This paper describes the development of a model to predict the hourly cost of downtime (using regression equations) for tracked hydraulic excavators operating in the UK opencast mining industry. A three-stage process was utilized for the model's development. The first stage predicted machine...

The financial success or otherwise of a maintenance strategy can be determined realistically only when actual costs are compared with target 'predicted' values. This is because, in the absence of accurate cost control mechanisms, maintenance expenditure can exceed capital cost. In order to...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to add to the accumulative knowledge in the field through investigating the different factors affecting the choice of export entry mode by Egyptian SMEs. An organised examination of the literature related to export entry modes by SMEs is discussed to...

By the nature of its activities, construction poses a significant risk from hand-arm vibration (HAV). The Control of Vibration at Work Regulations place a duty upon employers to limit HAV exposure, which can entail risk assessment of hand-held tools (by using vibration magnitude data). A field...

Anecdotal evidence suggests that construction industry professions are facing an unprecedented recruitment crisis. In recent years many construction degree programmes have been withdrawn in response to falling recruitment across most built environment disciplines, whilst at the same time...

A model is presented that predicts the total cost of plant maintenance (i.e. direct cost of maintenance plus indirect cost of lost production) and is derived studying a random sample of tracked hydraulic excavators. Analysis is based on the machine history file data of 33 plant items, modelled...