Situation: As a construction manager, you're supposed to estimate how much work can be done in an hour when a backhoe that is currently available is used for a specific job. The backhoe information is as follows: Model: CAT 349D2 (a Europe model) Bucket Type: UB family, Pin-On, Heavy Duty Material Type: Hard tough clay Step 1: The first step is to find a fill factor of the soil given. Refer to the CAT handbook (pg. 7- 206) and find the fill factor range of the material type given. It's a similar way we learned in the Loaders topic. Step 2: For the given CAT model, find the bucket's heaped capacity (Use the max capacity within the range). Refer to the CAT handbook (pg. 7-176 to 7-184). Step 3: Based on the fill factor and the heaped capacity, calculate the average bucket payload. Refer to CAT handbook pg. 7-206 for the formula. Apply the average bucket fill factor. Step 4: Estimate the total cycle time of the machine. Refer to the Cycle Time Estimating Chart in the CAT handbook (pg. 7-247). Step 5: Calculate the production rate (LCY/hr) given the information above. Use the operational efficiency of 45 minutes per hour. Note that the production rate is simply (Volume / Cycle time) x Operational efficiency. Step 6: Convert the LCY to BCY given a load factor of 0.85. What is the final production rate in BCY/hr?
