WO2011054029A1

WO2011054029A1 - Method and system for providing maintenance verification

Info

Publication number: WO2011054029A1
Application number: PCT/AU2010/001441
Authority: WO
Inventors: Glenn Talbot
Original assignee: Verified International Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2009-11-06
Filing date: 2010-10-28
Publication date: 2011-05-12
Also published as: AU2010314797A1

Abstract

In the present invention, a combination of a barcode and portable device (such as mobile or smart phone with camera and preferably messaging capability) are utilised to capture and provide a record of field service, asset and/or maintenance information. By placing indicia, such as 2D barcodes, on field assets, plant, buildings, individual assets, structures, and by using a mobile phone software application, asset, work related or any other information in the field can be captured. The phone software application may also capture, status, voice records and/or visual records such as photos, that are keyed into or recorded via the phone by the maintenance technician or service provider as a record of work performed or requiring further attention. This information is transferred via the Internet or by means of mobile phone technology, to a database reporting tool that provides service information back to the nominated party.

Description

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING MAINTENANCE VERIFICATION FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of maintenance and asset verification.

In one form, the Invention relates to building and/or onsite 'field' maintenance.

It will be convenient to hereinafter describe the invention in relation to onsite field maintenance however it should be appreciated, that the present invention is not limited to that use only.

BACKGROUND ART

Throughout this specification the use of the word "inventor" in singular form may be taken as reference to one (singular) inventor or more than one (plural) inventor of the present invention.

The inventor has realised that a number of problems exist in respect of verifying that maintenance and/or onsite visits are actually conducted. Building owners have a number of liability issues that require attention. For example, a building owner will need to maintain air conditioning systems and also periodically check fire and other safety systems to ensure proper working order. This is a regulated legal requirement in some jurisdictions.

For this reason, building owners often engage companies that specialise in providing maintenance contractors to undertake the work necessary to fulfil their obligations. It Is then up to the maintenance contractor to ensure that the agreed work is undertaken. For example, In accordance with a maintenance contract, it is usually necessary for one or more technicians to visit a number of buildings at regular and agreed intervals. Usually, the technician may be provided with a list of buildings to visit each day, but it is difficult to verify that the technician has in fact visited the building site.

A further problem exists in respect of the reporting of maintenance work undertaken. A building owner usually requires reports to be prepared of maintenance work so there is a documented record of building owner fulfilling their liability commitments. Currently, these records are filled in manually and (again) there is no confirmation that the technician has in fact visited the agreed location. Given that maintenance companies often have a large number of technicians with many tasks, there is also the need to provide each technician with relatively low cost and relatively easy to use equipment which can be used to perform the required tasks.

Building owners managers (Clients) have many different contractors/service providers delivering many services tasks.

Other problems which exist in the maintenance and asset verification industry comprise:

Clients have no visibility of services delivered.

• Clients have no knowledge of when a contractor arrives and departs a site/service.

Contractor or technicians do not have specific client and/or asset information on hand in the field to determine specifications tasks to be performed;

• Contractor does not have up to date information of client contract specifications, tasks and/or requirements

There is a significant time lag between when a defect is identified and when it is reported.

Reporting of maintenance information is inconsistent across contractors.

The cost burden for these maintenance activities for dedicated electronic field capture devices is uneconomical.

It is difficult to sustain a complicated field data-gathering device. It is virtually impossible for clients to mandate the use of specific software and hardware for field maintenance across multiple contractors

Clients have no specific on site data attached to plant/equipment Technicians struggle with complicated electronic field devices and require regular training.

• Records are paper based and not electronically reportable.

Allowing electronic information reduces the environmental impact due to a reduction of paper records. • Records are not in a format that is able to be easily stored.

There is a need for a system and/or process which allows deployment of a common platform to gather information, whether there is one location or hundreds of locations, one service provider or many service providers.

There is also a need for a system and or process which allows for confirmation of attendance, confirmation of duration of the task, provision of real time updating of system/asset status, automatic notification of system defects and problems. The information, data and system needs to be independent of contractors. This provides the ability to change contractors at any time.

It is to be appreciated that any discussion of documents, devices, acts or knowledge in this specification is included to explain the context of the present invention. Further, the discussion throughout this specification comes about due to the realisation of the inventor and/or the identification of certain related art problems by the inventor. Moreover, any discussion of material such as documents, devices, acts or knowledge in this specification is included to explain the context of the invention in terms of the inventor's knowledge and experience and, accordingly, any such discussion should not be taken as an admission that any of the material forms part of the prior art base or the common general knowledge in the relevant art in Australia, or elsewhere, on or before the priority date of the disclosure and claims herein.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a relatively easy to use and low cost method and system for enabling maintenance verification and reporting.

