JP6799313B2 - Business policy construction support system, business policy construction support method and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a business policy construction support system, a business policy construction support method, and a program.

Conventionally, in providing equipment maintenance services and the like, each company has responded by allocating specialized service providers (for example, customer engineers) who perform service operations to each base.

In general, when a customer engineer performs service operations, for example, in the event of a device failure, high maintenance quality such as restoring the device in a short time is required, while the cost for the service operations must be minimized. .. For this reason, each company has its own business measures (number of customer engineers, allocation of customer engineers to the maintenance service provision target (customer), customer engineer activity time and range, number and location of bases, customer engineer movement method ( Various measures such as automobiles, motorcycles, bicycles, public transportation, walking, etc., preventive maintenance methods (replace maintenance parts when the usage time and usage reaches a certain amount), inventory management methods for maintenance parts, etc.) We are striving to achieve both high maintenance quality and cost control.

On the other hand, changes in business policies may be required due to changes in the business environment. In such a case, it is necessary to reconsider appropriate business measures in order to achieve both high maintenance quality and cost control.

However, it is not easy to predict fluctuations in maintenance quality and costs when business measures are changed, and to construct appropriate business measures.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to support the construction of business measures in service operations.

The business policy construction support system according to each embodiment of the present invention has the following configuration. That is,
By service provider of said plurality of executing a simulation for the servicing carried out by sharing based on a plurality of assignment of service providers as defined by the predetermined business policies, the plurality of service provider's virtual business history With the business simulator department that generates
The acquisition department that acquires the virtual business history corresponding to each business measure by causing the business simulator department to execute simulations in sequence under different business measures.
When the evaluation value calculated based on the virtual business history acquired by the acquisition unit satisfies a predetermined condition, the business measure corresponding to the virtual business history is output in association with the evaluation value. Has a part.

According to each embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to support the construction of business measures in the service business.

It is a figure which shows the application example of the business policy construction support system. It is a figure which shows an example of the maintenance service providing system. It is a figure which shows an example of the business history information. It is a figure which shows an example of CE information. It is a figure which shows an example of failure history information and maintenance contract information. It is a figure which shows an example of a business policy construction support system. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware configuration of a terminal and a simulation server. It is a figure for demonstrating the outline of business measure construction support processing. It is a figure which shows an example of the functional structure of a terminal. It is a figure which shows an example of the functional structure of a simulation server. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a business policy construction support process. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of business simulation processing. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of failure occurrence processing. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of action decision processing. It is a figure which shows the specific example of maintenance work selection process. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the departure propriety determination process. It is a figure which shows an example of the service business of CE simulated by the business simulation processing. It is a figure which shows an example of the virtual business history information. It is a figure which shows a specific example of a business policy construction support process. It is a figure which shows the specific example of the evaluation value. It is a figure which shows the specific example of the simulation result. It is a figure which shows a specific example of a business policy construction support process. It is a figure which shows the specific example of the evaluation value. It is a figure which shows the specific example of the simulation result.

Hereinafter, details of each embodiment will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the description of the description and the drawings according to each embodiment, the components having substantially the same functional configuration are designated by the same reference numerals to omit duplicate explanations.

[First Embodiment]
<1. Application example of business policy construction support system>
First, the configuration of the entire system to which the business policy construction support system according to the first embodiment is applied will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an application example of a business policy construction support system.

As shown in FIG. 1, the system 100 to which the business policy construction support system 131 is applied includes maintenance target devices 110_1a to 110_na, a maintenance service providing system 121, and a business policy construction support system 131.

The maintenance target devices 110_1a to 110_na are image forming devices such as an MFP (Multi-Function Peripheral) to be maintained, and are managed by the maintenance service providing company 120. The maintenance target devices 110_1a to 110_na are owned by service providing targets (customers such as companies and local governments) 110_1 to 110_n, respectively, which receive maintenance services.

The service providing targets 110_1 to 110_n make a maintenance service provision request (hereinafter referred to as a maintenance request) to the maintenance service providing company 120 when the maintenance target devices 110_1a to 110_na owned by each of them fail.

The maintenance service providing system 121 manages the service operations of each service provider (customer engineer) when the maintenance service providing company 120 provides the maintenance service to the service providing targets 110_1 to 110_n. The maintenance service providing system 121 is owned by the maintenance service providing company 120. In the following, the customer engineer is abbreviated as CE (Customer Engineer).

When the maintenance service providing company 120 receives the maintenance request from the service providing target 110_1 to 110_n, the maintenance service providing company 120 dispatches the service provider CE140_1 to 140_m to the requesting service providing target. In the CE, the CE of the failed maintenance target device performs maintenance work on the service providing target of the request source.

The maintenance service providing company 120 provides the maintenance service under a predetermined business measure. Here, the business measures are various measures constructed by the maintenance service provider 120 so that CE140_1 to 140_m can perform service operations with high maintenance quality and low cost, and include, for example, the following items. ..
・ Number of CEs ・ Activity range of each CE ・ Activity time of each CE (activity start time, activity end time)
・ Employment form of each CE ・ Assignment of each CE to the service provision target (main charge)
・ Assignment of each CE to the service provision target (deputy charge)
-Assignment of each CE to the equipment to be maintained by the service provider-Rules of behavior when each CE performs service operations-Means of transportation for each CE-Number of bases where each CE is enrolled-Location of bases-Each CE for each base・ Functions assigned to each site ・ Preventive maintenance methods and standards ・ Inventory management methods for maintenance parts However, business measures are not limited to the above items, and other items may be included.

Here, at the maintenance service providing company 120, it may be necessary to change the business policy due to changes in the business environment or the like. In such a case, according to the present embodiment, the maintenance service providing company 120 can make a support request to the business policy construction support service company 130 that owns the business policy construction support system 131.

The support request includes simulation information, change item information, and index information. The simulation information is information used for performing business simulation processing (details will be described later) in the business policy construction support system 131. The maintenance service providing company 120 transmits arbitrary information accumulated when providing the maintenance service to the business policy construction support service company 130 as simulation information.

The change item information is information indicating the item of the business measure to be changed. For example, when the maintenance service provider 120 changes the "assignment of each CE to the service provision target (main charge)", the "assignment of each CE to the service provision target (main charge)" is transmitted as the change item information. To do.

The index information includes information on maintenance quality and cost indexes managed by the maintenance service provider 120. For example, the time from when the maintenance service providing company 120 receives the maintenance request to when the CE is dispatched to the service providing target of the requesting source and the CE performs the maintenance work (hereinafter referred to as RT (Response Time)). ) Was used as an index of maintenance quality. In this case, the maintenance service provider 120 transmits "RT" as index information.

The maintenance service providing company 120 receives the simulation result and the virtual business history information transmitted from the business policy construction support service company 130 in response to the support request. The simulation results include the proposed business measures and the evaluation values.

Proposed business measures are contents so that maintenance quality is maintained (or improved) or costs are maintained (or reduced) for items of business measures that need to be changed due to changes in the business environment, etc. It is a new business measure that has been changed.

The evaluation value is information indicating either or both of maintenance quality and cost, and is a value calculated by the business policy construction support system 131 for the index information transmitted including in the support request.

The business policy construction support system 131 performs the business policy construction support process based on the support request from the maintenance service providing company 120, and transmits the simulation result and the virtual business history information. The business policy construction support system 131 is owned by the business policy construction support service company 130.

The business policy construction support system 131 has a business simulator unit generated based on the simulation information included in the support request. The business simulator unit is a multi-agent simulator that uses CE as an agent, and executes business simulation processing that simulates service business performed by CE.

The business measure construction support system 131 causes the business simulator unit to execute the business simulation process and generate a virtual business history based on the changed business policy whose contents are changed for the items specified by the changed item information. In addition, the business measure construction support system 131 calculates an evaluation value based on the generated virtual business history, and further changes the content of the business measure so that the calculated evaluation value satisfies a predetermined condition, and the business simulator unit. To execute business simulation processing.

