Evaluating the efficiency of continuous handling means

The handling operations are the inseparable element of production processes. The percentage of this type of work, in reference to other production activities, can reach even high levels bringing the increase of expended costs. The capital consumption of handling works affects the improvement of a proper selection of means to assure the production profitability. An important issue of selecting the handling means is based on their work efficiency evaluation. The paper contains the description of the software (developed at The University of Life Sciences in Lublin), that would be helpful in solving the real problems associated with the selection of the continuous handling means used for works planned to do during a production process. The described software is an application consisting of forms that reflect divisions of means for continuous handling and connected databases for storing auxiliary information and results of calculations performed. The principle of the software is based on making calculations of the work efficiency as well as exploitation costs for continuous handling means. Additional values are: ease of data input and search for means characterized by possibly the lowest exploitation costs. Correctness of the software functioning was verified on an example related to comparison of three conveyor types.