Method and system for planning the maintenance of an automation installation
AssigneeABB AB
InventorWilhelm Wiese
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method and system are disclosed for planning maintenance of an automation installation by monitoring a maintenance state of individual components of the installation, which are connected to one another via a communication network, using life cycle data. The method and system can read device-identifying data from the individual components via the communication network, locate identified components in a current component database containing an item of replacement part availability information, and evaluate replacement part availability information relating to the located components with regard to determining specified procurement actions within the current maintenance interval.
Claims11
A method for planning maintenance of an automation installation by monitoring a maintenance state of individual components of the installation using life cycle data, the components being connected to one another via a communication network, the method comprising:
- reading device-identifying data from the individual components via the communication network;
- locating identified components in a current component database containing an item of replacement part availability information;
- evaluating the replacement part availability information relating to the located components with regard to determining a specified procurement action within a current maintenance interval;
- and
- generating an alarm list comprising information for all of the following maintenance events:
- a component is no longer a current product version;
- a component is available from a manufacturer for a last time as a replacement part;
- a component of an older product version has a limited range of functions;
- a component is to be urgently replaced as being outdated for the system;
- a component is currently being produced and developed;
- a component is currently being produced but development has already been switched to a successor product;
- a component is no longer produced but is still repaired and is distributed from stock as long as a supply suffices;
- and
- a component is not available in stock or in a stock of replacement parts.
A system for planning maintenance of an automation installation by monitoring a state of individual components of the installation using life cycle data, the components being connected to one another via a communication network, comprising:
- a processor coupled to a memory arranged as an analysis unit for reading device-identifying data from individual components of an automation installation via a communication network to find components identified via life cycle data in a current component database containing an item of replacement part availability information, and for determining a specified procurement action within a current maintenance interval on a basis of replacement part availability information;
- wherein the analysis unit is configured for generating an alarm list comprising information for all of the following maintenance events:
- a component is no longer a current product version;
- a component is available from a manufacturer for a last time as a replacement part;
- a component of an older product version has a limited range of functions;
- a component is to be urgently replaced as being outdated for the system;
- a component is currently being produced and developed;
- a component is currently being produced but development has already been switched to a successor product;
- a component is no longer produced but is still repaired and is distributed from stock as long as a supply suffices;
- and
- a component is not available in stock or in a stock of replacement parts.
A non-transitory computer readable medium storing computer program instructions which when executed by a computer programmed with the instructions and arranged as an analysis unit in a system for planning maintenance of an automation installation by monitoring a state of individual components of the installation using life cycle data, the components being connected to one another via a communication network, causes the computer to perform the following steps:
- read device-identifying data from the individual components via the communication network to find components identified via the data in a current component database containing an item of replacement part availability information;
- determine a specified procedure action within a current maintenance interval on a basis of the replacement part availability information;
- generate an alarm list comprising information for all of the following maintenance events:
- a component is no longer a current product version;
- a component is available from a manufacturer for a last time as a replacement part;
- a component of an older product version has a limited range of functions;
- a component is to be urgently replaced as being outdated for the system;
- a component is currently being produced and developed;
- a component is currently being produced but development has already been switched to a successor product;
- a component is no longer produced but is still repaired and is distributed from stock as long as a supply suffices;
- and
- a component is not available in stock or in the stock of replacement parts.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.