As a result, the business policy construction support system 131 can generate a virtual business history corresponding to each business policy after the change. Further, the business policy construction support system 131 can determine the virtual business history in which the calculated evaluation value satisfies a predetermined condition from the generated virtual business history, and can specify an appropriate business policy.

The business measure construction support system 131 transmits the specified appropriate business measure as a proposed business measure to the maintenance service providing company 120 in association with the evaluation value. Further, the business policy construction support system 131 transmits the virtual business history in which the calculated evaluation value satisfies a predetermined condition to the maintenance service providing company 120 as virtual business history information in association with the evaluation value.

As a result, the maintenance service providing company 120 can construct a business measure based on the simulation result (proposal business measure, evaluation value) and virtual business history information. As a result, the maintenance service providing company 120 can construct an appropriate business measure for maintaining (or improving) the maintenance quality and maintaining (or reducing) the cost even if the business measure is changed.

<2. Maintenance service provision system configuration>
Next, the configuration of the maintenance service providing system 121 will be described in detail.

<2.1 System configuration of maintenance service provision system>
First, the system configuration of the maintenance service providing system 121 will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a maintenance service providing system.

As shown in FIG. 2, the maintenance service providing system 121 includes a management server 210 and CE terminals 220_1 to 220_m. The management server 210 and the CE terminals 220_1 to 220_m are connected to each other via the network 230.

The management server 210 is a server device that manages service operations performed by CE140_1 to 140_m. A management program is installed in the management server 210, and when the management program is executed, the management server 210 functions as the management unit 211.

The management unit 211 stores CE information and maintenance contract information for managing service operations performed by CE140_1 to 140_m in the CE information storage unit 213 or the maintenance contract information storage unit 215.

In addition, the management unit 211 uses the information input via the CE terminals 220_1 to 220_m as the business history information or the failure history information when the CE140_1 to 140_m performs the service business, and the business history information storage unit 212 or the failure. It is stored in the history information storage unit 214.

The various information stored in the business history information storage unit 212, the CE information storage unit 213, the failure history information storage unit 214, and the maintenance contract information storage unit 215 are used as simulation information when a support request is made. Sent to company 130.

<2.2 Information stored in the maintenance service providing system>
Next, the details of various information (business history information, CE information, failure history information, maintenance contract information) stored in the maintenance service providing system 121 will be described.

(1) Business history information FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of business history information. The business history information 300 is information indicating the history of service operations performed by CE140_1 to 140_m, and is stored in the business history information storage unit 212. As shown in FIG. 3, the business history information 300 has "customer ID", "device ID", "maintenance date", "work CE", "in charge CE", "visit classification", and "failure" as information items. Includes code "," cause code ". Further, the business history information 300 includes "reception date / time", "departure date / time", "arrival date / time", "completion date / time", "exit date / time", "movement time", and "working time" as information items.

In the "customer ID", an identifier that identifies each of the service provision targets 110_1 to 110_n is stored. An identifier that identifies each of the maintenance target devices 110_1a to 110_na is stored in the "device ID".

The "maintenance date" stores the date on which the CE performed maintenance work on the maintenance target device identified by the "device ID". An identifier that identifies the CE that actually performed the maintenance work is stored in the "work CE". In the "charged CE", an identifier for identifying the CE assigned as the main person in charge is stored for the maintenance target device identified by the "device ID".

The type of maintenance work performed by the CE is stored in the "visit classification". In the case of emergency maintenance work due to a failure of the equipment to be maintained, "emergency" is stored in the "visit classification". Further, in the case of continuous maintenance work due to a failure of the maintenance target device that occurred on the previous day, "continuation" is stored in the "visit classification". Further, in the case of periodic inspection of the equipment to be maintained, "regular" is stored in "visit classification".

In the "fault code", a code indicating the details of the failure is stored when maintenance work is performed due to the failure of the device to be maintained. The "cause code" stores a code indicating the cause of the failure when maintenance work is performed due to the failure of the device to be maintained.

The "reception date and time" stores the reception date and time when a maintenance request is received due to a failure of the maintenance target device. In the "departure date and time", the date and time when the CE140_1 to 140_m departed from the base in order to visit the service provision target 110_1 to 110_n is stored.

The "arrival date and time" stores the date and time when CE140_1 to 140_m arrived at the service provision target 110_1 to 110_n. The "completion date and time" stores the date and time when the maintenance work performed by CE140_1 to 140_m on the maintenance target devices 110_1a to 110_na is completed. In the "exit date and time", the date and time when CE140_1 to 140_m exited the service provision target 110_1 to 110_n is stored.

The "travel time" stores the time from when CE140_1 to 140_m departs from the base until it arrives at the service provision target 110_1 to 110_n. Alternatively, the time from leaving the service providing target 110_1 to 110_n to arriving at the next service providing target 110_1 to 110_n is stored.

The "working time" stores the time from when CE140_1 to 140_m arrives at the service provision target 110_1 to 110_n until the maintenance work is completed.

The business history information 300 may include items other than the above items. Items other than the above items include, for example, the reproducibility of the failure, the content of the action for the failure, the treatment result, the value of the counter indicating the usage amount (number of color prints, monochrome prints, etc.), replacement parts, and the like.

(2) CE Information FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of CE information, which is stored in the CE information storage unit 213. Of these, FIG. 4A is an example of CE information (attribute) 400 showing the attributes of CE140_1 to 140_m. Further, FIG. 4B is an example of CE information (allocation) 410 showing the allocation of CE140_1 to 140_m to the service provision target 110_1 to 110_n.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the CE information (attribute) 400 includes "ID", "base", "employment form", "position", and "activity time" as information items.

An identifier for identifying CE140_1 to 140_m is stored in the "ID". In the "base", an identifier indicating the base to which CE140_1 to 140_m is enrolled is stored. Information about the employment form of CE140_1 to 140_m is stored in the "employment form".

Information about the position of CE140_1 to 140_m is stored in the "position". In the "activity time", the time (activity start time to activity end time) in which CE140_1 to 140_m perform service operations is stored.

The CE information (attribute) 400 may include items other than the above items. Items other than the above items include, for example, a model capable of maintenance and years of work experience.

As shown in FIG. 4B, the CE information (assignment) 410 includes "customer ID", "customer location", "device ID", "main charge CE", and "secondary charge CE" as information items. Is included.

An identifier that identifies the service provision target 110_1 to 110_n is stored in the "customer ID". In the "customer location", information indicating the location of the service provision target 110_1 to 110_n is stored. An identifier that identifies the maintenance target devices 110_1a to 110_na is stored in the "device ID".

In the "main charge CE", an identifier for identifying the CE assigned as the main charge is stored for the maintenance target device identified by the "device ID". In the "sub-charge CE", an identifier for identifying the CE assigned as the sub-charge is stored for the maintenance target device identified by the "device ID". The sub-charge CE is a CE that performs maintenance work on behalf of the main charge CE in a situation where the main charge CE cannot perform maintenance work.

(3) Failure history information and maintenance contract information FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of failure history information and maintenance contract information, which are stored in the failure history information storage unit 214 or the maintenance contract information storage unit 215, respectively. Of these, FIG. 5A shows an example of the failure history information 500. Further, FIG. 5B shows an example of maintenance contract information 510.

The failure history information 500 is an excerpt of the history of service operations performed due to the failure of the maintenance target devices 110_1a to 110_na from the history of each service operation stored in the operation history information 300. ..

The maintenance contract information 510 is information indicating the contents of the maintenance contract concluded between the maintenance service providing company 120 and the service providing target 110_1 to 110_n. The service work performed by CE140_1 to 140_m includes the work of visiting the service provision target based on the cycle and timing specified in the maintenance contract information 510 and performing the maintenance work of the specified contents for the specified maintenance target device. Is included.

