A management assistance package for optimising harvester; infield transport productivity : SRDC Final report BS124S
Date
1998Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The two year project to develop a management assistance package for optimising harvester/infield transport productivity was completed during 1997. The project involved several phases:- initial data collection from contractors; development
of a model to utilise this data in predicting harvest-transport costs and throughput;
utilisation of the model in sensitivity analysis of throughput and costs for different
scenarios; and, conversion of the model to a user-friendly format for use by various
sectors of the industry. Data collection from contractors included economic data for 57 groups from Tully,
Ingham, Burdekin, Proserpine and Mackay and logbook data on group operating
conditions and throughput from a separate panel of contractors. In addition observations
were carried out to obtain data on harvester pour rates, turn times, haulout travel speed
and unloading times. Capital costs and fuel usage figures were also obtained from
harvester and tractor manufacturers to supplement survey data.