System and method for managing tasks occurring at an activity venue

Abstract

A technologically improved system and corresponding method of operation tracks and manages activities and tasks occurring at an activity venue using an operational dashboard user interface. In particular, the system operates to track locations and leverage collected information and data to provide an operational dashboard to inform operators and patrons with information necessary to optimally maintain the venue around the patrons without interruption to the patrons and thereby improve the maintenance of the activity venue and the experience of the patrons at the activity venue.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for managing maintenance tasks within an activity venue, the system comprising:
 one or more maintenance staff operator devices associated with maintenance staff individuals, each device comprising:
 a location sensor configured to provide real-time location and time data indicating the location of the one or more maintenance staff operator devices at different points in time within the activity venue; 
 a wireless communication device for communication with the system, the communication comprising transmitting the real-time location and time data from the one or more maintenance staff operator devices to the system, enabling the system to establish a real-time location of each of the one or more maintenance staff operator devices within the activity venue; and 
   a computing device in communication with the system, the computing device comprising a management tool that tracks maintenance being performed within the activity venue using sensor devices, the one or more maintenance staff operator devices, and a database of tasks requiring completion, the computing device executing the management tool that receives the real-time location and time data for the one or more maintenance staff operator devices;   wherein the computing device and the management tool receive data comprising data from the one or more maintenance staff operator devices, analyze maintenance task data, assign maintenance tasks to the one or more maintenance staff operator devices, provide an operational dashboard user interface, and send instructions to the one or more maintenance staff operator devices for maintenance task location, timing, and target completion.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the management tool:
 tracks maintenance tasks, automatically associating the data with task initiation and task completion; and   determines one or more of outstanding maintenance tasks, locations for maintenance, and/or required security tasks.   
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the management tool assigns or dispatches maintenance tasks of determined outstanding maintenance tasks, using the instructions to the one or more maintenance staff operator devices. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein maintenance tasks are assigned or dispatched based on analytics derived from one or more of maintenance staff operator devices, patron sensor devices, sensor devices, venue asset devices or venue asset tags, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the management tool delivers operations data to the one or more maintenance staff operator devices or staff members using the operational dashboard. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein the operations data comprises one or more of live traffic control, the instructions, predictive analytics, course setup, and grounds and maintenance data. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the management tool:
 assigns, using the one or more maintenance staff operator devices, a set of operators to perform a set of maintenance tasks in a schedule of maintenance tasks.   
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the management tool assigns one or more maintenance vehicles or maintenance equipment to the set of operators and each maintenance task of the set of maintenance tasks. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the management tool:
 manages a schedule of maintenance tasks by receiving requested maintenance tasks, scheduling requested maintenance tasks received, tracking requested maintenance tasks being performed, tracking locations of maintenance equipment, and receiving updates from the one or more maintenance staff operator devices; and   updates the schedule of maintenance tasks corresponding to completed maintenance tasks.   
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the management tool tracks, using the real-time location and time data, which of the one or more maintenance staff operator devices are assigned to perform a future task, performing a task, or waiting to be assigned a task. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the management tool tracks, using the real-time location and time data, a duration the one or more maintenance staff operator devices spends performing a particular task to determine how long it takes a maintenance staff operator of the one or more maintenance staff operator devices to perform the particular task. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the management tool tracks, using the real-time location and time data, a duration the one or more maintenance staff operator devices spends performing particular tasks at specific locations. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein a wireless gateway corresponding to the computing device and the wireless communication device communicate over any combination of communication mediums comprising one or more of a long range wide area network (LoRa) gateway, Wi-Fi, M1 cellular, 5G cellular, or radio frequency communication protocols for transmission by a transceiver to the computing device. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the activity venue is a golf course, a plurality of sub-activities are holes on the golf course, and a plurality of patrons are golfers on the golf course. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein scheduled tasks comprise particular types of maintenance including one or more of watering, grass cutting, raking bunkers, and repairs. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein a computing device records, stores and provides information related to at least one of: sub-activity time management, live traffic control, statistics related to tracked movements of a plurality of patrons, predictive analytics of the plurality of patrons, layout of the activity venue, and maintenance of the activity venue to at least an operator of the activity venue. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the operational dashboard user interface displays department specific metrics and/or analytics for maintenance of a golf course, wherein users are able to measure effectiveness of maintenance staff operators according to the department specific metrics. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the one or more maintenance staff operator devices receive information for machine management to track usage and locations of machinery around the golf course, maintenance schedules to track maintenance processes to be carried out by maintenance staff operators based on one or more of tracked grass length, green speed, tracked wear and tear with a focus on high traffic zones and landing areas, each individual watering system, an operating state of sprinkler heads or course modifications, according to the department specific metrics. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the management tool maintains the operational dashboard using a web application publishing a schedule of maintenance tasks, updates, and instructions accessible to one or more of staff members, patrons at the activity venue, and maintenance staff operators unassigned to the one or more maintenance staff operator devices. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the computing device optimizes a schedule of maintenance tasks for a set of operators, or for a maintenance vehicle or maintenance equipment. 
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 20 , wherein optimization reduces one or more of duration of operation, overall completion time, operator completion time, task completion time, maintenance vehicle or maintenance equipment duration of operation, distance traveled, travel time between tasks, time idle comprising dwell time while indicating a maintenance vehicle or maintenance equipment is not being operated, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         22 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising one or more venue asset devices or venue asset tags comprising a wireless communication device communicating with the system and providing real-time location and time data from a location sensor for the one or more venue asset devices or venue asset tags. 
     
