Proposal of a Transport Planning Model for the Removal of Quarry Stone Using a Simulation

This article describes a transport planning model which applies a simulation to support decision-making in quarry operations. The analysis of the transport system was used as input for creating the model and the subsequent research. There are five loading points in the quarry from which, according to the plan, the quarry stone is transported to the crusher, where it proceeds for further processing. The required daily capacity of the downstream technological line is 3800 t/day. Based on the analysis, it was found that it was impossible to fulfill this requirement from the two loading points which were the furthest from the unloading point. For this reason, two simulation models of the transport system were created. The first simulation model is a transport system (loading, removal and dumping of quarry stone) from one loading point. Simulation experiments were performed on this model for all loading points. The findings from the analysis confirmed the results of the simulation experiments. Subsequently, a model of the combined quarry stone removal from two loading points was proposed. The model was designed for two variants of dividing the work shift into two work sections. In the model, which had a tabular form, the combinations of loading points and values of the minimum number of unloaded cars for stone removal were suitable to ensure its necessary daily capacity. The last part of this research was expanding the original model with an additional loading point. Several experiments were performed on this model. The aim of these experiments was to verify the combinations of loading points presented in the proposed model and the combinations of unsatisfactory loading points. Based on the research results, the transport planning model and simulation models are suitable additional tools for the decision-making process in removing quarry stone.