JP7629223B2 - Forklift maintenance management system and forklift maintenance program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a forklift maintenance management system and its application program that assists in the proper execution of forklift maintenance work.

In logistics warehouses and other facilities, the storage, movement, and removal of cargo and luggage are important tasks. As many of the items handled are heavy, self-propelled vehicles with lifting devices such as forklifts are widely used. When using forklifts in daily operations, inspection and maintenance are essential to prevent accidents and breakdowns and ensure safe operation. If there is a malfunction or poor maintenance of even one part, a breakdown can occur during operation, which could lead to accidents such as personal injury or damage to cargo. For this reason, inspection and maintenance are important.

Forklift inspections are carried out at regular intervals.
Periodic inspections are carried out at fixed intervals, depending on the type of inspection. For example, they may be once a month, once every six months, or once a year, and inspections are carried out when a certain period of time has passed since the last inspection. Forklift maintenance companies carry out periodic inspections, and in addition to checking the operation of mechanical and electrical parts, mechanical and electrical parts that are due for replacement are almost forcibly replaced, and consumable parts such as tires, motors, and oil are also forcibly replaced.

To determine when a forklift needs to be inspected, regular inspections are performed at set operating hours.
For cargo trucks, the time for regular inspection is calculated based on the mileage, but for forklifts, it is calculated based on the operating time. The operating time of a forklift is measured by an hour meter installed on the forklift. For example, the operating time that requires regular inspection is preset to every 100 hours, 500 hours, or 1000 hours, and if the operating time measured by the hour meter exceeds the specified time, the regular inspection is performed. The forklift maintenance company that received the notification performs the regular inspection, and in conjunction with this regular inspection, in addition to checking the operation of mechanical and electrical parts, mechanical and electrical parts that have reached the designated replacement time are almost forcibly replaced, and consumable parts such as tires, motors, and oil are also forcibly replaced.

However, it goes without saying that inspections are also carried out whenever workers notice any malfunctions or problems with the machinery. These inspections may also involve repairing or replacing malfunctioning mechanical or electrical parts, as well as replacing consumables such as tires, motors, and oil.

In the prior art, the timing of the above-mentioned regular inspections is managed, but in the case of regular inspections at predetermined intervals, the warehouse manager or forklift maintenance company manages the timing of regular inspections and performs regular inspections at predetermined intervals. Next, in the case of regular inspections at predetermined operating hours, the warehouse manager or worker checks the hour meter of each forklift to determine the operating hours of each forklift, and performs regular inspections if the operating hours have exceeded the predetermined time. In the case of inspections at any time, inspections are performed whenever a malfunction or problem is noticed.
In reality, warehouse managers or workers often check the timing of regular inspections by referring to maintenance manuals such as instruction manuals, and when the inspection date approaches, they will contact a maintenance company, auto leasing company, etc. and request that the regular inspection be carried out.

JP 2003-072909 A JP 2011-215732 A

However, the conventional periodic inspection performed at predetermined time intervals or the conventional periodic inspection and maintenance performed at predetermined operating hours are often not always performed at appropriate timing.
Excessive forklift operation can vary greatly depending on the warehouse where the forklift is installed. Warehouses with a lot of logistics work and a lot of incoming, outgoing, and outgoing cargo and luggage will naturally have a lot of forklift operation. On the other hand, there are warehouses with less logistics work and less incoming, outgoing, and outgoing cargo and luggage. Also, depending on the product, there may be busy and slow seasons. Warehouses that handle fresh foods or seafood will have busy and slow seasons.

Even if an hour meter is used to record the operating hours of each forklift as a method of using excessive operating hours as a parameter, and regular inspections and maintenance are performed after a specified number of operating hours have elapsed, it may not necessarily be possible to say that the regular inspections are performed at the appropriate time.
For example, whether a forklift is operated indoors in a clean environment or outdoors where it is exposed to wind and rain has a significant impact on the deterioration of its mechanical parts, electrical parts, tires, motors, and oil.
Even if the work location is indoors, the condition of the cement or concrete floor of the warehouse on which the forklift runs, whether it is rough or smooth, has a large impact on the progression of tire deterioration. Also, whether the work routine at the work location involves turning or is mainly linear forward and backward movement has a large impact on the progression of tire deterioration. In addition, there are individual characteristics in the driving style of workers, and the progression of deterioration may differ between a forklift used by a rough driver and a forklift used by a careful driver.

Next, in terms of conducting regular inspections and maintenance properly, there were problems not only with the timing but also with the content of the inspections and maintenance. In particular, there were problems with the selection of replacement parts and their prices, and the service fees for the replacement work.
As described above, in the past, when regular inspections were carried out, mechanical and electrical parts that had reached the designated replacement time were almost forcibly replaced, and consumable parts such as tires, motors, and oil were also forcibly replaced.
However, as mentioned above, forklift mechanical parts, electrical parts, and consumable parts such as tires, motors, and oil have been replaced almost forcibly, even though the deterioration and wear rate vary greatly depending on the time since the last replacement, the operation time of the forklift, and the operating environment. Furthermore, the replacement parts tend to be genuine parts that are easy for maintenance companies to handle and have a high profit margin, and maintenance companies may be billed for maintenance that exceeds the appropriate range for users. In addition, it is difficult for users to understand the appropriate range of fees for inspection work, replacement work, and visit fees for maintenance work, and the maintenance companies often charge whatever they want.

In view of the above problems, the forklift maintenance management system and forklift maintenance program of the present invention aim to optimize the timing of regular inspections and maintenance of forklifts, optimize the content of the regular inspections and maintenance, and optimize the billing for regular inspections and maintenance.

In order to achieve the above object, the forklift maintenance management system of the present invention, which manages regular inspections and maintenance of forklifts, is characterized by comprising: a maintenance schedule information input unit that inputs replacement part information indicating the type and quantity of replacement parts to be used for the replacement of each mechanical part, electrical part, and consumable part scheduled for replacement for each of the forklifts, and maintenance schedule information including data related to workers engaged in maintenance work; an estimated price information input unit that inputs estimated price information based on the maintenance schedule information input from the maintenance schedule information input unit; a price information database that holds price information of genuine products and price information of non-genuine products for each of the mechanical parts, electrical parts, and consumable parts for each of the forklifts; and a price checker that performs an evaluation process that evaluates a comparison result between the estimated price and the price simulation, using the price information of the genuine products and the price information of the non-genuine products in the price information database, based on the maintenance schedule information input from the maintenance schedule information input unit and the estimated price information input from the estimated price information input unit, and presents the result of the evaluation process.
With the above configuration, a price simulation can be performed based on the contents of regular forklift inspections and maintenance, and the price checker can be used to check whether the maintenance price is appropriate, which maintenance company's proposal should be adopted to achieve appropriate pricing, and what the price would be if a compatible part was used instead of an original part.