     
         23 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the management tool tracks, using real-time location and time data, a duration the one or more maintenance staff operator devices spends performing particular tasks with a specific maintenance vehicle or maintenance equipment associated with one or more venue asset devices or venue asset tags. 
     
     
         24 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein one or more venue asset devices or venue asset tags are attached to or integrated into a maintenance vehicle or maintenance equipment. 
     
     
         25 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein one or more venue asset devices or venue asset tags are configured to detect vibration of the maintenance vehicle or maintenance equipment during operation and transmit a duration of operation to the computing device. 
     
     
         26 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the computing device:
 aggregates real-time location and time data associated with the one or more maintenance staff operator devices and/or one or more venue asset devices or venue asset tags for use with aggregated patron, staff, and operator location and time data; and   updates historic maintenance data by storing aggregated patron, staff, and operator location and time data in the historic maintenance data based on task parameters.   
     
     
         27 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the computing device stores, using a database or data storage device, updated historic maintenance data, and displays, using the operational dashboard, updated historic maintenance data. 
     
     
         28 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the management tool assigns, using the one or more maintenance staff operator devices, a set of operators to perform a set of maintenance tasks in a schedule of maintenance tasks using one or more maintenance vehicles or maintenance equipment, based on:
 a current location of the one or more maintenance staff operator devices and/or the one or more venue asset devices or venue asset tags; and   an estimated time of completion computed for an assignable operator, assignable vehicle or equipment, a location of a maintenance task, and location conditions derived from updated historic maintenance data.   
     
     
         29 . The system of  claim 28 , wherein the management tool assigns the set of operators to perform the set of maintenance tasks in the schedule of maintenance tasks using the one or more maintenance vehicles or maintenance equipment based on an identified gap in which to perform maintenance activities with a time interval larger than a duration between an estimated start time and the estimated time of completion computed for assigned operator, assigned vehicle or equipment, assigned location, and location conditions derived from the updated historic maintenance data. 
     
     
         30 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein predictive analytics comprise determined pace of play and locations of patrons throughout the activity venue, to predict and identify locations of gaps between patrons or maintenance staff operators throughout the activity venue and calculate a duration of time the gaps will remain until a patron or maintenance staff operator occupies each of the locations based on location data and time data and historical data, and predict a future flow of traffic to identify potential trouble spots, to assign the one or more maintenance staff operator devices of maintenance staff operators to perform maintenance tasks during the identified gaps. 
     
     
         31 . The system of  claim 30 , wherein the management tool, using the operational dashboard, provides feedback to the maintenance staff operator devices and staff members, based on the predictive analytics comprising predicted and identified gaps, wherein the feedback includes indicating maintenance tasks to be performed in the identified gaps, and a list of maintenance tasks that need to be completed at various locations at the activity venue and a duration of time needed to complete those tasks. 
     
