JPS62217338A - Monitor system for repeated trouble - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the maintenance efficiency and maintainability of an equipment by retrieving the record of troubles for a fixed past period for the equipment to be monitored and producing an alarm if it is confirmed that the same trouble of the same equipment occurs more than a prescribed frequency. CONSTITUTION:The total period and the total frequency of trouble occurrence frequency are previously set to a repeated trouble monitor part 3 for each equipment. The part 3 totals the trouble information received from a data terminal equipment 6 of each branch store 5 for each type of equipment and each item and stores them in a file. Then an important trouble is decided when the total value of trouble information reaches each limit level and a signal is outputted. This signal output is displayed on a trouble information control terminal equipment 11 as an alarm and also sent automatically to a service base 14. Furthermore, it is possible to get instantaneously data useful for decision to be done at the base 14 by giving an inquiry to a host computer 2 when a trouble occurs even in case no alarm is produced.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Summary] Search the failure records of monitored equipment over a certain period of time in the past, and if the same failure has occurred in the same equipment more than a predetermined limit,
By issuing an alarm as a major failure, we aim to improve the efficiency and quality of equipment maintenance.

[Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to the collection of failure information of devices used in computer systems, and more specifically, to a method for managing the occurrence of duplicate occurrences of the same failure.

Information processing systems using electronic computers require many peripheral devices and terminal devices, as typified by bank counter operations.
They are scattered over a wide area in many locations. Since the impact of unusable equipment due to failure on these systems is extremely large, there is a need for a thorough maintenance system that can recover from failures in a minimum amount of unusable time.

[Prior art and problems to be solved by the invention] A conventional failure information management system will be explained with reference to FIG. In the figure, 1 is a calculation center of a customer using the information processing system, 2 is its host computer, 5 is a branch office of the customer, and 6
1 is a data terminal device, 7 is a memory for storing failure information, and 1 is a data terminal device.
0 is an online line, 11 is a failure information management terminal, 12
13 is a printer that outputs failure information, 13 is failure statistics and treatment information, 14 is a service base, 15 is a failure information inquiry, 16 is a service dispatch request and dispatch, and 19 is information on the measures taken to repair the failure. .

The data terminal device 6 of each branch office 5 is a multi-functional terminal, and in addition to its original work, it also carries out patrols on a fixed schedule and provides information on failures of the devices in charge (this includes
(Including items such as location of occurrence, defect phenomenon, etc.) are collected. Once the failure information is captured, it is sent to the host computer m2 via the online line 10. The host computer 2 originally processes customer information, but a part of it, such as a memory file that stores the failure information, is used for statistical processing of failure information, and the failure information management terminal 1
1 is controlling it.

In addition, information 19 indicating the details of troubleshooting is provided at the service base 1.
4 to calculation m2 via a communication line and stored in a storage file (not shown). The input failure and treatment information is output as a list by the printer 12 and saved as failure and treatment statistical information 13.

If the equipment at the branch 5 breaks down and cannot be repaired immediately, the branch issues a request to the service base 14. The service base that received the request inquires about the failure statistics and treatment information 13 from the calculation center 1 by telephone, etc., and determines whether the same failure with the above-mentioned failure equipment number has occurred repeatedly in the past, or if such a failure has occurred. If so, we can investigate what to do at that time, prepare replacement parts, etc. based on the investigation data, and then proceed with maintenance such as repair, so that we can respond appropriately and quickly.

However, these investigations rely on manual labor, which not only takes a lot of time, but is also an extremely difficult task at service bases with a limited number of personnel.

On the other hand, the service base 14 is generally located far away from the calculation center 1 and from the branch office 5. Therefore, even when a branch requests dispatch to a service center, there are distance issues, parts preparation issues, staffing issues, etc., and it is difficult to say that everything is handled quickly and accurately.

Therefore, there is a method of preventing failures from occurring through preventive maintenance, and in fact, this method has been implemented and is proving effective. The basic principle of this preventive maintenance is to predict failures and take corrective action quickly and accurately based on past failures and their treatment results. However, in conventional systems, only the operator of the failure information management terminal can grasp the general failure information and individual information, and the service base 14 can obtain failure statistics by making inquiries to the calculation center 1 by telephone etc. and treatment information 1
I had obtained 3. Therefore, in an emergency situation, there is a problem in that there is not enough time or manpower to obtain this information.