Next, in the above configuration, it is preferable that the maintenance schedule information input unit includes a vehicle-related data input unit for inputting vehicle-related data indicating the hardware condition of the forklift as a vehicle machine, and a work environment-related data input unit for inputting work environment-related data indicating the work environment at a work location of the forklift.
The vehicle-related data preferably includes at least the vehicle specification information data of the forklift, the manufacturing information data of the forklift, the model numbers of the mechanical parts, the model numbers of the attached consumables, and the past maintenance history information data of the forklift. Furthermore, information on software components such as map applications may be included. These data are important as vehicle-related data that indicate the hardware condition of the forklift as a vehicle machine.
In addition, it is preferable that the above-mentioned work environment related data includes at least operating time data of the forklift, running surface information data indicating the running surface conditions of the work location, environmental surface information data indicating the location of the work location and whether it is indoors or outdoors, and running condition information data including the frequency of turning at the work location.
Furthermore, the above-mentioned work environment related data can also include driving situation information data including the frequency of turning at the work site. In the case of a work site where the forklift driver repeatedly turns a lot, such as a narrow work site where the loading and unloading places are at an angle, the need for inspection and replacement can be determined by taking into account the wear rate of parts, especially the tires of the forklift.

Next, it is preferable that the total estimated cost to be borne by the user includes not only the cost of the hardware replacement parts, but also replacement work cost information including the labor and transportation costs of the workers required for the replacement work.
Therefore, the above-mentioned forklift maintenance management system is configured so that the maintenance schedule information inputted to the maintenance schedule information input unit includes replacement work cost information including labor costs and transportation costs of workers required for the replacement work, the price information database also includes data related to the replacement work cost information, the price simulation performed by the price checker includes data related to the replacement work cost information, and the comparison process by the price checker includes data related to the replacement work cost information.
Furthermore, with the above-mentioned configuration, the cost of labor and transportation costs can be taken into account when estimating maintenance, making it possible to check whether the total price is appropriate and which maintenance company's proposal should be adopted to achieve an appropriate price.

It would be convenient if various combinations of maintenance patterns could be input to the forklift maintenance management system and repeated trials could be carried out to determine an estimate that would provide high satisfaction.
Therefore, in the above configuration, it is preferable that the replacement part information of the replacement part to be used in the replacement is recreated based on the evaluation result presented by the price checker, the maintenance schedule information input unit accepts re-input of the recreated replacement part information, and the price checker re-presents the evaluation result with the price simulation.
With the above configuration, system users can check the maintenance price until they are satisfied, and can confirm which maintenance company's proposal should be adopted to achieve the most appropriate price.

Similarly, it is preferable that the replacement work cost information required for the replacement work is recreated based on the evaluation result presented by the price checker, the replacement work input unit accepts re-input of the recreated replacement work cost information, and the evaluation result executed again by the price checker is re-presented.
With the above configuration, system users can check maintenance prices that take into account worker work costs and travel expenses until they are satisfied, and can confirm which maintenance company's proposal should be adopted to achieve the most appropriate price.

In the forklift maintenance management system, even if the scheduled periodic inspection and maintenance is necessary, the timing of inspection and replacement varies depending on the characteristics of each forklift and the working environment, and the mechanical parts, electrical parts, and consumable parts of the forklift. Forcibly replacing all parts at the same time despite this may result in excessive maintenance.
Therefore, the forklift maintenance management system can be configured to include an inspection and replacement necessity determination unit that determines the necessity of replacement for each mechanical part, electrical part and consumable part of the forklift, based on the vehicle-related data for each forklift input from the vehicle-related data input unit and the work environment-related data for each work location of the forklift input from the work environment-related data input unit.
With the above configuration, the inspection and replacement necessity determination unit determines the necessity for replacement of each of the forklift's mechanical parts, electrical parts, and consumable parts based on the vehicle-related data for each forklift and the work environment-related data for each work location of the forklift, thereby reducing excessive maintenance.

Here, in order to improve the quality and performance of the judgment processing of the inspection and replacement necessity judgment unit, it is preferable to configure it with a replacement model that models the relationship between "work environment related data and vehicle related data for each forklift" and "replacement timing of mechanical parts, electrical parts, and consumable parts for each forklift."
There is a certain relationship between the physicochemical parameters and the degree of deterioration of the mechanical parts, electrical parts, and consumable parts used in forklifts, and a variety of knowledge and experimental data on this is being accumulated by industry, research institutes, and manufacturers. By creating a mathematical model of these relationships or tabulating these relationships, a replacement model can be formed.
The inspection and replacement necessity determination unit can use a replacement model based on vehicle-related data for each forklift and work environment-related data for each work location of the forklift to determine whether or not replacement is necessary for each of the forklift's mechanical parts, electrical parts, and consumable parts.

Here, the users of the forklift maintenance management system are assumed to be, for example, forklift users, forklift leasing companies, or forklift maintenance companies.

a maintenance schedule input step of inputting maintenance schedule information including a price information database that holds price information of genuine products and price information of non-genuine products for each of the mechanical parts, electrical parts and consumable parts of each of the forklifts, and replacement part information that indicates the type and quantity of replacement parts to be used for the replacement for each of the mechanical parts, electrical parts and consumable parts that are scheduled to be replaced for each of the forklifts; an estimated price input step of inputting an estimated price based on the maintenance schedule information inputted in the maintenance schedule input step; and an evaluation processing step of executing a plurality of price simulations using the price information of the genuine products and the price information of the non-genuine products in the price information database based on the maintenance schedule information inputted in the maintenance schedule input step, evaluating the results of a comparison between the estimated price and the price simulation, and presenting the results of the evaluation processing.
The forklift maintenance management program according to the present invention may be downloaded from a network and used, or may be used on a cloud server.

According to the forklift maintenance management system of the present invention, the inspection and replacement necessity determination unit can appropriately determine the contents of regular inspections and maintenance of the forklift using the above vehicle-related data, the above work environment-related data, and the replacement model, and perform maintenance management. In addition, the cost of work and transportation costs of workers can be added to the estimated maintenance contents, making it possible to check whether the total price is appropriate and which maintenance company's proposal should be adopted to achieve optimization.

1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a forklift maintenance management system 1 according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a process flow 1 of a forklift maintenance management system 1 according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a process flow 2 of the forklift maintenance management system 1 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a process flow 3 of the forklift maintenance management system 1 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a process flow 4 of the forklift maintenance management system 1 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a process flow 5 of the forklift maintenance management system 1 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a process flow 6 of the forklift maintenance management system 1 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a forklift maintenance management system 1A according to a second embodiment of the present FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a process flow 2 of the forklift maintenance management system 1A according to the second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a process flow 3 of the forklift maintenance management system 1A according to the second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a forklift maintenance management system 1B according to a third embodiment of the present FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a process flow 1 of a forklift maintenance management system 1B according to a third embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a process flow 2 of the forklift maintenance management system 1B according to the third embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a process flow 3 of the forklift maintenance management system 1B according to the third embodiment.

Below, we will explain the embodiment of the forklift maintenance management system of the present invention with reference to the drawings. However, it goes without saying that the scope of the present invention is not limited to the specific uses, shapes, numbers, etc. shown in the following embodiment.

An example of the configuration of the forklift maintenance management system 1 of the present invention will be described below.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a forklift maintenance management system 1 according to the present invention.
The forklift maintenance management system 1 according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is constructed as a client-server system including a server 100, a client 200, and a client 300 connected via a network.

