If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation.*Related content and download information correct at time of download. Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to analyse and compare the downtime of four drilling machines used in two underground mines in Sweden. The downtime of these machines was compared to show what problems affect downtime and which strategies should be applied to reduce it. Design/methodology/approach -The study collects failure data from a two-year period for four drilling machines and performs reliability analysis. It also performs downtime analysis utilising a loglog diagram with a confidence interval.Findings -There are notable differences in the downtime of most of the studied components for all machines. The hoses and feeder have relatively high downtime. Depending on their downtime, the significant components can be ranked in three groups. The downtime of the studied components is due to reliability problems. The study suggests the need to improve the reliability of critical components to reduce the downtime of drilling machines. Originality/value -The method of analysing the downtime, identifying dominant factors and the interval estimation for the downtime, has never been studied on drilling machines. The research proposed in this paper provides a general method to link downtime analysis with potential component improvement. To increase the statistical accuracy; four case studies was performed in two different mines with completely different working environment and ore properties. Using the above method showed which components need to be improved and suggestions for improvement was proposed and will be implemented accordingly.

Complexity is considered one of the hallmarks of megaproject failure; however, no common definition of complexity in the megaproject context exists in contemporary literature; particularly in developing countries. The present study explores the definitions, characteristics, and strategy to respond to the complexity of megaprojects in developing countries. An exploration of normative theories and a systematic literature review were performed to investigate the concept of complexity. This study proposes the definition of complexity as a “challenge” for entities—including project managers—in megaproject management. This definition extends to encompass both positive and negative challenges, offering a more balanced perspective on the causes of failure in addition to the sources of opportunities for innovation. We determine the aspects of megaproject complexity associated with structural and social factors of interrelatedness, nonlinearities, and emergence. This study proposes a formal definition, clarifying the characteristics of complexity and synthesizing strategy themes that respond to megaproject complexity. This resulting study provides insights for both megaproject researchers and professionals.

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Purpose -A common model in the age-based replacement policy is based on the cost attribute and assumes that the model parameters are known. In practice, the model parameters are estimated from limited historical data, which brings uncertainty into the model. Moreover, minimizing the cost is not the only goal of the maintenance activity. From the decision maker's point of view, the multi-attributes and the uncertainty of the age-based replacement policy are two important aspects to take into consideration in the decision-making process. The purpose of this paper is to propose an approach for a robust-optimum multi-attribute age-based replacement policy. Design/methodology/approach -The proposed approach is based on a combination of the multiattribute age-based replacement policy and robust design problem philosophy. A case study is provided for illustrating the application of the proposed method. Findings -It is found that the proposed approach can determine the interval time for preventive replacement that provides a robust and optimum solution for a multi-attribute age-based replacement policy. Practical implications -The proposed approach can be used by the decision maker in determining a robust-optimum interval time for preventive replacement of multi-attribute age-based replacement, a time interval which is not only optimum, but also robust. Originality/value -This paper presents an approach that simultaneously considers the multi-attributes and the uncertainty in the age-based replacement policy which is, to date, not available.

The management of megaproject is an emerging-topics to be studied by researchers. As an established management theory, quality management has a potential role to support studies and implementation of megaprojects. This study aims to explore the potential of Seven Management and Planning Tools (SMPT) in supporting megaproject management. A literature review method was utilized to analyse pertinent literatures that used the SMPT in megaproject studies. Based on 28 published articles, it is concluded that SMPT have been widely applied by scholars to analyse megaproject’s study in various aspects. In addition, based on the project guideline PMBOK and the international standard project management ISO 21500:2012, the SMPT have opportunity to support the megaproject practice in each stage. This preliminary study gives the potential chance for further studies related to the use of SMPT in megaproject’s real case as well as the opportunity to develop megaproject management tools specifically. These issues become a research opportunity in the field of quality management and megaproject management in the future.

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