Systems and methods of ensuring and maintaining equipment viability for a task

A method of controlling operation of a machine, comprising:

• determining, by a computer, availability and readiness of the machine for a task at a scheduled time, by consulting a scheduling program with respect to at least one of the machine's power state, supply state, resupply state, condition state and maintenance state, wherein the machine is selected from the group consisting of:
• general medical devices, specialized tools, environmental controls, medical scanning equipment, diagnostic equipment, patient monitoring equipment, surgical tools, patient beds, patient wheelchairs, computer equipment, anesthesia equipment, room environmental controls, and specialized medical devices;
• determining, by the computer, availability and readiness of a human operator to work with the machine to execute the task at the scheduled time, by sending a message to a device associated with the operator;
• determining, by the computer, a scheduled check-in time and a scheduled start time from multiple check-in times for the human operator and multiple start times for a scheduled task, wherein the scheduled check-in time and the scheduled start time is based on a number of available backup devices, locations of backup devices, and at least one operator factor;
• communicating, by the computer, the scheduled check-in time to the operator and the scheduled start time of the machine for the scheduled task;
• analyzing, by the computer, an effect of increasing a duration between the scheduled check-in time and the scheduled start-time relative to a subsequent task to determine a readiness threshold of the machine;
• determining, by the computer, whether the scheduled check-in time and the scheduled start time for the scheduled task exceeds the readiness threshold;
• and
• following a determination, by the computer, that the scheduled check-in time and the scheduled start time do not exceed the readiness threshold, increasing the duration between the scheduled check-in time and the scheduled start time;
• and
• unlocking, by the computer, the machine for use by the operator at the scheduled time by sending an unlock message to the machine at an updated start time, wherein unlocking the machine allows the operator to access one or more functions of the machine.