Contents

Section 7.

PRODUCTIVITY AND MACHINE SIZING

1. Introduction.

- The Basics.

2. Selecting A Machine.

- Machine Bucket Productivity.

- Estimating Production Rate.

3. Standard Cycles Per Hour.

- Standard Cycle Times.

- Operating Efficiency.

4. Conversion For Slew Angle and Dig Depth.

- Production Rate A Worked Example.

5 Summary of Formulae.

6. Maximising Production.

- Optimum Bench Height And Truck distance.

- Optimum Work Zone and Slew Angle.

- Optimum Distance From Edge.

 Productivity and Machine Sizing

MACHINE BUCKET PRODUCTIVITY

INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this section is to help you select the most effective combination of machine and bucket for a particular earthmoving task.
First, it is worth remembering what is meant by 'earthmoving'. To begin with, let's look at 'earth'. It could actually be topsoil, gravel, clay,
sand, slag, iron ore... in fact any (mostly natural) material situated in or on the ground. The material could be 'banked' (i.e. in its natural state
as part of the earth's surface), 'swelled' (its state after it has been disturbed from the earth and loosened) or compacted. Each of these states
gives a different density to the material and therefore affects the amount which can be carried by a machine/bucket combination.

So what about 'moving'? Well, this could involve either digging the material out of the ground or gathering it from a pile, and then depositing
it in another place. The 'other place' could itself be a hole or a pile or some kind of vehicle (truck, railway wagon etc.) to transport the material
further afield. Due to its relatively low travel speed, an excavator is not realy suitable for transporting excavated material over any great
distance. In fact it is specifically designed to work best within its own 'arm's length'.

An excavator, of course, is only any use once it has been equipped with a bucket, or some other device such as a grab or rockbreaker. We
are concerned in this section only with buckets. There are different buckets to suit different situations; wide buckets, narrow buckets, light
duty buckets, heavy duty buckets, buckets for soft materials, buckets for hard materials and so on. It is important that the most appropriate
bucket is chosen for the job in hand. The choice of machine and bucket is determined by the exact nature of the job. But whatever the job,
the objective must always be to select the combination which gives the greatest hourly production rate. In other words, you must find the
combination which can move the most earth in the fastest time. And in the rest of this section you will find guidance on how to do just that.

A Note about Compacted Materials:

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Due to the variety of densities that can occur through compaction, no data is shown in this section for Compacted materials. To find the
density etc. of compacted materials the ground should be tested as indicated in "Unlisted Materials".

THE BASICS

The aim of this section is to help guide your customer towards the most cost effective JS machine/bucket combination for a particular
application. At first glance the following pages may seem a little daunting; but it is basically only a matter of selecting the appropriate data
from the tables then using that data in a few simple calculations.

Method
1. Assuming you know roughly the nature of the proposed application you will almost certainly be able to produce a shortlist of probable
machines, using the information in the Specification Sheet.

2. Then you will need to look in more detail at the job itself: e.g. the type of material, the amount of material, the state of the material, the
timescales, site conditions, truck sizes and so on. Your client may well have this information to hand, or you may need to help him obtain
it using information from Machine/Bucket Productivity using the form and explanatory notes given.

This communication and the information within is intended for JCB and JCB dealer personnel only,
for information purposes, is confidential and may not be communicated to any third party.
Whilst the information is believed to be correct, no guarantee is given by JCB as to its accuracy and its use may not be attributed to JCB.
1
 Productivity and Machine Sizing

SELECTING A MACHINE

In one sense, selecting a machine for a given job is more straighforward than selecting the bucket itself. After all, while there are literally
hundreds of buckets to choose from, the choice of machines is far less.

It's not quite as simple as that of course, because for most JCB machines you can select different dipper lengths. Obviously, bucket capacity
range, dig depth and reach will be the main determining factors here. The JZ70 is also available with an Offset Boom, while the JCB wheeled
excavators, the JS130, the JS220 and the JS260 with a Triple Articulated Boom (TAB). These options may be desirable where access to the
actual digging area is restricted. The JCB JS220LR is available as a 'river rig'.

