CPU 501 executing a program stored in the memory 503. All or some of the functions of the maintenance support device 100 may be realized (implemented in hardware) by hardware such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) and an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). Further, the program can be downloaded via a network or updated using a storage medium storing the program. That is, the function of the maintenance support device 100 may be realized by executing software on some hardware.

（３） In the above description, the repetitive failure is a reoccurring failure corresponding to the same device code and the same event code, and is performed within a predetermined period (for example, within three months) after the failure occurs. It was described as being the subject of the obstacle. However, this is not intended to limit repeated failures to reoccurring failures corresponding to the same device code and the same event code. The recurring fault is a fault that has occurred again and corresponds to the same model code and the same event code, and has been subjected to a part replacement operation within a predetermined period (for example, within three months) from the time when the fault occurred. It may be. In that case, the maintenance support device 100 may calculate the failure rate repeatedly based on the following equation (3).

(3)

  The disclosure of the above patent documents is incorporated herein by reference. Changes and adjustments of the embodiments are possible within the scope of the entire disclosure (including the claims) of the present invention and based on the basic technical concept thereof. In addition, various combinations of various disclosed elements (including each element of each claim, each element of each embodiment, each element of each drawing, and the like) or selection (partial part) within the scope of the entire disclosure of the present invention. Including deletion) is possible. That is, the present invention naturally includes various variations and modifications that can be made by those skilled in the art according to the entire disclosure including the claims and the technical idea. In particular, with respect to the numerical ranges described in this document, any numerical values or small ranges included in the ranges should be interpreted as being specifically described even if not otherwise specified. It is self-evident that a computer is used when algorithms, software or flowcharts or automated process steps are presented in the present invention, and that a computer is also provided with a processor and a memory or storage device. is there. Therefore, it is understood that these elements are naturally described in the present application even when the description is omitted.

Reference Signs List 1 maintenance support system 10 communication unit 20 control unit 30 input unit 40 output unit 50, 1001 storage unit 61 failure analysis unit 62, 1002 cost calculation unit 63, 1003 replacement part determination unit 100, 1000 maintenance support device 101 device information database 102 failure Database 103 Failure history database 104 Exchange work database 105 Failure analysis database 106 Parts center database 107 Parts inventory database 108 Parts delivery database 200 Monitored device 300 Network 500 Computer 501 CPU
502 Communication interface 503 Memory 504 Input / output interface

Claims (10)

A storage unit that stores the suspected component group and the repetitive failure rate of the components included in the suspected component group,
If the same failure occurs again after the replacement candidate part is replaced with respect to the replacement candidate part included in the suspected part group, when the second suspected part included in the suspected part group is replaced, A cost calculation unit that calculates the total component replacement cost until the reoccurrence is eliminated, based on the component replacement cost and the repetitive failure rate,
A replacement part determining unit that determines a replacement target part from the two or more replacement candidate parts based on the total part replacement cost,
A maintenance support device comprising:   The maintenance support device according to claim 1, wherein the suspected component group includes a suspected component related to the occurred failure and the second suspected component that is a higher order component of the suspected component.   The cost calculation unit selects two or more replacement candidate parts from the parts included in the suspected part group, and calculates a first part replacement cost of the replacement candidate part and a first repetition failure rate of the replacement candidate part. And, based on the second component replacement cost of the second suspected component and the repetitive failure rate of the second suspected component, the component replacement total cost until the occurrence of the failure is stopped. The maintenance support apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the maintenance support apparatus calculates the replacement candidate part.   The cost calculation unit is configured to determine the component of the replacement candidate component based on the first component replacement cost, the second component replacement cost, and the repetition failure rate of a subordinate component of the second suspected component. The maintenance support device according to claim 3, wherein the total replacement cost is calculated.   The replacement part determining unit determines, as the replacement target part, the replacement candidate part related to a minimum total part replacement cost among the total part replacement costs of the two or more replacement candidate parts. 3. The maintenance support device according to any one of 3. The storage unit stores information specifying a component and the repetition failure rate, repetition failure information, and failure information corresponding to the model number identification information, the failure identification information, and the suspected component group,
A failure analysis unit that identifies the suspected component group related to the failure that has occurred based on the failure information, and identifies the repetitive failure rate of the component included in the suspected component group based on the repeated failure information. The maintenance support device according to claim 1, further comprising:   7. The failure analysis unit according to claim 6, wherein the failure analysis unit determines that the component is repeatedly related to the failure when a component corresponding to the same device identification information and the same failure identification information is replaced within a predetermined period. Maintenance support equipment. It comprises a monitoring target device and a maintenance support device,
The monitored device transmits, to the maintenance support device, failure notification information in which model number identification information corresponding to the occurred failure and failure identification information corresponding to the occurred failure are associated with each other,
The maintenance support device,
A storage unit that stores failure information in which the model number identification information, the failure identification information, and the suspected component group are associated with each other, wherein the storage unit stores information for identifying a component included in the suspected component group and a repetitive failure rate. Further storing the associated repeated failure information,
The maintenance support device further includes:
A communication unit that receives the failure notification information from the monitored device,
Based on the failure notification information and the failure information, to identify the suspected component group related to the occurred failure, a failure analysis unit,
With respect to the replacement candidate parts included in the suspected parts group, if the same failure occurs again after the replacement candidate parts are replaced, if the second suspected part included in the suspected parts group is replaced, A cost calculation unit that calculates the total component replacement cost until the reoccurrence is eliminated, based on the component replacement cost and the repetitive failure rate,
A replacement part determining unit that determines a replacement target part from the two or more replacement candidate parts based on the total part replacement cost,
Maintenance support system with The maintenance support device including the storage unit, which stores the suspected component group and the repetitive failure rate of the components included in the suspected component group, executes:
If the same failure occurs again after the replacement candidate part is replaced with respect to the replacement candidate part included in the suspected part group, when the second suspected part included in the suspected part group is replaced, A step of calculating the total cost of component replacement until the reoccurrence is eliminated, based on the component replacement cost and the repetitive failure rate,
A step of determining a replacement target part from two or more replacement candidate parts based on the total part replacement cost;
And maintenance support methods. The computer that controls the maintenance support device including the storage unit, which stores the suspected component group and the repetitive failure rate of the component included in the suspected component group,
If the same failure occurs again after the replacement candidate part is replaced with respect to the replacement candidate part included in the suspected part group, when the second suspected part included in the suspected part group is replaced, A process of calculating the total cost of component replacement until the reoccurrence is eliminated, based on the component replacement cost and the repetitive failure rate,
A process of determining a replacement target component from two or more of the replacement candidate components based on the component replacement total cost;
A program that executes

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