The present invention was created in view of these points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a multiple fault monitoring system that can quickly grasp multiple faults and their treatment information by adding simple functions.

[Means for solving the problem and its operation] Therefore, the present invention provides a duplication monitoring unit 3 in the host computer 2 that collects information on failures and their treatments and manages the statistics, and The number of failures of the same category that occurred in the same equipment during the specified period is calculated by searching the failure records in the database for each monitored device.
When the number exceeds a preset limit, an abnormality notification signal is output, and the information on the multiple failures is notified to the service base and used to support repair work.

〔Example〕

The gist of the present invention will be specifically explained below with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings. The same reference numerals indicate the same objects throughout the figures.

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of one embodiment in a block diagram.

In the figure, a duplicate failure monitoring section 3 is added to the conventional system. This is a new system created by borrowing a part of the host computer 2 that originally performs information processing and adding a program to it.

The duplicate failure monitoring unit 3 stores information in advance for the cumulative period and for each device.
A limit on the cumulative number of failure occurrences is set for each failure location, failure item, etc. The duplicate failure monitoring department 3 is located at each branch office 5.
The failure information inputted from the data terminal device 6 is totaled for each device and item and stored in a storage file (not shown).

When the cumulative value reaches a certain limit number, it is determined that this is a major failure and a signal is output. This output is displayed as a warning on the failure information management terminal 11, and is also printed out 12, and is automatically sent to the service center 14 by a notification 17 via the communication line.
is transmitted to.

The service base 14 that has received the notification can prepare parts and other items in preparation for the dispatch request 16 from the branch 5. Furthermore, even if a dispatch request is not made, there is a very high probability that the same failure will occur in the near future, so it is important to make all preparations and perform preventive maintenance18 before the next failure occurs. can. Furthermore, even if there is a dispatch request 16, the necessary information is notified in advance within one's own base, so that the past equipment can be quickly and accurately grasped, and appropriate repairs can be carried out.

Furthermore, even if the number of failure occurrences is within the set limit and no warning is issued, when an inquiry is made to the host computer 2 when a failure occurs, information on past failures and their countermeasures will be categorized and organized. Therefore, useful decision-making materials can be immediately obtained for the actions that the service center should take.

As mentioned above, by extracting only information on past duplicate failures, making it available for use, and transmitting it to the service center, the amount of time the customer is unable to use the equipment can be significantly reduced (and the dissatisfaction of the equipment user can be reduced). At the same time, it also allows the service base to efficiently deploy personnel and parts.

In addition, although the above explanation has only discussed failures that make equipment unusable, there is a so-called retry, in which even if equipment malfunctions, it will return to normal operation after repeating the same command again and will not pose a major problem in practice. The data terminal device 6 also captures failures, and this is also meaningful and important data. Therefore, although the amount of data becomes extremely large, it is also possible to use this data instead of the above-mentioned failure information.

Further, the line 10 is not necessarily limited to online, and the notification 17 is not limited to automatic notification via a communication line. Furthermore, the failure duplication monitoring unit 3 can also be installed in the failure information management terminal 11.

Additionally, as an application of this monitoring system, it is possible to manage unusable time, so-called downtime. This unusable time is the time from when a failure occurs until the failure is recovered, and although this time includes time due to service readiness, it is often used as a measure of damage to computer system users. This is an important number. Therefore, this number must be constantly monitored for service posture management. Although these data have traditionally been input into the host computer 2, they have not been actively used. Therefore, a predetermined maximum unusable time is set in the host computer 2 in advance, and if the actual unusable time exceeds the stipulated time, a warning is issued to arouse special attention and to investigate the cause of the unusable time. We will investigate the situation and make preparations so that we can quickly respond in the event of the same type of failure the next time. In some cases, preventive maintenance can also be performed.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, by adding an extremely simple function, it is possible to grasp information on duplicate failures, thereby achieving improvements in the reliability and service efficiency of computer systems, and improving industrial efficiency. The effect is significant.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional system. In the figure, 2 is a host computer, 3 is a duplicate failure monitoring unit, and 6 is a data terminal device.

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a system in which information regarding failures occurring in electronic devices is centrally managed by a host computer, a failure duplication monitoring unit (3) is provided in the host computer (2), and this monitoring unit (3)
) is characterized by searching failure records for each monitored device during a predetermined period in the past, and outputting a warning signal when the number of failures in the same category that occurred in the same device exceeds a preset limit. Duplicate fault monitoring method.