Matching shovels to trucks — the three, four and five pass rule

A shovel that fills a truck in three passes is loading efficiently. Two passes means the bucket is oversized for the truck and you are spilling or under-filling. Six passes means the shovel is undersized and the truck is waiting.

Aim for a three to five pass match between bucket payload and truck payload. Within that band, spotting time and haul distance decide the fleet size rather than the loading tool.

Once the pass count is right, count the trucks. An under-trucked shovel idles; an over-trucked one creates a queue at the face, which is the same waste in a different place.

Send us your bench geometry, haul profile and target tonnage and we will model the fleet before you commit to a hire.