Life cycle management of mining machinery represents a continuous engineering challenge. The operational quality of machinery, defined as the machine's ability to continuously fulfill its designed functions under actual operating conditions, is a fundamental indicator of its current condition and remaining service potential. Accordingly, the definition of operational quality indicators is a prerequisite for effective equipment life cycle management. The primary indicators of operational quality include availability, reliability, productivity, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness, while for auxiliary mining machinery, they can be primarily characterized through availability and costs. In this paper, an approach based on the correlation analysis of these two indicators is developed. The analysis was conducted on bulldozers, which represent the most commonly used type of auxiliary mining machinery. Historical data on costs, operating time, and downtime were utilized. Based on the results obtained, trends in availability and costs as functions of time were established. The contribution of this study lies in defining a functional relationship between costs and availability, thereby enhancing the approach to life cycle management of mining equipment.
ISO14001:2026, a standard for Environmental Management Systems (EMS) that replaces ISO14001:2015, was published on April 15, 2026. The new model modernizes the requirements to meet modern environmental challenges and increase the practical applicability of EMS in organizations of all sizes and industries. The main novelty is a broader focus on the environment. Organizations will need to consider impacts on biodiversity, pollution, natural resource availability and climate change in more detail when analyzing the context and planning EMS. A mandatory requirement for planning and control of changes has been introduced, which ensures that modifications to processes, technology or organizational structure do not jeopardize system performance. ISO14001:2026 emphasizes the lifecycle perspective of products and services, which means that impacts are assessed from the procurement of raw materials to delivery to the customer and end-of-use. The control of external processes, products and services has also been expanded, whereby organizations assume responsibility for the entire value chain. The role of top management has been further strengthened, with an emphasis on strategic involvement in EMS and responsibility for achieving goals. The module with guidelines and clarifications has been significantly expanded, for easier implementation. The standard is in accordance with the Harmonized structure of ISO standards (Annex SL), which enables better integration with other management systems. Organizations will have a three-year transition period (until May 1, 2029) from ISO14001:2015 to ISO14001:2026. The standard brings moderate but significant changes, providing a more modern framework for environmental protection, sustainability and continuous improvement in business.
Using a representative pedestrian speed when defining the operation of traffic signals at signalized intersections is crucial for the safety and efficiency of pedestrian flows. This study determined the representative pedestrian speed (15th percentile of pedestrian speed) as well as the factors affecting pedestrian speed. Field measurements showed that the 15th percentile speed of pedestrians ranged between 1.101 and 1.135 m/s. The most significant influencing factor was the crossing time, where pedestrians crossing during the clearance interval were found to move significantly faster than others. The results indicate that the recommended pedestrian speed of 1.2 m/s is substantially higher than the representative pedestrian speed observed in the field.
In order to avoid interruption of service and costly downtime, touch voltage measurements are usually performed in an energized high-voltage substation. Due to conductive interference in the grounding system (usually several amperes, up to about 15 A), caused by power frequency, its harmonics and background noise, the energized high-voltage substation is an extremely challenging environment for the measurements of touch voltage. Under these conditions, ensuring confidence in the quality of the measurement results, by establishing metrological traceability, appears to be a complex research task. This paper presents the results of measuring touch voltage in the same high-voltage substation, but under significantly different environmental conditions and with a time interval of five years. On a practical example, on the basis of a statistically representative sample of eleven characteristic locations, it was clearly shown that the application of the FSM concept enables the establishment of metrological traceability of the touch voltages test results.
In the management process, green time can be viewed from two aspects: real and effective green time. Real green time is defined as the time interval during which a certain signal group is displayed with a green signal term. Effective green time is defined as the period of time during which a continuous process of leaving the intersection approach, i.e. the process of clearing the queue at maximum intensity, can be realized. The aim of this paper is to determine the relationship between actual and effective green time in different traffic systems, i.e. in two locations: Germany and Serbia. At both locations, start-up lost time and utilization of the yellow signal were analyzed. Investigations were conducted for traffic lanes straight ahead. The research results show that in Germany the effective green time is 0,48 seconds less than the actual time, and the results in Serbia that the effective green time is 0,81 seconds less than the actual time.
