System and method for carrying out an inspection or maintenance operation with compliance tracking using a handheld device

Abstract

The present invention is a system and method for inspections and compliance verification of industrial equipment using a handheld device. An inspector first segments an inspected component into logical inspection points. The inspector then scans a unique machine-readable tag, such as an RFID tag, with a handheld device at each logical inspection point. The inspector then takes a media sample, such as a digital photograph, of the physical component referred to by each corresponding logical inspection point. Then the inspector associates the media samples with the corresponding scan of the unique machine-readable tag. For each of the actions the inspector carries out on the handheld device, a timestamp is added that represents evidence of a date and a time of physical visitation to the associated logical inspection point. The inspector may then annotate the media samples in such ways that substantiate inspector statements of problems with inspected components found during inspection.

1 . A method for ensuring compliance of industrial inspection, comprising the steps of:
 segmenting one or more inspected components into one or more logical inspection points;   scanning one or more unique machine-readable tags at each logical inspection point;   taking one or more media samples of the inspected component at each logical inspection point; and   associating the media samples with the corresponding scan of the unique machine-readable tag,   wherein a timestamp is added for each action taken at each logical inspection point, said timestamp representing evidence of a date and a time of physical visitation to said logical inspection point and associated action.   
     
     
         2 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , further comprising:
 declaring sub-optimal conditions of the unique machine-readable tags at each logical inspection point, substantiated by corresponding media samples, if condition warrants such declaration.   
     
     
         3 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , further comprising:
 annotating the media samples in such ways that substantiate inspector statements of problems with inspected components found during inspection.   
     
     
         4 . The method as recited in  claim 3 , further comprising:
 substantiating inspector statements of problems with inspected components by quoting standards from a standards document.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3 , further comprising:
 generating a new work order item for any logical inspection point having a problem found during inspection.   
     
     
         6 . The method as recited in  claim 3 , further comprising:
 generating a problem reminder that requires an inspector to revisit any problem found during an inspection in a future inspection until the problem is fixed.   
     
     
         7 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , further comprising:
 annotating the media samples in such ways that substantiate inspector statements of any inspected components passing inspection.   
     
     
         8 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the scanning of one or more unique machine-readable tags and the taking of the media samples at each logical inspection point is done by a handheld device. 
     
     
         9 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the unique machine-readable tags have limited maximum scan range, such that the scanning of the tags requires physical proximity of an inspector to the logical inspection point and implies proper visitation made by the inspector to the logical inspection point. 
     
     
         10 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , further comprising:
 associating with the media sample and the scan of the unique machine-readable tag a unique global positioning system (GPS) location.   
     
     
         11 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , further comprising:
 associating with the media sample and the scan of the unique machine-readable tag a unique user-identification of an inspector performing the inspection.   
     
     
         12 . An industrial inspection compliance system, comprising:
 one or more physical components marked to be inspected;   one or more logical inspection points segmented from the physical components, having at least one unique machine-readable tag at each logical inspection point;   one or more scanning devices which can read the unique machine-readable tags at each logical inspection point; and   one or more media input devices which can capture media samples of inspected physical components at each logical inspection point.   
     
     
         13 . The system as described in  claim 12 , wherein the scanning device and the media input device are parts of the same physical device. 
     
     
         14 . The system as described in  claim 12 , wherein the scanning device and the media input device are connected via one or more electrical interconnects. 
     
     
         15 . The system as described in  claim 12 , wherein the scanning device and the media input device are connected via one or more wired or wireless networks. 
     
     
         16 . The system as described in  claim 12 , wherein the scanning device and the media input device are logically connected via one or more remote databases which are accessible to and shared by both devices. 
     
     
         17 . The system as described in  claim 12 , further comprising a data storage area for storing information representing segmentation of physical components as logical inspection points. 
     
     
         18 . The system as described in  claim 12 , further comprising a data storage area for storing information representing each scan obtained by the scanning device, wherein each record comprises a timestamp of each scan, and a unique identifier of the scanned machine-readable tag. 
     
     
         19 . The system as described in  claim 12 , further comprising a data storage area for storing information representing the media samples obtained by the media input device, wherein each record comprises a timestamp of the taking of the corresponding media sample, and the media sample itself. 
     
     
         20 . The system as described in  claim 18 , wherein each record further comprises associations with any media samples obtained by the media input device. 
     
     
         21 . The system as described in  claim 19 , wherein each record further comprises associations with any scans obtained by the scanning device. 
     
     
         22 . The system as described in  claim 12 , further comprising a data storage area for storing all versions of all components that have ever been inspected by the system. 
     
     
         23 . The system as described in  claim 12 , further comprising a data storage area for associating with the media sample and the scan of the unique machine-readable tag a unique user-identification of an inspector performing the inspection. 
     
     
         24 . The system as recited in  claim 12 , further comprising:
 means for declaring sub-optimal conditions of the unique machine-readable tags at each logical inspection point, substantiated by corresponding media samples, if condition warrants such declaration.   
     
     
         25 . The system as recited in  claim 12 , further comprising:
 means for annotating the media samples in such ways that substantiate inspector statements of problems with inspected components found during inspection.   
     
     
         26 . The system as recited in  claim 12 , further comprising:
 means for substantiating inspector statements of problems with inspected components by quoting standards from a standards document.   
     
     
         27 . The system of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 means for generating a new work order item for any logical inspection point having a problem found during inspection.   
     
     
         28 . The system as recited in  claim 12 , further comprising:
 means for generating a problem reminder that requires an inspector to revisit any problem found during an inspection in a future inspection until the problem is fixed.   
     
     
         29 . The system as recited in  claim 12 , further comprising:
 means for annotating the media samples in such ways that substantiate inspector statements of any inspected components passing inspection.   
     
     
         30 . The system as recited in  claim 12 , further comprising:
 means for associating with the media sample and the scan of the unique machine-readable tag a unique global positioning system (GPS) location.   
     
     
         31 . The system as recited in  claim 12 , further comprising:
 means for associating with the media sample and the scan of the unique machine-readable tag a unique user-identification of an inspector performing the inspection.   
     
     
         32 . An industrial inspection compliance system, comprising:
 one or more physical components marked to be inspected;   one or more logical inspection points segmented from the physical components, having one or more unique machine-readable tags at each logical inspection point;   one or more scanning devices which can read the unique machine-readable tags at each logical inspection point;   one or more media input devices which can capture media samples of inspected physical components at each logical inspection point;   a data storage area for storing information representing segmentation of physical components as logical inspection points;   a data storage area for storing information representing each scan obtained by the scanning device, wherein each record comprises a timestamp of each scan, a unique identifier of the scanned machine-readable tag, and associations with any scans obtained by the scanning device; and   a data storage area for storing information representing the media samples obtained by the media input device, wherein each record comprises a timestamp of the taking of the corresponding media sample, the media sample itself, and associations with any media samples obtained by the media input device.