Heavy Equipment Analysis Could Cut Hayupi Road Reconstruction by 40 Days

Illustration by Ai

FORMOSA NEWS

A study by Ahmad Jabar Albanjari and H. Muhammad Humaidi of Politeknik Negeri Banjarmasin found that optimizing heavy equipment combinations could reduce the planned completion time of the Hayupi Road Reconstruction Project in Banjar Regency, South Kalimantan, from 180 to 140 calendar days. Published in 2026 in the International Journal of Integrative Research (IJIR), the analysis also calculated a total heavy equipment operating budget of IDR 4.64 billion for five major construction activities. The findings highlight how better equipment planning can help road contractors reduce delays, idle machinery, and unnecessary operating costs.

Why Heavy Equipment Matters in Road Construction

Road infrastructure is particularly important in rural and hilly areas such as Banjar Regency. Reliable roads can improve community mobility, reduce regional isolation, and support the distribution of basic goods and local commodities.

However, road reconstruction projects can face delays when the available heavy equipment does not match the actual workload. Excavators, dump trucks, bulldozers, graders, rollers, and rock breakers must work as an interconnected system. If one machine operates more slowly than the others, it can become a bottleneck that limits the productivity of the entire work group.

The researchers note that heavy equipment can account for roughly 25% to 45% of a construction project's total contract value. Actual machine productivity is also affected by factors such as terrain, operator skills, work management, cycle time, weather, and the characteristics of local soil and rock.

For the Hayupi project, the analysis focused on a 300-meter effective work section between STA 0+650 and STA 1+150 in Bunglai Village, Aranio District, Banjar Regency. Five critical activities were examined: land clearing and stripping, ordinary excavation, rock excavation, ordinary deposits from excavation, and Class A aggregate foundation work.

How the Analysis Was Conducted

Albanjari and Humaidi used secondary project data, including the Bill of Quantities, heavy equipment specifications, planned S-curves, diesel fuel prices, lubricant costs, and local labor wages.

The researchers calculated the hourly productivity of each machine by considering factors such as cycle time, equipment capacity, and work efficiency. They then calculated hourly operating costs by combining equipment rental, diesel fuel, lubricants, and operator or supervisory wages.

The final stage focused on identifying bottlenecks. Rather than simply adding the theoretical capacities of all machines, the researchers identified the machine with the smallest effective combined production capacity for each work activity. This bottleneck became the main factor determining the realistic duration of the work.

The approach followed the heavy equipment productivity and construction cost principles referenced in PUPR Ministerial Regulations No. 1 of 2022 and No. 8 of 2023.

Key Findings: Different Machines Become Bottlenecks

The analysis showed that equipment productivity varied considerably depending on the type of work.

For land clearing and stripping, the Komatsu D85E-SS bulldozer was the bottleneck, with a productivity of 90.00 square meters per hour. The proposed duration for this activity was 18 days.

For ordinary excavation, the Hyundai HX 340SI excavator became the determining machine, with a combined production capacity of 300.68 cubic meters per hour. The estimated duration was 38 days.

Rock excavation presented a different challenge. The Hino 500 dump truck was identified as the bottleneck, with a combined capacity of only 27.24 cubic meters per hour. This activity required an estimated 46 days, making it the longest individual activity in the optimized schedule.

For ordinary deposits from excavated material, the Hino 500 dump truck again determined the production capacity, at 99.87 cubic meters per hour, with a proposed duration of one day.

The Class A aggregate foundation layer was also limited by the Hino 500 dump truck, with a capacity of 45.04 cubic meters per hour and a proposed duration of nine days.

Heavy Equipment Budget Reaches IDR 4.64 Billion

The researchers estimated the total direct heavy equipment operating budget for the five analyzed work items at IDR 4,642,172,450.

The largest cost was associated with rock excavation, requiring an estimated IDR 2,609,598,400. Ordinary excavation followed at IDR 1,616,444,800. Land clearing was estimated at IDR 275,313,600, while ordinary deposits required IDR 16,102,320 and the Class A aggregate foundation layer required IDR 124,713,330.

At the hourly level, the study calculated the operating cost of a Hyundai HX 340SI excavator at IDR 938,150 per hour. The Hino 500 dump truck cost IDR 556,450 per hour, while the Komatsu D85E-SS bulldozer reached IDR 973,750 per hour. A SAKAI vibratory roller was estimated at IDR 518,190 per hour, and the Komatsu GD511A motor grader at IDR 666,750 per hour.

These figures cover direct operating expenses such as rental, diesel, lubricants, and labor. The researchers explicitly excluded general project overhead, mobilization and demobilization, and contractor profit from this calculation.

Schedule Optimization Saves 40 Days

The most significant finding was the potential reduction in construction time.

The original S-curve schedule allocated 180 calendar days for the project. After evaluating the combined productivity of the heavy equipment and addressing production bottlenecks, the researchers calculated an optimized duration of 140 calendar days.

That represents a saving of 40 calendar days, or 22.22% of the original planned duration.

The result demonstrates the importance of matching machine capacity across interconnected construction activities. A fleet can contain powerful machines yet still experience delays if transportation capacity, for example, cannot keep pace with excavation or material processing.

Implications for Contractors and Road Projects

The findings offer a practical lesson for contractors: equipment selection should be based not only on the capacity of individual machines but also on how those machines operate together.

The researchers specifically recommend adding a dedicated dump truck fleet for rock excavation and aggregate foundation work. Increasing transportation capacity could allow excavators and motor graders to operate closer to their potential productivity instead of waiting for material transport.

For road projects in rural and difficult terrain, this approach could help contractors develop more realistic schedules and control heavy equipment expenditure. It could also reduce idle time, improve resource utilization, and provide project managers with a clearer basis for deciding when additional equipment is economically justified.

At the same time, the researchers caution that future analysis should incorporate direct field observations. Real-world variables such as rainfall and time losses may affect actual cycle times and productivity beyond what can be captured through project documentation alone.

About the Authors

Ahmad Jabar Albanjari is a researcher affiliated with Politeknik Negeri Banjarmasin and is the first author of the study.

H. Muhammad Humaidi is affiliated with Politeknik Negeri Banjarmasin and serves as the corresponding author. The article lists his contact as m.humaidi@poliban.ac.id. The available article does not provide academic degrees or more detailed individual fields of expertise, so those details cannot be confirmed from the source.

Research Source

Article title: “Analysis of Heavy Equipment Cost and Productivity Budget in the Hayupi Road Reconstruction Project, Banjar Regency”

Authors: Ahmad Jabar Albanjari and H. Muhammad Humaidi

Affiliation: Politeknik Negeri Banjarmasin

Journal: International Journal of Integrative Research (IJIR)

Volume/Issue: Vol. 4, No. 7

Year: 2026

Pages: 489–496

DOI: 10.59890/ijir.v4i7.225

The study's central finding is straightforward: better coordination of heavy equipment can substantially shorten road construction schedules while providing a clearer basis for controlling equipment operating costs. In the Hayupi Road Reconstruction Project, the proposed equipment optimization reduced the estimated schedule from 180 to 140 days while identifying IDR 4.64 billion as the direct heavy equipment operating budget for the five analyzed work items.