Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Material handling equipment'

Background: Material handling is a large part of a company´s internal work and represents between 15 % and 70 % of the total cost of a manufactured product. By improving the internal handling of material, more efficient distribution and manufacturing flows are possible. The material handling process is an input to the production and assembly process that has to be defined and mapped so that it can be improved. The material handling process studied at Volvo CE Braås includes goods receiving, storage, packaging as well as the order/delivery process to assembly, and will finish with the material transport to the assembly line.

Research questions: How can the material handling process, from goods receiving to assembly line, at Volvo CE in Braås be described by using VSM? What kinds of waste can be identified? By proposing a future-state map, how can the identified problems and waste be reduced or eliminated?

Methodology: This thesis is a descriptive case study and was conducted with a deductive approach. Data was collected by our own observations, personal interviews, statistics, benchmarking and questionnaire. The scientific credibility of this thesis was secured by for example using many sources, avoidance of assumptions, studying a common process and following standardized steps of the VSM tool.

Conclusions: The material handling process was described in the separated areas of goods receiving, storage and assembly line. Visualization was given in a current-state map. Five different kinds of waste were identified. Finally, suggestions of improvements were presented along with a future-state map.

Suggestions on future research: A more detailed VSM including information flow and lead times could be studied. Scenario simulations of critical areas within the material handling process could be preformed. Furthermore, an ABC classification of articles and storage locations can be done to optimize storage.

Manufacturing Systems are subject to increasingly frequent changes in demand in terms of number and type of products they produce. It is impractical to continually reconfigure the facilities, but it is possible to modify the material handling arrangements so that the selected equipment is the most appropriate for the current requirements. The number of decisions that need to be made coupled with the rate at which decisions must be taken adds significant difficulty to the problem of equipment selection. Furthermore there are relatively few experts who have the necessary range of knowledge coupled with the ability to use this knowledge to select the most appropriate material handling solution in any situation. Access to such experts is therefore greatly restricted and decisions are more commonly made by less experienced people, who depend on equipment vendors for information, often resulting in poor equipment selection. This research first examines the significance of appropriate material handling equipment choice in dynamic environments. The objective is to construct a computer based expert system utilising knowledge from the best available sources in addition to a systematic procedure for selection of material handling equipment. A new system has been produced, based on the Flex language, which elicits from the inexperienced user details of the handling requirements in order to build an equipment specification. It then selects from among 11 handling solution groups and provides the user with information supporting the selection. Original features of the system are the way in which the knowledge is grouped, the ability of the procedure to deal with quantifiable and non-quantifiable equipment and selection factors, selection of decision analysis method and the validation of the final choice to establish confidence in the results. The system has been tested using real industrial data and has been found in 81% of cases to produce results which are acceptable to the experts who provided the information.

Traditionally, teleoperation has been an expensive and lengthy process. This thesis shows that by incorporating off-the-shelf technology into a modular design, teleoperation can be developed rapidly and inexpensively. Within six months and a hardware cost of $20k, a group of Virginia Tech students and faculty converted a Case CX-160 excavator to teleoperated control. With full wireless functionality of the excavator's six degrees-of-freedom, ignition, and remote cameras at 3000 ft., the teleoperated design meets or exceeds customer demands. For over a year, the teleoperated excavator has demonstrated effectiveness, robustness, and durability in multiple unexploded ordnance (UXO) site remediation projects.
Master of Science

