ABSTRACT
In modern mining, capital and operating costs related to equipment employed are among the most important factors affecting overall production cost. In tough international competition, a reduction of the latter is crucial to remain competitive. Therefore, it is extremely important that the equipment used be efficient and highly productive. In this paper traditional performance measures used in mining, such as availability and utilization rate are critically reviewed and discussed. Based on that the paper stresses the need for a new approach to performance indicators. Consequently, a concept of overall equipment effectiveness is introduced and discussed. The issues such as utilization, maintainability and reliability are addressed and adequate performance measures are proposed. The paper concludes with the possibilities for improvement offered by proper tracking and measuring of equipment performance.
