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During drilling in coal mines, sticking of drill rod (referred to as SDR in this work) is a potential threat to underground safety. However, no practical measures to deter SDR have been developed yet. The purpose of this study is to develop an anti-SDR strategy using proportional-integral-derivative (PID) and compliance control (PIDC). The proposed strategy is compatible with the drilling process currently used in underground coal mines using drill rigs. Therefore, this study aims to contribute to the PIDC strategy for solving SDR.

A hydraulic circuit to reduce SDR was built based on a load-independent flow distribution system, a PID controller was designed to control the inlet hydraulic pressure of the rotation motor and a typical compliance control approach was adopted to control the feed force and displacement. Moreover, the weight and optimal combination of the alternative admittance control parameters for the feed cylinder were obtained by adopting the orthogonal experiment approach. Furthermore, a fuzzy admittance control approach was proposed to control the feed displacement. Experiments were conducted to test the effectiveness of the proposed method.

The experimental results indicated that the PIDC strategy was appropriate and effective for controlling the rotation motor and feed cylinder; thus, the proposed method significantly reduces the SDR during drilling operations in underground coal mines.

As the PIDC strategy solves the SDR problem in underground coal mines, it greatly improves the safety of coal mine operation and decreases the power cost. Consequently, it brings the considerable benefits of coal mine production and vast application prospects in other corresponding fields. Actual drilling conditions are difficult to accurately simulate in a laboratory; thus, for future work, drilling experiments can be conducted in actual underground coal mines.

The PIDC-based anti-SDR strategy proposed in this study satisfactorily controls the rotation motor and feed cylinder and facilitates the feed and rotation movements. Furthermore, the tangible novelty of this study results is that it improves the frequency response of the entire drilling system. The drilling process with PIDC decreased the occurrence of SDR by 50%; therefore, the anti-SDR strategy can significantly improve the safety and efficiency of underground coal mining.

This proposed research study aims to focus on the development and implementation of a new safety and health educational management information system (hazard-free production operation [HAZ-PRO]) based on effective hazards controlling factors and mitigating measures for safe onshore and offshore oil and gas drilling operation in Saudi Arabian, Malaysian and Pakistani industries. According to previous studies, there is a sheer industrial need of an effective management information system for decision-making to prevent life-threatening accidents at oil and gas production sites based on innovative hazard controlling strategies from different production origins. Similarly, that safety and health management information system will also enhance the decision-making skills of oil and gas production crew through effective accident prevention strategies.

In this study, 100 drilling crew are randomly selected for quantitative research phase. Similarly, 3 safety experts are purposively selected for qualitative research from each drilling domain from Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Pakistan, whereas for the identification of hazard controlling measures, what-if analysis and thematic analysis approaches are adopted. Furthermore, the educational management information system (HAZ-PRO) for safety and health has been developed by using ADDIE Model based. Whereas, Visual Studio (2017) and MySQL software are used for the database and user interface development of the safety and health management information system for the safety and health of production crew.

This study proposes the research framework for the development and implementation of a new safety and health educational management information system (HAZ-PRO) based on identified effective hazard controls and mitigating measures in support of accident prevention and effective decision-making in hazardous events at Saudi Arabian and Pakistani onshore and offshore production domains. Whereas, this proposed safety and health management information system will assist and facilitate the safety professionals and production crew to prevent the injuries in hazardous work environments of onshore and offshore oil and gas industries according to international safety standards.

This safety and health management information system can be utilized by oil and gas industries (oil and gas production crew) in Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Pakistan for accident prevention and suitable decision-making prior to the actual onshore and offshore operations. Also, the proposed system development framework will be useful as an effective source for the elimination of life-threatening drilling hazards associated with its activities in oil and gas industries. Similarly, the proposed framework can also be implemented in other oil and gas work-based accident prevention and effective decision-making designs.

This proposed safety and health management information system will be the first system for oil and gas production operation that covers all onshore and offshore operations for Saudi Arabian, Malaysian and Pakistani oil and gas industrial settings. Also, the system development methodology and design framework, which will be used, is novel and unique based on their characteristics and functionalities.

An investigation of drilling temperature is essential in understanding the drilling mechanism of the material, thus improving the process efficiency. The aim of this study is to experimentally investigate influences of drilling conditions such as the drilling depth, feed rate and spindle speed on the twist drill bit temperature and thrust force in the dry drilling of AISI 1040 steel material using statistical techniques.

Drill bit temperatures were measured by inserting standard thermocouples through the oil hole of TiN/TiAlN‐coated carbide drills. The settings of drilling parameters were determined by using Taguchi experimental design method. An orthogonal array, the signal‐to‐noise (S/N) ratio, and the analysis of variance (ANOVA) were employed to analyze the effect of drilling parameters. The objective was to establish a model using multiple regression analysis between spindle speed, drilling depth and feed rate with the drill bit temperature and thrust force in an AISI 1040 steel material.

Statistical results show that drill bit temperature was significantly influenced (at 95 percent confidence level) by drilling depth and spindle speed values. The spindle speed has smaller influence (7.66 percent) on the thrust force value. The feed rate has no significant influence on the drill bit temperature.

In this paper, a new experimental approach was developed to measure drill bit temperature in dry drilling process.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate to which extent partnering practices observed in earlier research focussing on the construction industry are applied in offshore development drilling projects.

The paper reviews earlier research on project partnering and the relationship-based procurement (RBP) taxonomy. The taxonomy is then empirically applied to describe partnering practices in an incentive-based drilling project in Norway.