The server 100 includes a price checker 110, a vehicle-related information database 120, a work-related information database 130, a price information database 140, a control unit 150, an input/output unit 160, and a communication I/F 170. In this example configuration, the price checker 110 includes an inspection/replacement necessity determination unit 111, a price simulation unit 112, and a comparison evaluation processing unit 113.
The operator of the server 100 is not particularly limited, but is assumed here to be an administrator of the forklift maintenance management system.
The client 200 includes a maintenance schedule information input unit 210 , an estimated price information input unit 220 , a control unit 230 , and a monitor 240 .
In terms of hardware, the client 200 may be configured as a general-purpose personal computer, or may be configured on a maintenance company's personal computer by downloading an application that provides the functions of the maintenance schedule information input unit 210 and the estimated price information input unit 220 via a network.
Alternatively, the site of the client 200 constructed on a network may be accessed by logging in from a computer at a maintenance company using a so-called ASP (Application Service Provider) or cloud system.
The user of the client 200 is not particularly limited, and in this embodiment, the client 200 is described as a forklift maintenance company, but the user is not limited thereto.
The client 300 includes a maintenance request input unit 310 , a control unit 320 , and a monitor 330 .
The user of the client 300 is not particularly limited, and in this example, the client 300 is described as a user who uses a forklift or a leasing company that provides a forklift, but the user is not limited.

Below, we will first explain each component of the client 300, then explain each component of the client 200, and then explain each component of the server 100.

As described above, the client 300 is configured to include the maintenance request input unit 310, the control unit 320, the monitor 330, and the communication I/F 340. In this example, the maintenance request input unit 310 is configured to include a vehicle condition data input unit 311 and a work environment condition data input unit 312.
In the client 300, the maintenance request input unit 310 is a function that is premised on the input and transmission of a maintenance request from a user or a leasing company, and if the client 300 is simply to receive a notification from the client 200 used by a maintenance company, the maintenance request input unit 310 is not an essential component and a general personal computer will suffice. In this example, the configuration is provided with the maintenance request input unit 310.
In terms of hardware, the client 300 may be a general-purpose personal computer, or may be configured on a maintenance company's personal computer by downloading an application that provides the functions of the maintenance request input unit 310 via a network.
Alternatively, the site of the client 300 constructed on a network may be accessed by logging in from a personal computer of the user or leasing company using a so-called ASP (application service provider) or cloud system.

The maintenance request input unit 310 is a section where the user or the leasing company inputs information requesting maintenance to a maintenance company when a malfunction occurs in the forklift that the user is using or when the user recognizes deterioration of parts. Note that in many cases, a request from the client 300 is not necessarily required for regular inspection of the forklift.
The maintenance request input unit 310 is considered to be important information required when a user or leasing company makes a maintenance request, such as the location of the malfunction, the deterioration state of the parts, and the working environment under which the problem occurred. Therefore, in this configuration example, the maintenance request input unit 310 is configured to include a vehicle condition data input unit 311 and a working environment condition data input unit 312.

The vehicle condition data input section 311 is a section for inputting information on the vehicle condition of the forklift for which a maintenance request is being made. For example, it would be useful to be able to input information such as the condition of the forklift's mechanical parts, electrical parts, and consumable materials. For example, it would also be useful to have check boxes and data input columns pop up to assist with input.

The work environment condition data input section 312 is a section for inputting information on the work environment condition of the forklift for which a maintenance request is being made. For example, it would be useful to be able to input forklift operating time data (data from the hour meter installed on the forklift), running surface information data indicating the running surface condition of the work area (dirt, mud, gravel surface, rough cement surface, smooth concrete surface, scattered metal pieces, etc.), environmental surface information data indicating the location of the work area (cold region, near the coast, etc.) and whether the work area is indoors or outdoors, and running condition information data including the frequency with which the forklift turns during work. For example, it would also be useful to have check boxes and data input columns pop up to assist with input.

Control unit 320, monitor 330, and communication I/F 340 are generally equipped in client systems, and so a description thereof will be omitted here. Note that in the diagrams showing the data flow described below, even if control unit 320, monitor 330, and communication I/F 340 are illustrated as not operating, they are assumed to be operating and processing data within the bounds of common technical knowledge.

Next, the client 200, which is the main user of the maintenance company, will be described.
As described above, the client 200 includes the maintenance request planning unit 210 , the estimated price information input unit 220 , the control unit 230 , the monitor 240 , and the communication I/F 250 .
In the client 200, the operation of the maintenance schedule information input unit 210 may be triggered by the arrival of a due date for a regular inspection, or by the user inputting maintenance request information to the maintenance company and receiving the maintenance request information.

The maintenance schedule information input unit 210 is a section where the maintenance company makes a maintenance plan for each forklift to be maintained and inputs the maintenance schedule information. The maintenance schedule information includes replacement part information indicating the type and quantity of replacement parts to be used for replacement based on the maintenance plan for each mechanical part, electrical part, and consumable part scheduled to be replaced for each forklift.
Furthermore, it is preferable that the maintenance schedule information includes not only the above-mentioned hardware maintenance schedule, but also software maintenance schedule, that is, replacement work cost information including the labor costs and travel expenses of workers required for replacement work.
In recent years, in most cases, the cost information for replacement work, including the labor and transportation costs of the maintenance workers at maintenance companies, is charged, and the amount of the cost is expected to be non-negligible. Maintenance work plans and estimates for maintenance companies can no longer be based on the so-called "rough estimate" as in the past, and in order to properly plan and account for all expenses, it is necessary to include replacement work cost information, including the labor and transportation costs of the maintenance workers.

In this configuration example, the maintenance schedule information input unit 210 includes a vehicle-related data input unit 211 , a work environment-related data input unit 212 , and a worker-related data input unit 213 .
The vehicle-related data input unit 211 is a section for inputting vehicle-related data that indicates the state and conditions of the hardware of the forklift as a vehicle machine.
Here, the vehicle-related data includes at least the vehicle specification information data of the forklift, the manufacturing information data of the forklift, the model numbers of the mechanical parts, the model numbers of the attached consumables, and the past maintenance history information data of the forklift. Furthermore, the vehicle-related data may include information on software components such as map applications. These data are considered to be important information that will have an impact on making a maintenance plan for the forklift and performing the maintenance.

The work environment related data input section 212 is a section for inputting work environment related data that indicates the work environment at the work location of the forklift.
Here, the work environment related data includes at least the forklift operating time data, the running surface information data showing the running surface condition of the work area, the environmental surface information data showing the location of the work area and whether it is indoors or outdoors, and the running condition information data including the frequency of turning at the work area. These data are considered to be important information that will affect the planning and implementation of the forklift maintenance.
Some of the information above is only known to forklift users.
For example, data on the operation hours of a forklift must be obtained by having the user input the data from the hour meter equipped on the forklift or by listening to the user.
For example, driving condition information data, including the frequency with which the forklift turns during operation, must be obtained by having the user input or listen to the data.
When obtaining this data, it is also useful to support input by displaying check boxes and data input columns on the monitor 330 of the client 300, for example.

