TITLE:
Introduction of Innovative Equipment in Mining: Impact on Productivity
AUTHORS:
Bryan Boudreau-Trudel, Kazimierz Zaras, Sylvie Nadeau, Isabelle Deschamps
KEYWORDS:
Innovation Equipment; Mining Equipment; Productivity; Mines
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Industrial and Business Management,
Vol.4 No.1,
January
23,
2014
ABSTRACT:
In this era of increased competition
and rapid change, mining companies must remain attentive to all opportunities
to gain an advantage over competitors. Acquisition of innovative equipment is
often viewed as a way of decreasing operating costs, for example, by increasing machinery reliability.
The objective of this paper is to examine the impact of new equipment on
productivity in underground mining. Ten projects were examined using three
indicators: the cost per meter drilled, the cost per hour of use and the
equipment availability ratio. The results clearly show that the introduction of
new equipment with technological innovations does not necessarily improve
productivity. In some cases, performance indicators even dropped. We suggest
that future research should focus on identifying the mechanisms and conditions that ensure the increases in productivity following
the introduction of the latest innovations in mining equipment. Successful
introductions of such equipment likely depend on the conditions surrounding it.