A comparative study between shuttle cars and battery haulers
WH Holtzhausen

The purpose of this project was to compare two underground, batch coal haulers – battery haulers and shuttle cars – in order to determine the more viable machine to implement. The specific standards for battery haulers were investigated and compared to the requirements of shuttle cars in order to identify the unnecessary expenses related to the legal requirements that are attached to the machines.
Costs such as running costs, capital costs, and maintenance costs were researched and compared over a typical life of machine. Average production rates and breakdown times were obtained and used to determine which machine would be more reliable in achieving the required annual production.
Keywords: coal, bord and pillar, hauling, cost (running, capital, total ownership), productivity, reliability, safety, availability, constraints.