It is also preferable to obtain data such as driving surface information data indicating the driving surface conditions at the work site (dirt, mud, gravel surface, rough cement surface, smooth concrete surface, scattered metal pieces, etc.), the location of the work site (whether it is in a cold region or near the coast), and environmental surface information data indicating whether the work site is indoors or outdoors, when the forklift is delivered or when the most recent maintenance is performed. Since the work environment may change after that, it is preferable to obtain this data by having the user enter it or by listening to the user. For example, it is also useful to display check boxes or data entry columns on the monitor 330 of the client 300 to assist with input.

The worker-related data input section 213 is a section for inputting worker-related data relating to workers engaged in the maintenance work of the forklift.
Here, the worker-related data includes at least the number of workers dispatched for forklift maintenance, the maintenance work time, the maintenance work man-hours, etc. These worker-related data are considered to be important information that affects the planning and implementation of forklift maintenance. Unlike user maintenance of general vehicles, forklift maintenance requires a fairly high level of specialized knowledge, so the soft aspects of the workers dispatched for forklift maintenance also need to be properly planned and executed.

Next, the estimated price information input unit 220 will be described.
The estimated price information input section 220 is a section for inputting an estimated price based on the maintenance schedule information input via the maintenance schedule information input section 210 .
The maintenance schedule information input via the maintenance schedule information input unit 210 includes replacement parts information (information indicating the type and quantity of replacement parts scheduled to be replaced for each mechanical part, electrical part, and consumable part scheduled to be replaced for each forklift), and the maintenance company inputs estimated price information equivalent to the information indicating the type and quantity of these replacement parts.
In addition, worker-related data indicating the number of workers to be dispatched for forklift maintenance, the maintenance work time, the maintenance work labor hours, etc. are also input, and the maintenance company also inputs the corresponding estimated price information for this worker-related data.

The control unit 230, monitor 240, and communication I/F 250 are generally equipped in client systems, and so a description thereof will be omitted here. Note that in the diagrams showing the data flow described below, even if the control unit 230, monitor 240, and communication I/F 250 are illustrated as not operating, they are assumed to be operating and processing data within the bounds of common technical knowledge.

Next, the configuration of the server 100 will be described.
As described above, the server 100 is configured to include the price checker 110, the vehicle-related information database 120, the work-related information database 130, and the price information database 140. In this configuration example, the price checker 110 is configured to include an inspection/replacement necessity determination unit 111, a price simulation unit 112, and a comparison evaluation processing unit 113.
The server 100 starts operating upon receiving transmission data sent from the client 200 .
It is assumed that there are a plurality of clients 200 on the network, and when transmission data is received from each client 200, the client 200 starts up and executes the following process to return the data to the client 200.

Before describing the price checker 110, various databases used by the price checker 110 will be described.
The vehicle-related information database 120 is a database that accumulates vehicle-related data indicating hardware information of the vehicle machine so that the forklift maintenance management system 1 can handle a wide variety of forklift models from a wide variety of manufacturers in order to create a multi-vendor environment.
Here, the information on the hardware aspects of the forklift as a vehicle machine for constructing a multi-vendor environment requires, first of all, at least vehicle specification information data of the forklift and manufacturing information data of the forklift as general information for each of the wide variety of models of forklifts from the wide variety of manufacturers. Furthermore, it is preferable that past maintenance history information data of the target forklift is also stored as information for each target forklift. Other information on the hardware aspects may also be stored.

The work-related information database 130 is a database that accumulates work-related information as software information expected for a wide variety of maintenance works in order for the forklift maintenance management system 1 to build a multi-vendor environment.
Here, the information on the software side of the forklift as a vehicle machine for constructing a multi-vendor environment requires, first of all, information on the man-hours that may occur in the maintenance of the forklift, and the general number of workers and work time required for these man-hours and replacement work as general information. Furthermore, it is preferable to accumulate work-related information data for each maintenance company, such as the human quality of the workers to be dispatched, whether or not there is a designated system, and whether or not there is a period allowance for the busy and slow seasons on the day of maintenance execution. Other work-related information on the software side may also be accumulated.

The price information database 140 is a price information database that holds price information of genuine parts and price information of corresponding non-genuine parts for mechanical parts, electrical parts, and consumable parts for each manufacturer and model of forklift.
By retaining these, it is possible to combine a variety of items, rather than being limited to genuine mechanical parts, electrical parts, consumable materials, etc., and to comprehensively consider combinations such as the so-called "best mix," and perform price simulations.
Furthermore, it is preferable to include price information on soft maintenance costs such as the cost of workers engaged in maintenance work and transportation costs. This is because, as will be described later, it is important to accurately perform price simulations using the price checker 110 and to compare the costs of soft maintenance such as the cost of workers.
In other words, it is preferable to also accumulate replacement work cost information including the labor hours and the labor and transportation costs of general workers required for the replacement work, and further to accumulate maintenance work cost data for each maintenance company, such as the labor costs publicly presented by the maintenance company, labor costs based on the personnel quality of the workers to be dispatched, nomination fees, and period allowances for busy and slow periods on maintenance execution days. Other cost information related to soft aspects may also be accumulated.

Next, the price checker 110 will be described.
The price checker 110 has the function of executing multiple price simulations using information stored in the price information database 140, i.e., price information for genuine products and price information for non-genuine products, based on the maintenance schedule information input from the maintenance schedule information input section 210 of the client 200, executing an evaluation process to evaluate the results of comparing the estimated price with the price simulation, and presenting the results of the evaluation process.
In this configuration, in order to enhance the evaluation process of the price checker 110, the databases used are a vehicle-related information database 120, a work-related information database 130, and a price information database 140.

The price checker 110 comprises an inspection and replacement necessity determination unit 111 , a price simulation unit 112 , and a comparison and evaluation processing unit 113 .
The inspection and replacement necessity determination unit 111 is a part that determines the necessity of replacement of each of the forklift's mechanical parts, electrical parts and consumable parts by comparing the vehicle-related data for each forklift input from the vehicle-related data input unit 211 of the maintenance company's client 200, the work environment-related data for each work location of the forklift input from the work environment-related data input unit 212 of the maintenance company's client 200, and the worker-related data engaged in forklift maintenance work input from the worker-related data input unit 213 of the maintenance company's client 200 with the data accumulated in the vehicle-related information database 120 and the work-related information database 130 in the server 100.
In this way, by determining the need for replacement for each mechanical part, electrical part, and consumable material of the forklift, it is possible to prevent excessive maintenance, such as unnecessary part replacement, in the maintenance plan presented by the maintenance company. Conversely, it is possible to prevent delays in inspection and replacement, such as proposing to replace parts that are determined to be more severely worn or deteriorated than other parts at a shorter interval than the normal regular inspection.