The maintenance contract information 510 may include items other than the items shown in FIG. 5B. Examples of items other than the items shown in FIG. 5B include designated visit dates and times.

<3. Configuration of business policy construction support system>
Next, the configuration of the business policy construction support system 131 will be described in detail.

<3.1 System configuration of business policy construction support system>
First, the system configuration of the business policy construction support system 131 will be described. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a business policy construction support system.

As shown in FIG. 6, the business policy construction support system 131 has a terminal 610 and a simulation server 620. The terminal 610 and the simulation server 620 are connected to each other via the network 630. Although the terminal 610 and the simulation server 620 are shown as separate bodies in FIG. 6, the terminal 610 and the simulation server 620 may be integrally configured.

The terminal 610 is an information processing device that performs pre-processing before causing the simulation server 620 to execute the business simulation process and post-processing after executing the business simulation process.

A preprocessing program and a support program are installed in the terminal 610, and when the program is executed, the terminal 610 functions as a preprocessing unit 611 and a support unit 612.

When the preprocessing unit 611 receives the support request from the maintenance service providing system 121, the preprocessing unit 611 stores the simulation information included in the support request in the simulation information storage unit 613. Further, the preprocessing unit 611 stores the index information included in the support request in the index information storage unit 614.

Further, the preprocessing unit 611 extracts simulator adjustment parameters for generating the business simulator unit 621 based on the simulation information stored in the simulation information storage unit 613, and transmits the simulator adjustment parameters to the simulation server 620.

Further, the preprocessing unit 611 extracts the business measures constructed by the maintenance service providing company 120 and the constraint conditions defined by the maintenance service providing company 120 based on the simulation information, and notifies the support unit 612 of the business measures. The constraint condition is information indicating various restrictions when changing the content of the business measure for the item specified by the change item information and various restrictions when the business simulator unit 621 executes the business simulation process.

When the support unit 612 receives the business measure from the preprocessing unit 611, the support unit 612 changes the content of the business measure for the item specified by the change item information included in the support request. In addition, the support unit 612 acquires virtual business history information from the simulation server 620 by transmitting the business measures including the changed contents to the simulation server 620 and executing the business simulation process.

The support unit 612 analyzes the acquired virtual business history information and calculates an evaluation value based on the index information stored in the index information storage unit 614. The support unit 612 determines whether or not the calculated evaluation value satisfies a predetermined condition, and if it does not satisfy the predetermined condition, further changes the content of the business measure under the above-mentioned constraint condition. In addition, the support unit 612 transmits the changed business measure to the simulation server 620 to execute the business simulation process.

In this way, the support unit 612 causes the simulation server 620 to execute the business simulation process while changing the contents of the business measures for the items specified by the change item information. Then, the support unit 612 repeats these processes until the evaluation value calculated based on the virtual business history information satisfies a predetermined condition.

When the predetermined condition is satisfied, the support unit 612 transmits the changed business measure as a proposed business measure to the maintenance service providing company 120 together with the corresponding evaluation value. Further, the support unit 612 transmits the virtual business history information in which the calculated evaluation value satisfies a predetermined condition to the maintenance service providing company 120 in association with the evaluation value.

The simulation server 620 is a server device that executes a business simulation process based on each business measure each time the changed business measure is received from the terminal 610. A business simulator program is installed in the simulation server 620, and when the program is executed, the simulation server 620 functions as the business simulator unit 621.

The business simulator unit 621 is a multi-agent simulator generated based on the simulator adjustment parameters transmitted from the terminal 610. The business simulator unit 621 executes a business simulation process that simulates the service business performed by the CE, using the CE as an agent.

The business simulator unit 621 generates a virtual business history by executing a business simulation process. Further, the business simulator unit 621 transmits the generated virtual business history to the terminal 610 as virtual business history information.

<3.2 Hardware configuration of terminal and simulation server>
Next, the hardware configurations of the terminals 610 and the simulation server 620 that make up the business policy construction support system 131 will be described.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the terminal and the simulation server. Since the hardware configuration of the terminal and the hardware configuration of the simulation server are almost the same, the hardware configuration of the terminal 610 will be described here.

As shown in FIG. 7, the terminal 610 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 701, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 702, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 703 that form a so-called computer. Further, the terminal 610 includes an auxiliary storage unit 704, a user interface unit 705, a network connection unit 706, and a drive unit 707. The hardware constituting the terminal 610 is connected to each other via the bus 708.

The CPU 701 executes various programs (for example, a preprocessing program, a support program, etc.) stored in the auxiliary storage unit 704.

ROM 702 is a non-volatile memory. The ROM 702 stores various programs, data, and the like necessary for the CPU 701 to execute the various programs stored in the auxiliary storage unit 704. Specifically, it stores boot programs such as BIOS (Basic Input / Output System) and EFI (Extensible Firmware Interface).

The RAM 703 is a main storage device such as a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) or a SRAM (Static Random Access Memory). The RAM 703 functions as a work area that is expanded when various programs stored in the auxiliary storage unit 704 are executed by the CPU 701.

The auxiliary storage unit 704 stores various programs executed by the CPU 701 and information (for example, simulation information, index information, etc.) used when the various programs are executed by the CPU 701. That is, the simulation information storage unit 613 and the index information storage unit 614 are realized in the auxiliary storage unit 704.

The user interface unit 705 is an input / output device in which the user of the terminal 610 inputs various instructions to the terminal 610 and displays and outputs internal information of the terminal 610 (for example, proposed business measures, evaluation values, virtual business history information) to the user. Is.

The network connection unit 706 is a device for connecting to the network 630 and communicating with the simulation server 620. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the network 630 is connected to the network 230, and the network connection unit 706 can communicate with the maintenance service providing system 121 via the networks 230 and 630.

The drive unit 707 is a device for setting the recording medium 710. The recording medium 710 referred to here includes a medium such as a CD-ROM, a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, or the like that optically, electrically, or magnetically records information. Further, the recording medium 710 also includes a semiconductor memory such as a ROM and a flash memory for electrically recording information.

The various programs stored in the auxiliary storage unit 704 are installed, for example, by setting the distributed recording medium 710 in the drive unit 707 and reading the various programs recorded in the recording medium 710 by the drive unit 707. Will be done. Alternatively, various programs stored in the auxiliary storage unit 704 are installed by being downloaded from the network via the network connection unit 706.

<3.3 Overview of the functions of the business policy construction support system>
Next, the outline of the function of the business policy construction support system 131 will be described. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining an outline of the functions of the business policy construction support system.

Of these, FIG. 8A is a diagram described for comparison, and schematically shows how the maintenance service provider 120 manages the service operations performed by CE140_1 to 140_m. As shown in FIG. 8A, CE140_1 to 140_m perform service operations in a real space under predetermined business measures and predetermined constraints.

When CE140_1 to 140_m perform the service business, the maintenance service providing company 120 accumulates the business history information. The maintenance service provider 120 analyzes the business history information every time a certain amount of business history information is accumulated, and calculates an evaluation value based on the maintenance quality and cost index information managed by the maintenance service provider 120. .. As a result, the maintenance service providing company 120 manages that the predetermined maintenance quality and cost are maintained in the service operations by CE140_1 to 140_m.

On the other hand, FIG. 8B is a diagram showing an outline of the functions of the business policy construction support system 131. As shown in FIG. 8 (b), the business policy construction support system 131 is a system that reproduces a state in which the maintenance service providing company 120 manages the service business performed by CE140_1 to 140_m and provides the maintenance service. is there. As shown in FIG. 8B, business measures and constraint conditions are input to the business simulator unit 621 that simulates the service business performed by CE140_1 to 140_m.

