Patent ID: 8190173

Claim:
A method for tracking mobile equipment at a site, said method comprising the steps of: tracking information regarding a status of the mobile equipment with a mobile computer unit joined to the mobile equipment; storing information regarding the status of the mobile equipment on the mobile computer unit joined to the mobile equipment; transmitting information regarding the status of the mobile equipment from the mobile computer unit joined to the mobile equipment to a central computer unit; and assigning tasks for mobile equipment including: a step of evaluating cost for allocating each unallocated truck to the path using a weighted algorithm of excess travel time incurred by all trucks in an assignment set, the total truck waiting time incurred by all trucks in the assignment set, and a total loading unit idle time incurred by all shovels in the assignment set, further including: a first step of creating an assignment set including an ordered queue of the mobile equipment assigned to each loading unit; a second step of finding a neediest path which minimizes (mobile equipment travel time)*((average feed rate of the path)−(target feed rate for the path)); as a third step, the step of evaluating cost for allocating each unallocated truck to the path using a weighted algorithm of excess travel time incurred by all trucks in an assignment set, the total truck waiting time incurred by all trucks in the assignment set, and a total loading unit idle time incurred by all shovels in the assignment set; a fourth step of for the smallest total truck value for cost, allocating one of the mobile equipment to the assignment set; and a fifth step of repeating said second through fourth steps until the assignment set with a minimum total cost is found.