It is a furthe object of the embodiments described herein to overcome or alleviate at least one of the above noted drawbacks of related art systems or to at least provide a useful alternative to related art systems.

In a first aspect of embodiments described herein there is provided a method of, system and or apparatus adapted to verify attendance at a selected location, comprising providing indicia proximate the location, enabling the indicia to be recorded, updating the recorded Information.

Preferably, a portable device is used to record the indicia.

In another aspect of embodiments described herein there is provided a method of and/or system adapted to verifying attendance at a selected location, comprising indicia provided proximate the location, a portable device adapted to record at least a portion of the information represented by the indicia, and a task application adapted to provide a list of tasks and/or any other information.

Other aspects and preferred forms are disclosed in the specification and/or defined in the appended claims, forming a part of the description of the invention.

In essence, embodiments of the present invention stem from the realization that a combination of a barcode (such as a 2D barcode) and portable device (such as mobile or smart phone with camera and preferably messaging capability) may be used to capture and provide a record of field service, asset and/or maintenance Information. In other words, by placing indicia, such as 2D barcodes, on field assets, plant, buildings, individual assets, structures, and by using a mobile phone software application, asset, work related or any other information in the field can be captured. The phone software application may also capture specific information, such as status, voice records and/or visual records such as photos, that is keyed into or recorded via the phone by the maintenance technician/service provider as a record of work performed or requiring further attention. This information is transferred via a suitable form, such as the Internet or by means of mobile phone technology, to a database reporting tool that provides service information back to the nominated party.

Advantages provided by the present invention comprise one or any combination of the following:

• Confirms onsite delivery

• No capital costs for the maintenance/service provider and/or owner

• It is relatively simple to operate in the field

· Enables contractor to have or retrieve up to date information of client contract specifications, tasks and/or requirements relative to location or work to be performed

• the indicia/barcode can be used to hold asset and maintenance information in the field

· May work on common Smartphone platform

• Low costs transaction model

• Maintenance/service provider Independent • Track time and date of delivery

• Instant reporting

• Specifies the format in which data is collected and in doing so standardises such data collection.

· Updated information has timestamp which provides additional information

• Single platform for multiple providers

• System and data are controlled by the owner

• Contractor independent

· Can be deployed across many contractors and locations

• Same system can be used for many different services and/or assets Throughout this specification, the word 'barcode' is hereby defined as any indicia.

Further scope of applicability of embodiments of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the disclosure herein will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further disclosure, objects, advantages and aspects of preferred and other embodiments of the present application may be better understood by those skilled in the relevant art by reference to the following description of embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the disclosure herein, and in which:

Figure 1 illustrates one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 illustrates an example of a 2-D barcode;

Figure 3 illustrates another embodiment of the present invention

Figure 4 illustrates an embodiment of a field capture screen

Figure 5 illustrates further embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In accordance with a first embodiment, some form of indicia such as a barcode is provided at or near the location where maintenance is to be performed. In a preferred form, the barcode together with the task software application, which is provided on the contractors portable device, enables contractor to have, retrieve and/or report up to date information of client contract specifications, tasks to be performed, tasks performed previously and/or which have been performed on site and/or any other information relative to location, history, specifications and/or work performed or to be performed. The barcode ^' may include information related to plant information, installation dates, service regime, client contract criteria and/or any other information which may be of use to a contractor.

The technician, upon visiting the location is to record the indicia. The information retrieved when the barcode is recorded may relate to information noted above and/or voice messages, photos or other information from contractors or other people and related to work that has to be, or has been, carried out at the location. The technician is to then provide details of the work undertaken and forward the updated information for recording. If, for example, the technician inputs that a defect is noticed, a prompt may be provided to the technician to record an audio file. In this regard, the invention may be used to capture defect non conformances by recording the technician's voice on a portable device and (subsequently) transferring the recording to a server as an audio file. In one form, the technician may be asked a question, for example, "Are there any defects present". If the technician answers "Yes" then the invention prompts the technician to record it verbally. In this manner, there is the ability to make the defect electronic (audio file). This can then be forwarded to third parties/systems for rectification/action. There is also the opportunity to apply voice recognition software to translate into text.