When the evaluation value of the business measure input to the business simulator unit 621 does not satisfy the predetermined condition, the content of the item specified by the change item information is sequentially changed. The example of FIG. 8B shows that the content of the item (item number = 1) specified by the change item information is changed as P ₁ → P ₁ '→ P ₁ ''.

The business simulator unit 621 executes a business simulation process every time a changed business measure is input. As a result, the business simulator unit 621 outputs virtual business history information corresponding to each business measure.

The output virtual business history information is analyzed, and the evaluation value is calculated based on the index information. When the calculated evaluation value does not satisfy the predetermined condition, the content of the business measure is further changed under the constraint condition, and the business measure is input to the business simulator unit 621 again.

In this way, according to the business policy construction support system 131, the business policy is sequentially changed until the calculated evaluation value satisfies a predetermined condition.

In the example of FIG. 8 (b), the proposed business initiatives = "alpha" is the content of the operation measures item number 1, it was changed to P ₁ → P _{1 ',} the predetermined condition is satisfied evaluation value E ₁ Indicates that was obtained. In addition, the proposed business measure = "β" and "γ" changed the content of the business measure of item number 1 to P ₁ '→ P ₁ '' or P ₁ '' → P ₁ '''. This indicates that an evaluation value E ₂ or E ₃ satisfying a predetermined condition was obtained.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the content of the business measure is changed so that the evaluation value satisfies a predetermined condition. Therefore, the business policy construction support service company 130 can propose to the maintenance service provider 120 a business policy capable of maintaining either one or both of the maintenance quality and the cost.

<3.4 Terminal function configuration>
Next, the functional configuration of the terminal 610 will be described. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the terminal. As shown in FIG. 9, the preprocessing unit 611 has a simulator adjustment parameter extraction unit 901, a business measure extraction unit 902, and a constraint condition extraction unit 903.

The simulator adjustment parameter extraction unit 901 extracts simulator adjustment parameters for generating the business simulator unit 621 based on the simulation information stored in the simulation information storage unit 613. The simulator adjustment parameter extraction unit 901 transmits the extracted simulator adjustment parameter to the simulation server 620.

The business measure extraction unit 902 extracts the (current) business measure constructed by the maintenance service providing company 120 based on the simulation information stored in the simulation information storage unit 613, and notifies the support unit 612.

The constraint condition extraction unit 903 extracts the constraint conditions defined by the maintenance service provider 120 based on the simulation information stored in the simulation information storage unit 613, and notifies the support unit 612 of the constraint conditions. The constraint conditions include, for example, the activity time of the CE, the number of models that the CE can handle, the number of CEs assigned to one service provision target, and the like.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the support unit 612 has an acquisition unit 911, an evaluation value calculation unit 912, and an output unit 913.

The acquisition unit 911 changes the content of the item specified by the change item information with respect to the business measure received from the business measure extraction unit 902. In addition, the acquisition unit 911 transmits the business measure including the changed content to the simulation server 620.

Further, when the acquisition unit 911 receives the change instruction from the evaluation value calculation unit 912, the acquisition unit 911 further changes the content of the business measure for the item specified by the change item information. That is, the acquisition unit 911 also functions as a generation unit that automatically generates business measures having different contents. The acquisition unit 911 automatically generates business measures having different contents by changing the business measures under the constraint conditions received from the constraint condition extraction unit 903.

In addition, the acquisition unit 911 acquires virtual business history information from the simulation server 620 in response to the transmission of the changed business policy. The acquisition unit 911 notifies the evaluation value calculation unit 912 of the acquired virtual business history information.

The evaluation value calculation unit 912 analyzes the virtual business history information notified from the acquisition unit 911, and calculates the evaluation value based on the index information read from the index information storage unit 614. The evaluation value calculation unit 912 determines whether or not the calculated evaluation value satisfies a predetermined condition, and if it determines that the predetermined condition is not satisfied, notifies the acquisition unit 911 of a change instruction. Further, when the evaluation value calculation unit 912 determines that the predetermined condition is satisfied, the evaluation value calculation unit 912 notifies the output unit 913 of the evaluation value.

When the output unit 913 receives the evaluation value from the evaluation value calculation unit 912, the output unit 913 acquires the business measure (business measure including the changed content) corresponding to the virtual business history information for which the evaluation value is calculated. Further, the output unit 913 transmits the acquired business measure as the proposed business measure information to the maintenance service providing company 120 in association with the evaluation value.

Further, the output unit 913 transmits the virtual business history information used for calculating the evaluation value in association with the evaluation value. As a result, the maintenance service providing company 120 can also analyze the virtual business history information.

<3.5 Simulation server function configuration>
Next, the functional configuration of the simulation server 620 will be described. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the simulation server.

As shown in FIG. 10, the business simulator unit 621 includes a failure occurrence simulator unit 1001, a CE agent simulator unit 1002, a failure resolution simulator unit 1003, and a virtual business history generation unit 1004.

The failure occurrence simulator unit 1001 is generated based on the failure history information 500 and the like included in the simulator adjustment parameters transmitted from the terminal 610. The failure occurrence simulator unit 1001 simulates a failure that occurs in any of the maintenance target devices 110_1a to 110_na, and notifies the CE agent simulator unit 1002 when a failure occurs.

The failure occurrence simulator unit 1001 may be configured not only to generate a failure based on the failure history information 500 but also to generate a failure not included in the failure history information 500. The failure not included in the failure history information 500 refers to a failure that occurs based on, for example, a failure rate for each maintenance target device, a usage amount for each maintenance target device, and the like.

The CE agent simulator unit 1002 is generated based on business history information 300, CE information (attribute) 400, CE information (assignment) 410, maintenance contract information 510, etc. included in the simulator adjustment parameters transmitted from the terminal 610. .. The CE agent simulator unit 1002 simulates the service operations (behaviors of CE140_1 to 140_m such as when, which CE visits where, and what kind of maintenance work) performed by each of CE140_1 to 140_m.

The CE agent simulator unit 1002 simulates the service operations performed by CE140_1 to 140_m when a failure occurrence notification is received from the failure occurrence simulator unit 1001. Alternatively, the CE agent simulator unit 1002 simulates the service operations performed by CE140_1 to 140_m when the timing of periodic maintenance included in the maintenance contract information 510 is reached.

The CE agent simulator unit 1002 is regenerated by the terminal 610 every time the business policy is changed, based on the changed business policy.

The failure resolution simulator unit 1003 is generated based on the business history information 300 and the like included in the simulator adjustment parameters transmitted from the terminal 610. The failure resolution simulator unit 1003 simulates the maintenance work performed by CE140_1 to 140_m according to the cause of each failure.

The virtual business history generation unit 1004 generates a virtual business history by recording the contents simulated by the failure occurrence simulator unit 1001, the CE agent simulator unit 1002, and the failure resolution simulator unit 1003. The virtual business history generated by the virtual business history generation unit 1004 shall be composed of the same format and the same items as the business history information 300. The virtual business history generation unit 1004 transmits the generated virtual business history to the terminal 610 as virtual business history information.

<4. Processing in business policy construction support system>
Next, the processing executed by the business policy construction support system 131 (business policy construction support processing) will be described in detail.

<4.1 Overall flow of business policy construction support processing>
First, the overall flow of business policy construction support processing will be explained. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the flow of business policy construction support processing.

In step S1101, the preprocessing unit 611 of the terminal 610 determines whether or not the support request from the maintenance service provider 120 has been accepted. If it is determined in step S1101 that the support request is not accepted, the process waits until the support request is accepted.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1101 that the support request has been accepted, the process proceeds to step S1102. In step S1102, the pre-processing unit 611 generates the business simulator unit 621 of the simulation server 620 by using the simulator adjustment parameters generated based on the simulation information. In addition, the preprocessing unit 611 notifies the support unit 612 of the business measures and the constraint conditions extracted based on the simulation information.

In step S1103, the support unit 612 changes the content of the business measure notified from the preprocessing unit 611 for the item specified by the changed item information, and inputs the business measure including the changed content to the business simulator unit 621. To do.

