Title: Design insights for warehouse systems using autonomous vehicle technology
Speaker: Debjit Roy, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Time and Date: 3:30pm, Friday January 28, 2011
Venue: Room 217, Mechanical Engineering
Abstract
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While companies recognize that to remain competitive, warehouse automation is going to be a primary driver, they fail to leverage the design principles that could maximize the warehouse performance. Autonomous vehicle-based storage and retrieval system (AVS/RS), which is an alternate to automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS), offers advantages over AS/RS in terms of increasing efficiency, flexibility, and reliability. AVS/RS uses vehicles and lifts to transfer unit loads in warehouses. This research develops semi-open queuing network models to evaluate cycle times and interference effects in processing storage and retrieval transactions. Although, incorporating vehicle interference effects significantly increases the complexity of the queuing network model, with use of smart protocols, and decomposition approach, solutions to the queuing network model are obtained. The model provides design insights on the impact of tier configuration parameters, vehicle utilization, and number of storage locations on interference delays. Insights from such studies can be especially useful during the design conceptualization stage of warehouses with autonomous vehicles.
Speaker Bio: Debjit Roy is a PhD candidate in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, working under the supervision of Prof. Ananth Krishnamurthy. He is also a research assistant at the Center for Quick Response Manufacturing. He holds a B.Tech degree in Manufacturing Engineering from National Institute of Foundry and Forge Technology, India, an M.Sc (Engineering) in Management Studies from Indian Institute of Science, India and an M.S in Manufacturing Systems Engineering from University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA. His research interests are in the area of stochastic models for decision-making, with applications in manufacturing, distribution, and service systems. His dissertation work focuses on design and analysis of warehouse systems using Autonomous Vehicle Technology. He is the recipient of numerous awards and honors including 2009 and 2010 Wunsch prize for best technical paper in material handling, 2009 AS/RS Product Section Honor Scholarship, and 2010 Tiffin Metals Products Honor Scholarship from Material Handling Institute of America.