Analysis of Bottleneck using Mine Production Index and Ishikawa Diagram: A Case of Indian Coal Mine

Abstract

The traditional way of coal production and management is still predominant in the Indian coal mining industry which has led to a widespread waste of resources both materials and humans. Operational loss of the mining machinery and equipment is one of the key factors for the low performance and productivity of mines. This research presents an application of the integrated approach of the Mine Production Index (MPi) and Ishikawa Diagram in an Indian coal mine to study the bottleneck equipment in the mining operation among the fleet of shovels, trucks (dump trucks), and dozers. Mine Production Index (MPi) identifies the bottleneck equipment in the mining operation, and Ishikawa Diagram presents the Root Cause Analysis of bottleneck equipment. The Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP) is used to determine weights for MPi calculation using information gathered from a group of 11 experts through structured interviews. The study found that the dozer fleet is the bottleneck equipment and the ineffectiveness of the dozer fleet can be grouped into 4 categories as enumerated on the Ishikawa diagram. The study proposes that the ineffectiveness of the dozer fleet can be improved with an increase in its performance rate. The study is based on the judgments of the experts for the case mine, which may limit the external validity. This paper is an original contribution to the analysis of mining equipment using the Mine Production Index and Ishikawa Diagram in an Indian coal mine.