PhD in TPM in the minerals processing and aggregate industries

The department of Product and Production Development performs research and education in the areas of styling, design engineering and production development - and in the interaction between these disciplines. The research aims to shorten the time from idea to finished product while achieving an added value for the customer. Automotive and engineering industries are among the major customers. The department has approximately 85 employees and is organized into three sections: Design & Human Factors, Product Development and Production Systems.The Division of Product Development (http://www.chalmers.se/ppd/EN/) at the department of Product and Production Development is well established with internationally recognized and nationally leading research groups with strong networks in both academy and industry. The core competences of the division are machine elements, design theory and methodology, product modelling, product data management, robust design and variation simulation within the framework of Integrated Product Development, Systems Engineering and Product Lifecycle Management. All research is conducted in close cooperation with both national and international industry.

The division is responsible for product development courses in Chalmers bachelors, masters and PhD programs in mechanical engineering. Chalmers international master’s program in Product Development is managed by the division.

Major responsibilities

A PhD candidate at the Division of Product Development is employed at a department for five years. The major part (80%) of this time will be spent on graduate studies, which in turn is divided between course work (25%) and research (75%) within a project which is conducted in collaboration with an industrial partner or sponsor. You will be working in a dynamic environment in close cooperation with other PhD candidates and the senior researchers in the research group.  In your research you will address long-term scientific as well as more applied and industrially relevant research questions.

You will work as a teaching assistant in undergraduate courses the remaining 20% of full time. Then you will get training and experience in communication and transfer of knowledge which is an important role in your future positions.

Positions summary

The research and thesis work to be conducted by this PhD student will be directed towards development of measures, systems and work procedures for using TPM and other KPIs in the mining, minerals and aggregate industry. Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) and other production oriented improvement tools have been used with success in other industries but have not so far been used in the mining, minerals and aggregates industries on a broader scale. The research will be conducted in collaboration with an established international network within the mining industry and universities.

Qualifications

-    Master degree in mechanical or industrial engineering, mechatronics or applied physics.
-    Be prepared to mix theoretical literature studies, analytical work, modelling and simulation combined with verification and site work in mineral processing plants.
-    Experience of programming in MATLAB Simulink and process simulations is a merit but not a requirement.
-    Be orally fluent in Swedish or English and sufficiently skilled for day-to-day communication in the other language - high English writing ability.

Application deadline: 2013-09-22

In order to improve the gender balance at the Department, we welcome in particular applications from female candidates.

For questions, please contact:

Professor Magnus Evertsson
magnus.evertsson@chalmers.se
+46 -31-772 1368
Chalmers University of Technology conducts research and education in engineering sciences, architecture, technology-related mathematical sciences, natural and nautical sciences, working in close collaboration with industry and society.

The strategy for scientific excellence focuses on our eight Areas of Advance; Built Environment, Energy, Information & Communication Technology, Life Science, Materials Science, Nanoscience & Nanotechnology, Production and Transport. The aim is to make an active contribution to a sustainable future using the basic sciences as a foundation and innovation and entrepreneurship as the central driving forces. Chalmers has around 10,000 students and 2,900 employees. New knowledge and improved technology have characterised Chalmers since its foundation in 1829, completely in accordance with the will of William Chalmers and his motto: Avancez!