To exploit the competitive advantage of a core competency, such as new technology development, an organisation must be capable of developing that technology efficiently and effectively. The purpose of this research was to study the new product development success and failure factors in a chemical company, and recommend improvements to the existing new product development framework. The study is significant in that new product development performance needs to be improved to remain competitive in the current economic and environmental climate. The same new product development model is applied to all projects in the company under investigation. A preliminary investigation suggested that the success rate of these projects fluctuates significantly. Qualitative case study research was conducted through semistructured face-to-face interviews. A thematic approach was used to organise and interpret the interview data. As the data was coded, several sub-themes emerged, and from these themes critical success factors and critical failure factors were identified. All of these factors were discussed and compared against the literature for relevance. The critical success factors and critical failure factors were divided into three categories: input requirements, stage kickoff guidelines, and continuous prompts. In this format these factors are recommended as potential improvements to the organisation's existing new product development framework.
The Witbank coalfield in Mpumalanga Province holds one of the largest coal resources in South Africa and the rest of the world . Both export and domestic coal are produced from various mines in the coalfield. The study was based on one of the mines, which produces both export coal and domestic coal which is supplied to a nearby Eskom power station. The mine is currently mining pillars from a previous underground bord-andpillar operation as well as a virgin coal seam. The pillars are extracted using a surface mining method referred to as opencast pillar mining, with an aim of maximizing coal recovery from the pillars. The selection and design process of the opencast pillar mining method was also influenced by the coal production rates and demand from the power station. Three seams are being mined; the no. 4 lower seam (S4L), no. 2 seam (S2), and the no. 1 seam (S1). The S4L and S1 are virgin coal seams while the S2 resources consist of pillar coal remaining from a previous bord-and-pillar operation that reached its end of life in the 1980s. The underground mine was operated using the conventional drill-andblast, bord-and-pillar mining method. The pillars were left intact when the underground operation was shut down.In 1995, a project to extract the remaining pillars was started as part of an initiative to extend the life of the mine. The extraction of the pillars was found to be economically feasible due to the good quality coal remaining in the pillars (Table I). Overburden removal began in 2000 using a truck-and-shovel fleet. This was an initial and experimental approach with the intention of exploring the risks associated with the pillar mining method, which was uncommon at that time. The truckand-shovel operation included cleaning around the pillars, which resulted in extensive coal losses. Due to the size of the equipment it was possible to dig the pillars without the need for blasting. It was then decided to implement a dragline operation together with the truckand-shovel fleet to overcome challenges with stability and spontaneous combustion on the midburden bench above the mined-out pillars. The first dragline was introduced in 2004. The use of the dragline was not part of the original design, and it was introduced only after it was identified as a lower risk operation compared to the truck-and-shovel fleet on the midburden.Factors and challenges affecting coal recovery by opencast pillar mining in the Witbank coalfield by P.L. Ngwenyama*, W.W. de Graaf*, and E.P. Preis* The depletion of coal reserves in the Witbank coalfield in Mpumalanga Province has resulted in mining companies exploring the possibilities of extracting coal pillars. These are pillars that were left behind for hangingwall support during underground bord-and-pillar operations. Recent studies of in situ pillar mining have found the extraction of the pillars to be feasible during opencast mining due to the high extraction rates of coal, relatively low stripping ratio, safety of the operation, and general environmental requirements. The geol...
SYNOPSIS The real cost of any mining incident has, empirically, proven to be estimation-driven, rather than fact-driven. One of the main reasons for this lies with the complexity of the cost composition of any given mining incident. Incident costs comprise both direct and indirect cost factors, and in many cases the costs associated with these factors are incurred during different time periods following the incident. In this paper we aim to identify the various cost factors arising from mining incidents, provide a thorough understanding of all the potential cost factors identified, and draw general conclusions on the knowledge obtained. Furthermore, recommendations are made on how mining companies could use the results, in order to assist them in calculating the costs of mining incidents. The paper also provides suggestions for further research, with the emphasis on the most significant immeasurable cost factors, namely the costs of implementing job accommodations following an incident, the harm to company reputation, and the decreased productivity due to low worker morale/psychological factors following an incident. If mining companies are aware of and understand which factors could contribute to the cost of any given incident, future planning and incident cost estimations could be easier. It should, however, be noted that although this study provides a comprehensive list of cost factors (and detailed explanations), other unknown cost factors relating to mine incidents could prevail in extreme cases. Keywords: direct costs, indirect costs, mining incidents.
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