An application of queuing analysis to the production of aggregates in quarry operations

Abstract

ABSTRACT High incidence of failure of quarry operations has been the trend in Nigeria's crushed stone industry for some time now. The problem which emanates from poor planning, design and management cuts across all feizes of operations. Generally, productivity is often maintained at uneconomic levels at the expense of much needed revenue. Uncontrolled production of aggregates often results in the over production of minimally demanded sizes while those that can generate more revenue to keep the industry afloat are in short Supply. As a solution to the above problem, this paper presents the technique of linear programming as an analytical tool for controlling the production of different aggregate sizes with a view to maximizing profit. Specifically, the paper describes the problem formulation technique and discusses the optimum solution obtained from the Application of the resulting model to the problem of an existing quarry.