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2014.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Mobile lifter (ML) is a product that is used to lift loads or materials ranging from 20–600 kilograms (kg), and to move the loads to anywhere within the factory up to a height of 2.3 metres (m). The ML is ideal for loads heavier than human comfort, dangerous to touch by hands, requiring repetitive moving and not heavy enough for a forklift. As the need for labour rises and manufactures want to increase productivity, the ML becomes the solution. Currently, there is no company that specialises in ML, and that provides good service to the customers. HELM intends filling that gap in the markets. HELM plans to acquire exclusive distribution rights with a European base supplier of MLs. HELM will become the distributor of MLs in Southern Africa. HELM will have its base or office in Cape Town (CT), but also secure subcontractors in three other provinces, namely Gauteng, KwaZulu- Natal (KZN), and the Eastern Cape (EC). HELM will sell products from its supplier partner and it will offer services and a maintenance plan to its clients at a competitive rate. The ML can be used in manufacturing, wholesale, the retail trade and motor trade, and transport and storage. The three sectors account for over 35 percent of South Africa’s gross domestic product. The manufacturing sector is the largest sector with many industries. The most attractive industries are the fast moving consumer goods, automotive, pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturing industries. Although the industry or market is fragmented, Gauteng has the largest target market with over 9000 registered manufacturing enterprise. It is followed by KwaZulu-Natal, then the Western Cape and finally the Eastern Cape. The ML industry is still in its infancy, and HELM Solutions intend to sell 25 units in the first year, 33 in the second and then 36 in the third year. The current distributors of MLs only have one point of service per distributor in South Africa and MLs are non-core products for them. HELM also intends differentiating itself from other distributors by being a solution provider to clients, and not a product distributor. HELM wants to understand the clients’ business, understand their needs, and provide them with solution that will also increase their profit. This should give HELM a competitive advantage and make it difficult for clients to substitute the HELM products and service. Franck Tshilombo is one of the three entrepreneurs who will be directly involved in the business. He will start as the only employee of the business. He has been working with MLs for the past four years. His experience ranges from selling and marketing to ordering, assembling, service and maintenance of MLs. Kevin French brings experience in the financial field of investments. He holds a B Com degree and is a CFA charter holder. He has 25 years combined experience in financial services at large corporates and smaller entrepreneurial start-ups. He owns an investment management business and two paint distribution businesses. His experience includes starting new businesses, takeovers and turnarounds in financial services, and construction and electrical engineering. Collin Ramukhubathi who has a mechanical engineering degree and is an MBA candidate, has 15 years working experience in general management in construction and the mining sector. HELM Solutions require funding for fixed assets and working capital. The fixed asset will be funded by shareholders in the form of assets worth R30 000 and cash of R15 000. The amount of external funding required is R154 000. The desired funding should be in the form of an overdraft loan, as not all the funds will be needed in the beginning. This funding will be used towards the monthly expenses for the period of three months and towards increases in sales within the first five months. The funds will be needed during sales growth as the cash conversion cycle of the business is long. The overdraft loan is based on the interest rate of 12 percent. Based on these estimates, the loan will be fully repaid within 11 months.

Il presente lavoro di tesi nasce dall'attività di stage svolto presso la Toyota Material Handling Manufacturing Italy S.p.A. di Bologna, azienda specializzata nella produzione di carrelli elevatori. Lo scopo prefissato di questo elaborato è quello di fornire una visione globale della Total Productive Maintenance, andando successivamente ad illustrare gli strumenti e le metodologie impiegate in un contesto reale e quindi i risultati ottenibili nel medio-lungo termine. La prima parte dell’elaborato va ad illustrare lo scenario moderno nel quale le imprese sono chiamate a confrontarsi e a competere per raggiungere i propri obiettivi. Nella seconda parte viene trattato il tema della “manutenzione dei sistemi produttivi” con particolare attenzione agli approcci risolutivi e alle politiche intraprese nel corso degli ultimi anni per poi analizzare il principale strumento di gestione della manutenzione utilizzato in scala mondiale, ovvero la Total Production Maintenance. L’ultima parte, dopo un capitolo riservato alla presentazione dell’azienda, si concentra sulle attività svolte presso l’azienda, sugli strumenti e tecniche utilizzate, per poi analizzare i risultati ottenuti ed ottenibili grazie al percorso intrapreso.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Industrial and Systems Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2006.
Dr. Yih-Long Chang, Committee Member ; Dr. Martin Savelsbergh, Committee Member ; Dr. Leon McGinnis, Committee Co-Chair ; Dr. Gunter Sharp, Committee Chair ; Dr. Doug Bodner, Committee Member ; Dr. Joel Sokol, Committee Member.

This thesis is focused on design of an electric stand-on low lift pallet truck with regards to operators ergonomical needs. The goal of this thesis is to design aestheticaly pleasing machine while regarding the technological requirements.

The selection of the most appropriate Material Handling Equipment (MHE) types for handling operations within a production plant and the efficient configuration of them in order to attain an optimal solution for the entire problem is still a challenging and unsolved problem. As MH has a significant impact on the efficiency of the total production system, efficiently resolving it is a key task.

