Optimisation of cutting cycles in conventional underground coal sections to improve productivity is an area of study on the utilisation of machines in conventional underground coal sections. Utilisation of machines focuses on reducing the time that machines spend idle and increasing the amount of time during shifts that machines are actively contributing to production. This can be addressed through effective planning of the cutting cycle parameters or by adjusting the design of machines to modify the cutting cycles. Conventional coal mining Conventional underground coal mining relies upon the use of continuous miners in order to extract coal reserves from underground coal seams. In combination with the continuous miners, shuttle cars are used to transport the extracted coal from the face to a transfer point (feeder breaker). From there the coal is typically tipped onto the underground conveyor system, which transports the coal to the surface in order to be distributed to customers. Effective management of the cutting, loading and tipping cycles utilised in the sections serve as a possible area for productivity improvement. One-directional cutting cycle A one-directional cutting cycle currently utilised in underground coal sections progresses as follows: The continuous miner operator sumps the cutterhead to a depth of 900 mm at a distance of ±0.3 mm below the actual roof height The operator then operates the shear cylinders in order to lower the cutterhead and shears down with the help of gravity to cut the coal from the seam The operator continues this shearing process while periodically loading the shuttle cars by means of the flight chain conveyor When the cutterhead reaches the floor level, the operator trams the machine backwards and trims the floor in order to remove the step and ensure a level floor The continuous miner is repositioned and the cutting cycle is repeated until the heading has advanced the maximum allowable distance before roof support is to be installed The cutterhead is then raised and the roof is trimmed to the required seam height to ensure an even roof profile, preventing the occurrence of bad roof conditions The cutterhead in the case of the above-mentioned cutting cycle always shears from the roof down to the floor. By adjusting the parameters relating to the above-mentioned cutting cycle, the utilisation of the available production times can be improved. Modified bi-directional cutting cycle The design of modern machines is continuously improving and the introduction of machines that