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Performance assessment of draglines in opencast mines”,

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Indian Journal of Engineering & Materials Sciences
Vol. 11, December 2004, pp. 493-498

Performance assessment of draglines in opencast mines

Piyush Rai
Department of Mining Engineering, Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221 005, India
Received 26 May 2003; accepted 17 August 2004

The present paper investigates a few important productivity parameters of draglines operating in some major opencast
coal-mines in India. The parameters, such as, average total cycle time, availability, utilization, annual output and influence
of fragmentation on the overall performance of the draglines, have been critically analyzed with studies in mines. The results
indicate that there is a considerable scope for improvement in performance of draglines mines by reducing the cycle time,
improving the maintenance strategies, reducing the idling losses and improving the degree of fragmentation, especially at
the collar regions.
IPC Code: Int. Cl.7 E02F 3/48, E21C 47/00

The use of large walking draglines for stripping the some large opencast coalmines of our country. The
overburden (OB) rocks in large opencast coalmines is chief objectives of the present work are: (i) to study
growing steadily in India, with the result that deeper the complete cycle of operation of draglines in the
coal seam with stripping ratios of even up to 1:4 or field and to break it up into simpler segments in order
1:5 and gradients of up to 1 in 3 to 1 in 4 are being to observe and record the segmental and total cycle
mined by this equipment successfully. Even thinner time for different capacity draglines operating, (ii) to
seams with a limiting gradient of 1 in 6 to 1 in 8 are evaluate the availability (A) and utilization (U) of the
now considered to be mineable by draglines. A draglines and to critically analyze the loss of
dragline may be considered as one of the world’s operational hours, (iii) to estimate and project the
biggest robots which is about 100 m high and is used annual output of the draglines based on the recorded
as a walking crane in surface coal mines. cycle time and evaluated availability and utilization
The main application of walking draglines exist in data, and (iv) to investigate the influence of the
opencast coal projects where the volume of OB to be degree of fragmentation on the cycle time, and, hence,
handled is many times greater than the volume of the productivity of the draglines.
mineral to be extracted1. For instance, one-meter coal
seam may have thirty-meter thick cover of OB, which Methodology
may still be an economic proposition to be mined by In order to achieve the stated objectives, field scale
draglines. studies and data acquisition was carried out in some
Looking into the merits and vast scope of large opencast coal projects of Northern Coalfields
application of the dragline in opencast projects on one Limited and Singareni Coal Company Limited.
hand and large capital investment (about rupees 80 Time and motion studies were carried out for
crores) incurred on procuring, operating and recording the cycle time elements. Besides, a record
maintaining this equipment on the other hand, it of working hours (WH), idle hours (IH), maintenance
becomes imperative to assess the performance of this hours (MH) and breakdown hours (BH) were also
equipment. maintained meticulously for a period of one month on
The present paper, evaluates a few important various draglines under study.
performance parameters of draglines. Such
evaluations would necessarily provide the information Cycle time studies
in regard to the areas, which call for immediate For the purpose of systematic investigation, one
attention in order to enhance the performance complete cycle of operation of dragline was splitted
standards of the draglines. up into four segments, namely, bucket placement and
The study was carried out to evaluate some major digging, swinging to, unloading and swinging back
performance parameters of the draglines operating in operations. Individual time for each of these parts of
494 INDIAN J. ENG. MATER. SCI., DECEMBER 2004

