Industrial Engineering Commons^™

Deployment Of An Distributed Strategic Material Flow Control For Automated Material Flow Systems Consisting Of Autonomous Modules, Christian Lieberoth-Leden, Johannes Fottner

15th IMHRC Proceedings (Savannah, Georgia. USA – 2018)

The modularisation of hardware and software is one approach to handle the demand for increasing flexibility and changeability of automated material flow systems that are, for example, utilised in flexible production systems. In such automated material flow systems, autonomous modules communicate with each other to coordinate and execute transport tasks. In this paper a strategic material flow control is introduced, which is distributed on several modules realised with a multi-agent system. The strategic material flow control agent coordinates transport tasks with advanced logistical requirements, such as sequencing. A transport task states for a transport unit the system source and sink …

A Practical Collaborative Material Handling Strategy For Cross-Docks, Hector J. Carlo, Stephanie Santiago-Montano

15th IMHRC Proceedings (Savannah, Georgia. USA – 2018)

The current operational paradigm at less-than- truckload (LTL) cross-dock industry (i.e., dedicated strategy) is to assign one material handler (MH) per inbound trailer. As a consequence, each loaded trip performed by a MH to move a load from the assigned inbound door to the loads’ corresponding outbound door is followed by an identical empty trip to return to the inbound door. This paper introduces the monomaniacal strategy as a practical rule-based material handling collaborative strategy for LTLs designed to minimize the total empty travel. In the monomaniacal strategy, after delivering a load to an outbound door, MHs travel counterclockwise to …

A Measurement Tool For Circular Economy Practices: A Case Study In Pallet Supply Chains, Maria Grazia Gnoni, Fabiana Tornese, Brian K. Thorn, Andres L. Carrano, Jennifer A. Pazour

15th IMHRC Proceedings (Savannah, Georgia. USA – 2018)

A circular economy (CE) is an economic system where products and services are traded in closed loops or ‘cycles’. This work develops a framework for assessing the extent to which product supply chains incorporate circular economy principles, and applies this framework to a specific material handling application, the wooden pallet supply chain. The main decisions affecting circularity and the most common decision alternatives for the wooden pallet supply chain are identified for the Pre-manufacturing, manufacturing, product delivery, customer use, and end-of-life phases. A streamlined life cycle assessment tool is developed for supporting a quick analysis about how the level of …

On The Unique Features And Benefits Of On-Demand Distribution Models, Jennifer A. Pazour, Kaan Unnu

15th IMHRC Proceedings (Savannah, Georgia. USA – 2018)

To close the gap between current distribution operations and today’s customer expectations, firms need to think differently about how resources are acquired, managed and allocated to fulfill customer requests. Rather than optimize planned resource capacity acquired through ownership or long- term partnerships, this work focuses on a specific supply-side innovation – on-demand distribution platforms. On-demand distribution systems move, store, and fulfill goods by matching autonomous suppliers' resources (warehouse space, fulfillment capacity, truck space, delivery services) to requests on-demand. On-demand warehousing systems can provide resource elasticity by allowing capacity decisions to be made at a finer granularity (at the pallet-level) and …

Synthetic Order Data Generator For Picking Data, Mohammadnaser Ansari, Behnam Rasoolian, Jeffrey S. Smith

15th IMHRC Proceedings (Savannah, Georgia. USA – 2018)

Sample data are in high demand for testing and benchmarking purposes. Like many other fields, warehousing and specifically order picking process are not exempt from the need for sample data. Sample data are used in order picking pro- cesses as a way of testing new methodologies such as new routing and new storage allocation approaches. Unfortunately, access to real order picking data is limited because of confidentiality and privacy issues which make it difficult to obtain practical results from the new methodologies. On the other hand, order data follows a highly complex and correlated structure that cannot be easily extracted …

Optimization Of A Fast-Pick Area In A Cosmetics Distribution Center, Mario C. Velez-Gallego, Alice E. Smith

15th IMHRC Proceedings (Savannah, Georgia. USA – 2018)