This thesis discusses the optimal way of material-handling equipment replacement at Nestlé Česko s.r.o., plant ZORA Olomouc. The theoretical part describes the issue of warehousing in general and focuses on the material-handling equipment and vehicles. The following analytical part focuses specifically on the company Nestlé Česko s.r.o., particularly the plant ZORA Olomouc with the foremost aim of analysing and optimising the current material-handling equipment.

Thesis (M.S.) University of Missouri-Columbia, 2006.
The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on August 23, 2007) Includes bibliographical references.

Background: Nordic E-commerce group (NECG) consists of affiliated companies NordicInk, NordicFeel and PetsOnline. Three different types of companies in one warehouse area contribute to a wide range of products held in inventory. NECG’s problem derives in the fact that the company’s warehouse layout needs to handle a larger volume of sales, but is not capable of doing this in a structured way today. This matter of fact has led to new thoughts concerning improvements of the layout. The warehouse layout referred to in this thesis includes input and output doors, receiving and outgoing areas, material handling equipment and the placement of articles in inventory. Although article placement is per definition a part of warehouse layout, it will be given extra emphasis in this thesis as it is one of NECG’s most critical issues.   Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to identify NECG’s current warehouse layout and article placement and the problems associated with it, as well as to provide suggested actions for improvements. This is to be done so NECG can better utilize the warehouse space, and thus prepare the warehouse to handle a larger volume of sales.   Methodology: Qualitative and quantitative data was collected through semi-structured interviews and observations at NECG, as well as through excel files containing transactional data for NordicInk’s products. Through a non-probability, snowball selection the respondents were chosen. There have not been any requirements from NECG regarding confidentiality in terms of the warehouse layout.   Findings: There are a number of suggested actions that NECG may apply to improve the warehouse layout; two separate doors for incoming and outgoing deliveries, one designated receiving and one outgoing area, and a flow shop layout combined with a U-form layout would be the most beneficial for NECG’s warehouse. Furthermore, NECG needs a more consistent article placement and it is recommended for the company to apply a floating location system to its high-picked products and a fixed location system for its low-picked products. This will make NECG take better use of the available space and a more structured warehouse will be achieved.
Bakgrund: Nordic E-commerce Group (NECG) består utav dotterbolagen NordicInk, NordicFeel och PetsOnline. Då lagret består utav tre olika företag finns ett brett utbud av produkter. NECG:s problem härrör i att företagets lagerlayout inte har följt med i företagets utveckling. För att kunna hantera en större försäljningsvolym, behöver lagerområdet kunna hantera nuvarande och framtida lagervolymer, men är inte kapabel till att göra detta på ett strukturerat sätt i dag. Detta har lett till nya tankar om förbättringsförslag kring lagerlayout. I detta examensarbete avser lagerlayout ingående och utgående portar, inkommande och utgående lagringsområden, materialhanteringsutrustning och artikelplacering i lager. Även om artikeln placering är per definition en del av lagerlayout, kommer det att ges extra fokus i detta examensarbete eftersom det är en av NECG mest kritiska frågor.   Syfte: Syftet med detta examensarbete är att identifiera NECG nuvarande lagerlayout och artikel placering samt vilka eventuella problem som finns, för att kunna ge förslag på förbättringar. Detta ska göras så att NECG kan utnyttja sitt lagerutrymme bättre och förbereda sig inför ökade försäljningsvolymer.   Metod: Kvalitativ och kvantitativ data samlades in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer och observationer på NECG, samt genom excel filer innehållande transaktionsdata kring NordicInk’s produkter. Genom ett icke-sannolikt, snöbollsurval valdes respondenterna ut. NECG har inte uttryckt några krav om att sekretessbelägga arbetet kring lagerlayout.   Resultat: Det finns ett antal förslag på åtgärder som NECG kan tillämpa för att förbättra lagerlayouten: två separata dörrar för inkommande och utgående leveranser, ett designerat område för inkommande och ett för utgående leveranser samt en flow shop layout kombinerat med en U-form layout skulle vara mest fördelaktigt för NECG:s lager. Vidare behöver NECG en mer konsekvent artikelplacering och det rekommenderas för företaget att tillämpa ett flytande system för dess högfrekvent plockade produkter och ett fast system för dess lågfrekvent plockade produkter. Detta kommer att göra så att NECG bättre utnyttjar det tillgängliga lagerutrymmet och ett mer strukturerat system kommer att uppnås.  Bakgrund: Nordic E-commerce Group (NECG) består utav dotterbolagen NordicInk, NordicFeel och PetsOnline. Då lagret består utav tre olika företag finns ett brett utbud av produkter. NECG:s problem härrör i att företagets lagerlayout inte har följt med i företagets utveckling. För att kunna hantera en större försäljningsvolym, behöver lagerområdet kunna hantera nuvarande och framtida lagervolymer, men är inte kapabel till att göra detta på ett strukturerat sätt i dag. Detta har lett till nya tankar om förbättringsförslag kring lagerlayout. I detta examensarbete avser lagerlayout ingående och utgående portar, inkommande och utgående lagringsområden, materialhanteringsutrustning och artikelplacering i lager. Även om artikeln placering är per definition en del av lagerlayout, kommer det att ges extra fokus i detta examensarbete eftersom det är en av NECG mest kritiska frågor.   Syfte: Syftet med detta examensarbete är att identifiera NECG nuvarande lagerlayout och artikel placering samt vilka eventuella problem som finns, för att kunna ge förslag på förbättringar. Detta ska göras så att NECG kan utnyttja sitt lagerutrymme bättre och förbereda sig inför ökade försäljningsvolymer.   Metod: Kvalitativ och kvantitativ data samlades in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer och observationer på NECG, samt genom excel filer innehållande transaktionsdata kring NordicInk’s produkter. Genom ett icke-sannolikt, snöbollsurval valdes respondenterna ut. NECG har inte uttryckt några krav om att sekretessbelägga arbetet kring lagerlayout.   Resultat: Det finns ett antal förslag på åtgärder som NECG kan tillämpa för att förbättra lagerlayouten: två separata dörrar för inkommande och utgående leveranser, ett designerat område för inkommande och ett för utgående leveranser samt en flow shop layout kombinerat med en U-form layout skulle vara mest fördelaktigt för NECG:s lager. Vidare behöver NECG en mer konsekvent artikelplacering och det rekommenderas för företaget att tillämpa ett flytande system för dess högfrekvent plockade produkter och ett fast system för dess lågfrekvent plockade produkter. Detta kommer att göra så att NECG bättre utnyttjar det tillgängliga lagerutrymmet och ett mer strukturerat system kommer att uppnås.

