Evaluation of Production and Cost of Komatsu PC200 Excavator during Forest

Road Construction in Caspian Forest of Iran

Naghdi Ramin1*, Nikooy Mehrdad2, Bagheri Iraj3, Marzban Shoeyb1
1
Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Guilan, Iran.
rnaghdi@guilan.ac.ir; shoeyb.marzban@yahoo.com
2
Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Iran.
Nikooy@guilan.ac.ir
3
Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Guilan, Iran.
irajbagheri@guilan.ac.ir
Abstract:
This research was carried out in compartments 52 and 53 of series 7 Shenrood forests (Siyahkal), in
order to evaluate production and costs of Komatsu PC 200 excavator. 30 lateral profiles were chosen
randomly in different slope classes. With regards to the operation along the roads being carried out at
slope of 10 to 70%, three slope classes were considered (10-30, 30-50 and 50-70%). The total operation
time of excavator in slope classes of 10-30, 30-50 and 50-70% were 72.89, 73.48 and 77.6 minutes,
respectively. The average amount of production in slope classes of 10-30, 30-50 and 50-70% were 17.3,
16.63 and 15.77cubic meter per hour respectively and there were significant effect of slope on volume of
cut and fill, volume of earth works and hourly production (cubic meter per hour), but there were no
significant effect of aspect slope on hourly production (meter per hour). The cost one cubic meter
excavation of earth works were 28650 (2.20$), 29804 (2.29$) and 31429 (2.42$) Rials.
Keywords: Excavator, Hourly production, Forest road, Iran
1 Introduction
During forty years of preparing and implementing the forest plan in northern forests of Iran, over 6000
km of forest road have been constructed (Abdullah Pur, and Asadi 2001; Khatibi 2004). Today, a
machinery cost is a major cost of forestry project and can affect the profitability of the project. In
previous years only the bulldozer machinery has been used for cut and fills operations in the northern
forest of the country, but today the focus of forest roads in steep terrain has deployed the idea of
sustainable development and protection of natural areas. Since the precision of excavator in road
construction is high, therefore the use of excavator is essential.
The excavator consists of a rotating cabin which is situated rubber wheels or tracks and a back hoe is
attached to the front end of the excavator. This machine is able to perform activities such as cut and fills,
dredging, digging, use of hydraulic hammer to break rocks and stones, uprooting of tree stump, channel
construction, excavation, embankment construction for road construction, (Turan 2006).
Time efficiency is the ratio of effective operating time to total operating time (the ratio of the time a
machine is effectively operating to the total time the machine is committed to the operation). Excavation
machinery production is equal to length of excavation (m) and volume (cubic meters) per unit time (Abeil
1985). Factors affecting excavation machinery production include: slopes, soil depth, density, texture and
moisture and number of stumps and stones in the road and climate conditions, the shape and size of
bucket, wear, engine power, driver skills, ergonomics, and distance of soil transfer, weight and type of
machinery (Haarlla 1973; Johnsson 1995; Haghiir chehreh ghani and Alipour 2007). Cost per hour of
machinery includes the total fixed cost per hour of machine, variable cost, personnel cost (Amini Rauf
2002).
Cabazas (1994) in his research concluded that the production rate of excavator with 128 hp engine power
in the underlying silty texture soil and latitudinal slope of 10 and 15% were, 76 and 86 cubic meters per

October 812, 2012, Dubrovnik (Cavtat)

hour, respectively and in the underlying clay soil and latitudinal slope of 50% was 106 to 123 cubic
meter per hour. Orleans department of natural resources of California, 2003 in their latest comments
about the protection and restoration of ecosystems in California concluded that the road construction costs
are divided into five categories which include costs of machinery and their management, transportation,
finish work, personnel and munitions and these costs were compared with each other. The costs of five
categories were the 48.96, 0.66, 8.41, 39.59 and 2.39 percent of total costs, respectively.
Parsakho (2008) studied the production and cost of excavator and the average production rate and cost of
one meter length of cut and fill at slope class of 30-70% were 18.19 meter per hour and 8517 rial per
meter of excavation, respectively. The present study aims to estimate production and the cost per unit of
output of excavator and the main hypothesis is that the excavator is economically suitable for the
construction of forest roads.
2 Materials and methods
Study area
The forest roads under study are situated in the Series 7 of Shenrood forest (Siyahkal). The series 7 is a
part of watershed forests no 25 and is under the Department of Natural Resources is Siyahkal city. The
area of the series is 3707 hectares and at 50" 47' 49 longitude and at 30" 55' 36 latitude with the altitude
ranging between 700 and 2100 meters and average annual precipitation of 1265 millimeters and general
slope aspect of the area is north. The soil texture is clay loam and clay and the main roads of the series is
grade 2 (Parsakho, 2008). About 3.1 km of existing roads in parcels 25, 26, 52, 53 are constructed with
Komatsu PC200 excavator.
Calculation of the number of transverse profiles
Transverse profiles of samples are specified and based on previous studies or initial inventory of the
number of transverse profile. In this study, the appropriate number of samples (transverse profiles) was
calculated with regard to t=2 and E%95=%8 from equation below (Zobeiri, 2005).
n= t2 (Sx %) 2 / (E %)

