Operation control system for monitoring process control anomalies and applying countermeasures

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12422830-B2
Application number	US-202017772173-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 9, 2020
Priority date	Oct 31, 2019
Publication date	Sep 23, 2025
Grant date	Sep 23, 2025

Abstract

An operation control system includes: a storing processing part configured to store collected information on abnormality in countermeasure progress information storage parts in which information on an abnormality or countermeasure information on a countermeasure to the abnormality is stored; an equipment abnormality monitor part configured to, when a length of a time period during which the abnormality continues exceeds a prescribed time period, update a state of the abnormality; a countermeasure monitor part configured to monitor a state of the countermeasure, and, when the state of the countermeasure changes, update the state of the countermeasure; and an output processing part configured to change how to output alarm information in accordance with the length of the time period during which the abnormality continues and the state of the countermeasure.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An operation control system, comprising:
at least one memory storing at least one program; and
at least one processor which when executing the at least one program configures the at least one processor to:
collect information on an abnormality in a plurality of departments of a factory, a plurality of the departments having a hierarchical relationship therebetween, and store the collected information on the abnormality in at least one database in which abnormality information including information on a state of the abnormality is stored, or in which countermeasure information including information on a state of a countermeasure for the abnormality is stored;
receive information on one of the departments requested by a user and information on a work category of the user, the work category being a position of the user in the department;
store selection information which is information on, in the department and the work category, which one of the abnormality information stored in the abnormality information storage part and the countermeasure information stored in the countermeasure information is to be selected; monitor a length of a time period during which the abnormality continues, and, when the length of the time period exceeds a prescribed time period, update the state of the abnormality in the abnormality information;
monitor the state of the countermeasure, and, when the state of the countermeasure changes, update the state of the countermeasure of the countermeasure information;
select the abnormality information and the countermeasure information stored in the at least one database, based on the information received, and change how to output alarm information representing the state of the abnormality and the state of the countermeasure, in accordance with the state of the abnormality in the abnormality information and the state of the countermeasure in the countermeasure information;
output the selected abnormality information and the selected countermeasure information as the alarm information; and
receive abnormality registration information and, based on the stored countermeasure information, store a predetermined countermeasure and its contents along with the received abnormality registration information and execute the predetermined countermeasure by a department in response to receiving the abnormality registration information.

2. The operation control system according to claim 1 ,
wherein the at least one database stores therein information on which alarm information is outputted with respect to the department and an operation performed in the department or which alarm information is outputted with respect to the work category and the operation.

3. The operation control system according to claim 1 ,
wherein a priority order is displayed to a plurality of pieces of the alarm information having been outputted to the output part.

4. The operation control system according to claim 1 ,
wherein a department at which a countermeasure to an abnormality is currently taken is allowed to pass information on a state of a progress of the countermeasure, to another department.

5. The operation control system according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a display,
wherein the at least one processor is configured to display the outputted alarm information on a single screen in the display.

6. The operation control system according to claim 1 , further comprising a display;
wherein the at least one processor is configured to:
divide a screen of the display into two parts,
make the alarm information on the department displayed on a first part of the screen, and
make the alarm information on a department having the hierarchical relationship lower than the department displayed on a second part of the screen.

7. An operation control method performed by an operation control system, comprising the steps of:
collecting information on an abnormality in a plurality of departments of a factory, a plurality of the departments having a hierarchical relationship therebetween;
storing the collected information on the abnormality in at least one database of the operation control system, in which abnormality information including information on a state of the abnormality is stored, or in which countermeasure information including information on a state of a countermeasure for the abnormality is stored;
receiving information on one of the departments requested by a user and information on a work category of the user, the work category being a position of the user in the department;
storing selection information which is information on, in the department and the work category, which one of the abnormality information stored in the abnormality information storage part and the countermeasure information stored in the countermeasure information is to be selected;
monitoring a length of a time period during which the abnormality continues;
when the length of the time period exceeds a prescribed time period, updating the state of the abnormality of the abnormality information;
monitoring the state of the countermeasure;
when the state of the countermeasure changes, updating the state of the countermeasure of the countermeasure information;
selecting the abnormality information and the countermeasure information stored in the at least one database, based on the information received, and changing how to output alarm information representing the state of the abnormality and the state of the countermeasure, in accordance with the state of the abnormality in the abnormality information and the state of the countermeasure in the countermeasure information;
outputting the selected abnormality information and the selected countermeasure information as the alarm information; and
receiving abnormality registration information and, based on the stored countermeasure information, storing a predetermined countermeasure and its contents along with the received abnormality registration information and executing the predetermined countermeasure by a department in response to receiving the abnormality registration information.

Assignees

• Hitachi Ind & Control Solutions Ltd

Inventors

• Takahashi Yasuhiro
• Ishino Tomoko
• Sonoda Nobuyuki

Classifications

• G05B2219/31001

  CIM, total factory control · CPC title

• G06Q10/063

  Operations research, analysis or management · CPC title

• G05B2219/31469

  Graphical display of process as function of detected alarm signals · CPC title

• G06Q50/04

  Manufacturing · CPC title

• G05B19/41835 Primary

  characterised by program execution · CPC title