This research identifies the attributes to be considered in the selection of an automated guided vehicle (AGV). A distinction is made between automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and an automated guided vehicle system (AGVS). This research is concerned only with the selection of automated guided vehicles (AGVs). A selection model is developed which forces the user to evaluate attributes. his requirements and preferences for AGV The first step of the model allows the user to enter his specifications for AGV attributes which are applicable to his production environment. The second step in the selection model is for the user to determine 8-15 attributes to use as selection criteria. In the third phase, the user inputs his preferences and priorities with respect to the attributes chosen as selection criteria in the second step. model ranks the Based on this information, the selection AGV models in the feasible set. A description of the model and a numerical example are included. Steps 1 and 2, described above, are implemented using an R:BASE™ program. The BASIC computer language was used to perform the interrogation of the user with respect to his priorities and preferences among attributes in Step 3. The IBM PC™ is the hardware chosen for running the selection model.
M.S.

Submitted by Claudinei Pracidelli (cpracide@ipen.br) on 2016-06-22T13:51:24Z No. of bitstreams: 0
Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-22T13:51:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0
Tese (Doutorado em Tecnologia Nuclear)
IPEN/T
Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN-CNEN/SP

碩士
元智大學
資訊管理學系
98
The implementation of factory automation is a long process of adjusting and testing the handshaking between the hosts and equipment. The study proposes a SECS message based simulation test software to conduct the general handshaking test between the management system (HOST) and equipment system (EQU) in order to reduce the time needed for the on-site integration testing and the resource waste on the repetition of testing. It provides users several functions to define, test, and verify messages and scenarios. We conducted two case studies, one on transport system and the other on stocker system, and all messages have been exchanged between HOST and EQU as expected. We will integrate the proposed software into a production on-site testing environment to justify and evaluate its effectiveness.