operation and the total cycle time observations were as obtained through personal communication with
made and recorded in the field. For time recording CMPDI, RI-VI, Singrauli.
stopwatch was used. P1 has been termed as projected annual output
because it has been computed on the basis of short-
Evaluation of availability (A) and utilization (U) term field study and data acquisition. This projected
To evaluate the A and U, field data was acquired output has been compared with the annual output
and maintained on day-to-day basis on all the norm (P) as fixed by the CMPDI, in order to provide
draglines under study. This acquired data was an insight into the performance of operating draglines.
substituted in Eqs (1) and (2) for the computation of
A and U. Fragmentation versus cycle time
During the course of fieldwork, it was observed
SSH − (MH+BH) that the cycle time of the draglines is related to the
A= … (1) degree of fragmentation in the blasted muck piles.
SSH The digging time segment of the total cycle time was
largely affected by the fragmentation. The invariable
SSH − (MH+BH+IH) occurrence of oversize boulders at the collar region of
U= … (2)
SSH the blasted muck piles was noticed. These oversize
boulders at the collar region (upto 10 m from the top
where, SSH is scheduled shift hours, MH is of the bench) adversely affected the bucket placement
maintenance hours, BH is breakdown hours and IH is and digging segment time to a great extent. Hence, it
idle hours. was contemplated to precisely investigate the
Further, a detailed investigation of idle hours has influence of these collars over sizes on the
been done in order to identify the major reasons performance of the draglines.
responsible for non-operation of these machines in the
field. The percentage-wise-break up of these idle Description of the mines and draglines under study
hours has been done in order to categorically generate The field studies were conducted in four mines out
an idea in regard to the weightage of these major of which two mines (mine 1 and mine 2) belonged to
reasons. the Northern Coalfields Ltd. (NCL) and other two
mines (mine 3 and mine 4) belonged to Singareni
Projection of annual output Coal Company Ltd. (SCCL).
Based on the observed and recorded data in terms In the mine 1, studies were performed on 24/96
of average total cycle time, A and U values, the Rapier-Ransome draglines working on 30-35 m high
annual output (P1) of the draglines under study, has sandstone bench and in mine 2 the studies were
been projected using Eq. (3): performed on both 24/96 (Rapier-Ransome) and
15/90 (Russian make) draglines. These two draglines
P1 = (B/C)* A*U*S*F*M*Ns Nh*Nd*3600 were operating on similar sandstone bench 40-45 m
(in Million cubic meter ) … (3) high in vertical tandem. The lower portion of this
bench (28-30 m) was worked by 24/96 draglines and
where, B is bucket capacity of dragline in cubic the top 15-17 m of this bench was being worked by
meter, C is average total cycle time of dragline in 15/90 draglines. The OB rocks in these dragline
second, S is swell factor, F is fill factor, M is machine benches of both the mines consisted of medium to
travel and positioning factor, NS is number of
Table 1—Productivity factors for dragline as per CMPDI
operating shifts in a day, Nh is number of operating recommendations
hours in a shift and Nd is number of operating days in
a year. Particulars Recommended
In the above equation, the values of average cycle values
time (C), A and U were substituted as per the Swell factor (S) 0.719
recorded field observations. Remaining factors in the Fill factor (F) 0.733
Eq. (3) (S, F, M, NS, Nh, Nd) were substituted as per Machine travel & positioning factor (M) 0.8
the recommendations made by CMPDI in regard to No. of shifts in a day (Ns) 3
the values of these factors in Indian coal-mines. The No. of hours in a day (Nh) 8
suggested values for these factors are given in Table 1 No. of days in a year (Nd) 365
 RAI: PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT OF DRAGLINES IN OPENCAST MINES 495

coarse-grained sandstone with carboniferous shale time segment was observed to increase which, in turn,
and shaly intercalations. increased the average total cycle time.
In the mine 3 of SCCL, the OB bench, which was Another noteworthy feature from Table 2 is that
about 30-35 m high, was being worked by 24/96 barring the 15/90 dragline of mine 1 the average total
Rapier and Ransome draglines. The OB rocks of this cycle time for all the draglines is higher than the
bench consisted of medium to coarse-grained standard prescribed norm of 60 s. The increase in total
felspathic sandstone inter-collated at some horizons cycle time could be largely attributed to the larger
with thin bands of shale, clay and carbonaceous swing angles negotiated by these draglines while
sandstone. operating from one seating position. The swing angles
In the mine 4 of SCCL, the OB bench was worked of 120 and 180 degrees were instrumental in
by 30/92 draglines. This OB bench was about 35-40 inordinate increase in the swing to and swing back
m high and it also consisted of medium to coarse- segments of operation. It thus appears necessary to
grained felspathic sandstone. properly decide the seating position of draglines in
strict accordance to the balancing diagram without
Results and Discussion allowing for deviations from the stipulated plan2.

Cycle time results Availability and utilization results

While excavating the blasted muck from one The results of the field data in terms of SSH, WH,
seating position a dragline essentially negotiates MH, BH and IH for all the draglines as collected from
varying swing angles at changing instant in order to the respective minefields during the study period are
avoid the frequent marching operation. Hence, for all given in Table 3.
the five draglines under study, the cycle time On substituting the values of useful data in Eqs (1)
observations were conducted at various swing angles and (2), the availability and utilization factors have
encountered during the study. The observations were been calculated for all the draglines and the results are
recorded at swing angles of 45, 60, 90, 120 and even given in Table 4.
180 degrees. The segmental cycle time for each The results of A and U reveal that barring only
segment of total cycle was recorded for these varying 24/96 dragline of mine 1, the values of A and U, are
swing angles and then the average total cycle time much below the expected standards. The A and U
was computed. The total cycle time results for all the values for large machines like dragline should
five draglines are given in Table 2. normally lie in the range of 0.9-0.95 (ref. 3). Earlier
The results from Table 2 reveal that the total cycle studies by Nath and Rai4 also reported low A and U
time is related to the bucket capacity. With increase in values for some draglines in the opencast projects of
the bucket capacity the bucket placement and digging India. It is generally observed in the Indian mining

