Small Parts Order-Picking Systems Analysis

摘要

The productivity of small parts order-picking is affected by technology, picking station configuration, the nature ofrnthe orders, and the control mechanisms synchronizing and balancing order-picking labor and automation. The goalrnof this research is to develop a methodology for analyzing systems in which orders are progressively assembled byrnpassing asynchronously from one picking station to another via conveyor, so that no sortation equipment is requiredrndownstream prior to packing and shipping. Two different pick station technologies are considered: (1) robotic; andrn(2) manual pick-to-light systems. In both considered systems, picked items are placed into drop buffers, from whichrnthey are automatically delivered to arriving order containers. The focus of this research is on assessing the orderrncycle time at the picking station, the pick station throughput, and the requirements for order buffering at the pickrnstation. An open-loop queuing model is developed for these pick station technologies. Further analysis is alsornpresented.