博士
中原大學
工業工程研究所
92
ABSTRACT The dispatching problems of tool and material handling in wafer fabrication are normally investigated independently due to the complexity of modeling. In this study, the integrated modeling approach involved automation of both manufacturing processes and material handling systems is conducted to evaluate dispatching strategies in a large-scale 300 mm wafer fabrication environment. In order to develop an integrated dispatching rule, a state-dependent dispatching methodology based on the theory of constraints is first developed to improve the overall system performance consisted of throughput, cycle time, work-in-process, and due-date performance. Then a material handling system is incorporated to construct a fully automated fab by using integrated modeling framework. Subsequently, the author presents an integrated tool and vehicle (ITV) dispatching strategy to consider multiple performance measures in a fully automated fab environment. The ITV dispatching strategy is developed using a state-dependent methodology and multiple response optimization. A case study based on a local fab is described to examine the performance impact of the ITV dispatching rule measured by cycle time, work-in-process, on-time delivery, and lot delivery time. The results of the simulation experiments and analysis show that the ITV dispatching rule is superior to the use of a static dispatching rule, consisting of an average of 15% improvement for on-time delivery and 5% for other performance measures.

Cellular Manufacturing Systems (CMS) have claimed many advantages over traditional job shop processes. Some of the advantages reported by several users of CMS are reduction in throughput time, reduction in WIP inventory, improvement in product quality, faster response time to customer orders, shorter move distances, increase in manufacturing flexibility, and greater job satisfaction. In its implementation, CMS organizes a production floor into manufacturing cells. Hence, the important issue that needs to be addressed first is the cell formation (CF) problem. CF deals with the identification of part families, machine groups, and allocation of part families and machine groups to cells or vice versa. In the past, most studies in CF have assumed that the location of a cell is known a priori and a unique route exists between two cells. However, in an actual manufacturing environment, alternative locations are available for locating each cell. Similarly, when the capacity of the material handler being used is limited, alternative routes may have to be used to move part loads between two cells. In this research, the issues dealing with alternative cell locations and alternative routes of material handling equipment are investigated. In addition, several other important factors common to CF are also considered. These include machine capacity limitations, batches of part demands, non-consecutive operations of parts, and maximum number of machines assigned to a cell. A mathematical model is first formulated to represent the research problem. The model is a binary and general integer non-linear programming model, and it belongs to the class of NP-hard problem. Therefore, a higher level heuristic algorithm, based on the concept known as tabu search, is developed to efficiently solve the problems with industry merit. Incorporating the features associated with the tabu search, resulted in developing six different versions of the heuristic solution algorithm. The six heuristics are tested on twenty small problems, and the quality of their solutions is evaluated by investing significant effort to find their optimal solutions. The evaluation shows that the heuristics are highly effective. The solutions obtained from the heuristics have average percentage deviation of less than 3% from the optimal solutions. The heuristics are also tested on their performances with medium and large problems. By using a statistical experiment that is based on randomized block design, the performance of the six heuristics is compared. Three different problem structures, ranging from 4 parts to 30 parts and from 3 locations to 9 locations are used in the experimentation. The experiment reveals that in general, the tabu search based-heuristic using fixed tabu list size and long-term memory based on minimal frequency strategy is preferred to other heuristics as the problem size increases.
Graduation date: 2000

The target of thesis is to analyze handling equipment and device for realization of loading operations in agriculture and provide proposals and principles for optimal usage of applied handling equipment and device. The characteristics and clasifications of materials in agriculture, loading operations and transportation, listing of applied handling equipment and device for realization of such processes are stated in literary survey of this work. Next part of the work focuses on selection of modern handling equipment, device and producers ( domestic and international) available at current market and defines factors influencing the prefered choice to use particular handling equipment and device for loading processes on farms and in other agricultural environment. A part of the analysis is data and information acquisition of particular farm and review of loading processes in agriculture connected to applicable handling equipment and device, furthermore, currently used handling equipment and device with proposal to optimalization.

