%0 Journal Article
%T Introduction of Innovative Equipment in Mining: Impact on Productivity
%A Bryan Boudreau-Trudel
%A Kazimierz Zaras
%A Sylvie Nadeau
%A Isabelle Deschamps
%J American Journal of Industrial and Business Management
%P 31-39
%@ 2164-5175
%D 2014
%I Scientific Research Publishing
%R 10.4236/ajibm.2014.41006
%X <p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align:justify;\">
	<span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\" lang=\"EN-US\">In this era of increased competition
and rapid change, mining companies must remain attentive to all opportunities
to gain an advantage over competitors. Acquisition of innovative equipment is
often viewed as a way of decreasing operating costs, for example</span><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\" lang=\"EN-US\">,</span><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\" lang=\"EN-US\"> by increasing machinery reliability.
The objective of this paper is to examine the impact of new equipment on
productivity in underground mining. Ten projects were examined using three
indicators: the cost per meter drilled, the cost per hour of use and the
equipment availability ratio. The results clearly show that the introduction of
new equipment with technological innovations does not necessarily improve
productivity. In some cases, performance indicators even dropped. We suggest
that future research </span><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\" lang=\"EN-US\">should </span><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\" lang=\"EN-US\">focus on identifying the mechanisms and conditions that ensure </span><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\" lang=\"EN-US\">the </span><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\" lang=\"EN-US\">increases in productivity following
the introduction of the latest innovations in mining equipment. Successful
introductions of such equipment likely depend on the conditions surrounding it.</span><span lang=\"EN-US\"><o:p></o:p></span> 
</p>
<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align:justify;\">
	<span style=\"font-family:Verdana;\" lang=\"EN-US\"> </span> 
</p>
%K Innovation Equipment
%K Mining Equipment
%K Productivity
%K Mines
%U http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?PaperID=42314