Mobile Robot Automation in Warehouses: A Framework for Decision Making and Integration

ISBN-13: 9783031123061 / Angielski / Twarda / 2023 / 150 str.

Alp Yildirim; Hendrik Reefke; Emel Aktas

Opis

This book illustrates the applications of mobile robot systems in warehouse operations with an integrated decision framework for their selection and application. Mobile robot systems are an automation solution in warehouses that make order fulfillment agile, flexible and scalable to cope with the increasing volume and complexity of customer orders. Compared with manual operations, they combine higher productivity and throughput with lower operating costs. As the practical use of mobile robot systems is increasing, decision-makers are confronted with a plethora of decisions. Still, research is lagging in providing the needed academic insights and managerial guidance. The lack of a structured decision framework tailored for mobile robot system applications in warehouses increases the probability of problems when choosing automation systems.This book demonstrates the characteristics of mobile robot systems which reinforce warehouse managers in identifying, evaluating and choosing candidate systems through multiple criteria. Furthermore, the managerial decision framework covering decisions at strategic, tactical and operational levels in detail helps decision-makers to implement a mobile robot solution step-by-step. This book puts special emphasis on change management and operational control of mobile robots using path planning and task allocation algorithms. The book also introduces focus areas that require particular attention to aid the efficiency and practical application of these systems, such as facility layout planning, robot fleet sizing, and human-robot interaction. It will be essential reading for academics and students working on digital warehousing and logistics, as well as practitioners in warehouses looking to make informed decisions.

Spis treści

1.       Introduction

This chapter will present sector trends and importance of automation and mobile robot solutions in warehouses (why they are being used and how can they help to the warehouse). It will provide a list of key players in the market and convergence in services offered as their unique selling points.

2.       Methodology

This chapter will provide details on the systematic literature review methodology followed to produce the state-of-the-art in mobile robot automation. It will explain the application process, inclusion/exclusion/quality criteria, and other analysis details for the pool of peer-reviewed papers. The chapter is necessary for reproducibility and replicability reasons. Although at the time the book is written, it is recent, as time passes, the reader may wish to identify papers that are published after the book, and they can follow the methodology explained in this chapter for that purpose.

2.1.     Planning the Review

2.2.     Conducting the Review

3.       Mobile Robot Systems and Their Evaluation

This chapter will provide definitions of ten mobile robot systems incorporating suitable practical (company) examples and case analyses as applicable in support of the book’s goals. It will evaluate these systems using a multiple-criteria rating approach, where the criteria are also identified through the literature review. The five criteria used in the analysis are: mobile robot cost, flexibility in material handling, flexibility in the infrastructure, scalability, and time to implement. The chapter will provide justifications for these criteria when selecting a mobile robot automation system. Then, the ten mobile robot systems are rated on a 3-point scale in each criterion where the higher the score, the better the performance in the given criterion. The rationale for this multi-criteria selection support for mobile robot systems is further explained with multiple realistic warehouse scenarios with decision trees and using supply chain experts’ judgments on each criterion to provide guided examples of the approach.

3.1.     Linear Route Mobile Robots

3.1.1.  Rail Using Mobile Robots

3.1.2.  Wire Using Mobile Robots

3.2.     Guided Mobile Robots

3.2.1.  Barcode-Guided Mobile Robots

3.2.2.  Laser-Guided Mobile Robots

3.3.     Freeway Mobile Robots

3.3.1.  Autonomous Forklifts and Pallet Trucks

3.3.2.  Human-collaborated Mobile Robots

3.3.3.  Mobile Picking Robots

3.4.     Hybrid Systems

3.4.1.  AS/RS, Conveyors, and Linear Mobile Robots

3.4.2.  Picker and Transport Robots

3.4.3.  Laser-Guided Mobile Robots and Pallet Shuttles

3.5.     Realistic Scenarios and Guided Examples of Evaluation Criteria

3.6.     Practical Value of the Chapter

4.       Mobile Robot Management: Focus Areas at the Strategic Level

This chapter will present strategic level decisions for mobile robot automation in warehouses which involve comprehensive, long-term business decisions such as the desired warehouse performance metrics and the type of mobile robot systems. These decisions are generally taken before the installation stage of mobile robot systems, and they are rather difficult to alter during the implementation. The effects of these decisions occur in the long run which might be years.

4.1.     Identifying the Criteria for Mobile Robot System Evaluation (According to which criteria to choose a mobile robot system?)

4.2.     Identifying Key Performance Indicators (How to choose warehouse-specific and mobile robot system-specific KPIs?)

4.3.     Types of Mobile Robots and Their Coordination (AGVs or AMRs? – Centralised or decentralised coordination?)

4.4.     Facility Layout (How many floors? What is the flow-path of robots? From where to pick and drop products and refuel robots?)

4.5.     Human-Robot Interaction (Which policies should be followed in task distribution? How to manage the change? How to create a safe environment?)

4.6.     Practical Value of the Chapter

5.       Mobile Robot Management: Focus Areas at the Tactical Level

This chapter will follow the previous chapter on strategic decisions with tactical decisions. Based on strategic decisions, tactical decisions have a medium-term effect on warehouse operations. These decisions are easier to adjust during the implementation stage compared to strategic level decisions, but they should not (and generally cannot) be changed in the short-term.

5.1.     Storage Assignment Plan (What are the rules or approaches on storage? How many pick locations are required for an SKU?)

