Abstract: An example embodiment includes a method for creating a family of related intellectual asset (IA) records. The method may include obtaining IA data for a current filing. The method may include creating an IA record for the current filing. The method may include obtaining IA data for one or more related filings. The current filing and the one or more related filings belong to a family of intellectual assets. The method may also include preparing for creation of a plurality of IA records for the one or more related filings based on the IA data for the current filing and the IA data for the one or more related filings. The method may further include creating a plurality of new IA records for the one or more related filings.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for creating a transport load for one or more stock transfers. In one exemplary embodiment, the systems and methods may include providing a parallel processing profile to be associated with the distribution plan. The method may also include building one or more packages of one or more transportation lanes, wherein building one or more packages comprises providing a lanes table of the one or more transportation lanes. The lanes table may comprise information associated with each of the one or more transportation lanes. The method may further include selecting the one or more transportation lanes for each package based on the information and the parallel processing profile, and generating the transport load for each package.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for creating a distribution plan for one or more products from a source location to a destination location. In one exemplary embodiment, the systems and methods may include defining a parallel processing profile to be associated with the distribution plan, and determining whether the parallel processing profile is specified prior to creating the distribution plan. If the profile is determined to be specified, one or more packages may then be built of the one or more products. Building one or more packages may comprise building a location products table of one or more location products. The location products table may specify the name, location, and deployment information of each of the one or more location products. The one or more location products may be selected for each package based on the deployment information. The distribution plan for each package of the one or more products may then be determined.

Abstract: The invention relates to a system and a method for creating maintenance plans for machines and/or installations simply, dynamically and at low cost, in particular an automation system from production automation and/or process automation. The said machines and/or installations comprise one or more components, wherein the components contain maintenance information, and wherein the system has a device for generating a maintenance plan by combining the maintenance information of the components.

Abstract: The present invention enables a user to schedule meetings and detect scheduling conflicts. A system user such as an employee schedules a meeting. The time and date of the meeting is stored in an account for that user. When the same user schedules another meeting, that meeting is detected and compared with any previously and scheduled and stored meetings for that user. If there is a conflict between the presently scheduled meeting and any previously scheduled meeting, then the present invention alerts the user and gives the user the opportunity to select the new meeting for that time or to retain the currently scheduled meeting. The present invention can also store and track the unscheduled meetings. In the event the scheduled meeting is postponed or canceled, the user can be notified and given the opportunity to schedule and attend a previously declined meeting that was scheduled for that same time.

Abstract: Embodiments of the invention provide a comprehensive, automated system and method for evaluating the performance of individuals or entities employed by an organization, particularly useful in peer-profiling physician performance in multi-facility environments. Embodiments of the invention can dynamically compose a virtual peer or group of peers and perform peer-profiling on each individual or group of individuals to be evaluated. For example, a composite physician may be generated from system-wide and/or state-wide healthcare data as a benchmark against which a particular physician is profiled according to industry-standard measurements. The composite physician would have equivalent or similar job function(s) as well as patient population. The composite physician enables a comprehensive “apple to apple” comparison with the particular physician, giving meaning to and facilitating the usefulness of performance evaluation results.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to a contact center 100 comprising (a) an input operable to receive a contact from a customer, the customer having an associated value to the contact center 100 and (b) a contact selector 216 operable to select a resource of the contact center 100 to service the contact based, at least in part, on the associated value. The associated value reflects one or more of a historic, predicted, and current monetary expense of the contact center to service the customer.

Abstract: The invention provides methods and apparatus for optimizing markdown scheduling that group multiple retail sites into bins (or buckets) for purposes of scheduling markdown pricing on an item (or group of related items) sold by those sites. The groupings can be based, for example, on a metric that is a function of the current inventory of the item (or items) and its expected sales at each site. A markdown schedule is generated for the combined grouping of stores in each bucket, rather than for the individual stores that make up that bucket, thereby speeding price optimization determination. A report of those schedules can be used, for example, by pricing managers or other personnel to set prices at the sites. Alternatively, or in an addition, the schedules can be used in conjunction with an inventory control system to set prices for the items and/or on RFID or other electronic shelf displays.

Abstract: A method of reporting consumer reaction to a stimulus and resultant report generated by (i) recording facial expressions and eye positions of a human subject while exposed to a stimulus throughout a time period, (ii) coding recorded facial expressions to emotions, and (iii) reporting recorded eye positions and coded emotions, along with an identification of the stimulus.

Abstract: A production unit for which a schedule of tasks is to be accomplished is prepared and stored in a central management device. The unit includes individual electronic devices, control stations, and a network linking the individual electronic devices and the control stations to the central management device. Each individual electronic device includes a device to input the tasks accomplished and problems encountered and further includes a transmission device for information input. The central management device compares data received with the schedule of tasks, generates a warning signal when the comparison detects a gap or discrepancy between the data received and the schedule of tasks, and transmits the warning signal to the individual electronic devices and control stations. The individual electronic devices and the control stations include a device to display the warning signal.

Abstract: A computer, for planning moves of freight automatically adds one or more layover(s) to a mission. Next, the computer determines one or more charge(s) for the layovers, using carriers' rules. Thereafter, the computer uses the charge(s) in deciding whether to include the mission in a transportation plan to be executed. In some embodiments, the computer automatically maintains, for the given mission, counts of attributes on which limits are imposed by a government or by carriers, such as driving time, on-duty time, and driving distance, and when any count exceeds a corresponding limit in the midst of a driving activity, the computer automatically divides up the current driving activity into a truncated driving activity and a remainder driving activity, separated by a layover activity. The computer also determines an estimated time of arrival, including the impact of required layovers, to reach destination(s), and whether layover(s) is/are required at the destination(s), e.g.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is an integrated method and system for managing human resources. Specifically, the method and system integrates several processes (e.g., a process for developing a strategy and particularly for developing a set of rules on how human resources will be managed and sourced, a process for developing a long-term strategic plan for sourcing human resources to satisfy demands, a process for developing a near-term operational plan recommending individual human resources be used to satisfy selected demands, a process for selecting and assigning individual resources to specific engagements, etc.). Thus, the method operates through a spectrum of time horizons from the strategic to real time, providing a coherent and cohesive system for matching supply to demand based on the priorities of the business as represented through the set of rules.

Abstract: A top-down tiered process establishes an objective measure of the functional capacity of an asset to address a specified use. The process comprises: developing Issue Categories and lists of functional impact Sub-issue Types and specific issues under each type that may impact functionality of the asset for a specified use; providing the list to evaluators; employing evaluators to evaluate functionality, evaluators assigning a numerical Severity measure to each Sub-issue Type present during the evaluation; recording occurrences of issues under each Sub-issue Type discovered, summing occurrences to determine a Density of each Sub-issue Type; recording the evaluation in one or more engineering management systems (EMS); and using the recorded evaluation, calculating a value to be inserted on a numerical scale as a functionality index, FI. In select embodiments of the present invention, a numerical scale is used with values from 0-100.

Abstract: A method and structure for predicting a satisfaction a consumer will experience contingent on accepting one or more offers from potential sellers. A request is received from a consumer describing one or more transactions in which the consumer may wish to engage. One or more offers are received from one or more potential sellers in response to the request. One or more predictive assessments are received from one or more predictors corresponding to one or more of these offers, each predictive assessment predicting a satisfaction that the consumer will experience contingent on accepting one or more offers from the potential sellers. For one or more of these offers, at least one aggregated prediction is calculated, based on the corresponding predictive assessments, according to a prediction aggregation mechanism.