Preferably, the indicia may be a barcode. More preferably, the barcode may be a 2-D barcode. An example of a 2-D barcode is a QR Code (QR Code Itself is a registered trademark of Denso Wave Incorporated). Preferably, the recording of the indicia may be via a digital device, such as a Smartphone, mobile phone or PDA. As an example, in use, the QR code which is a matrix code (or two-dimensional bar code) may be captured by a mobile phone by means of a camera. Preferably, the forwarded information (such as the barcode, undated information, voice message, photo and/or any other information) has a time associated with the forwarded information (timestamp). This also provides a date and/or time which can be logged in the record created.

With reference to Figure 1 , in accordance with an aspect of the present invention, the indicia is located at or proximate an asset. The contractor instigates the task software 100 which is provided on the contractor's portable device (such as mobile or smart phone with camera and preferably messaging capability) and captures the barcode 101. Figure 2 illustrates an example of a 2- O barcode, however, in accordance with the present invention, it is to be understood that any form of Indicia may be used.

Some or all of the information represented by the indicia is read 101 by the portable device. The task application software incorporated in the portable device is used to perform this task.

Using any one or combination of a number of software programs, the task application can be deployed on multiple platforms common in the marketplace today. Examples of the software programs comprise, without limitation:

• Google Android Operating System

· Java2 E (Micro Edition)

• Google XZing 2D barcode decode library

• Windows Mobile

• Apple iphone

• Object C

· Interface builder

• COCOA

• Blackberry enterprise SDK

• Nokia Symbian OS

• Q Code libraries

By utilizing a portable device which has an on board camera and related software, the task application is built to display and capture relevant information from the barcode the clients wants to capture. The software then presents the user with a number of questions and/or information fields which may be completed. Additional information such as voice messages, photos and/or text may also be provided. In this manner, an updated record of maintenance and/or further work to be completed is obtained.

An example of field capture screen is illustrated in figure 4. Once the contractor has completed the work to be performed 102, the contractor updates the task application 103 (for example by answering the questions on the field capture screen of Figure 4 and may be providing additional information as noted above). This updated information is then packaged up by the task application and forwarded to a predetermined address, where the updated information may be docketed, creating a record of the maintenance reported. Preferably the standard communication link relating to the phone may be used. Alternatively, the information may be stored on the portable device, and later connected and downloaded in a suitable manner. It is preferred that a centralised database is used to store this information. The centralised store may also provide web server for instant client access and automatic record and client reporting 105.

Figure 3 illustrates the use of the present invention. An asset, such as a building 300 and 301 has barcodes 305 and 306 respectively associated with the assets. A first contractor 302 may visit building 300, conduct maintenance work, capture the barcode 305, update and send the information to a central recording site 307 using, for example, a mobile phone. In a similar manner, a second contractor 303 may conduct maintenance, and capture the barcode, update the required information and forward to a site 307 in order to provide a record of the work undertaken. A third contractor, may work at building 300, capture the indicia, update and send the information before proceeding to a second building 301 , capturing the second indicia 306, updating and sending the information to 307.

Figure 5 illustrates further embodiment of an aspect of the present invention. Similar to Figure 1 , the indicia/barcode is located at or proximate an asset. The contractor Instigates the task software 500 (as disclosed herein) which is provided on the contractor's portable device (such as mobile or smart phone with camera and preferably messaging capability) and captures the barcode 501. Some or all of the information represented by the indicia is read 501 by the portable device. The task application software incorporated in the portable device is used to perform this task. The task application then communicates with a central store 503. A task list 504 Is able to be obtained, retrieved and/or received which may include up to date information of client contract specifications, tasks to be performed, tasks performed previously and/or which have been performed on site and/or any other information relative to location, history, specifications and/or work performed or to be performed. The barcode or information retrieved may also include information related to plant information, installation dates, service regime, client contract criteria and/or any other information which may be of use to a contractor.

The software then presents the user 505 with an up to date task list and/or a number of questions and/or information fields which may be completed. Additional information such as text, voice message and/pr photos may be included into the updated information.