Table 2—The average total cycle time results Table 4—Availability and utilization factors
Mine Equipment Standard Observed cycle time Mine Equipment Availability factor Utilization
cycle time, s (C), s (A) factor (U)
1 15/90 60 56.93 1 15/90 0.7319 0.6958
24/96 60 69.68 24/96 0.8833 0.8597
2 24/96 60 63.83 2 24/96 0.8427 0.7983
3 24/96 60 63.82 3 24/96 0.7888 0.7041
4 30/92 60 69.11 4 30/92 0.7755 0.5483

Table 3—Break-up of operational hours

Mine Equipment Scheduled Working hours Maintenance Breakdown hours Idle hours
shift hours (SSH) (WH) hours (MH) (BH) (IH)
1 15/90 720 501 161 32 26
24/96 720 619 59 25 17
2 24/96 744 594 49 68 33
3 24/96 720 507 119 33 61
4 30/92 744 408 137 30 161
496 INDIAN J. ENG. MATER. SCI., DECEMBER 2004

industry that 80% of the maintenance costs are due to

emergency repairs and only 20% are due to scheduled
preventive maintenance5. It is thus imperative that
immediate attention is needed on the maintenance
planning of this capital-intensive equipment.
For proper analysis of low utilization of these
draglines, an in-depth investigation was carried out to
ascertain the potential areas which lead to the
unforeseen idling of these machines. Figs 1-5 in the
form of bar charts reveal the reasons for loss of
available hours and attributes the percentage to each
reason. Dozing operations, non-availability of power,
blasting operations, non-availability of the blasted
muck and other miscellaneous reasons, such as, Fig. 3—Break-up of Idle Hours for 24/96 dragline (Mine 2) (A)
extended Tiffin hours, shift changeover delays and Non-availability of blasted muck, (B) Blasting Operations, (C)
Site Inspection, (D) Dozing Operation, (E) Non-availability of
cable addition/removal are the reasons for poor Power, (F) adopters replacement, (G) Cable adding/removal, (H)
utilization. Idle time analysis in such a manner assists Shift Change- over (I) Drag Hatch Pin Changing

Fig. 4—Break-up of Idle Hours for 24/96 dragline (Mine 3)

Fig. 1—Break-up of idle hours for 15/90 dragline (Mine 1) (A) A=Non-availability of blasted muck, B=Dozing operations,
Dozing Operation, (B) Non-availability of blasted muck, (C) C=Non-availability of Power, D=Site Inspection, E=Blasting,
Blasting Operation (D) Cable Adding/ Removing, (E) Drag Hatch F=Adopters replacement, G=Drag Hatch Pin Changing, H=Cable
pin Changing, (F) Site Inspection adding/Removal

Fig. 5—Break-up of Idle Hours for 30/92 dragline (Mine 4) (A)

Fig. 2—Break-up of idle hours for 24/96 dragline (Mine 1) (A) Non-availability of lasted muck, (B) dozing operation, (C) Cable
Dozing Operation, (B) Non-availability of Blasted muck, (C) Adding/Removal, (D) Non-availability of Power, (E) Site
Cable adding/Removing, (D) Blasting Operation (E) Site Inspection, (F) Drag Hatch Pin Changing, (G) Blasting operation,
Inspection, (F) Drag Hatch pin Changing (H) Adopters Replacement, (I) Shift Changeover
 RAI: PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT OF DRAGLINES IN OPENCAST MINES 497

Table 5—Annual output projections vis-à-vis prescribed output

Mine Equipment Cycle time Projected production (P1) Stipulated production (P) Efficiency (%)
(s) (M.cu.m) (M.cu.m) (P1/P)
Mine 1 15/90 D/L 56.93 1.78 2.25 79.11
24/96 D/L 69.68 3.48 3.60 96.66
Mine 2 24/96 D/L 63.83 3.36 3.60 93.33
Mine 3 24/96 D/L 63.82 2.77 3.60 76.94
Mine 4 30/92 D/L 69.11 2.45 4.325 56.65

