A study of the concept of dynamic equipment in the earthmoving process by a consideration of time, cost and emissions

Abstract

The earthmoving process is usually handled by a combination of multi-functional excavators and delivery trucks. According to the principles of excavation, a specific machine is selected to dig the earth. Sometimes, due to the difficulties in the process, the digging process is split between different machines with different capabilities. This paper aims to introduce the concept of dynamic equipment for allocating different tasks in an operation to a machine. This concept is discussed and modelled via a discrete-event simulation method and is tested in a real earthmoving operation from three different perspectives: time, cost and emission. The results from the case study show that the use of dynamic equipment will lead to a decrease in cost and emissions and an increase in productivity.