(1)

Selecting sample of the transverse profiles

Considering the operational areas of the excavator along the road were often in slopes of 10 to 70,
therefore the three slope classes were 10-30, 30-50 and 50-70%. Thus, after the numbering the profiles on
the map, the profiles were selected for each slope class (Parsakho 2007). So that 30 samples of transverse
profiles were selected for evaluating excavator production.
Time study of excavation operation
A time study is a series of methods that determine the amount of time required to perform work that
includes the number of personnel, vehicles or mixed activity. A more accurate diagnosis of fractional
properties and also to separate the useful work (effective time) from non-useful work (non-effective or
delay time) is necessary and also dividing the work into smaller components and then measuring the time
for each component.
In this method after determining the boundaries of each component of the work, the start time of work is
recorded and after precise control of work flow start time of each component of the work is recorded. In
this study, using a Chronometer (hundredth of a minute accuracy) time cycle is measured with continuous
timing (Sarikhani, 2001).
Calculation of excavation works volume on direct routes
Excavation volume is calculated according to the area of excavation, excavation of transverse profiles and
the distance between the profiles. If both transverse profiles are adjacent to each other and area of first

October 812, 2012, Dubrovnik (Cavtat)

profile section Ai , area of second profile section

Ai 1 and distance between two sections Li , i 1 (typically

,

20 m), then the equation below is used to calculate the average volume of excavation (Nobakht 2002;
Narimani 2002; Abeli 2000):
A Ai1
Vi ,i 1 i
Li ,i1
2

A Ai 1
Vi ,i 1 i
Li ,i 1 (1/3)
2

(2)
(3)

If one section of excavation is cutting and the other section is filling, then the project line crosses the land
at the point of land between these two profiles (crossing point A). In order to calculate the volume
between the two sections the crossing point section should be considered zero. Therefore the distance
between two separate sections are divided into two and the volume between sections are calculated with
the point A. Currently, in most projects average method is used (Nobakht 2002; Narimani 2002; Abeli
2000).
Excavator production cost in excavation projects
Cost of machine is calculated based on Austrian (Bureau of production and Business of Forests
Organization):
Total fixed costs per hour of effective work TFC/PH (F=0.9):
(D+I+T)/PH = TFC/PH

(4)

Total variable costs per hour (TOC):

TOC=MR+FLC

(5)

Machine cost per hour of effective work ($ / hour) (MRH/PH):

MRH/PH=TFC/PH+TOC

(6)

System costs per hour of effective work:

System cost per hour = MRH/SH +MC+PC

(7)

Calculation of excavation production costs

Production cost of the system is the ratio between the hourly cost of the system and the hourly production
of machine (Naghdi et al. 2004):
Production cost Rial/m3 = Total cost Rial/hour / Production rate m3/hour

(8)

Statistical design
The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to assure a normal distribution of the data in each section.
Analysis of variance test (One-way Anova) was used for comparison between treatments in different
slope classes. Tukey test and SPSS17 software were used for statistical analysis to determine the effect of
slope on time study of excavation operation and the production volume of excavator in different slope
classes.

October 812, 2012, Dubrovnik (Cavtat)

3 Results
Time study of excavation
As is indicated in the table 1 in slope class of 10-30 %t the net time, total time and delay time are 60.8,
12.09 and 72.89 minutes and in slope class of 30-50 % are 64.28, 9.2 and 73.48 minutes, respectively.
The results of this test showed that there were no significant effects of slope on net time, delay and total
time (Tab. 1). Total delay times include defect of tracks and bucket of excavator, oil slip due to the
excavator not being serviced in time and lack of sufficient spare parts.
Table 1: Time efficiency of excavator at different slope classes standard error

Total time

Slack

Pure time

Slop categories

72.89 4.85

12.09 1.86

70.8 3.6

10-30%

73.48 3.32

9.2 1.98

64.28 2.75

30-50%

77.6 3.79

8.88 2.21

68.71 2.4

50-70%

effective time

Excavation and embankment

delays

13%

log removing , diigging root and rock

5%

87%

95%

Figure1: Percent of total time for excavator

Operational delays

Mechanical delays

Figure 2: Graph of pure work for excavator

Personal delays

6%

21%

73%

Figure 3: Graph of delays for excavator

Evaluation of hourly production and excavation volume of excavator at different slope classes
There were no significant effect of slope on the volume of excavation and hourly production volume
(cubic meter per hour), but there were significant effect of slope on hourly production (meter/hour). There
was a significant difference between volume of cut and fill in different slope classes at 5% level. There
was also a significant between the volumes of the excavation in different slope classes at the 5% level.
There was a significant different between hourly production (cubic meter / hour) in different slope classes
at the 5% level. There was a significant different between hourly production (meter / hour) in different
slope classes at the 5% level.