5.2.     Order Management Plan (Online/dynamic or offline/static order management? Batches, waves, or clusters of orders?)

5.3.     Quantity of Robots (How to decide the number of robots in the operation?)

5.4.     Maintenance and Failure Handling (How often to do maintenance and how to estimate robot failures? What to do if a robot fails?)

5.5.     Robot Energy Management (When, where, and how to charge? Plug-in versus battery swap?)

5.6.      Practical Value of the Chapter

6.       Mobile Robot Management: Focus Areas at the Operational Level

The tactical decisions provide a boundary for the operational decisions to be taken when running the warehouse on a day to day basis. Operational level decisions could be altered in the short-term and their effect on the warehouse operations could be observed within the same month or even within the same day as they directly affect operations. Thus, warehouse managers can experiment (without jeopardising the ongoing operations) with their decisions to optimise the operational focus areas.

6.1.     Mobile Robot Task Allocation (Where to go? When to go? Pick or replenishment or charging order?)

6.2.     Path Planning of Mobile Robots (How to go in the shortest time?)

6.3.     Deadlock Resolution and Conflict Avoidance Plans (How to overcome conflicts and deadlocks?)

6.4.     Practical Value of the Chapter

7.       Managerial Decision Framework and Further Considerations

This chapter synthesises the previous chapters 4-6 to provide a conceptual framework of managerial decisions at every level to aid warehouse managers in choosing and implementing mobile robot systems including a cost/benefit assessment example. It provides focus areas for each decision and the questions the decisions should answer. It also addresses concepts that have not formally affected the managerial decision framework yet are eligible for further attention. It provides a critique of the social and technical aspects for mobile robot implementation, specifically topics on human-robot interaction and algorithms that may be deployed to manage the behaviour of robots in the warehouse.

7.1.     Extensions on Change Management and Social Considerations

7.2.     Extensions on Algorithms, Simulations, and Technical Considerations

8.       Research Agenda

This book with its in-depth focus on mobile robot automation in warehouses has identified several gaps in the literature and exciting research avenues that emerge as our deployment of such robots increases. Hence, this chapter provides a structured research agenda, stemming from the previous chapters, inviting the reader to consider theoretical and applied research in specific problem domains.

8.1.     Mobile robot systems and selection criteria

8.2.     Managerial decision framework

8.2.1.  Focus areas at the strategic level

8.2.2.  Focus areas at the tactical level

8.2.3.  Focus areas at the operational level

9.       Conclusion

This final chapter concludes the book, highlighting the key aspects of the new knowledge presented across the preceding chapters, providing recommendations for practitioners, and acknowledging the limitations of the work.

O autorze

Alp Yildirim is on the Leadership and Management PhD programme in Cranfield School of Management, UK. Previously, he worked in the technology sector and co-founded an innovative manufacturing company, Sanayi Sepeti Ltd. His current research topic is mobile robot automation and throughput optimisation in warehouses.

Hendrik Reefke is a Senior Lecturer in Supply Chain Management and Course Director of the full-time Logistics, Procurement and Supply Chain Management MSc course at Cranfield School of Management, UK.  He is an active researcher, focusing primarily on sustainable supply chain management, service supply chains, as well as performance measurement and reporting.

Emel Aktas is Professor of Supply Chain Analytics at Cranfield School of Management, UK. Her research interests are logistics and transportation, supply chain decisions, mathematical modelling and optimisation, and she is currently working on minimising carbon emissions in maritime logistics with focus on the trade-off between service levels and fuel consumption.

Blurb

As the practical application of mobile robot systems is increasing, decision-makers are confronted with a plethora of decisions. However, research is lagging in providing the needed academic insights and managerial guidance. The lack of a structured decision framework tailored for mobile robot system applications in warehouses can lead to complications when choosing and implementing such automation systems. This book illustrates the applications of mobile robot systems in warehouse operations including an integrated decision framework for their selection and application.

The authors first outline the characteristics of mobile robot systems which support warehouse managers in identifying, evaluating and choosing candidate systems through multiple criteria, then provide a managerial decision framework covering decisions at strategic, tactical and operational levels. This book puts special emphasis on change management and operational control of mobile robots using path planning and task allocation algorithms, as well as introducing focus areas that require particular attention to aid the efficiency and practical application of these systems, such as facility layout planning, robot fleet sizing and human-robot interaction. It is essential reading for academics and students working on digital warehousing and logistics, as well as warehousing practitioners aiming to make informed decisions.

Alp Yildirim is on the Leadership and Management PhD programme in Cranfield School of Management, UK. Previously, he worked in the logistics industry and co-founded an innovative company in additive manufacturing. His current research topic in supply chain management is mobile robot automation and throughput optimisation in warehouses.

Hendrik Reefke is a Senior Lecturer in Supply Chain Management and Director of the Full-time MSc programmes in Logistics, Procurement and Supply Chain Management at Cranfield School of Management, UK. His research focuses on decision making within the areas of sustainable supply chain management, warehousing, supply chain configurations and performance measurement.

Emel Aktas is Professor of Supply Chain Analytics at Cranfield School of Management, UK. Her research interests are logistics and transportation, supply chain decisions, mathematical modelling and optimisation, and she is currently working on minimising carbon emissions in maritime logistics with focus on the trade-off between service levels and fuel consumption.