Designing and Optimizing Warehouse Picking Processes

Problem

The goal of our work was to develop and test a tool for designing and optimizing the warehouse picking process.

Solution

We created a custom AGV. Several processes were defined, the most important being a process that calculates real-time product scheduling based on the availability of workers and pallet positions in storage, and another process that simulates the workers’ activities.

We also applied symbols to objects downloaded from Google 3D Warehouse and created custom symbols using the Google SketchUp tool. Finally, we conducted an experimental design by varying four factors: AGV load and unload time, the number of AGVs, and the workers’ picking time. Each factor was tested at two levels, and the effects were measured based on the mean hourly worker picks.

Result

The analysis of the results shows that this tool is sensitive and responds correctly to parameter variations. Therefore, it can be used to support decision-making in the design of warehouse picking processes.