The price simulation unit 112 is a part that executes multiple price simulations and calculates multiple price simulations using genuine product price information and non-genuine product price information stored in the price information database 140 in the server 100 based on the maintenance schedule information input from the maintenance schedule information input unit 210 of the maintenance company's client 200.
The price simulation in the price simulation unit 112 may be performed for each mechanical part, each electrical part, and each consumable part of the forklift. The prerequisite for this is that the information stored in the price information database 140 in the server 100 sufficiently stores price information of genuine products and price information of non-genuine products for each hardware part, that is, each mechanical part, each electrical part, and each consumable part of the forklift.
In addition, the replacement work cost (working costs and transportation costs of workers, etc.) for each maintenance company may also be individually processed to simulate an estimated price. The prerequisite for this is that the information stored in the price information database 140 in the server 100 is not only price information for hardware components such as parts, but also price information for software replacement work costs, that is, the working costs and transportation costs of workers for each maintenance company, and further the average working costs and transportation costs of a generally expected average worker, are sufficiently stored.

The comparative evaluation processing unit 113 performs an evaluation process to compare the estimated price inputted from the estimated price information input unit 220 of the maintenance company's client 200 with the results of multiple price simulations executed by the price simulation unit 112 in the server 100, and evaluates the comparison results.
The evaluation itself can also be carried out by comparing , for each item, how much higher the estimated price of the maintenance company is compared with the value of the price simulation calculated by the price simulation unit 112 .
In addition, in order to incorporate the importance of each item in forklift maintenance into the evaluation, the comparative evaluation processing unit 113 may store a weighting function for each item, and when calculating the evaluation, weight each item and then take the sum for each item.
The price checker 110 outputs the comparative evaluation result data obtained by the comparative evaluation processing unit 113 to the client 200 or 300 via the input/output unit 160 .

The control unit 150, the input/output unit 160, and the communication I/F 170 are generally provided in a server system, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted here.
The above is an outline of an example of the configuration of the server 100, the client 200, and the client 300 of the forklift maintenance management system 1 of the present invention. The above example is merely an example and is not limiting.

An example of the process flow of the forklift maintenance management system 1 of the present invention will be summarized below with reference to Figures 2 to 7. The following process flow is an example, and the order of the processes may be changed.
In the following explanation, the process is described as starting with a forklift maintenance request from a user or leasing company (process flow 1). However, in some cases, a maintenance company manages the timing of regular inspections of forklifts, and the process may start with the maintenance company sending out maintenance schedule information for regular inspections (process flow 2) without receiving a maintenance request from a user or leasing company (process flow 1).

[Process flow 1 of the forklift maintenance management system 1: see Figure 2]
When a user notices trouble or malfunction while driving a forklift, or tire wear, the user transmits forklift maintenance request information to client 200 managed by a forklift maintenance company via maintenance request information input unit 310 of client 300 (step S1 in FIG. 2).
At this time, the details of troubles occurring during operation of the forklift, the state of malfunction, the degree of tire wear, etc. can be inputted via a vehicle condition data input section 311 of the maintenance request information input section 310. In addition, changes in the work environment (such as an increase in the amount of cargo being loaded and unloaded, or damage to the wall of the warehouse at the work site) can also be inputted via a work environment condition data input section 312 of the maintenance request information input section 310.
The transmitted maintenance request information is notified to the maintenance schedule information input unit 210 of the client 200 (step S2 in FIG. 2).

[Process flow 2 of forklift maintenance management system 1: see Figure 3]
The maintenance schedule information input unit 210 of the client 200 receives the maintenance request information for the corresponding forklift from the client 300, displays the contents of the maintenance request information on the monitor 240 (step S3 in FIG. 3), and waits for the maintenance company's staff to input the maintenance schedule information.
The maintenance company staff member, while checking the contents of the maintenance request information displayed on the monitor 240, operates the maintenance schedule information input unit 210 to input a maintenance plan for the corresponding forklift (step S4 in FIG. 3).

At that time, the vehicle-related data of the corresponding forklift (e.g., vehicle specification information data of the forklift, past maintenance history information data of the forklift, etc.) is input or confirmed via the vehicle-related data input unit 211, while a hardware maintenance plan for the forklift is made and hardware maintenance schedule information is input (Figure 3, step S4).

Also, while inputting or confirming the work environment related data of the corresponding forklift (e.g., forklift operating time data, running surface information data, indoor/outdoor environmental information data, running condition information data including turning frequency, etc.) via the work environment related data input unit 212, a software maintenance plan for the forklift is made and software maintenance schedule information is input (step S4 in FIG. 3). Information that only the forklift user knows, such as the hour meter data, can also be obtained or confirmed from the user.
In addition, through the worker-related data input unit 213, worker-related data for the corresponding forklift maintenance work (e.g., the number of workers to be dispatched, the expected maintenance work time, the expected maintenance work labor hours, etc.) is entered, while maintenance plan information for the working surface of the forklift is also entered (step S4 in Figure 3).

The maintenance schedule information inputted via the maintenance schedule information input unit 210 is transmitted to the server 100 via the communication I/F 250 (step S5 in FIG. 3).
The transmitted maintenance schedule information is input from the communication I/F 170 of the server 100 via the input/output unit 160 to the price checker 110, and then input to the inspection/replacement necessity determination unit 111 (step S6 in FIG. 3).

[Process flow 3 of the forklift maintenance management system 1: see FIG. 4]
The inspection and replacement necessity determination unit 111 of the server 100 checks the validity of the various information contained in the maintenance schedule information based on the received maintenance schedule information, while referring to the vehicle-related information and work environment-related information stored in the vehicle-related information database 120 and the work environment-related information database 130 in the server 100 (step S7 in Figure 4).

For example, the inspection and replacement necessity determination unit 111 checks the validity of replacement part information indicating the types and quantities of mechanical parts, electrical parts, and consumable parts scheduled for replacement, and checks the validity of replacement work information including the labor costs and travel expenses of the workers required for the replacement work, and the inspection and replacement necessity determination unit 111 checks whether there are mechanical parts, electrical parts, and consumable parts that do not need to be replaced, whether there are an excessive number of workers, excessive maintenance work hours, and excessive maintenance work labor (step S7 in Figure 4).

The price checker 110 transmits the check result by the inspection/replacement necessity determination unit 111 to the client 200 via the input/output unit 160 and the communication I/F 170 (step S8 in FIG. 4), and the client 200 displays the check result on the necessity of inspection/replacement received via the communication I/F 250 on the monitor 240 (step S9 in FIG. 4).

Here, it is preferable that the maintenance company staff can re-plan the maintenance plan and, through the re-planning, make a more appropriate maintenance schedule. Therefore, the forklift maintenance management system 1 may allow the client 200 to repeat the input process of the maintenance schedule information from step S3 to step S9 shown in Figs. 3 and 4.
In this case, the maintenance company staff member reviews and recreates the replacement part information for the parts scheduled for replacement based on the check results of the price checker 110 from the server 100 displayed on the monitor 240, re-inputs the recreated replacement part information into the maintenance schedule information input unit 210 (re-executing step S4 in FIG. 3), and again inputs the re-entered maintenance schedule information into the inspection and replacement necessity determination unit 111 of the price checker 110 of the server 100 (re-executing step S6 in FIG. 3), which then checks again whether any mechanical parts, electrical parts, and consumable parts that do not need to be replaced are included, and whether there are an excessive number of workers, excessive maintenance work hours, and excessive maintenance work labor (re-executing step S7 in FIG. 4), and displays the check results for whether or not inspection and replacement is necessary on the monitor 240 (re-executing steps S8 to S9 in FIG. 4).

