ABSTRACT
For over two decades, mining companies worldwide have looked for ways to improve their open pit haulage operation by using a computer to dispatch trucks. In the 1970's, many companies spent a great deal of money trying various different schemes. Some met with limited success. Others were complete failures and simply written down. As the recession of the 1980's deepened, mining companies took a fresh look at the idea as they did many other ways to decrease costs and improve productivity. Computer based dispatching is simple in concept. Have a computer watch the operation and decide where to send each truck. Solving the problem looks cheap and easy. In actual fact, a proper solution is expensive and complex. This time success was important. Failure was unacceptable.