October 812, 2012, Dubrovnik (Cavtat)

Table 2: Hourly production and earth work volume for excavator in different slop categories

Hourly
production
[m/h]

Hourly
production
[m3/h]

Earthworks
volume
[m3]

Volume of
embankment
[m3]

Volume of
excavation
[m3]

Slop categories
[%]

17.3 0.08

51.33 6.99

62.36 7.55

34.18 4.04

28.18 3.52

10-30

16.63 0.05

82.14 5.75

100.6 4.55

53.5 2.2

47.1 3.27

30-50

15.77 0.06

116.48 7.91

150.66 7.38

79.22 4.22

71.44 3.24

50-70

Excavator production cost in excavation project

Hourly cost analysis of excavator during useful work of excavation operation project in the study area
showed that machine cost (total hourly fixed and variable costs) was 207651 Rials per hour of useful
work, the machine cost (total hourly fixed and variable costs) was 170303 Rials per hour of planned work
and cost per hour of system (total cost of machine, personnel costs and transport cost) was 495651 Rials
per hour of useful work and hourly cost of the system (total machine costs, personnel costs and transport
cost ) was 458303 Rials per hour of planned work
System production cost in productive machine hour

495651/83.31 = 5949

Rial/m3

System production cost in productive machine hour

495651 / 16.56 = 29930

Rial/m

System production cost in scheduled machine hour

458303 / 83.31 = 5501

Rial/m3

System production cost in scheduled machine hour

458303 / 16.56 = 27675

Rial/m

Excavator production cost in productive machine hour

207651 / 83.31 = 2492

Rial/m3

Excavator production cost in productive machine hour

207651 / 16.56 = 12539

Rial/ m

Excavator production cost in scheduled machine hour

170303 / 83.31 = 2044

Rial/m3

Excavator production cost in scheduled machine hour

hour 170303 / 16.56 = 10283

Rial/m

Table 3: Hourly cost of system and excavator track komatsu PC200 (price in 2010)

Total fixed cost per SH (Rial): 112046

Total price(Rial):

Operating hourly cost

Salvage value(Rial):215000000

Maintenance and Repair cost per PH(Rial):40312

Productive Machine Hour (PH):1800

Fuel and Lubricant per Hour(Rial):17945

Scheduled Machine Hour(SH):2400

Total operating cost(Rial):58275

Economic life in years : 20 years

Machine Rate per PH(Rial/hour):207651

rate: 12% Interest

Machine Rate per SH(Rial/hour):170303

Fixed hourly cost

transport cost(two machine, Rial):48000

Average annual investment(Rial):1230875000

Labor cost (6 person, Rial):240000

Interest rate(Rial):147705000

Total contract cost(Rial):7375000

Depreciation(Rial):96750000

Fuel consumption(liter): 20

Property tax rate(Rial):24455500

Oil cost per liter:60

Total fixed cost per(PH):149394

October 812, 2012, Dubrovnik (Cavtat)

4 Discussion
The results of time study of excavation operation showed that 86.55% of total time is spent on useful
work and 13.45% is spent on delays. In the operation area the excavator spent 95.56% of useful work on
excavation work and 4.64% on uprooting roots, taking out stump and removing stones. The results of
time study of excavation operation showed that 74.25% of total time was spent on useful work and
25.75% spent on personnel, technical and administration delays. Parsakho, 2008 showed that in the
operation area the excavator spent 96.63% of useful work on excavation work and 3.37% on uprooting
roots, taking out stump and removing stones.
The average excavation productions of excavator Komatsu PC200 in slope class of 10-70% were 83.31m3
per hour and 16.56 meter per hour (Tab. 3). Eriksson and Filisson (1989) estimated average production
rate of excavator on forest roads of Sweden to be 7/12 m. IUFRO (1995) in a study on the forests of
Sweden investigated the production per hour (meter/hour) of three models of excavators namely
Komatsu, Caterpillar and Kublako in different slope classes and concluded that production is inversely
related to increase in slopes.
Machine cost per hour of useful work was 207651 Rials and system cost per hour of useful work was
495651 Rials.. The system production cost per hour of useful work was 5949 Rials per cubic meter and
29930 Rials per meter. Production cost of excavator per hour of useful work was 2492 Rials per cubic
meter and 12539 Rials per meter. Selak (1985), calculated the production cost of Angldouzer in slope in
classes 30, 50 and 70% to bet from 2.5 to 3, 3-4 and 4-6 dollars per meter, respectively.In previous years
only the bulldozer machinery has been used for cut and fills operations in the northern forest of the
country, but today the focus of forest roads in steep terrain has deployed the idea of sustainable
development and protection of natural areas. Since the precision of excavator in road construction is high,
therefore the use of excavator is essential. Now that the excavator machinery is used a lot in roads
construction operations, effort should be made to provide suitable solutions so that the machine
performance and environmental effects are kept to optimum level. Therefore paying attention to these
instructions and rules in road construction is essential for long-term goals. While cost factors should be
considered for reducing the cost factors such as soil composition, the main factor for reducing the cost of
road construction and very good results in terms of economic.
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