碩士
國立交通大學
管理學院運輸物流學程
105
This study employed the material handling facilities in a TFT-LCD factory as a case study. We screened the set of critical parts for the material handling system from the historical data from the procurement and maintenance logs. Then, we conduct fitting analysis on the number of parts used for maintenance, the time between failures of the part to get the probability distribution of failure events for the critical parts. We formulated the corresponding simulation model for the material handling system based on the results of fitting analysis on the part consumption, the time between failures. Then, we used an enumeration approach to test different combinations of inventory levels of spare parts using the simulations, recorded the number of events in which the breakdown of the system lasts more than 8 hours (in short, BMT8). We pick the best combination of inventory levels of spare parts that meets the required conditions BMT8 is no more than 5 times with the minimum inventory holding cost. The framework and results of the proposed system simulation could serve an important support and reference on the decision of inventory levels of spare parts for the case company.

Dissertação de Mestrado em Engenharia e Gestão Industrial apresentada à Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia
A crescente exigência do mercado automóvel, leva a que as empresas tenham cada vez mais a necessidade de eliminar desperdícios para tornar os seus processos mais eficientes e dessa forma conseguir fazer mais com menos. Com o objetivo de reduzir desperdícios de stock e movimentação surge a oportunidade deste trabalho com base num problema real, focando-se na redução de stock nas linhas de montagem e na procura de alternativas aos tradicionais meios de movimentação de materiais.Neste trabalho, realizado em parceria com os departamentos de logística e montagem da Iber-Oleff Portugal, foram desenvolvidos métodos de redução de stock na linha de montagem, usando os conceitos presentes nos milk runs internos tais como o Just In Time. Perante a inexistência de documentação relativa à logística interna, surgiu a necessidade da criação de uma base de dados com toda a informação relativa às várias rotas de abastecimento das linhas da Montagem Automotive para que fosse possível perceber o panorama geral do abastecimento e a partir daí perceber as necessidades de melhoria. Durante a recolha de dados, procedeu-se também a um levantamento de problemas durante o processo de abastecimento que culminou com a elaboração de um plano de melhoria contínua. Após uma análise da base de dados, foram encontrados alguns problemas com o dimensionamento do sistema kanban, tendo este sido redimensionado eliminando excesso e evitando quebras de stock. Por fim foi criado um cartão nível com o objetivo de reduzir o stock de material presente nas linhas de montagem.Foram ainda apresentadas sugestões de alternativas aos atuais meios de movimentação e realizados testes com o objetivo de mudar o processo de abastecimento, especializando operadores em tarefas à semelhança do que é feito numa linha de montagem.
The growing demand of the automotive market, leads companies to increasingly need to eliminate waste in order to make their processes more efficient and thus be able to do more with less. In order to reduce waste of stock and handling, the opportunity arises for this work based on a real problem, focusing on stock reduction on assembly lines and looking for alternatives to traditional material handling equipment.In this work, carried out in partnership with the logistics and assembly departments of Iber-Oleff Portugal, were developed methods for reducing stock on the assembly line, using concepts associated with internal milk runs such as Just In Time. Facing a lack of documentation related to internal logistics, the need arose to create a database with all the information related to the various supply routes of the Automotive Assembly lines so that it was possible to understand the general panorama of supply and from there to understand improvement needs. During data collection, problems were also surveyed during the supply process, which culminated in the development of a continuous improvement plan. After an analysis of the database, some problems were found with the sizing of the kanban system, which was resized eliminating excess and avoiding stock breaks. Finally, a level card was created in order to reduce the stock of material present in the assembly lines.Suggestions of alternatives to the current means of movement were also presented and tests were carried out with the aim of changing the supply process, specializing operators in tasks similar to what is done on an assembly line.