In step S1104, the business simulator unit 621 executes the business simulation process and generates a virtual business history.

In step S1105, the support unit 612 acquires the virtual business history information from the business simulator unit 621 and calculates the evaluation value by analyzing the virtual business history.

In step S1106, the support unit 612 determines whether or not the calculated evaluation value satisfies the first end condition. In addition, in the first termination condition, a predetermined condition for maintaining (or improving) the maintenance quality of the maintenance service provided by the maintenance service providing company 120 or maintaining (reducing) the cost is set.

If it is determined in step S1106 that the first end condition is not satisfied, the process returns to step S1103, the content of the business measure is further changed, and steps S1104 and S1105 are executed.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1106 that the first end condition is satisfied, the process proceeds to step S1107. In step S1107, the support unit 612 transmits the simulation result including the proposed business measure and the evaluation value and the virtual business history information to the maintenance service providing company 120, and ends the business policy construction support process.

<4.2 Business simulation processing flow>
Next, the flow of the business simulation process (step S1104 in FIG. 11) will be described. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the flow of business simulation processing.

In step S1201, the business simulator unit 621 determines whether or not the current time in the business simulation process satisfies the second end condition. The simulation period in the business simulation process is set in the second end condition. In the present embodiment, "1 year" is set as the second termination condition. Therefore, the business simulator unit 621 determines that the second end condition is satisfied when the current time in the business simulation process is one year from the time when the maintenance service is started in the business simulation process, and the business simulation process is performed. To finish. The period set in the second end condition is arbitrary, and a period shorter than "1 year" may be set or a longer period may be set.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1201 that the second end condition is not satisfied, the process proceeds to step S1202. In step S1202, the CE agent simulator unit 1002 determines whether or not a failure has occurred in the failure occurrence simulator unit 1001. If it is determined in step S1202 that no failure has occurred, the process proceeds to step S1204.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1202 that a failure has occurred, the process proceeds to step S1203. In step S1203, the CE agent simulator unit 1002 executes a process (failure occurrence process) when a failure occurs.

In step S1204, the CE agent simulator unit 1002 and the failure resolution simulator unit 1003 execute an action determination process that simulates a service operation (behavior of CE140_1 to 140_m) performed by CE140_1 to 140_m.

In step S1205, the business simulator unit 621 updates the current time in the business simulation process and returns to step S1201.

By executing the business simulation process shown in FIG. 12 in this way, it is possible to simulate the service business for one year performed by CE140_1 to 140_m.

<4.3 Flow of failure occurrence processing>
Next, the flow of the failure occurrence process (step S1203 in FIG. 12) will be described. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the flow of failure occurrence processing.

In step S1301, the CE agent simulator unit 1002 determines whether or not a sub-charge CE is assigned to the service providing target that owns the maintenance target device in which the failure has occurred.

If it is determined in step S1301 that the sub-charge CE is not assigned, the process proceeds to step S1302. In step S1302, the CE agent simulator unit 1002 determines whether or not the main CE assigned to the service target that owns the maintenance target device in which the failure has occurred currently has two or more urgent cases. ..

If it is determined in step S1302 that two or more cases are not held, the process proceeds to step S1303. In step S1303, the CE agent simulator unit 1002 assigns the maintenance work for the maintenance target device in which the failure has occurred to the main CE in charge.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1302 that two or more cases are held, the process proceeds to step S1304. In step S1304, the CE agent simulator unit 1002 assigns maintenance work for the maintenance target device in which the failure has occurred to a CE randomly selected from CE140_1 to 140_m. The CE agent simulator unit 1002 may narrow down the CEs 140_1 to 140_m and then randomly select the CEs to be assigned.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1301 that the sub-charge CE is assigned, the process proceeds to step S1311. In step S1311, the CE agent simulator unit 1002 determines whether or not the main CE has an urgent matter.

If it is determined in step S1311, that the main CE does not have an urgent matter, the process proceeds to step S1312. In step S1312, the CE agent simulator unit 1002 allocates maintenance work for the maintenance target device in which the failure has occurred to the main CE in charge.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1311 that the main CE has an urgent matter, the process proceeds to step S1313. In step S1313, the CE agent simulator unit 1002 determines whether or not the deputy CE has an urgent matter.

If it is determined in step S1313 that the deputy CE does not have an urgent matter, the process proceeds to step S1314. In step S1314, the CE agent simulator unit 1002 allocates the maintenance work for the maintenance target device in which the failure has occurred to the sub-charge CE.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1313 that the deputy CE has an urgent matter, the process proceeds to step S1315. In step S1315, the CE agent simulator unit 1002 determines whether or not the main CE has two or more urgent cases.

If it is determined in step S1315 that the main CE does not have two or more urgent cases, the process proceeds to step S1316. In step S1316, the CE agent simulator unit 1002 assigns the maintenance work for the maintenance target device in which the failure has occurred to the main CE in charge.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1315 that the main CE has two or more urgent cases, the process proceeds to step S1317. In step S1317, the CE agent simulator unit 1002 allocates maintenance work for the maintenance target device in which the failure has occurred to a CE randomly selected from CE140_1 to 140_m. The CE agent simulator unit 1002 may narrow down the CEs 140_1 to 140_m and then randomly select the CEs to be assigned.

In this way, by executing the failure occurrence process shown in FIG. 13, maintenance work is performed on the maintenance target device in which a failure occurs in either the main CE or the sub-in charge CE (or other CE) when the failure occurs. You can decide whether to allocate.

<4.4 Flow of action decision processing>
Next, the flow of the action determination process (step S1204 in FIG. 12) will be described. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the flow of the action determination process. Here, in order to simplify the explanation, the action determination process for CE140_1 will be described.

In step S1401, the CE agent simulator unit 1002 determines whether or not the CE140_1 is in the maintenance work end state.

If the predetermined time (travel time from the base to the service provision target) has not elapsed since CE140_1 departed from the base to visit the service provision target, it is determined that the maintenance work is not completed (moving). , Step S1407. Further, even after the lapse of a predetermined time, if the failure resolution simulator unit 1003 is operating, it is determined that the maintenance work is not completed (maintenance work is in progress), and the process proceeds to step S1407.

On the other hand, if CE140_1 is at the base, or if a predetermined time has elapsed since CE140_1 departed from the base and the failure resolution simulator unit 1003 is not operating, it is determined that the maintenance work has been completed. , Step S1402.

In step S1402, the CE agent simulator unit 1002 determines whether or not the maintenance work for the maintenance target device in which the failure has occurred is assigned to the CE140_1. If it is determined that the maintenance work for the maintenance target device in which the failure has occurred is not assigned, the process returns to step S1205 in FIG.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1402 that the maintenance work for the maintenance target device in which the failure has occurred is assigned to CE140_1, the process proceeds to step S1403.

In step S1403, the CE agent simulator unit 1002 selects the maintenance work to be preferentially performed by the CE140_1 among the assigned maintenance work. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of maintenance work selection logic. As shown in FIG. 15, the CE agent simulator unit 1002 selects the maintenance work to be performed with priority from the assigned maintenance work according to a predetermined decision tree. It is assumed that the decision tree shown in FIG. 15 is generated by performing machine learning based on, for example, the business history information 300.

The example of FIG. 15 shows a decision tree for selecting one of two assigned maintenance tasks (maintenance task with work name "task A" and maintenance task with work name "task B"). .. According to the example of FIG. 15, when the visit classification of the maintenance work of "task A" corresponds to "continuation" and the visit classification of the maintenance work of "task B" does not correspond to "continuation", "task A" "Maintenance work is selected.

Further, according to the example of FIG. 15, when the visit classification of the maintenance work of "task A" corresponds to "continuation", but the visit classification of the maintenance work of "task B" does not correspond to "continuation", "task". If the maintenance work of "A" has an earlier maintenance request timing, the maintenance work of "task A" is selected.