     
         32 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the management tool dispatches a maintenance staff operator to perform a maintenance task of a list of maintenance tasks, determined based on one or more of proximity to identified gaps, availability of the maintenance staff operator, a skill level of the maintenance task to be completed, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         33 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the system:
 identifies predicted and/or identified gaps in locations at the activity venue where maintenance is required;   matches, utilizing a list of maintenance tasks or a schedule of maintenance tasks, a maintenance task to be performed to the predicted and/or identified gaps; and   delivers mitigating instructions to the one or more maintenance staff operator devices or the operational dashboard for types of maintenance tasks to be performed during the predicted and/or identified gaps, comprising identifying one or more of: gaps, underutilized areas of the activity venue, multiple points of entry to begin an activity or sub-activity, points of entry closest to the gaps or the underutilized areas with instructions for the one or more maintenance staff operator devices or staff members to begin activities therein.   
     
     
         34 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the computing device receives, monitors, and stores real-time location and time data comprising locations and timestamps for each of the one or more maintenance staff operator devices, one or more venue asset devices or venue asset tags, and/or one or more patron sensor devices and one or more sensor devices throughout the activity venue and associates the locations and timestamps with identifiers associated with each respective device. 
     
     
         35 . The system of  claim 34 , wherein the computing device receives real-time location and time data for each of the one or more maintenance staff operator devices and the one or more venue asset devices or venue asset tags, and
 transforms the real-time location and time data into predictive data by:
 estimating completion times for a set of maintenance tasks based on one or more of historical tracked activity, venue data, location condition data, or weather data, and 
 identifying gaps in usage of a plurality of activities or sub-activities based on the location and time data for each of the one or more maintenance staff operator devices or one or more patron sensor devices. 
   
     
     
         36 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the computing device receives live data from one or more venue asset devices or venue asset tags that is in local communication with the one or more maintenance staff operator devices without use of an intermediary device, wherein historical data and the live data, comprising a distance between the one or more venue asset devices or venue asset tags and at least one of the one or more maintenance staff operator devices and a typical duration to perform a particular form of maintenance, data are used to create metrics and measurements for analytics. 
     
     
         37 . The system of  claim 36 , wherein historical data and live data comprise a distance between one or more venue asset devices or venue asset tags and at least one of the one or more maintenance staff operator devices and a typical duration to perform a particular form of maintenance. 
     
     
         38 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the management tool compares a duration the one or more maintenance staff operator devices operates for to complete a particular task against aggregated data from the one or more maintenance staff operator devices, determines efficiencies of the maintenance staff operator of the one or more maintenance staff operator devices based on the aggregated data, and outputs comparative analysis. 
     
     
         39 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein when a maintenance staff operator inputs into the one or more maintenance staff operator devices that a maintenance task is complete, the one or more maintenance staff operator devices sends completion data to the management tool. 
     
     
         40 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the management tool records a maintenance task as completed and updates a schedule of maintenance tasks, then identifies a next maintenance task to perform. 
     
     
         41 . The system of  claim 40 , wherein prior to recording the maintenance task as completed, the management tool cross-references one or more venue asset devices or venue asset tags assigned to the maintenance task and any corresponding sensor devices or patron sensor devices with one or more of tracked locations of maintenance staff operating devices, locations of maintenance vehicles, locations of maintenance equipment, or aggregate data related to location and times comprising timestamps or clock times, verifying whether the maintenance task was completed, wherein the management tool provides feedback to the one or more maintenance staff operator devices. 
     
     
         42 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein each venue asset device of one or more venue asset devices or venue asset tags comprises a microcontroller, a transceiver with antenna, a global positioning system locator, a battery power source, a light emitting diode, and a display. 
     
     
         43 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein each venue asset device of one or more venue asset devices or venue asset tags is configured to gather location data for each venue asset device and transmit the location data to the computing device, including a timestamp and identifier data associated with each venue asset device. 
     
     
         44 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the system issues notifications to the one or more maintenance staff operator devices or one or more venue asset devices or venue asset tags based on a percentage completed of a currently assigned maintenance task associated with the one or more maintenance staff operator devices or the one or more venue asset devices or venue asset tags. 
     
     
         45 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the system reschedules and re-assigns uncompleted tasks of scheduled maintenance tasks when a task completion notification is not received within a scheduled duration for the uncompleted tasks. 
     