Fast-pick areas are commonly used in order picking warehouses to improve labor efficiency by concentrating picking activities within a compact area, thus minimizing the distance traveled by the pickers. One problem that must be solved when a fast-pick area is to be implemented is the so-called assignment-allocation problem. This deals with deciding which products should be assigned to the fast-pick area, and how much space should be allocated to these products. This research was motivated by the picking operation of a cosmetics distribution center where several fast-pick areas are in place. A mixed integer linear programming formulation is proposed for …

Service Flow Networks For Functional Design Of Distribution Centers, Michael Schmidt, Detlef Spee, Michael Ten Hompel

15th IMHRC Proceedings (Savannah, Georgia. USA – 2018)

This work deals with the determination of an approach for concept planning of distribution centers. For this purpose, the "Distribution Center Design Process" is defined. Solution concepts for logistics centers are developed and evaluated in an eight-step process. In particular, it will be focused on formalization of the functional area, which has not been considered scientifically, yet. This results, among other things, in the definition of services and basic transformation properties of handling units. These can be used to create and semantically test service flow networks, which describe the functional sequence and transformations of service objects in distribution centers.

Progress In Autonomous Picking As Demonstrated By The Amazon Robotic Challenge, Dominik Colling, Jonathan Dziedzitz, Kai Furmans, Patric Hopfgarten, Kai Markert

15th IMHRC Proceedings (Savannah, Georgia. USA – 2018)

The automation of the picking process is a longheld dream in intra-logistics. while the expert judgment in recent years was, that there is no immediate applicability to be expected for applications in areas, where the variety of products is high. However, the recent advances in computer science, mechanical engineering and material handling systems design have moved the field substantially forward. In this article we want to show, how the Amazon Robotic Challenge has driven this development process and how capable the technology is. The Amazon robotic Challenge (ARC) and its increasingly difficult challenges are described first. Then the applied technology …

The Small World Of Material Handling Research, Parag J. Siddique, Kevin Gue, Md Salahuddin Ayuby

15th IMHRC Proceedings (Savannah, Georgia. USA – 2018)

Using data from 88 journals over an 8 year period, we investigate the relationships among researchers in material handling. We apply social network analysis to measure many attributes of the network, including papers published each year, papers published per author, number of collaborators per author, strength of collaboration between authors, and how influential an author is in the network. We observe that collaboration patterns in material handling follow a scale-free structure in the presence of some hub-like researchers. According to social network theory, these hub researchers facilitate rapid dissemination of knowledge in the network. We conclude that the scientific community …

A Design Methodology To Optimize Supply Chain Network Performance, Dheeraporn Nippaya, J. David Porter

15th IMHRC Proceedings (Savannah, Georgia. USA – 2018)

Organizations are constantly looking for new ways to reduce costs while still providing high customer service levels to face stringent competitive environments and the ever- increasing market globalization. An alternative these organizations can pursue to respond to these challenges and to gain a competitive differentiation is to optimize their supply chain network (SCN). This research aims to develop an effective SCN design strategy to locate facilities (i.e., plants and distribution centers) and to balance the allocation of customers to these facilities to satisfy capacity limitations and customer demands with minimum total cost and maximum level of service. It is anticipated …

Economic And Performance Analysis Of Dual-Bay Vertical Lift Modules, Fabio Sgarbossa, Martina Calzavara, Alessandro Persona

15th IMHRC Proceedings (Savannah, Georgia. USA – 2018)

Warehouse picking is one of the most time and cost consuming activities in a warehouse, often requiring the presence of human operators, who travel within the aisles to retrieve the items needed by the customers. Several studies demonstrate that the travelling activity can represent even the 50% of the total picking time, with a subsequent creation of a separate storage and picking area for small objects. In the last years, new solutions for order picking systems have been developed, especially for small items. One of these solutions requires Vertical Lift Modules (VLMs), storage columns with extractable trays. In this paper, …

Collaborative Bots In Distribution Centers, Russell D. Meller, Dima Nazzal, Lisa M. Thomas

15th IMHRC Proceedings (Savannah, Georgia. USA – 2018)