Further from the results of Table 5, it is obvious

that the cycle time of 24/96 D/L (mine 3) is almost
same as that of 24/96 D/L (mine 2) and cycle time of
30/92 D/L (mine 4) is almost comparable to 24/96
D/L (mine 1). Interestingly enough, 15/90 D/L is
operating at the lowest cycle time (56.93 s) out of all
the five draglines under the present study. Despite all
this the operational efficiency of these three draglines
is quite below that of the earlier discussed draglines.
This reaffirms the earlier drawn conclusion that, there
exists a substantial scope for improvement in the
performance of draglines, operated in Indian mines,
by improving the maintenance strategies and reducing
the uncalled for idling losses. This, in turn, would
Fig. 6—Influence of collar oversize on the digging time for lead to improvements in the availability and
different capacity draglines utilization factors to enhance the operating efficiency
and the productivity levels.
in identifying and subsequently rectifying the
potential areas where loss of available hours occurs.
Fragmentation versus cycle time
Annual output projections Improper fragmentation at the collar region poses
On substituting the field observed values of average problems to the dragline bucket, which has to strive
cycle time, A and U and also the other constants (as and meander a lot to fill the muck from the collar
given in Table 1) in Eq. (3), the annual output (P1) regions. Consequently, the digging segment of the
has been projected for all the five draglines. The total cycle time was fond to increase enormously as
results of these projected outputs and the prescribed illustrated in Fig. 6 graphically. A perusal of these
output (P) norms as per CMPDI are given in Table 5. graphs reveals that the digging time is quite high
It is quite evident from the results of the output when the depth of cut is up to 8-10 m. (collar region).
projections that, barring 24/96 D/L in mine 1 and As the depth of cut increases, the digging time gets
24/96 D/L in mine 2, the results in terms of projected reduced. Tuksuk7 also reported the influence of
output and efficiency of other draglines is not blasting efficiency on the digging time of the
satisfactory. The results for these draglines are below machines.
the satisfactory performance levels. Earlier studies by During the course of fieldwork it was also observed
Reddy and Dhar6 also revealed similar output results that during the unloading operation these large collar
in some of the opencast projects of India. boulders created problems due to their jamming and
Nevertheless, 24/96 dragline in mine1 despite interlocking at the mouth of the bucket, which
consuming longer total cycle time (69.68 s) yielded prevented their smooth unloading. This, in turn,
slightly efficiency (96.66%) in comparison to similar increased the unloading time segment, though
capacity dragline of mine 2, which consumed shorter sporadically.
cycle time (63.83%) but provided lower efficiency
(93.33%). The reason for this discrepancy may be Conclusions
mostly attributed to the availability and utilization From the present research work following
factors (as also has been depicted in Figs 2 and 3). conclusions may be drawn.
 498 INDIAN J. ENG. MATER. SCI., DECEMBER 2004

1 The production and productivity analysis and Coalfields Ltd. (NCL), Singrauli, District. Sidhi (MP)
estimations provide meaningful information on and the Singareni Collieries Company Ltd. (SCCL),
the performance of equipment. Kothagudem, District Khammam, for providing
2 The average total cycle time of the draglines is excellent support during the fieldwork.
affected by its bucket capacity, swing angle and
the seating position. References
3 There exists a considerable scope to improve
1 Rai V K, Indian Min Eng J, 2 (2001).
upon the availability and utilization of draglines
2 Rai P, Trivedi R & Nath R, Indian.J Eng Mater Sci, 6(6)
by improving the maintenance strategies and (2000) 77.
reducing the unnecessary idling losses.
3 Chironis N P, Coal Age, 91(12) (1986).
4 Greater average cycle time and lower availability
and utilization of draglines reduces the output 4 Nath R & Rai P, Dragline Operations in Opencast Mines-A
Critical Study, 2nd. Int Symp on Mine Mechanization and
capability of these capital intensive equipment. Automation, Balkema Pub, June, Lulea, Sweden, 1993.
Nevertheless, there is a vast potential for
5 Rao K R M & Subrahmanyam G V, Reliability centered
enhancing the productivity by simple and easy maintenance for complex mining machinery, Proc W/S on new
methods. development in mining machinery, organized by MGMI of
5 Degree of fragmentation affects the dragline India, Calcutta, May 1990.
performance by increasing the digging segment 6 Reddy V R, & Dhar B B, Dragline performance in open pit
time and also sometimes by increasing the Indian coal mines, Procs Int Conf on Mine Planning and
unloading segment time, though occasionally. Equipment Selection, Balkema Pub, Rotterdam, The
Netherlands, 1988.
7 Tuksuk M, Factors affecting loading performance of the
Acknowledgement excavators in garp lignite enterprise, Proc Int Conf on Mine
The author wishes to convey immense gratitude Planning and Equipment Selection, Balkema Pub, Rotterdam,
towards the staff and management of the Northern The Netherlands, 2000.

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