An example of field capture screen is illustrated in figure 3. Once the contractor has completed the work to be performed 506, the contractor updates the task application via the field capture screen 507 (for example by answering the questions on the field capture screen of Figure 4). In this manner, an updated record of maintenance is obtained. This updated information is then transmissible 508 or able to be uploaded to (for example a predetermined address or store 509. The centralised store may also provide web server for instant client access and automatic record and client reporting), where the updated information may be docketed, creating a record of the maintenance reported. Again, preferably the standard communication link relating to the phone may be used. Again, the information may be stored on the portable device, and later connected and downloaded in a suitable manner.

There are a number of alternatives offered by the present invention, such as:

A. The application can be used for any field based data capture requirement, not just for maintenance and assets. For example it could be used to manage transient objects.

B. The barcode can/may be in two parts, one part at the building or location and one part the phone or obtained from a central record store. The task application will then compile a task list relevant for the contractor to perform the work to be done and recorded.

C. The barcode may be displayed via an LCD display, which can also record and/or update information from the contractor's mobile phone and/or from the central record store

D. The 'location' or map reading function of a mobile phone can be used to confirm that the phone is physically at the actual location where the work is to be done. For example via a GPS application. In this way, there is a verification that the technician (or at least his phone) is coincident with the location that the work is to be performed.

While this invention has been described in connection with specific embodiments thereof, it will be understood that it is capable of further modification(s). This application is intended to cover any variations uses or adaptations of the invention following in general, the principles of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice within the art to which the invention pertains and as may be applied to the essential features hereinbefore set forth.

As the present invention may be embodied in several forms without departing from the spirit of the essential characteristics of the invention, it should be understood that the above described embodiments are not to limit the present invention unless otherwise specified, but rather should be construed broadly within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects as illustrative only and not restrictive.

Various modifications and equivalent arrangements are intended to be included within the spirit and scope of the invention and appended claims. Therefore, the specific embodiments are to be understood to be illustrative of the many ways in which the principles of the present invention may be practiced. In the following claims, means-plus-function clauses are intended to cover structures as performing the defined function and not only structural equivalents, but also equivalent structures. For example, although a nail and a screw may not be structural equivalents in that a nail employs a cylindrical surface to secure wooden parts together, whereas a screw employs a helical surface to secure wooden parts together, in the environment of fastening wooden parts, a nail and a screw are equivalent structures.

It should be noted that where the terms "server", "secure server" or similar terms are used herein, a communication device is described that may be used in a communication system, unless the context otherwise requires, and should not be construed to limit the present invention to any particular communication device type. Thus, a communication device may include, without limitation, a bridge, router, bridge-router (router), switch, node, or other communication device, which may or may not be secure.

It should also be noted that where a flowchart is used herein to demonstrate various aspects of the invention, it should not be construed to limit the present invention to any particular logic flow or logic implementation. The described logic may be partitioned into different logic blocks (e.g., programs, modules, functions, or subroutines) without changing the overall results or otherwise departing from the true scope of the invention. Often, logic elements may be added, modified, omitted, performed in a different order, or implemented using different logic constructs (e.g., logic gates, looping primitives, conditional logic, and other logic constructs) without changing the overall results or otherwise departing from the true scope of the invention.

Various embodiments of the invention may be embodied in many different forms, including computer program logic for use with a processor (e.g., a microprocessor, microcontroller, digital signal processor, or general purpose computer), programmable logic for use with a programmable logic device (e.g., a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other PLD), discrete components, integrated circuitry (e.g., an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC)), or any other means including any combination thereof. In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, predominantly all of the communication between users and the server is implemented as a set of computer program instructions that is converted into a computer executable form, stored as such in a computer readable medium, and executed by a microprocessor under the control of an operating system. Computer program logic implementing all or part of the functionality where described herein may be embodied in various forms, including a source code form, a computer executable form, and various intermediate forms (e.g., forms generated by an assembler, compiler, linker, or locator). Source code may include a series of computer program instructions implemented in any of various programming languages (e.g., an object code, an assembly language, or a high- level language such as Fortran, C. C++, JAVA, or HTML) for use with various operating systems or operating environments. The source code may define and use various data structures and communication messages. The source code may be In a computer executable form (e.g., via an interpreter), or the source code may be converted (e.g., via a translator, assembler, or compiler) Into a computer executable form.