In this way, when there are a plurality of assigned maintenance works, the maintenance work to be preferentially performed by CE140_1 is selected based on the visit classification and the like.

Returning to the description of FIG. In step S1404, the CE agent simulator unit 1002 executes a departure propriety determination process for determining whether or not the service can be departed for the service providing target.

If the result of the determination in step S1404 is not startable, in step S1405, the CE agent simulator unit 1002 returns to step S1205 in FIG.

On the other hand, if the result of the determination in step S1404 is departable, the CE agent simulator unit 1002 proceeds to step S1406 in step S1405.

In step S1406, the CE agent simulator unit 1002 determines that the CE140_1 has left the base to visit the service provision target, and determines that the CE140_1 is in the maintenance work execution state. The failure resolution simulator unit 1003 starts operating for CE140_1 after a predetermined time has elapsed (after the travel time from the base to the service provision target has elapsed) since CE140_1 departed from the base to visit the service provision target. To do.

In step S1407, the CE agent simulator unit 1002 determines whether or not the CE140_1 has completed the maintenance work.

If the end of the operation of the failure resolution simulator unit 1003 is not detected for CE140_1, it is determined that the maintenance work has not been completed (moving or during maintenance work), and the process returns to step S1205 in FIG.

On the other hand, when CE140_1 detects the end of the operation of the failure resolution simulator unit 1003, it is determined that CE140_1 has completed the maintenance work, and the process proceeds to step S1408.

In step S1408, the CE agent simulator unit 1002 determines that the CE140_1 is in the maintenance work end state.

By executing the action determination process shown in FIG. 14 in this way, the behavior of CE can be simulated.

The processing order of each step included in the action determination processing is not limited to the flowchart shown in FIG. For example, the departure possibility determination process may be executed before the maintenance work selection process. In this case, it is determined whether or not the maintenance work can be started, and the maintenance work to be performed with priority is selected from the maintenance work determined to be able to start.

<4.5 Flow of departure availability judgment process>
Next, the flow of the departure possibility determination process (step S1404 of FIG. 14) will be described. FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the flow of the departure possibility determination process.

In step S1601, the CE agent simulator unit 1002 determines whether or not the visit classification of the maintenance work corresponds to "continuation" or "emergency". If it is determined in step S1601 that it corresponds to "continuation" or "emergency", the process proceeds to step S1602.

In step S1602, the CE agent simulator unit 1002 determines that it is possible to depart from the base toward the service providing target.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1601 that it does not correspond to "continuation" or "emergency", the process proceeds to step S1603. In step S1603, it is determined whether or not the current time in the business simulation process falls within the activity time defined in the CE information (attribute) 400.

If it is determined in step S1603 that the activity time does not apply, the process proceeds to step S1606. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1603 that it falls within the activity time, the process proceeds to step S1604.

In step S1604, the CE agent simulator unit 1002 determines whether or not there is a designated visit date and time when visiting the service providing target. If it is determined in step S1604 that there is no designated visit date and time, the process proceeds to step S1602.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1604 that there is a designated visit date and time, the process proceeds to step S1605. In step S1605, the CE agent simulator unit 1002 determines whether or not the current time in the business simulation process corresponds to the designated visit date and time.

If it is determined in step S1605 that it corresponds to the designated visit date and time, the process proceeds to step S1602. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1605 that it does not correspond to the designated visit date and time, the process proceeds to step S1606.

In step S1606, the CE agent simulator unit 1002 determines that the service cannot be provided.

By executing the departure availability determination process shown in FIG. 16 in this way, it is possible to determine whether or not the CE140_1 can depart to the service providing target.

<4.6 Results of business simulation processing>
Next, a specific example of the service business performed by CE140_1 in the business simulation process will be described.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of service operations performed by CE, and schematically shows the results of business simulation processing. As shown in FIG. 17, when the maintenance request 1701 occurs at 10:00, the failure occurrence process (FIG. 13) and the action determination process (FIG. 14) are executed. As a result, the maintenance work with the work name = "task A" is assigned to CE140_1, and at 10:20 when it is determined that the CE140_1 can depart, the CE140_1 sets up a base for the service provision target that is the request source of the maintenance request 1701. depart.

After that, when the maintenance request 1702 occurs at 10:30, the failure occurrence process (FIG. 13) is executed, and the maintenance work ("task B") based on the maintenance request 1702 is assigned to the CE140_1.

When the maintenance request 1703 occurs at 11:00, the failure occurrence process (FIG. 13) is executed, and the maintenance work ("task C") based on the maintenance request 1703 is assigned to the CE140_1.

CE140_1 arrives at the service provision target at 10:50 and starts maintenance work with the work name "task A". When the maintenance work of "task A" by CE140_1 is completed at 11:30, the action determination process (FIG. 14) is executed.

At this point, since the maintenance work whose work name is "task B" and the maintenance work whose work name is "task C" are assigned to CE140_1, step S1403 (maintenance work selection) of the action determination process is executed. This selects one of the maintenance tasks. Here, it is assumed that the maintenance work whose work name is "task B" is selected. As a result, at 11:30, CE140_1 departs for the service providing target that is the request source of the maintenance request 1703. CE140_1 arrives at the service provision target at 12:00 and starts maintenance work with the work name "task B".

When the maintenance work of "task B" by CE140_1 is completed at 12:40, step S1403 (maintenance work selection) of the action determination process (FIG. 14) is executed. At this point, since the maintenance work whose work name is "task C" is assigned to CE140_1, CE140_1 becomes the service providing target that is the request source of the maintenance request 1702 at 13:00 when it is determined that the departure is possible. Depart for. CE140_1 arrives at the service provision target at 13:20 and starts maintenance work with the work name "task C".

After that, when the maintenance request 1704 occurs at 14:00, the failure occurrence process (FIG. 13) is executed, and the maintenance work based on the maintenance request 1704 is assigned to the CE140_1.

Further, when the maintenance work of "task C" by CE140_1 is completed at 14:30, step S1403 (maintenance work selection) of the action determination process (FIG. 14) is executed. At this point, the maintenance work whose work name is "task D" is assigned to CE140_1, but it is expected that the maintenance work will be completed within the activity time.

Therefore, CE140_1 departs for the service providing target that is the request source of the maintenance request 1704 at 14:30 when it is determined that the departure is possible. When CE140_1 arrives at the service provision target at 14:50, the maintenance work whose work name is "task D" is started.

After that, when the maintenance work of "task D" by CE140_1 is completed at 15:30, the action determination process (FIG. 14) is executed. At this point, since there is no maintenance work assigned, the service work on that day by CE140_1 ends.

<4.7 Virtual Business History>
Next, the virtual business history information generated when the business simulation process is executed by the business simulator unit 621 will be described.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of virtual business history information. As shown in FIG. 18, the virtual business history information 1800 is configured in the same format and the same items as the business history information 300 shown in FIG.

As a result, the maintenance service provider 120 can construct a business measure by receiving the virtual business history information 1800 together with the simulation result and comparing it with the business history information 300 stored in the simulation information storage unit 613. it can.

In the case of virtual business history information 1800, since it is generated by executing business simulation processing for a period earlier than the current date and time in the real space, the maintenance date etc. is the date and time before the current date and time in the real space. Is stored.

<5. Example of business policy construction process>
Next, an example of the business policy construction support process by the business policy construction support system 131 will be described. FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of a business policy construction support process.

Specifically, in response to the support request sent from the maintenance service provider 120,
-Change item information = "Assignment of each CE to service provision target (main person in charge)"
・ Indicator information = "RT"
This is an example of business policy construction support processing when is included.

