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Narrow vein mining — A challenge to the operator
Published in Vladimír Strakoš, Vladimír Kebo, Radim Farana, Lubomír Smutný, Mine Planning and Equipment Selection 1997, 2020
Simon C. Dominy, G. Simon Camm, Roland F.G. Phelps
During the last 10–15 years a number of developments in mechanized mining equipment have changed the options available to operators of mines with orebodies of less than 3 m wide. The limitations on mining of narrow veins imposed by the need to use jackleg drills, scrapers and railbound overhead loaders have restricted this type of mining to larger companies. The traditional methods are labour intensive with relatively low output, and whilst capable of supporting a small operation, are inflexible and cost ineffective for a larger operation. The most significant development for narrow vein mining has been the introduction of LHD’s. Machines as narrow as 0.8 m have allowed mechanized mining of narrow veins to widths below 1 m. Self contained electro-hydraulic drillrigs capable of drilling in drives as small as 1.2 m wide by 2.2 m high, combined with small LHD’s may replace some conventional methods of development. When used effectively mechanization leads to lower costs and higher productivity (Dominy & Phelps, 1997).
Importance of physical-mechanical properties of rocks for application of a raise boring machine
Published in Daniele Peila, Giulia Viggiani, Tarcisio Celestino, Tunnels and Underground Cities: Engineering and Innovation meet Archaeology, Architecture and Art, 2020
A. Shaterpour-Mamaghani, H. Copur, E. Dogan, T. Erdogan
The duration of the individual construction activities such as shaft excavation should be taking into account in the feasibility and design stages of the mining and tunneling projects. The detailed and optimized implementation schedule could be increased the efficiency of the mining and tunneling operations. It is well known that excavation of shafts and other vertical structures is a difficult job taking quite long time to realize. In this case, the selection of the best method for shaft excavation plays an important role in the projects implementation and completion. In recent years, the continuing trends has been towards to mechanization of shaft excavation. Mechanization offers safer, faster, more efficient, and more environment friendly operations. Raise Boring Machine (RBM) is one of the mechanical miners that is used to drill/excavate a circular hole between two levels of underground structures without the use of explosives. RBMs are used for different purposes such as excavation of ventilation shafts, ore transport shafts and manways in the mines, the surge in hydropower plants, inclined penstock lines (generally vertical), switching lines between underground subway tunnels (horizontal), stairs tunnels (inclined), and ventilation shafts in the road and railway tunnels.
Automated Manufacturing Systems
Published in Helmi Youssef, Hassan El-Hofy, Traditional Machining Technology, 2020
Mechanization was related to the first industrial revolution and reached its peak by the 1940s, when most manufacturing operations were carried out on traditional machinery, such as lathes, milling machines, and automatic lathes, which required skilled operators and lacked flexibility. Each time a different product was manufactured, the machine had to be retooled. Furthermore, new products with complex shapes required tedious work from the operator to set the proper processing parameters. Mechanization refers to the use of various mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, or electrical devices to run the manufacturing process. In a mechanized system, the operator still directly controls the particular process and checks each step of machine operation.
Rationalization of coppice management in Mediterranean Europe: the sustainability effects of changing product strategy and technology level
Published in International Journal of Forest Engineering, 2021
Raffaele Spinelli, Natascia Magagnotti, Diana Tuomasjukka
While mechanization will improve worker conditions, it will also reduce the need for workers and therefore it has a lower employment potential compared with traditional semi-mechanized technology (Spinelli and Magagnotti 2011). That is generally defined as a negative impact of the innovative supply chain, but the issue is not clear-cut. In fact, mechanization is reducing the employment potential for generally undesirable occupations that struggle to attract new employees. While the contribution of immigrant workers is a most welcome solution to a severe recruiting deficit, their significant share in the Italian logging workforce (Spinelli et al. 2013) may be taken as an indicator that occupation for the low-paying high-risk manual jobs offered by traditional logging techniques is guaranteed only by leveraging national income differences within the European Union (Engbersen et al. 2017; Natale et al. 2019). The improvement of worker conditions derived from mechanization may facilitate recruitment and generate new employment rather then reduce it. In turn, this would promote a return to coppice management, with additional opportunities for rural economies due to the more intense management required by coppice compared with high forests (20-year rotations vs. 80-year rotations).
A fuzzy causal relational mapping and rough set-based model for context-specific human error rate estimation
Published in International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics, 2021
Suprakash Gupta, Pramod Kumar, Gunda Yuga Raju
The technical environment refers to the level of adoption and implementation of the state-of-the-art technology and includes the extent of mechanization and the type of man–machine interface (MMI): Mechanization: this is the process of doing work wholly or partly with machinery to replace human labour. The level and extent of mechanization represent the contribution of the human element in the work and dependency on machinery/equipment.Adequacy of the MMI and operational support: this defines the information available in the operator’s cabin and control panel, computerized workstations and operational support provided by specifically designed decision aids. On-board operational supports are software tools that provide information on the status of a process, machine health, etc., to the operators.
History of the Landmark U.S. Ergonomics Guidelines for Meatpacking
Published in IISE Transactions on Occupational Ergonomics and Human Factors, 2020
It may also be helpful at the outset to briefly describe key constraints on engineering improvements and mechanization in the meatpacking industry. Throughout history, the slaughtering and processing of meat products has been strenuous and often dangerous work. With the advent of mass production, these problems worsened, as described in Upton Sinclair’s 1906 novel The Jungle. The industry has continued to modernize, but working conditions remain difficult. There are multiple factors contributing to existence of ongoing problems, but from an engineering perspective, the industry has inherent barriers to their ability to apply common approaches to mechanization and automation that other industries routinely use. There are two major engineering barriers in particular. One is the random shape and size of meat products, which are incompatible with normal types of equipment commonly used in other industries that require placement of products in a precise position and orientation. Furthermore, other industries have achieved breakthroughs by redesigning products to be easier to manufacture, which is obviously not possible with animals.