IMPORTANT: When selecting a machine you must ensure that it can safely handle the maximum Filled Bucket Weight likely to be
encountered during the job. This will reduce the risk of 'overbucketing' the machine. Overbucketing can cause overstressing of components,
increased cycle times (see later) and machine instability.

'Underbucketing' - selecting a larger than necessary machine for the Filled Bucket Weight - will on the other hand result in an expensive offer
to your customer.

You will need to study the machine recommended bucket sizes and maximum lift capacities before making a choice.

2 - MACHINE / BUCKET PRODUCTIVITY

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ESTIMATING PRODUCTION RATE

Once you have selected a machine/bucket combination you can set about estimating the production rate.

Production rate depends on:

A Bucket Capacity
B Fill Factor
C Standard Cycles per Hour
D Operating Efficiency
E Conversion for Slew Angle and Dig Depth

The production rate is determined by multiplying the Bucket Capacity, Fill Factor, Work Cycle Time and Operating Efficiency together
then dividing the result by the Conversion Factor for Slew Angle.

In other words:

Production rate (m 3 /hr) = A x B x C x D

E

We have already dealt with items A and B in the formula; so now we need to understand the other factors.

This communication and the information within is intended for JCB and JCB dealer personnel only,
2 for information purposes, is confidential and may not be communicated to any third party.
Whilst the information is believed to be correct, no guarantee is given by JCB as to its accuracy and its use may not be attributed to JCB.
 Productivity and Machine Sizing

STANDARD CYCLES PER HOUR

Every excavator has what is known as a Standard Cycle Time. This is the time taken to complete one cycle of machine operation,
i.e. the time it takes to excavate one bucket load then slew the machine round, discharge the load and slew back ready to gather the next load.

Cycle Time = Excavating time

+ Slew time (loaded)
+ Dump time
+ Slew time (empty)

Standard Cycle Times for JCB excavators are given in the following table. The times stated in the table have been arrived at based on the
following assumptions:

• The machine is working under average conditions.

• Slew angle is between 45° and 90°.

• Dig depth is upto 75% of maximum.

• Dumping at ground level.

So for a particular machine you can easily work out the Standard Cycles per Hour - e.g. for the JS200L:

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Standard Cycles per Hour = 3600 (secs in 1 hr)
14 (from table)

= 257

STANDARD CYCLE TIMES OPERATING EFFICIENCY

The phrase 'Standard Cycles per Hour' assumes that all 3600
MODEL SECONDS CYCLES/HR
seconds (60 minutes) will actually be spent working. In real life,
JZ70 12 300
of course, all manner of things occur during the working day to
JS130 13 277 reduce the actual amount of time spent excavating. Weather,
JS160 / JS180 14 257 traffic holdups, bucket changes, blasting..... all these and other
JS200 / 210 / 220 14 257 factors can reduce the actual number of cycles which can be
JS240 / 260 16 225 achieved in an hour.

JS330 16 225
In normal conditions, work rate is calculated on the basis of 50
JS460 18 200
productive minutes per hour -i.e. 83% efficiency (50/60 x
JS130W / JS145W 13 277 100%). Under bad conditions the work rate could drop to 45
JS160W / JS175W 14 257 minutes per hour (75%) or even less. Since this is an important
JS200W 14 257 factor in the Production calculation you will need to agree a
figure for Operating Efficiency with your client.

This communication and the information within is intended for JCB and JCB dealer personnel only,
for information purposes, is confidential and may not be communicated to any third party.
Whilst the information is believed to be correct, no guarantee is given by JCB as to its accuracy and its use may not be attributed to JCB.
3
 Productivity and Machine Sizing

CONVERSION FOR SLEW ANGLE AND DIG DEPTH

The final factor in the Production Calculation concerns the adjustment you need to make to account for the dig depth and the slew angle.
The slew angle is the angle which the machine's turntable needs to traverse between gathering a load and dumping it. (Remember that the
Standard Cycle Times quoted for excavators are based on assumed dig depths and slew angles. This conversion factor merely adjusts the
calculation to take into account the actual figures).

The conversion factors for different dig depths and slew angles are given in the table below.
(Note that these figures will increase if dump height is above ground level).