As shown in FIG. 19, the current contents 1910 in the item of business measure = "assignment of each CE to the service providing target (main person in charge)" are as follows.
-CE140_1 is assigned to the customer ID = C110_1.
-CE140_2 is assigned to the customer ID = C110_2.
-CE140_3 is assigned to the customer ID = C110_3.

First, the acquisition unit 911 inputs the business measure including the content 1910 into the business simulator unit 621 and executes the business simulation process. As a result, the business simulator unit 621 generates virtual business history information. The evaluation value calculation unit 912 calculates RT based on the generated virtual business history information.

Subsequently, the acquisition unit 911 changes the content 1910 of "assignment of each CE to the service providing target (main charge)" to the content 1920. The contents after the change 1920 are as follows.
-CE140_1 is assigned to the customer ID = C110_1.
-CE140_2 is assigned to the customer ID = C110_2.
-CE140_2 is assigned to the customer ID = C110_3.

The acquisition unit 911 inputs the business measure including the changed content 1920 into the business simulator unit 621 and executes the business simulation process. As a result, the business simulator unit 621 generates virtual business history information.

The evaluation value calculation unit 912 calculates the RT based on the generated virtual business history information, and determines whether or not the calculated RT satisfies a predetermined condition. Here, it is assumed that the evaluation value calculation unit 912 determines that the calculated RT satisfies a predetermined condition.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a specific example of the evaluation value. As shown in FIG. 20, in the case of the current business policy (business policy including the content 1910) at the maintenance service provider 120, RT = 100 minutes (see Graph 2001).

On the other hand, in the case of business measures including the changed contents 1920, RT = 82 minutes (see Graph 2002). In this case, the business policy construction support system 131 transmits the business policy including the changed content 1920 to the maintenance service provider 120 together with the evaluation value (RT = 82 minutes) as the proposed business policy.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a specific example of the simulation result. As shown in FIG. 21, the simulation result 2100 includes the changed content 1920 as the proposed business measure α. Further, the simulation result 2100 includes RT = 82 minutes as an evaluation value.

In the example of FIG. 21, for comparison, the content 1910 of the current business measure and the evaluation value corresponding to the current business measure are also included in the simulation result 2100.

As a result, the maintenance service providing company 120 that has received the simulation result 2100 can construct a business measure based on the proposed business measure α. As a result, the maintenance service providing company 120 can improve the maintenance quality.

<6. Summary>
As is clear from the above explanation, the business policy construction support system 131 according to this embodiment is
-Has a business simulator department, and the business simulator department executes a simulation of a service business performed by CE under a predetermined business policy and generates a virtual business history.
-By causing the business simulator department to execute simulations in sequence under different business measures (business measures in which each CE is assigned to the service provision target (main person in charge) is different), each business measure is supported. Acquire virtual business history information to be executed.
-When the evaluation value calculated based on the acquired virtual business history information satisfies a predetermined condition, the business measure corresponding to the virtual business history information is output as the proposed business measure information in association with the evaluation value.

As a result, according to the business policy construction support system according to the present embodiment, even when a change in business policy is required for a predetermined item, maintenance quality is maintained (or improved) and cost is maintained (or improved). It is possible to propose appropriate business measures to reduce). In other words, it is possible to support the construction of business measures in service operations.

[Second Embodiment]
In the first embodiment, the acquisition unit 911 has a configuration in which the content of the business measure is changed for one item specified by the change item information. However, the item specified by the change item information is not limited to one, and the acquisition unit 911 may be configured to change the content of the business measure for a plurality of items.

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing an example of a business policy construction support process. The example of FIG. 22 shows a case where the change item information includes three items (the number of CEs, the allocation of CEs to the service provision target (deputy charge), and the activity start time).

As shown in FIG. 22, the acquisition unit 911 sequentially inputs each business measure into the business simulator unit 621 while changing the contents of these three items specified by the change item information, thereby performing a business simulation. Let the process be executed.

In the example of FIG. 22, first, the activity start time is fixed at 11:00, and the number of CEs is changed from 15 to 10. Further, while changing the assignment (deputy charge) of each CE to the service provision target from none → 1 person → 2 people, the business simulator unit 621 is made to execute the business simulation process under each business measure.

After that, with the number of CEs changed from 15 to 10, the activity start time is changed to 10:00. Further, while changing the allocation (deputy charge) of each CE to the service provision target from none → 1 person → 2 people, the business simulator unit 621 is made to execute the business simulation process under each business measure.

The user may change the contents of business measures for multiple items, or a predetermined algorithm (hill climbing method, pseudo-annealing method, genetic algorithm, tabu search, differential evolution method, evolution strategy method, etc.). The acquisition unit 911 may automatically perform the operation based on the above. Further, the order of change may be to change the contents of each item one by one, or to change the contents of a plurality of items at the same time. Further, the method of change may be to sequentially replace the predetermined contents, or to determine the item and contents to be changed next based on the calculated RT.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing a specific example of the evaluation value. As shown in FIG. 23, the current business measures of the maintenance service provider 120 (number of CEs = 15 people, allocation of each CE to service provision target (deputy charge) = 1 person, activity start time = 11:00) In the case of, RT = 75 minutes.

On the other hand, graphs 2001-2003 and 2011-2013 were calculated by setting the number of CEs = 10 and changing the allocation (deputy charge) of each CE to the service provision target and the activity start time, respectively. Shows RT.

Of these, Graph 2301 shows that when the allocation of each CE to the service provision target (deputy charge) = 0 people and the activity start time = 11:00, RT = 100 minutes. Graph 2302 shows that when the allocation of each CE to the service providing target (deputy charge) = 1 person and the activity start time = 11:00, RT = 92 minutes. Graph 2303 shows that when the allocation of each CE to the service providing target (deputy charge) = 2 people and the activity start time = 11:00, RT = 83 minutes.

In this way, when the number of CEs is set to 10, if the allocation (deputy charge) of each CE to the service provision target is changed, the cost (labor cost) can be reduced, but the RT value becomes worse than the current value. Maintenance quality will be reduced.

On the other hand, Graph 2311 shows that when the allocation of each CE to the service provision target (deputy charge) = 0 people and the activity start time = 10:00, RT = 92 minutes. Graph 2312 shows that when the allocation of each CE to the service providing target (deputy charge) = 1 person and the activity start time = 10:00, RT = 83 minutes. Graph 2313 shows that when the allocation of each CE to the service providing target (deputy charge) = 2 people and the activity start time = 10:00, RT = 75 minutes.

In this way, if the number of CEs is set to 10, if the allocation (deputy charge) of each CE to the service provision target is set to 2 and the activity start time is set to 10:00, the RT will be the same as the current situation. Costs can be reduced while maintaining maintenance quality.

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing a specific example of the simulation result. As shown in FIG. 24, in the simulation result 2400, as the proposed business measure α, the number of CEs = 10 people, the allocation of each CE to the service provision target (deputy charge) = 2 people, and the activity start time = 10:00. Is included. Further, the simulation result 2400 includes RT = 75 minutes as an evaluation value.

Further, in the example of FIG. 24, the contents of the current business measures and the evaluation values in the current business measures are also included in the simulation result 2400 for comparison.

As a result, the maintenance service providing company 120 that has received the simulation result 2400 can construct a business measure based on the proposed business measure α. As a result, the maintenance service provider 120 can reduce the cost while maintaining the maintenance quality.

As is clear from the above explanation, the business policy construction support system 131 according to this embodiment is
-Has a business simulator unit, and the business simulator department executes a simulation of service operations performed by CE under a predetermined business measure and generates a virtual business history.
-By causing the business simulator unit to sequentially execute simulations under business measures that include different contents for a plurality of items, virtual business history information corresponding to each business measure is acquired.
-When the evaluation value calculated based on the acquired virtual business history information satisfies a predetermined condition, the business measure corresponding to the virtual business history information is output as the proposed business measure information in association with the evaluation value.