[Process flow 4 of the forklift maintenance management system 1: see FIG. 5]
Next, the process moves to the process shown in FIG.
The maintenance company staff inputs, via the estimated price information input unit 220, the estimated cost for carrying out the maintenance planned in the maintenance schedule information input via the maintenance schedule information input unit 210 (step S10 in FIG. 5).
The input estimated price information is transmitted to the server 100 (step S11 in FIG. 5).
The estimated price information of the transmitted maintenance schedule information is input to the price simulation section 112 and the comparative evaluation processing section 113 of the price checker 110 via the communication I/F 170 and the input/output section 160 of the server 100 (step S12 in FIG. 5).

[Process flow 5 of the forklift maintenance management system 1: see FIG. 6]
The price simulation unit 112 of the price checker 110 performs a price simulation while referring to the price information accumulated in the price information database 140 in the server 100 based on the hardware replacement part information and the software replacement work information contained in the received maintenance schedule information (step S13 in FIG. 6).

The comparison evaluation processing unit 113 of the price checker 110 compares the price simulation result calculated by the price simulation unit 112 with the estimated price information already input from the estimated price information input unit 220 of the client 200 in step 12 of FIG. 5, and executes an evaluation process to evaluate the comparison result (step S14 of FIG. 6).
The result is transmitted to the client 200 via the input/output unit 160 and the communication I/F 170 (step S15 in FIG. 6), and the client 200 displays the check result on the necessity of inspection and replacement received via the communication I/F 250 on the monitor 240 (step S16 in FIG. 6).

Here, it is preferable that the person in charge at the maintenance company can re-estimate and present a more appropriate price after the re-estimate. Therefore, the forklift maintenance management system 1 may be allowed to repeat the process related to the estimated price from step S10 to step S16 shown in Figs. 5 and 6.
In this case, the maintenance company staff member reviews and recreates the estimated price information based on the price evaluation results of the price checker 110 from the server 100 displayed on the monitor 240, re-inputs the recreated estimated price information into the estimated price information input unit 220 (re-executing step S10 in Figure 5), and again inputs the re-entered estimated price information into the comparison evaluation processing unit 113 of the price checker 110 of the server 100 (re-executing step S12 in Figure 5), which causes the comparison evaluation processing unit 113 to execute the evaluation process again (re-executing step S14 in Figure 6), and displays the check results of whether inspection or replacement is necessary on the monitor 240 (re-executing step S16 in Figure 6).

[Process flow 6 of the forklift maintenance management system 1: see FIG. 7]
The client 200 transmits to the client 300 the good-quality maintenance schedule information and estimated price information that have been confirmed to be appropriate through checking and evaluation processing by the server 100 of the forklift maintenance management system 1 (step S17 in FIG. 7). The information is received via the communication I/F 340 of the client 300 and displayed on the monitor 330 (step S18 in FIG. 7).

As described above, by using the forklift maintenance management system 1, a user or leasing company can input maintenance request information via the client 300, and based on the high-quality information stored in the server 100 (vehicle-related information, work environment-related information, and price information), a price checker can be used to obtain high-quality maintenance schedule information and estimated price information in which the validity of the replacement part information and replacement work information contained in the maintenance schedule information input by the maintenance company via the client 200 has been confirmed.

The forklift maintenance management system 1A of the present invention according to Example 2 will be described. In Example 2, the price checker 110 is configured to include a replacement model 180, and the use of the replacement model 180 improves the quality of the processing content in the inspection and replacement necessity determination unit 111, the price simulation unit 112, and the comparison evaluation processing unit 113.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a forklift maintenance management system 1A according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 8, a forklift maintenance management system 1A according to the second embodiment of the present invention is constructed as a client-server system including a server 100A, a client 200 and a client 300, similarly to FIG.
The server 100A is configured to include an exchange model 180 in addition to the price checker 110, vehicle-related information database 120, work-related information database 130, price information database 140, control unit 150, input/output unit 160, and communication I/F 170 described in Example 1.
The price checker 110 is similar to that in the first embodiment in that it includes an inspection and replacement necessity determination unit 111, a price simulation unit 112, and a comparison and evaluation processing unit 113.
The client 200 may be the same as the client 200 described in the first embodiment.
The client 300 may be the same as the client 300 described in the first embodiment.
Hereinafter, explanations similar to those in the first embodiment will be omitted.

In this embodiment, the replacement model 180 is an example configuration stored in the inspection and replacement necessity determination unit 111 of the price checker 110, but this is not the only possible example. The replacement model 180 may be provided as a separate component, not within the inspection and replacement necessity determination unit 111, as long as it can be linked to the inspection and replacement necessity determination unit 111.

The replacement model 180 is a model of the relationship between "work environment related data and vehicle related data for each forklift" and "replacement timing of mechanical parts, electrical parts, and consumable parts for each forklift." The mechanical parts, electrical parts, and consumable parts used in a forklift each have characteristics according to the manufacturer and model number, and the progress of deterioration varies depending on various parameters such as temperature, humidity, the weight of the load lifted and lowered during work, wear due to sliding, frequency of switching of electrical parts, and increase and decrease in hydraulic pressure in addition to deterioration over time.
There is a certain relationship between the physicochemical parameters and the degree of deterioration of the mechanical parts, electrical parts, and consumable parts used in forklifts, and various knowledge and experimental data on these parameters are being accumulated by the industry, research institutes, and manufacturers. A replacement model can be formed based on this relationship.
By using this replacement model 180, if the "work environment related data" indicating the work environment of the user who has submitted the maintenance request and the "vehicle related data" indicating the vehicle specifications and maintenance status of the forklift that is the target of the maintenance request are known (input), a more accurate prediction can be made regarding the theoretically expected "replacement timing of mechanical parts, electrical parts, and consumable parts."

As described in Example 1, the values and conditions to be input to the replacement model 180 are as follows: "vehicle-related data for each forklift" is input from the client 200 via the vehicle-related data input unit 211, and "work environment-related data" for each work location of the forklift is input. If this is done, the inspection and replacement necessity determination unit 111 can use the replacement model 180 to determine the necessity of replacement for each mechanical part, electrical part, and consumable part of the forklift based on the input data, thereby enabling the execution of a higher quality inspection and replacement necessity determination process.

An example of a process flow of the forklift maintenance management system 1A according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be summarized below with reference to the drawings. The following process flow is an example, and the order of the processes may be changed.
In the description of the process flow of the second embodiment, illustration and description of the same processes as those already described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 7 in the first embodiment will be omitted.
In the following explanation, as in the first embodiment, the process is described as starting with a forklift maintenance request from a user or leasing company. However, it is also possible that a maintenance company manages the timing of regular inspections of forklifts and the process starts with the maintenance company sending out maintenance schedule information for regular inspections without receiving a maintenance request from a user or leasing company.

[Processing flow 1 of the forklift maintenance management system 1A]
The basic process flow is similar to the process flow 1 described with reference to FIG. 2 in the first embodiment, so illustration and description thereof will be omitted here.