Many elements of project partnering observed earlier in construction projects were found to characterize offshore development drilling projects. However, as assessed using the RBP framework, the authors found that partnering elements in observed context rated consistently lower than elements previously reported in the construction industry, indicating a lower maturity of partnering practices in the studied context.

The present study provides a multi-dimensional and systematic description of partnering practices in offshore drilling projects. Project owners can utilize this information to identify partnering elements requiring particular emphasis when initiating and managing drilling projects. Based on the findings, such elements include transparency and open-book auditing, integrated risk mitigation and insurance practices and establishment of authentic leadership. The findings further imply that partnering models cannot be directly applied across industry boundaries but must be tailored to fit the salient characteristics of each context.

The paper systematically describes to which extent specific partnering elements of the RBP taxonomy are applied in offshore drilling projects.

INDUSTRIAL consultants are being increasingly employed both here and in the United States. It is natural that much of their work should fall within the field of work study since the usual reason for calling them in is to secure greater productivity. Such incursions are sometimes looked at askance by those assigned to that particular role in a company. This understandable human attitude will not be exorcised by implying that consultants are a race of infallible beings whose job is to impose superior methods on the permanent staff.

The spiral point is a new cutting surface shape, for a standard twist drill, which can be produced by means of the ‘Cincinnati Spiropoint’ drill sharpening machine. It is claimed that a drill with this shape becomes a precision tool which maintains accuracy in hole positioning, eliminates centre punching, produces holes closer to size, rounder, straightcr and burr‐free, increases drill life, reduces drill thrust force required, reduces the need for secondary operations such as reaming and produces less workpiece distortion because of its cooler cutting and reduced thrust force.

The purpose of this paper is twofold. First review the relevant literature in machining using minimum quantity lubrication (MQL), contrast the economical, environmental, and technical attributes of this technology to conventional flood‐cooling techniques. Second highlight areas of relevant future research.

The approach consists of describing the essential elements of MQL as a technology, reviewing the relevant research by focusing on the most frequently used machining processes in this industry, highlighting the findings as they compare to flood cooling, and pointing to directions of required research in this technology.

The application of MQL in machining has shown better results in some processes; including in drilling, a cleaner environment, and a more cost‐effective machining technology. Further research is required however to better understand the underlying cause an effect phenomena in machining using microlubrication technology including environmental and health effects of this technology.

The paper provides a body of knowledge required for all stakeholders to better use or design machining systems using microlubrications.

This paper focuses on the state of the art of MQL and how it contrasts with conventional methods of machining.

The aim of the research is to design, build and test a robot able to autonomously execute slope consolidation tasks.

A multidisciplinary approach has been adopted to solve the problem: mechanical and control architecture have been conceived simultaneously. Modularity and lifecycle are considered. The robot can climb by means of four legs and two ropes. The drilling system is hosted onboard. Drilling process is fully automated, motion can be controlled in tele‐operation.

The performance of the first prototype has satisfied the end‐user; new on‐site tests and improvements are planned.

Roboclimber is cumbersome; both robot transport and on‐site positioning are complex operations. Coordination between legs motion and ropes tensioning is a difficult task.

The system reduces operating costs and working time, while avoiding the human presence in unsafe and harsh environments.

Roboclimber is the first robot able to do heavy duty works on rocky walls

The global manufacturing industry is becoming more competitive. Munjal Showa, a shock absorber manufacturer in India, is using indigenous development of lean machines by incorporating concepts of lean manufacturing and low-cost automation techniques to increase their competitiveness. This new approach has helped the company to reduce cost of manufacturing and to increase productivity by reducing cycle time and down time. The purpose of this paper is to offer an in depth study of how at Munjal Showa Ltd lean machines are being developed and manufactured. This paper explores how a cumbersome machine was transformed into a lean machine.

This paper explores how a cumbersome machine was transformed into a lean machine.

This new approach has helped the company to reduce cost of manufacturing and to increase productivity by reducing cycle time and down time.

The paper discusses the process of converting one cumbersome machine to a lean machine.

Creativity before capital. In lean, team brainstorming of ideas and solutions is emphasized instead of spending large sums of money on capital expenditures

The cockpit model eases pressure of incumbents on the shop floor.

The concepts espoused in the paper has increased productivity by 3.45 times and reduced costs.

Reliability plays an important role in the execution of the maintenance improvement and the understanding of its concepts is essential to predict the type of maintenance according to the equipment state. Thereby, a computational tool was developed and programming with VBA in Excel® for reliability and failure analysis in a mining context. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

The developed approach use the modeling of stochastic processes, such as the renewal process, the non-homogeneous Poisson process and less conventional method as the Bayesian approach, by considering Jeffreys non-informative prior. The resolution gives the best associated model, the parameters estimation, the mean time between failure and the reliability estimate. This approach is validated with the reliability analysis of inter-failure times from underground rock bolters subsystems, over a two-year period.

Results show that Weibull and lognormal probability distribution fit to the most subsystems inter-failure times. The study revealed that the bolting head, the rock drill, the screen handler, the electric/electronic system, the hydraulic system, the drilling feeder and the structural consume the most repair frequency. The hydraulic and electric/electronic subsystems represent the lowest reliability after 50 operation hours.

For the first time, this case study defines practical failures and reliability information for rock bolter subsystems based on real operation data. This paper is useful to the comparative evaluation of rock bolter by detecting the weakest elements and understanding failure patterns in the individual observation subsystems on the overall machine performance.