This research investigates the business case for using autonomous collaborative robots (“bots”) in warehouses. Bots are designed to work collaboratively with human workers in warehouses to fill orders, primarily in e-commerce environments. In order-picking applications, a bot knows the location of every item in the warehouse, and when an item needs to be picked for an order, the bot navigates to that item and waits. Human workers are assigned to patrol specific zones, and when they see a bot waiting, the worker walks to the bot, reads the instructions off the screen, executes the task, and moves on. The bot …

A Performance Calculator For Shuttle-Based Storage And Retrieval System Design, Banu Yetkin Ekren, Anil Akpunar, Tone Lerher

15th IMHRC Proceedings (Savannah, Georgia. USA – 2018)

In this study, we present an analytical model based tool that can estimate critical performance measures from a pre-defined shuttle-based storage and retrieval system (SBS/RS) design. SBS/RS is relatively a new automated storage and retrieval technology and mostly used for mini-load material handling. In this study, we develop an open queuing network model based tool estimating critical performance measures: the mean travel time of lifts/shuttles, utilization of lifts/shuttles, amount of energy consumption and energy regeneration per transaction, waiting times and number of jobs waiting in queues, etc., from a pre-defined SBS/RS design. By the developed tool, one can evaluate an …

Urban Parcel Logistics Hub And Network Design: The Impact Of Modularity And Hyperconnectivity, Benoit Montreuil, Shannon Buckley, Louis Faugere, Reem Khir, Shahab Derhami

15th IMHRC Proceedings (Savannah, Georgia. USA – 2018)

This paper examines how exploiting the hyperconnectivity and modularity concepts underpinning the Physical Internet enables the parcel logistics industry to meet the worldwide challenges to efficiently and sustainably offer faster and more precise deliveries across urban agglomerations, notably across the world’s megacities. It emphasizes disruptive transformations of package logistics hubs and networks, such as multi-tier world pixelization, multi-plane parcel logistics web, smart dynamic parcel routing and hub-based consolidation, and modular parcel containerization.

Dynamic Batching For Order Picking In Warehouses, Jelmer Pier Van Der Gaast, Bolor Jargalsaikhan, Kees Jan Roodbergen

15th IMHRC Proceedings (Savannah, Georgia. USA – 2018)

Dynamic batch picking is characterized by combining product demand from multiple customer orders into one pick tour where new orders are continuously received. Using modern order-picking aids, updated picking instructions can be included in the current pick tours which allows pickers to be re-routed to pick for new orders even when they already started a pick tour. We develop a mathematical model for dynamic batch picking that minimizes the order throughput time of incoming customer orders. In case of new order arrivals, we can quickly re-optimize the model and determine new updated pick tours. This allows for short order throughput …

Influential Factors In Consumer's Adoption Of Innovative Products, Mahdokht Kalantari

Wayne State University Dissertations

This dissertation addresses the challenges involved with the process of diffusion of innovations in the contexts of innovative educational materials and technological innovations.

Chapters 2 and 3 discuss building and using Online Brand Communities (OBCs) to disseminate innovative math educational materials. OBCs are known to be important platforms where consumers can communicate with the brand as well as other consumers. Through the effective use of these platforms, brands could accelerate the process of diffusion of their innovations. However, OBCs will not survive if consumers do not get engaged and participate in these communities. The purpose of this section of the …

Differences In The Throughput Performance Of The Warehouse Depending On The Quality Of The Calculation Parameters, David Sourek

15th IMHRC Proceedings (Savannah, Georgia. USA – 2018)

This article explores the quality level of the parameters that are used to determine the throughput performance of the warehouse. In our model case, this is a rack warehouse where the storage and picking of goods is ensured by forklifts. All kind of goods are stored on pallets. The aim of our research is to assess to what extent the quality level (accuracy) of the description of warehouse processes influences the accuracy of the determination of the throughput performance of the warehouse. In the first part of the article, we defined the parameters and the ways in which different levels …

Contribution Of Physical Internet Containers To Mitigate The Risk Of Cargo Theft, Yanyan Yang, Eric Ballot, Miguel Gaston Cedillo-Campos

15th IMHRC Proceedings (Savannah, Georgia. USA – 2018)

Different from current dedicated goods distribution solutions, the goods in the Physical Internet are encapsulated in modular dimensioned standard easy-to-interlock smart containers in an open interconnected logistic system. This paper aims to study the performance of the application of this cross-chain innovative packaging solution, especially its potential against cargo theft risks. To attain this, both qualitative and quantitative studies are carried out. With a scenario-based cost-justification model, different case studies are examined. Results suggest that through the modularity and standardization, the application of Physical Internet Containers will significantly improve the logistics performance and reduce cargo theft risks.

