Impact of MTBF and MTTR management on the availability index of Caterpillar 785-793 mining trucks
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.71701/yr73rq81Keywords:
Availability index, MTBF, MTTR, mining trucks, peruvian miningAbstract
Peruvian mining constitutes an essential pillar of the country's economic development, contributing significantly to employment and state revenues. Within this sector, maintenance management of heavy equipment is critical to ensure operational availability, particularly for Caterpillar 785-793 mining trucks. This study analyses the influence of MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures) and MTTR (Mean Time To Repair) indicators on the availability index, a fundamental KPI (Key Performance Indicator) for measuring the operational efficiency of assets.
Effective maintenance is shown to maximise availability and minimise operational costs, supported by accurate performance measurement through established metrics and benchmarks.
The methodology applied involved simulating different MTBF (40 to 80 hours) and MTTR (3 to 12 hours) scenarios to assess their impact on the availability index, whose benchmark target ranges from 88% for aging fleets to 92% for new fleets.
The results show that availability is directly proportional to MTBF and inversely proportional to MTTR. Increasing the MTBF raises the availability rate, while increasing the MTTR decreases it. This mathematical relationship allows maintenance departments to focus their strategies on reducing failures and repair times, optimising resources and improving fleet productivity.
It is concluded that proper management of MTBF and MTTR is vital for increasing availability, which has a direct impact on the profitability and competitiveness of mining operations. Implementing strategies to improve both indicators is key to achieving efficient maintenance management aligned with the sector's productivity and sustainability objectives.
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