4.1. Discussion on Truck and Loader Balancing

Now let us find the balance number of trucks needed for one loader. So, that depends upon your truck cycle time divided by load of cycle time. So, you have estimated the truck cycle time earlier, so estimated it is 39.5. The truck cycle time is 39.5 and the loader cycle time is 5.5, we have calculated the loader cycle time as 5.5. So, this gives me the balance number of 7.18, here also I did not get the old number, so I have to do the rounding either I can round it to 7 or I can round it to 8.

To determine the number of trucks required for one loader, we calculate what is known as the 'balance number of trucks.' It is computed by dividing the truck cycle time (which includes the time the truck takes to transport the load and return to the loader) by the loader cycle time (the time it takes for the loader to load a truck). In this case, the truck cycle time is 39.5 minutes and the loader cycle time is 5.5 minutes, resulting in a calculated balance number of 7.18. Since we can't have partial trucks in practice, we need to decide whether to round this up to 8 or down to 7, which will depend on economic considerations.

Think of this like balancing a seesaw; if one side is heavier (more trucks than necessary), it doesn't help you gain more height (productivity), it just creates waiting time. The balance point is where both sides are even. Here, it's best to consider how many trucks help you maintain balance without overloading; too many trucks are like too many kids on one end of a seesaw – they only wait in line and don't add to the fun!

So, just to give you a better explanation I am just working out what will be the economics when I go for different number of trucks. Say if I go for 5 number of trucks 6, 7, 8 and 9, how the productivity will vary, how the unit production cost will vary?

Next, we explore how changing the number of trucks affects economics and productivity. When varying the number of trucks from 5 to 9, we need to analyze both productivity gains and costs associated with each configuration. Productivity will increase with each additional truck up to the balance number, but continued increases beyond this may lead to diminishing return on efficiency due to downtime waiting for the loader to be available. This is critical for understanding the cost-effectiveness of each truck configuration.

Imagine a bakery where bakers (trucks) need to wait to put their goods (loads) in the oven (loader). If only a few bakers are working, the bakery can operate efficiently. If too many bakers are present, they spend more time waiting and less baking, which causes inefficiencies in production, just like too many trucks lead to waiting and increased costs.

So, basically how to estimate the job production? So, it is nothing but your single truck productivity multiplied by number of trucks, that will give you the job production. So, provided the number of trucks are lesser than the balance number.

Job production can be estimated by taking the productivity of a single truck and multiplying it by the number of trucks. However, this only holds true as long as the number of trucks remains equal to or below the balance number. If you have too few trucks (less than the balance number), they will not be able to transport jobs effectively, leading to idle time that can decrease overall production.

Think of each truck as a party guest. If you have just enough guests to fill the dance floor, the party is lively. But if fewer guests show up, some may just stand around and miss out on the fun. If you overload the area, guests spend more time waiting for others to finish than having fun. The best party is a balanced one, where everyone can enjoy!

When the number of trucks is your balance number say 7, so actual balance number is 7.18. So, when the numbers of trucks are lesser than the balance number say 5 trucks, 5 into productivity of your truck, individual truck productivity is 12.53-meter cube per hour...

Exceeding the balance number means that while you may have more trucks, productivity is unlikely to continue increasing. When the trucks surpass this ideal number, they will face waiting times due to loader availability, meaning productivity is capped. For example, with 5 trucks, if each truck produces 12.53 cubic meters per hour, the work done reflects the limitations of insufficient trucks. However, with more trucks than can be serviced by the loader, the number of completed cubic meters does not keep growing.

It’s like having too many people trying to use one restroom. The restroom (loader) can only service one person at a time, so even if you bring in more people (trucks), they end up waiting for their turn, adding nothing to the overall experience!

Now let us work out the economics because most of the decisions are based upon the economics... So, how to calculate the total unit cost for the truck loader combination I need the input data...

The economic analysis includes determining the overall cost associated with having different configurations of trucks and how that impacts unit production cost. We calculate costs based on truck and loader hourly rates. For example, if we have 5 trucks, the total cost calculation involves multiplying costs for each truck and adding the loader cost. This allows us to evaluate which combination of trucks provides the most economical unit production cost and better productivity.

Consider this as budgeting for a project. If you have too many resources (like workers), you may end up wasting money on overtime, even if the additional resource doesn’t increase the final output. It’s essential to find a balance that achieves the job efficiently within budget!

So, one important thing you have to note here is when the number of trucks is 5 though the total cost is less in this case, but the productivity is also less, that is why you can see that the unit cost is high.

This section highlights that, while having fewer trucks may seem cheaper initially, this can actually increase the unit production cost due to lower productivity. Even if the total cost goes down, the inefficiency of low productivity can offset those savings. Finding the balance point (around 7 trucks in this case) is crucial for minimizing overall unit costs and maximizing production output.

Think of it like cooking dinner for a large group. If you only have one pot, cooking will take longer, and you may have to pay extra for delivery, which could make your meal costlier than if you’d used more pots to speed things up. There’s a balance between fewer resources saving money and more resources leading to higher output and lower costs overall!

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