A Framework For Modeling Material Handling With Decentralized Control, Kai Furmans, Kevin R. Gue

15th IMHRC Proceedings (Savannah, Georgia. USA – 2018)

Despite decades of research in material handling, the academic community still has no accepted way of describing material handling requirements in a way that machines and algorithms can process them. Such a “way of describing” requires a language with which to describe requirements, objects, relationships between objects, and so on. We propose a modeling framework that differs from existing research in two ways: First, we address material handling modeling from the bottom up rather than from the top down, meaning we define a set of elementary functions and then combine them into processes and more complex relationships that allow us …

Pull-Driven Order Fulfillment In Distribution Centers, Dima Nazzal, Shankar Shanmugasundaram, Sung Kim, Russell D. Meller

15th IMHRC Proceedings (Savannah, Georgia. USA – 2018)

One of the challenges facing e-commerce fulfillment is the rigidity of the wave management system that often dictates a fixed batch size that must be processed before the next wave of orders is released. As a result, operation managers usually push multiple waves, which lead to accumulation at bottleneck resources, and poor synchronization at sortation engines. We demonstrate the power of operating an order fulfillment engine using the “pull” paradigm. We hypothesize that a pull-driven order fulfillment can meet the same throughput requirements achieved by the push-driven wave-based order fulfillment, but with higher speed, higher service levels, more level resource …

A Motion Capture System Framework For The Study Of Human Manufacturing Repetitive Motions, Francis Mendez, David Wierschem, Jesus Jimenez

15th IMHRC Proceedings (Savannah, Georgia. USA – 2018)

Our research proposes a framework to obtain and analyze real time data concerning the dynamic and natural motion of individuals in manufacturing-like processes that involve human labor. The framework that we propose consists of five main components: a tracking system, a system of sensors, a processor that collects time series data, data processing and discovery module, and an alert or reporting component. Using motion capture cameras, data is collected on a variety of human subjects performing simulated labor-intensive manufacturing operations. This data is analyzed for identification of actual and optimal activity motions. This project has significant potential impact for contribution …

Digital Design Of Intralogistics Systems: Flexible And Agile Solution To Short-Cyclic Fluctuations, Anike Murrenhoff, Christoph Pott, Moritz Wernecke, Philipp-Akira Burger

15th IMHRC Proceedings (Savannah, Georgia. USA – 2018)

In times of fast-paced, fluctuating and individual markets, intralogistics systems, such as warehouses, have to adapt to the resulting volatile performance demands dynamically. Hybrid systems, in which humans and machines work together efficiently and communicate in socio-technical networks, can be the answer to manage these high-frequency markets. Hybrid systems of the future need to adapt frequently and permanent change becomes the “new normal”. A one-time planning of warehousing systems upon first installation becomes obsolete. This results in the question of how to design and implement processes for future logistics systems in an agile way in order to exploit the flexibility …

Home Inventory Management And Last-Mile Logistics, Bhagyalakshmi V. Shrikrishna, Bharat Kulkarni, Michael G. Kay

15th IMHRC Proceedings (Savannah, Georgia. USA – 2018)

A study of the functioning of last-mile logistics in home inventory management is described. Different patterns of the household consumptions are studied and assumed in the interim. These consumption patterns then form the automatic grocery ordering system leading to what we would refer as a “home inventory management system.” In the futuristic world. This paper focuses on the impact of driverless delivery vehicles and drone delivery to satisfy the demand of the customers in a future scenario where orders are placed automatically by a home inventory management system.