Bulk materials handling systems are extensively used within the mining and minerals industry. Due to the nature of the mining environment, the support structures for these systems are often exposed to special and/or accidental loading conditions. This unfortunately leads to a fairly high incidence of structural damage or failure being experienced within the mining industry, notwithstanding design compliance with appropriate standards. Over the past few decades reputable mining companies have acknowledged the necessity for more conservative structural designs and this has led to the development of design rules for permanent structures which are used in conjunction with national and international design standards. The design of mobile continuous bulk handling equipment is governed internationally by the ISO 5049-1 (1994) Standard, except in Australia where AS 4324-1 (1995) is generally utilised. The study investigates a number of catastrophic failures of mobile bulk materials handling (BMH) equipment to identify the typical root causes and their complex interaction in these disastrous events. A retrospective view is taken of the processes followed during the investigation of the main case study to develop a methodology for future failure investigations. Brief case studies are made to demonstrate the shortcomings of the ISO 5049-1 (1994) Standard, which currently provides no rules or guidelines for machine protection systems. The aim of the study is ultimately to improve structural safety on future mobile BMH equipment designs, which does not necessarily imply a more conservative design approach, but rather that design loads and conditions be correctly assessed. The revision of ISO 5049-1 (1994) is subsequently proposed to provide specific rules and guidelines pertaining to machine protection systems. Other focus areas for consideration are also covered. It is furthermore recommended that the structural design engineer should play a more prominent role during the final acceptance of mobile BMH equipment and handover to the owner. A systems design approach integrating the respective engineering disciplines and based on a comprehensive risk assessment, is required.
Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2014.
lk2014
Civil Engineering
MSc
Unrestricted

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Engineering, Johannesburg 2017
Depletion of mineral resources is a reality of mining. It is critical that as resources get depleted, new reserves are subsequently opened up continuously if a mine is to continue operating. Failure to open up new reserves will result in a mining operation running out of reserves and ultimately ceasing operations. Besides the economic considerations of an ore reserve such as the grade and tonnage, stability of the mining operation is of equal importance. A mine should remain stable for the entire period that it remains operational. Pillars play a critical role in ensuring the stability of an excavation; actually, regional pillars ensure the overall stability of a mine. It therefore goes without saying, pillar design is an integral component of any successful mine design. This project was undertaken with the objective of ensuring that the new reserves being opened up in the Khuseleka Ore Replacement Project (KORP) section are not only profitable, but also stable. This was done through a) maximisation of extraction ratio, thereby maximising the mines’ profitability. b) designing the regional pillar layout for the KORP section using current empirical and numerical pillar design methods and comparing the results to come up with the most optimal design. c) ensuring the stability of the on and off reef mine infrastructure by determining the Rockwall Condition Factor (RCF) values on the footwall infrastructure due to pillars left above and thus prevent damage to these excavations through stress induced failures. Consideration was given to the standard Khuseleka footwall infrastructure layouts for the design based on the planning department’s layout of haulages and crosscuts for the KORP section. The layout of the footwall excavations indicated that the pillars would be differently sized thereby having an influence on the APS, pillar strength and factors of safety of the regional pillars. d) numerical modelling analysis of the effects of leaving stabilizing pillars on the 27 raise line where the haulages intersect the reef horizon. The methodology employed for this undertaking involved a critical literature review of existing pillar design methods, applying and comparing them, and coming up with an economic and safe design. To be able to design a pillar layout that met the objectives listed above, engineering design principles had to be applied. It involved gathering the relevant geological and geotechnical information required as input parameters for the different empirical and numerical analyses methods. What came out from this project was that each method employed yielded its own set of results. This highlighted the need to understand the context under which a design is carried out and the shortcomings of each method employed. It showed how important it is to have all the relevant information of not only the characteristics of the rock mass in which an excavation will be made, but also on the strengths and limitations of the tools available to design a structure. It highlighted the fact that to minimize uncertainty and have a more robust design, it was necessary to spend time and effort in gathering as much relevant data as possible. In the end engineering judgment was used to decide on the best method or system to employ in the design of the pillars.
XL2018

The work deals with the analysis of transport and handling operations performed on specific agricultural farm. It is the handling and transport operations in the handling of grain and bulky materials. It also analyzes new trends in the marketfor transport and handling equipment. Based on these analyzes, was developed a proposal for the modernization of handling equipment and vehicles. Farm equipment was proposed appropriate means of transport and handling facilities,not only from a technical perspective, but also in terms of ecological and economic terms. For this reason, it was suggested some existing vehicles discarded, replaced with some new and straw at harvest to select a cost analysis to choose other means of transportation and handling due to changes in the way of the harvesting. In modernizing the proposed new transport and handling means for greater versatility, leading to the greater utilization, there by reducing unit costs.