Match factor for heterogeneous truck and loader fleets

Abstract

The mining and construction industries have used match factor for many decades as an indicator of productivity performance. The term match factor is usually defined as the ratio of truck arrival rate to loader service time. This ratio relies on the assumption that the truck and loader fleets are homogeneous. That is, all the trucks are of the same type, and all the loaders are of the same type. In reality, mixed fleets are common. This paper proposes a method of defining match factor for heterogeneous fleets: in particular, a heterogeneous trucking fleet, a heterogeneous loading fleet, and the case where both truck and loader fleets are heterogeneous.