Technical Project Management: Union Of Systems Engineering Processes With Project Management Processes, Deyaaldeen M. Abusal

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Today, most projects in technical fields utilize project management to complete projects as planned, and some of the projects utilize system engineering to cover the project in both technically and commercially. This Thesis investigates the relationship between Project Management (PM) and Systems Engineering (SE) to determine if a suitably professional level of management and level of quality can be achieved. When studying PM and SE separately and make a comparison between both, there is much overlap between these two mature fields. The project could be planned and completed solely by either process. This study combines both fields of Project Management …

Identification Of Reverse Engineering Candidates Utilizing Machine Learning And Aircraft Cannibalization Data, Marc Banghart

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

As military aircraft continue to remain in service and age, cannibalization of parts is increasing. Proactive identification of parts that are at high risk for cannibalization will inform engineering processes such as reverse engineering, thus allowing potentially reducing lead time to develop new parts. The research objective was to develop a causal structure that can be used for prediction of when cannibalization actions may occur. Bayesian networks allow encoding of causality between various descriptive features given a data set. The method utilized a tabu search algorithm, identified the underlying causal structure and the associated node probabilities. The method is then …

Essays In Measuring, Controlling, And Coordinating Supply Chain Inventory And Transportation Operations, Payam Parsa

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Supply chain collaboration programs, such as continuous replenishment program (CRP), is among the most popular supply chain management practices. CRP is an arrangement between two partners in a supply chain to share information on a regular basis for lowering logistics costs while maintaining or increasing service levels. CRP shifts the replenishment responsibility to the upstream partner to avoid the bullwhip effect across the supply chain. This dissertation aims to quantify, measure, and expand the benefits of CRP for the purpose of reducing logistics cost and improving customer service. The developed models in this dissertation are all applied in different case …

Decision Support System For Container Port Selection Using Multiple-Objective Decision Analysis, Rivelino De Icaza

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Ports are essential for maritime transportation and global supply chains since they are nodes that connect the sea- and land-based modes of transportation. With containerization and supply chains stimulating global trade, ports are challenged to adjust to changes in the market to create value to their customers. Therefore, this dissertation research focuses on the container port selection decision analysis to provide information to help shipping lines select the best port for their shipping networks. Since the problem is complex, dynamic, and involves multiple and conflicting criteria, the research proposes to use the multi-objective decision analysis with Value-Focused Thinking approach. The …

Personalized Decision Modeling For Intervention And Prevention Of Cancers, Fan Wang

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Personalized medicine has been utilized in all stages of cancer care in recent years, including the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and follow-up. Since prevention and early intervention are particularly crucial in reducing cancer mortalities, personalizing the corresponding strategies and decisions so as to provide the most appropriate or optimal medical services for different patients can greatly improve the current cancer control practices. This dissertation research performs an in-depth exploration of personalized decision modeling of cancer intervention and prevention problems. We investigate the patient-specific screening and vaccination strategies for breast cancer and the cancers related to human papillomavirus (HPV), representatively. Three popular …

A Multi-Period Facility Location Model For Service Organizations Operating In A Competitive Environment., Sven W. Brose

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis develops a multi-period, mathematical programming location model for facilities operating in a competitive environment. The objective is to maximize the profit in a variable demand environment. The solution of the problem can either be done in a robust or in a dynamic manner. A robust solution methodology forecasts the demand for all the periods in the planning horizon and provides a robust solution that may be suboptimal for any given period, but optimal when all the periods are taken into consideration. A problem with this approach is that it requires accurate forecast of demand for multiple periods into …

Impact Of A Localized Lean Six Sigma Implementation On Overall Patient Safety And Process Efficiency, Luvianca G. Gil-Moreno

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Continuous quality improvement tools have been widely used in the Healthcare Industry to increase efficiency and patient safety as well as to reduce cost. This research explores the impact of a Lean Six Sigma (LSS) process improvement initiative on the overall process efficiency and patient safety in the Labor and Delivery (L+D) units of a large hospital provider. This study focuses on the application of a modeling and simulation methodology to investigate the influence of a localized process improvement intervention on the overall L+D unit output by considering patient flow, system capacity, and unit performance. The simulation models capacity profiles …