SWING ANGLE (DEG)

DIG DEPTH LESS THAN 45° TO 90° TO 135° OVER 135°
Less than 40% 0.80 0.85 0.95 1.05
Less than 75% 0.95 1.00 1.10 1.20
Over 75% 1.10 1.15 1.25 1.40

Since this factor ('E' in the formula) occurs 'below the line' a lower number will give a higher production rate, while a higher number will
reduce the production rate. It follows that wherever possible the excavating job should be organised to keep dig depth and slew angle to
the minimum. See 'Maximising Production' at the end of this section for advice on how to do this.

PRODUCTION RATE - A WORKED EXAMPLE

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What is the estimated output of a JS200L excavating banked dry earth into a truck
positioned level with the excavator, assuming:

Bucket Capacity (A) = 1.1 m3

Fill Factor (B) = 95% (i.e. 0.95)
Standard Cycles per Hour (C) = 257
Operating Efficiency (D) = 83% (i.e. 0.83)
Conversion Factor for Slew Angle and Dig Depth (E) = 1.4
Output (m 3 /hr) =AxBxCxD
E

= 1.1 x 0.95 x 257 x 0.83

1.4

= 159.2 m3 /hr

So for an eight hour working day:

Daily output = 8 x 159.2 = 1274 m3

Note that this is the Loose volume.

Banked Volume (Loose Volume/Swell Factor) Total Weight (Volume x Density)

= 1274 m3 = 1019 x 1900 (from table)

1.25 (from table) = 1,936,100 kg
= 1,936.1 tonnes
= 1019 m3

This communication and the information within is intended for JCB and JCB dealer personnel only,
4 for information purposes, is confidential and may not be communicated to any third party.
Whilst the information is believed to be correct, no guarantee is given by JCB as to its accuracy and its use may not be attributed to JCB.
 Productivity and Machine Sizing

SUMMARY OF FORMULAE

Here is a reminder of the formulae discussed throughout this section. It is worth becoming familiar with each of them and, more importantly,
understanding the principles behind them.

Swell Factor =
Loose Volume
Banked Volume

To find the Loose Density divide the Banked Density by the Swell Factor
and
To find the Banked Density multiply the Loose Density by the Swell Factor

To Find the Loose Volume multiply the Banked Volume by the Swell Factor
and
To find the Bank Volume divide the Loose Volume by the Swell Factor

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Cycle Time = Excavating Time
+ Slew Time (loaded)
+ Dump Time
+ Slew Time (empty)

Production rate (m 3 /hr) = A x B x C x D

E

where:
A Bucket Capacity
B Fill Factor
C Standard Cycles per Hour
D Operating Efficiency
E Conversion for Slew Angle and Dig Depth

This communication and the information within is intended for JCB and JCB dealer personnel only,
for information purposes, is confidential and may not be communicated to any third party.
Whilst the information is believed to be correct, no guarantee is given by JCB as to its accuracy and its use may not be attributed to JCB.
5
 Productivity and Machine Sizing

MAXIMISING PRODUCTION

The following shows how production for a particular job can be maximised by positioning the excavator and truck to best effect. Job sites
and work situations vary, of course, but if these principles are applied wherever possible, production will be increased.

Optimum Bench Height and Truck Distance

When excavating stable Banked materials, bench height should be as close as possible to dipper
length. For less stable materials it ought to be less. The most effective position for the truck is
with the inside truck body rail directly below the boom/dipper pivot as shown.

Optimum Work Zone and Slew Angle

Ideally, the slew angle should not be more than 15° either side of the machine centreline
(or roughly equal to the width of the undercarriage). Trucks should be stationed as close as
possible to the machine centreline.
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Optimum Distance From the Edge

The most effective position is when the dipper is vertical when the bucket reaches full load.
This position ensures maximum breakout force and minimum time spent returning the dipper.
(Of course, if the machine gets any closer to the edge there will be a risk of undercutting).

For greater efficiency the operator would start raising the boom when the bucket is approx.
75% through its 'crowd' cycle - i.e. as the dipper approaches the vertical.

This communication and the information within is intended for JCB and JCB dealer personnel only,
6 for information purposes, is confidential and may not be communicated to any third party.
Whilst the information is believed to be correct, no guarantee is given by JCB as to its accuracy and its use may not be attributed to JCB.