In a context where companies are striving to produce highly customised goods in small batches and within short lead times, increasing attention is being put on the design and management of part feeding systems. This research is the frst to model automated part feeding to supermarkets in a factory environment, considering an innovative technology called vertical robotic storage and retrieval systems. This technology allows automating the storage, picking, and internal transportation activities in an integrated process, thanks to rack-climbing robots roaming in both the shop foor and the storage racks. We develop an analytical model based on the queuing network approach to analyse the system performance, and we use it to perform numerical experiments and to evaluate the design trade-ofs with reference to a real case in the automotive industry. Results show that an increase in the number of robots leads to better performance since the positive impact on the response time is stronger than the negative impact on the waiting times of robots at the supermarkets due to congestion. Furthermore, a confguration with multiple small supermarkets improves the efciency of the replenishment process, compared to a setting with few big supermarkets.

A performance model for mobile robot-based part feeding systems to supermarkets

Emilio Moretti;Elena Tappia;Marco Melacini
2022-01-01

Abstract

In a context where companies are striving to produce highly customised goods in small batches and within short lead times, increasing attention is being put on the design and management of part feeding systems. This research is the frst to model automated part feeding to supermarkets in a factory environment, considering an innovative technology called vertical robotic storage and retrieval systems. This technology allows automating the storage, picking, and internal transportation activities in an integrated process, thanks to rack-climbing robots roaming in both the shop foor and the storage racks. We develop an analytical model based on the queuing network approach to analyse the system performance, and we use it to perform numerical experiments and to evaluate the design trade-ofs with reference to a real case in the automotive industry. Results show that an increase in the number of robots leads to better performance since the positive impact on the response time is stronger than the negative impact on the waiting times of robots at the supermarkets due to congestion. Furthermore, a confguration with multiple small supermarkets improves the efciency of the replenishment process, compared to a setting with few big supermarkets.
2022
Part feeding, Factory logistics, Mobile robot, Design trade-off, Queuing network
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
s10696-021-09427-6_mobile robots to supermarkets.pdf

accesso aperto

: Publisher’s version
Dimensione 1.89 MB
Formato Adobe PDF
1.89 MB Adobe PDF Visualizza/Apri

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11311/1206435
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus 5
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 2
social impact