As a result, according to the business policy construction support system according to the present embodiment, even if a change in business policy is required for a plurality of items, one or both of maintenance quality and cost can be maintained. Can propose appropriate business measures. In other words, it is possible to support the construction of business measures in service operations.

[Third Embodiment]
In the first and second embodiments described above, the content of the business measure is changed for one or more items ("3" in the second embodiment) specified by the change item information. However, the items changed by the acquisition unit 911 are not limited to the items specified by the changed item information. In addition to the items specified by the change item information, the contents of other items may be changed to propose business measures for further improving maintenance quality or further reducing costs.

Further, in the second embodiment, the case where the number of CEs is changed from 15 to 10 among the plurality of items specified by the change item information and the business simulation process is executed has been described. However, when changing the business policy, the business simulator unit may be configured to execute the business simulation process for all the change patterns included in the changed section.

For example, when changing the number of CEs from 15 to 10, when the number of CEs is 14, 13, 13, 12, 11, 11 or 10. The business simulation process may be executed for each of the above.

Further, in the second embodiment described above, a plurality of items specified by the change item information are treated equally, but they may be treated hierarchically based on the designation from the maintenance service provider 120. Good. For example, if the maintenance service provider 120 has previously listed candidate values for the number of allocations of sub-charge CEs, other items specified by the change item information for each candidate value. You may change the contents of.

[Fourth Embodiment]
In the first and second embodiments, the case where RT is used as the index information has been described, but the index information is not limited to this. For example, index information such as the downtime of the maintenance target device due to a failure and the ratio of the cases where the maintenance target device was restored by the CE visiting the service provision target at the first visit. It may be used as.

Further, in the first and second embodiments, the information related to the maintenance quality index is mainly referred to as the index information, but the same applies to the information related to the cost index (total cost for service operations, etc.).

Further, in the first and second embodiments, the case where the content of the business measure is changed so that one evaluation value satisfies a predetermined condition has been described, but the evaluation value may be plural. When there are a plurality of evaluation values, the business measure construction support system 131 outputs the business measures when the plurality of evaluation values satisfy the respective conditions as the proposed business measures.

Further, in the first and second embodiments described above, the business simulation process is executed until the evaluation value satisfies a predetermined condition, but the business simulation process is executed until the evaluation value is optimized. It may be configured as follows.

When optimizing the evaluation values of a plurality of index information at the same time, the optimization may be performed using a multi-objective optimization algorithm (evolutionary multi-objective optimization, multi-objective genetic algorithm, ε-constraint method, etc.). In this case, the simulation result including the Pareto solution set that clarifies the trade-off relationship of the plurality of index information is transmitted to the maintenance service provider 120. In this case, the maintenance service provider 120 can select the most suitable business measure from the acquired Pareto solution set. In addition, the maintenance service provider 120 performs data mining or the like on the acquired Pareto solution set (set of sets of business measures and evaluation values) to obtain relationships and knowledge between business measures and evaluation values. You can also get.

Further, in the first and second embodiments, it has been described that a predetermined time (fixed value) is used as the travel time from the departure of the CE to the arrival at the service providing target. However, in order to simulate the travel time, a geography simulator unit is separately arranged, and based on the location of the base, the location of the service provision target, the transportation system between the location of the base and the location of the service provision target, the travel time, etc. It may be configured to simulate travel time.

Further, in the first and second embodiments described above, the case where the business policy construction support system 131 outputs the simulation result in response to the support request from the maintenance service provider has been described. However, the target for supporting the construction of business measures is not limited to the maintenance service providing company, and may be a company that provides other services, or a local government or the like.

Further, in the first and second embodiments, the business policy construction support system 131 has been described as being owned by the business policy construction support service company 130 different from the maintenance service provider 120. However, the business policy construction support system 131 may be owned by the maintenance service providing company 120.

The present invention is not limited to the configurations shown here, such as combinations with other elements in the configurations and the like described in the above embodiments. These points can be changed without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and can be appropriately determined according to the application form thereof.

110_1 to 110_n: Service provision target 110_1a to 110_na: Maintenance target device 120: Maintenance service provider 121: Maintenance service provision system 130: Business policy construction support service company 131: Business policy construction support system 140_1 to 140_m: Customer engineer 300: Business History information 610: Terminal 611: Preprocessing unit 612: Support unit 620: Simulation server 621: Business simulator unit 911: Acquisition unit 912: Evaluation value calculation unit 913: Output unit 1800: Virtual business history information 2100: Simulation result

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-338274 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-182465 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-150891

Claims (12)

By service provider of said plurality of executing a simulation for the servicing carried out by sharing based on a plurality of assignment of service providers as defined by the predetermined business policies, the plurality of service provider's virtual business history With the business simulator department that generates
The acquisition department that acquires the virtual business history corresponding to each business measure by causing the business simulator department to execute simulations in sequence under different business measures.
When the evaluation value calculated based on the virtual business history acquired by the acquisition unit satisfies a predetermined condition, the business measure corresponding to the virtual business history is output in association with the evaluation value. A business policy construction support system characterized by having a department. The business policy construction support system according to claim 1, wherein the output unit further outputs the virtual business history acquired by the acquisition unit in association with the evaluation value. It also has a generation unit that generates business measures with different contents.
The generation unit is characterized in that when the evaluation value calculated based on the virtual business history acquired by the acquisition unit does not satisfy a predetermined condition, a business measure having a different content is newly generated. The business policy construction support system according to claim 1 or 2. The business measure construction support system according to claim 3, wherein the generation unit generates business measures having different contents under the constraint conditions extracted based on the predetermined business measures. The business simulator unit of the plurality of service providers when the plurality of service providers share the service business based on the allocation of the plurality of service providers determined by the predetermined business measures . The business policy construction support system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it is generated based on a business history. The business policy construction support system according to claim 5, wherein the business simulator unit is a multi-agent simulator in which the service provider is an agent. The business policy construction support system according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the business simulator unit generates the virtual business history including the same items as the items included in the business history. The business measure construction according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the business simulator unit executes the simulation under the constraint conditions extracted based on the predetermined business measure. Support system. In the above-mentioned business measures, at least, the allocation of a plurality of service providers to the service provision target, the allocation of a plurality of service providers to the equipment of the service provision target, the number of service providers, and the service by a plurality of service providers. action rule when performing business, activity time, activity range, a plurality of service providers of employment, the number of bases in which a plurality of service providers is enrolled, the position of the base, the allocation of the plurality of service providers for bases, each The business measure construction support system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein one of the functions assigned to the base is included. In the evaluation value, at least after receiving a service provision request from the service providing target , any one of the plurality of service providers performs a service business for the service providing target. time until the start, the plurality of time servicing is performed equipment has been stopped by either the service provider of the service provider, the plurality of service providers for providing the subject of the service The business measure construction support system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the rate at which the device is restored by the first visit of any of the service providers is included. By service provider of said plurality of executing a simulation for the servicing carried out by sharing based on a plurality of assignment of service providers as defined by the predetermined business policies, the plurality of service provider's virtual business history business simulator unit for generating, under operational measures different content, successively, by executing the simulation, an acquisition step of acquiring a virtual business history corresponding to each business initiatives,
When the evaluation value calculated based on the virtual business history acquired in the acquisition process satisfies a predetermined condition, the business measure corresponding to the virtual business history is output in association with the evaluation value. A business policy construction support method in which a computer executes the output process. By service provider of said plurality of executing a simulation for the servicing carried out by sharing based on a plurality of assignment of service providers as defined by the predetermined business policies, the plurality of service provider's virtual business history business simulator unit for generating, under operational measures different content, successively, by executing the simulation, an acquisition step of acquiring a virtual business history corresponding to each business initiatives,
When the evaluation value calculated based on the virtual business history acquired in the acquisition process satisfies a predetermined condition, the business measure corresponding to the virtual business history is output in association with the evaluation value. A program that lets a computer execute the output process.

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