[Processing flow 2 of the forklift maintenance management system 1A: see FIG. 9]
The basic process flow is similar to process flow 2 explained in the first embodiment with reference to FIG. 3, so a detailed explanation will be omitted here. However, the process flow is illustrated in FIG. 9 instead of FIG. 3, and the price checker 110A is equipped with an exchange model 180.

[Processing flow 3 of the forklift maintenance management system 1A: see FIG. 10]
The basic processing flow may be similar to processing flow 3 described with reference to FIG. 4 in the first embodiment. However, in this example, as shown in FIG. 10, when the inspection and replacement necessity determination unit 111 receives "vehicle-related data for each forklift" from the vehicle-related data input unit 211 from the client 200 and receives input of "work environment-related data" for each work location of the forklift, as described in the first embodiment, the inspection and replacement necessity determination unit 111 uses the replacement model 180 to perform processing to determine the necessity of replacement for each mechanical part, electrical part, and consumable part of the forklift (step S7A in FIG. 10).
The inspection and replacement necessity determination unit 111 can perform inspection and replacement necessity determination processing with higher quality by using the replacement model 180 to perform inspection and replacement necessity determination processing.

The price checker 110 transmits the check result by the inspection/replacement necessity determination unit 111 to the client 200 via the input/output unit 160 and the communication I/F 170 (step S8A in FIG. 10), and the client 200 displays the check result on the necessity of inspection/replacement received via the communication I/F 250 on the monitor 240 (step S9A in FIG. 10).

[Processing flow 4 of the forklift maintenance management system 1A]
The basic process flow is similar to the process flow 4 described with reference to FIG. 5 in the first embodiment, so illustration and description thereof will be omitted here.

[Processing flow 5 of the forklift maintenance management system 1A]
The basic process flow is similar to the process flow 5 described with reference to FIG. 6 in the first embodiment, so illustration and description thereof will be omitted here.

[Processing flow 6 of the forklift maintenance management system 1A]
The basic process flow is similar to the process flow 6 described with reference to FIG. 7 in the first embodiment, so illustration and description thereof will be omitted here.

A forklift maintenance management system 1B according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described below. The third embodiment is constructed as a client-server system including a server 100B and a client 300B used by a user or a leasing company.
The anticipated usage scenario is when a user or leasing company uses client 300B to inquire of server 100B about the validity of maintenance information and estimated price information separately provided by a maintenance company to confirm the validity of the information.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a forklift maintenance management system 1B according to the third embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 11 , the server 100B of the forklift maintenance management system 1B according to the third embodiment of the present invention includes the price checker 110, the vehicle-related information database 120, the work-related information database 130, the price information database 140, the control unit 150, the input/output unit 160, and the communication I/F 170 described in the first embodiment, and may also be configured to include the exchange model 180 described in the second embodiment.

The client 300B is configured such that the client 300 described in the first embodiment includes a part of the configuration of the client 200 described in the first embodiment.
Hereinafter, explanations similar to those in the first embodiment will be omitted.
The client 300B includes a control unit 320, a monitor 330, a communication I/F 340, and a maintenance content evaluation request unit 350.
The maintenance content evaluation request unit 350 is a section for inputting information regarding a maintenance schedule separately provided by a maintenance company, and sending the data to the server 100B to request an evaluation of the maintenance content.

The maintenance content evaluation request unit 350 includes the maintenance schedule information input unit 210 and the estimated price information input unit 220 which are described as being equipped in the client 200 in the first embodiment.
In this configuration example, the maintenance schedule information input unit 210 includes a vehicle-related data input unit 211 , a work environment-related data input unit 212 , and a worker-related data input unit 213 .
Each component of the forklift maintenance management system 1B according to the third embodiment shown in Fig. 11 is the same as that described in the first and second embodiments. The maintenance content evaluation request unit 350, which is not shown in the first and second embodiments, performs the above-mentioned functions, and the detailed components of the maintenance schedule information input unit 210, the vehicle related data input unit 211, the work environment related data input unit 212, the worker related data input unit 213, and the estimated price information input unit 220 are the same as those described in the first and second embodiments, and therefore detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

An example of a process flow of the forklift maintenance management system 1B according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be summarized below with reference to the drawings. The following process flow is an example, and the order of the processes may be changed.
In the description of the process flow of the third embodiment, illustration and description of the same processes as those already described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 7 in the first embodiment will be omitted.

[Processing flow 1 of the forklift maintenance management system 1B: see FIG. 12]
The user or the person in charge at the leasing company inputs the forklift maintenance schedule information and maintenance estimate price information obtained separately from the maintenance company into the maintenance content inquiry section 350 of the client 300 (steps S1B and S2B in FIG. 12).
In this example, the maintenance content evaluation request unit 350 includes the components of the maintenance schedule information input unit 210, vehicle-related data input unit 211, work environment-related data input unit 212, worker-related data input unit 213, and estimated price information input unit 220 described in Example 1, and the user or leasing company inputs the respective information separately presented by the maintenance company to these units. That is, the vehicle-related data is input to the vehicle-related data input unit 211, the work environment-related data is input to the work environment-related data input unit 212, the worker-related data is input to the worker-related data input unit 213 (step S1B in FIG. 12), and the estimated price information is input to the estimated price information input unit 220 (step S2B in FIG. 12).
The vehicle-related data input unit 211, work environment-related data input unit 212, and worker-related data input unit 213 of the maintenance schedule information input unit 210 input the vehicle-related data, work environment-related data, and worker-related data input thereto to the inspection and replacement necessity determination unit 111 of server 100B via the communication I/F 340 (step S3B in FIG. 12), and the estimated price information input unit 220 inputs the estimated price information to the price simulation unit 112 of server 100B via the communication I/F 340 (step S4B in FIG. 12).

[Processing flow 2 of the forklift maintenance management system 1B: see FIG. 13]
Based on the received maintenance schedule information, the inspection and replacement necessity determination unit 111 of the price checker 110 of the server 100B checks the validity of various information included in the maintenance schedule information while referring to the vehicle-related information and the work environment-related information stored in the vehicle-related information database 120 and the work environment-related information database 130 in the server 100B (step S5B in FIG. 13). In this embodiment 3, as in the embodiment 1, the inspection and replacement necessity determination unit 111 checks whether the information includes mechanical parts, electrical parts, and consumable parts that do not need to be replaced, whether the information includes an excessive number of workers, excessive maintenance work time, and excessive maintenance work man-hours (step S5B in FIG. 13).

The price simulation unit 112 of the price checker 110 performs a price simulation while referring to the price information stored in the price information database 140 in the server 100 based on the hardware replacement part information and software replacement work information contained in the maintenance schedule information (Figure 13, step S6B).

The comparison evaluation processing unit 113 of the price checker 110 performs an evaluation process to compare the price simulation results calculated by the price simulation unit 112 with the estimated price information already input from the estimated price information input unit 220 of the client 300B in step 4B of FIG. 12, and evaluate the comparison results (step S7B of FIG. 13).

