Integrated system reliability and productive capacity analysis of a production line. A case study for a Chilean mining process

The analysis of a production line requires the consideration of its reliability and productive capacity since they have a direct influence on the expected levels of performance. These factors have an intrinsic stochastic behaviour which must be accounted for in the analysis. This paper proposes an integrated approach based on Monte Carlo simulation which is tested on a case study concerning the production line of a private mining company located in northern Chile. Specifically, the primary, secondary, and tertiary crushing processes are analysed in detail. Actual maintenance and operation data for 16 months of operation are considered in the case study. A tailored simulation model is developed that is able to jointly estimate the reliability and productivity of the process. The integration of these two aspects allows situations in which equipment becomes unavailable to be identified and this can improve business continuity and process productivity.