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G-2002-68

Fleet Management System for Underground Mines

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This paper describes a real-time fleet-management system for an underground mine. Dispatching, routing, and scheduling are handled simultaneously, taking into account the mine status, operational constraints and vehicle location information. Each assignment decision takes into account the traffic on the road segments of the mine network, whether road segments are bi-directional or unidirectional and ensures that each LHD (Load-Haul-Dump) vehicle arrives at loading and dumping points with the correct orientation. Such a system can be used either as a simulation tool for strategic planning or as a real-time managing and optimizing system for operations. In the simulation mode, the system can accurately estimate the impact on productivity of decisions such as the development of waiting areas (bays, sidings), or the addition (elimination) of vehicles to the fleet in operation. When used for real-time dispatching, routing and scheduling of vehicles, the system can optimize production with respect to various assignment criteria such as cycle-time minimization or deviation from a target production plan.

, 13 pages

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