[Processing flow 3 of the forklift maintenance management system 1B: see FIG. 14]
The inspection and replacement necessity determination unit 111 transmits the obtained check results to the client 200 via the input/output unit 160 and the communication I/F 170 (step S7B in FIG. 14), and the client 300B displays the check results regarding the necessity of inspection and replacement received via the communication I/F 340 on the monitor 330 (step S9B in FIG. 14).
The comparative evaluation processing unit 113 transmits the obtained evaluation results to the client 300B via the input/output unit 160 and the communication I/F 170 (step S8B in FIG. 14), and the client 300B displays the evaluation results of the estimated price received via the communication I/F 250 on the monitor 330 (step S10B in FIG. 14).

The above illustrates and describes a preferred embodiment of the configuration of the forklift maintenance management system of the present invention, but it will be understood that various modifications are possible without departing from the technical scope of the present invention.

The forklift maintenance management system of the present invention can be widely applied as a forklift maintenance management system that optimizes the execution of regular inspections and maintenance of forklifts and the invoicing of costs in various multi-vendor environments.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Forklift maintenance management system 100 Server 110 Price checker 120 Vehicle related information database 130 Work environment related information database 140 Price information database 150 Control unit 160 Input/output unit 170 Communication I/F
180 Replacement model 200 Client 210 Maintenance schedule information input section 220 Estimated price information input section 230 Control section 240 Monitor 250 Communication I/F
300 Client 310 Maintenance request information input unit 320 Control unit 330 Monitor 340 Communication I/F
350 Maintenance Content Evaluation Request Section

Claims (11)

A forklift maintenance management system for managing periodic inspection and maintenance of a forklift, comprising:
a maintenance schedule information input unit into which a maintenance company staff member inputs replacement part information indicating the type and quantity of replacement parts to be used for the replacement of each of mechanical parts, electrical parts, and consumable parts scheduled for replacement for each of the forklifts, and maintenance schedule information including data related to workers who will be engaged in maintenance work;
an estimated price information input unit into which the maintenance company staff inputs estimated price information based on the maintenance schedule information input from the maintenance schedule information input unit;
a price information database that holds price information of genuine products and price information of non-genuine products for each of the mechanical parts, the electrical parts, and the consumable parts for each of the forklifts;
a price checker that performs a plurality of price simulations using the price information of the genuine product and the price information of the non-genuine product in the price information database based on the maintenance schedule information inputted from the maintenance schedule information input unit, performs an evaluation process to compare an estimated price with the price of the price simulation, and presents a price comparison result in the evaluation process. a vehicle condition data input unit through which a user or a person in charge of a leasing company inputs vehicle condition data indicating a hardware condition of the forklift as a vehicle machine, and a work environment condition data input unit through which a user or a person in charge of a leasing company inputs work environment condition data indicating a work environment at a work location of the forklift,
the maintenance schedule information input unit includes a vehicle-related data input unit that inputs the vehicle state data inputted via the vehicle state data input unit as vehicle-related data, and a work environment-related data input unit that inputs the work environment state data inputted via the work environment state data input unit as work environment-related data,
2. The forklift maintenance management system according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle-related data and the work environment-related data are used for the price simulation in the price checker. The maintenance schedule information input unit includes a worker-related data input unit for inputting worker-related data related to a worker engaged in the maintenance work of the forklift,
The maintenance schedule information includes replacement work cost information including the work cost and transportation cost of the worker required for the replacement work,
The price information database also includes data on the replacement work cost information including the work cost and transportation cost of the worker required for the replacement work,
In the price simulation executed by the price checker, a replacement work cost including the work cost and the transportation cost of the worker is added to execute the price simulation;
2. The forklift maintenance management system according to claim 1, wherein the evaluation process of the price comparison performed by the price checker is performed by adding the replacement work cost including the work cost and the transportation cost of the worker to the evaluation process. The forklift maintenance management system according to claim 1, characterized in that the maintenance company staff recreates the replacement part information of the replacement part to be used in the replacement based on the price comparison result presented by the price checker, the maintenance schedule information input unit accepts re-input of the recreated replacement part information, and the price checker re-presents the price comparison result with the price simulation. The forklift maintenance management system according to claim 3, characterized in that the maintenance company staff recreates the replacement work cost information required for the replacement work based on the price comparison result presented by the price checker, the maintenance schedule information input unit accepts re-input of the recreated replacement work cost information, and the price comparison result re-executed by the price checker is presented again. The inspection and replacement necessity determination unit holds data on the replacement timings determined for each mechanical part, electrical part, and consumable material of each forklift,
A work-related information database is provided that accumulates maintenance work-related information on the soft side assumed for a wide variety of maintenance work, such as the number of work hours that may occur in forklift maintenance, the general number of workers required for such work hours and replacement work, and work time,
3. The forklift maintenance management system according to claim 2, further comprising an inspection and replacement necessity determination unit that checks whether the replacement time has arrived for each mechanical part, electrical part and consumable member of the forklift, based on a comparison between the vehicle-related data for each of the forklifts inputted from the vehicle-related data input unit and data related to the replacement timing for maintenance, and a comparison between worker-related data indicating the number of workers to be dispatched for forklift maintenance, the maintenance work time, and the maintenance work man-hours inputted from the worker-related data input unit and the maintenance work-related information in the work-related information database, to check the appropriateness of replacement, and that checks whether the number of workers to be dispatched, the expected maintenance work time, and the expected maintenance work man-hours are excessive or insufficient, to check the appropriateness of maintenance work. a vehicle condition data input unit for inputting information on the vehicle condition of the forklift which is the subject of a maintenance request, and a work environment condition data input unit for inputting information on the work environment condition of the forklift, and a maintenance content evaluation request unit for allowing a user or a person in charge of a leasing company to input maintenance request information,
2. The forklift maintenance management system according to claim 1, wherein the price checker re-presents the price comparison result in the evaluation process based on the maintenance schedule information input by the maintenance company staff from the maintenance schedule information input unit and the estimated price information input from the estimated price information input unit. The forklift maintenance management system according to claim 2 or 6, characterized in that the vehicle-related data includes at least vehicle specification information data of the forklift, manufacturing information data of the forklift, and past maintenance history information data of the forklift. The forklift maintenance management system according to claim 2 or 6, characterized in that the work environment related data of the forklift includes at least the operating time data of the forklift, running surface information data indicating the running surface condition of the work location, environmental surface information data indicating the location of the work location and whether it is indoors or outdoors, and running condition information data including the frequency of turning at the work location. The forklift maintenance management system according to claim 2 or 6, characterized in that the users of the forklift maintenance management system are users of the forklift, leasing companies of the forklift, or maintenance companies of the forklift. A forklift maintenance management program for managing regular inspection and maintenance of a forklift, comprising:
a price information database that holds price information of genuine products and price information of non-genuine products for each of the mechanical parts, electrical parts, and consumable parts of each of the forklifts;
a maintenance schedule input step of inputting maintenance schedule information including replacement part information indicating the types and quantities of replacement parts to be used for the replacement of the mechanical parts, the electrical parts, and the consumable parts scheduled for replacement for each of the forklifts;
an estimated price information input step of inputting estimated price information based on the maintenance schedule information input in the maintenance schedule input step;
a price comparison step for comparing the estimated price information with the prices of the price simulations; and a price check step for presenting a result of the price comparison in the evaluation processing step .

Images