The computer program may be fixed in any form (e.g., source code form, computer executable form, or an intermediate form) either permanently or transitorily in a tangible storage medium, such as a semiconductor memory device (e.g. a RAM, ROM, PROM, EEPROM, or Flash-Programmable RAM), a magnetic memory device (e.g., a diskette or fixed disk), an optical memory device (e.g., a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM), a PC card (e.g., PCMCIA card), or other memory device. The computer program may be fixed in any form in a signal that is transmittable to a computer using any of various communication technologies, including, but in no way limited to, analog technologies, digital technologies, optical technologies, wireless technologies (e.g., Bluetooth), networking technologies, and inter-networking technologies. The computer program may be distributed in any form as a removable storage medium with accompanying printed or electronic documentation (e.g., shrink wrapped software), preloaded with a computer system (e.g., on system ROM or fixed disk), or distributed from a server or electronic bulletin board over the communication system (e.g., the Internet or World Wide Web).

Hardware logic (including programmable logic for use with a programmable logic device) implementing all or part of the functionality where described herein may be designed using traditional manual methods, or may be designed, captured, simulated, or documented electronically using various tools, such as Computer Aided Design (CAD), a hardware description language (e.g., VHDL or AHDL), or a PLD programming language (e.g., PALASM, ABEL, or CUPL).

Programmable logic may be fixed either permanently or transitorily in a tangible storage medium, such as a semiconductor memory device (e.g., a RAM, ROM, PROM, EEPROM, or Flash-Programmable RAM), a magnetic memory^' device (e.g., a diskette or fixed disk), an optical memory device (e.g., a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM), or other memory device. The programmable logic may be fixed in a signal that is transmittable to a computer using any of various communication technologies, including, but in no way limited to, analog technologies, digital technologies, optical technologies, wireless technologies (e.g., Bluetooth), networking technologies, and internetworking technologies. The programmable logic may be distributed as a removable storage medium with accompanying printed or electronic documentation (e.g., shrink wrapped software), preloaded with a computer system (e.g., on system ROM or fixed disk), or distributed from a server or electronic bulletin board over the communication system (e.g., the Internet or World Wide Web).

"Comprises comprising'' and "includes/Including" when used in this specification is taken to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps or components but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components or groups thereof. Thus, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the words 'comprise', 'comprising', 'includes', 'including' and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of "including, but not limited to".

Claims

THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS:

1. A method of verifying attendance at a selected location, the method comprising the steps of:

providing indicia proximate the location

enabling the indicia to be recorded

updating the recorded information

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising docketing the updated information.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the indicia is a barcode.

4. A method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the barcode is a 2D barcode.

5. A method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a portable device is used to record the indicia.

6. A method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the device comprising a digital camera and having a software application enabling information to be extracted from the indicia.

7. A method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the recorded information includes information based on stored Information transmitted proximate the step of the indicia recording and/or other infonnatlon, such as a voice message, audio record and/or photographic record.

8. A method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the step of updating uses a field capture application on the portable device.

9. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, further comprising the step of forwarding the updated information to enable a record to be updated and/or created.

10. A method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the sending of the information provides a time stamp.

11. A method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 10, adapted to enable maintenance and/or asset verification.

12. A system adapted to verifying attendance at a selected location, comprising: .

indicia provided proximate the location

a portable device adapted to record at least a portion of the information represented by the indicia, and

a task application adapted to provide a list of tasks and/or any other information.

13. A system as claimed in claim 12, wherein the other information comprises any one or any combination of:

• client contract specifications,

• tasks to be performed,

• tasks performed previously and/or which have been performed on site

• any information relative to location, history, specifications

• work performed

• work to be performed

• data to be captured.

14. A system as claimed in claim 12 or 13, wherein the indicia is a barcode.

15. A system as claimed in claim 14, wherein the barcode is a 2D barcode.

16. A system as claimed in claim 12 or 13, wherein the portable device comprises a digital camera.

17. A system as claimed in claim 12, wherein the portable device comprises messaging functionality

18. A system as claimed in claim 12, wherein the task application enables the information to be extracted from the indicia.

19. A system as claimed in claim 12, further comprising a database adapted to store at least a portion of the records provided by the task application.

20. A system as claimed in claim 12, wherein a time stamp is associated with a record provided by the task application.

21. A system as claimed in any one of claims 12 to 20, adapted to enable maintenance and/or asset verification.

22. A computer program product including:

a computer usable medium having computer readable program code and computer readabie system code embodied on said medium and being adapted to, in association with a data processing system to verifying attendance at a selected location, said computer program product including:

computer readable code within said computer usable medium for performing to method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 10.

23. A method as herein disclosed.

24. A system, application and/or device as herein disclosed.