     
         46 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the system issues notifications to the one or more maintenance staff operator devices or one or more venue asset devices or venue asset tags based on an impending arrival of one or more patron sensor devices, or one or more maintenance staff operator devices or one or more venue asset devices or venue asset tags. 
     
     
         47 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the computing device, using the management tool and the one or more maintenance staff operator devices optimizes a schedule of maintenance tasks for the maintenance vehicle or maintenance equipment by tracking maintenance staff operators performing the maintenance tasks, scheduled to perform the maintenance tasks, and/or idle maintenance staff operators unassigned to any tasks;
 adjusts or re-assigns, using the one or more maintenance staff operator devices, a set of operators to perform the set of maintenance tasks using the maintenance vehicle or maintenance equipment; and   sends updated instructions to the operational dashboard and/or the one or more maintenance staff operator devices for maintenance task location, timing, and target completion using one or more assigned maintenance vehicles or maintenance equipment.   
     
     
         48 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the system identifies bottleneck issues before they occur using analytics based on maintenance tasks being performed or scheduled to be performed. 
     
     
         49 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the management tool:
 prioritizes or re-assigns tasks, based on one or more of the real-time location and time data, historical data, forecasts of future paces, wait times, identified gaps, live traffic control, traffic prediction, predicted potential delays and identified bottleneck issues, using proactive instructions maintenance instructions that are conveyed to one or more maintenance staff operator devices, or one or more venue asset devices or venue asset tags to resolve the bottleneck issues; and   tracks maintenance and re-optimizes accordingly.   
     
     
         50 . The system of  claim 49 , wherein the management tool issues additional proactive instructions to the one or more maintenance staff operator devices corresponding to prioritized or re-assigned tasks; and incorporates all such data into the analytics. 
     
     
         51 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the system identifies:
 gaps or underutilized areas of the activity venue to be utilized for venue maintenance;   duration of the gaps between scheduled tasks, activities, sub-activities or patrons and tagged for particular types of maintenance; and   predicted gaps in usage of each sub-activity based on location data for each of a plurality of patron sensor devices.   
     
     
         52 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the system identifies:
 calculated distance between one or more venue asset devices or venue asset tags and at least one patron sensor device without use of an intermediary device; and   optimal locations and durations of time for periodic maintenance of sub-activities within the activity venue.   
     
     
         53 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the system, using the computing device and management tool, recommends particular types of maintenance to be performed within identified gaps,
 schedules maintenance to be performed, start times, and points of entry,   based on data aggregated from throughout the activity venue including any combination of live location and time data, historic data, weather data, projected paces, and live traffic.   
     
     
         54 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the system
 issues notifications of recommended points of access for sub-activities at future times having identified predicted gaps in usage in such a way that maximizes a number of a plurality of patrons engaging in each sub-activity of a plurality of sub-activities and minimizes a number of the plurality of patrons waiting to engage in usage of each sub-activity due to the sub-activity being utilized by other of the plurality of patrons; and   wherein instructions or notifications related to dispatch to a particular location within the activity venue are transmitted to one of the one or more maintenance staff operator devices or one or more venue asset devices or venue asset tags.   
     
     
         55 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the system
 computes analytics to assess resources, anticipates maintenance failures of equipment, sends notifications, measures maintenance task efficiency; and   provides information to the operational dashboard and/or at least an operator of the activity venue related to one or more of: sub-activity time management, maintenance staff operator matching, live traffic control, statistics related to tracked movements of a plurality of patrons, predictive analytics of the plurality of patrons, layout of the activity venue, pace of play for sub-activities, sub-activity start times, sub-activity completion times, weather data and maintenance of the activity venue.   
     
     
         56 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the operational dashboard displays live traffic control data comprising one or more of an interactive course map, heat maps, predictive analytics, an ability to zoom in and out, key statistics for golf course and individual holes comprising congestion or patron locations, features to assist in visualizing patron traffic flow, and features to assist in visualizing congestion. 
     
     
         57 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein one or more venue asset tags are attachable to, or integrated into, at least one of a flag stick, a golf cart, a piece of maintenance equipment, a maintenance vehicle, a yardage marker, sprinkler heads, and a sign. 
     
     
         58 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more maintenance staff operator devices, one or more venue asset devices, or one or more patron sensor devices each comprise an electronic ink (e-Ink) display.