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Articles 31 - 60 of 212

Full-Text Articles in Operational Research

Economic And Performance Analysis Of Dual-Bay Vertical Lift Modules, Fabio Sgarbossa, Martina Calzavara, Alessandro Persona Jul 2018

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

International Material Handling Research Colloquium

Poster 3


A Motion Capture System Framework For The Study Of Human Manufacturing Repetitive Motion, Jesus Jimenez, Francis Mendez, David Wierschem Jul 2018

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

International Material Handling Research Colloquium

Poster 21


Deployment Of An Distributed Strategic Material Flow Control For Automated Material Flow Systems Consisting Of Autonomous Modules, Christian Lieberoth-Leden, Johannes Fottner Jul 2018

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

International Material Handling Research Colloquium

Poster 10


Managing The Order Picking Process In For Click And Collect In Grocery Stores, Dale T. Masel, Akhilesh Mesa Jul 2018

Managing The Order Picking Process In For Click And Collect In Grocery Stores, Dale T. Masel, Akhilesh Mesa

International Material Handling Research Colloquium

Poster 14


A Practical Collaborative Material Handling Strategy For Cross-Docks, Hector J. Carlo, Stephanie Santiago-Montano Jul 2018

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

International Material Handling Research Colloquium

Poster 8


15th International Material Handling Research Colloquium Program, College Industry Council On Material Handling Education, Mhi Jul 2018

15th International Material Handling Research Colloquium Program, College Industry Council On Material Handling Education, Mhi

International Material Handling Research Colloquium

Official Conference Program


Optimal Supply Delivery Under Military Specific Constraints, Talena Fletcher Jan 2018

Optimal Supply Delivery Under Military Specific Constraints, Talena Fletcher

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Through-out military history, the need to safely and effectively allocate resources to various military operations was a task of extreme importance. Satisfying the needs of multiple consumers by optimally pairing with appropriate suppliers falls into the category of vehicle routing problems (VRP), which has been intensively studied over the years. In general, finding the optimal solution to VRP is known to be NP-hard. The proposed solutions rely on mathematical programming and the size of the problems that can be optimally solved is typically limited. In military settings, balancing the needs of multiple consumers with the current operational environment has always …


Improving The Environmental Sustainability Of Pallet Logistics Through Preemptive Remanufacturing: An Integer Linear Optimization Model, Fabiana Tornese, Jennifer Pazour, Andres L. Carrano, Brian K. Thorn Jan 2018

Improving The Environmental Sustainability Of Pallet Logistics Through Preemptive Remanufacturing: An Integer Linear Optimization Model, Fabiana Tornese, Jennifer Pazour, Andres L. Carrano, Brian K. Thorn

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

The use of pallets is crucial in handling and transportation processes and wooden pallet represent the most common packaging type in the US and in Europe. This work focuses on the environmental impact of wooden pallet reverse logistics, exploring the advantages of preemptive remanufacturing policies. Preemptive schedules allow the service provider to allocate transportation emissions across multiple pallet components, increasing the environmental efficiency of the transportation process. This advantage has to be compared to the lost opportunity of repairing a usable component earlier than required. An integer linear optimization model analyzes this trade-off and the benefits of a preemptive remanufacturing …


Managing The Order Picking Process In For Click And Collect In Grocery Stores, Dale T. Masel, Akhilesh Mesa Jan 2018

Managing The Order Picking Process In For Click And Collect In Grocery Stores, Dale T. Masel, Akhilesh Mesa

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

Many grocery stores offering a service called “Click and Collect,” where customers can submit an order online and pick up the order at the store or have it delivered. To offer this service in an efficient way while still meeting customer expectations, stores can adapt methods used in warehouse order picking. Once strategy is the method used to group the orders into batches as they are received. We have examined two strategies for batching: order-based batching and time-based batching. From testing these two approaches, time-based batching produces a slightly lower average picking time, but order-based batching has orders ready for …


A Space Syntax Analysis Of The Relationship Between Function And Form In Facility Layout, Alejandro Teran-Somohano, Alice E. Smith Jan 2018

A Space Syntax Analysis Of The Relationship Between Function And Form In Facility Layout, Alejandro Teran-Somohano, Alice E. Smith

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

This paper explores the relationship between a facility’s operation and its form using quantitative techniques provided by Space Syntax. Space Syntax provides quantitative metrics for characterizing the spatial traits of the locations within a facility which can then be related to operational metrics. Instances of the quadratic assignment problem are used to perform spatial and operational analyses on different flow matrices to study the resulting layouts. The effects of different objective functions on facility shapes are also studied.


An Integrated Network Modeling Framework For Analysis Of Multi-Line Order Pick Systems, Debjit Roy, Vishal Bansal Jan 2018

An Integrated Network Modeling Framework For Analysis Of Multi-Line Order Pick Systems, Debjit Roy, Vishal Bansal

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

Due to demanding service levels in E-commerce order fulfillment, modeling and analysis of order picking processes in warehouses deserve special attention. With a particular focus on multi-line E-commerce orders, we develop modeling tools that are necessary to analyze the order consolidation delays in the downstream pick stations. We develop a queuing network modeling framework for integrated analysis of upstream (storage system) and downstream (pick system). We apply our modeling approach to an integrated order-pick system that includes a shuttle-based storage and retrieval system, and a single pick station. Using simulations, we test the effect of the storage system configuration on …


Scalable Heuristic For Locating Distribution Centers On Real Road Networks, Saeed Ghanbartehrani, Jose David Porter Jan 2018

Scalable Heuristic For Locating Distribution Centers On Real Road Networks, Saeed Ghanbartehrani, Jose David Porter

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

The median problem is a type of network location problem that aims at finding a node with the total minimum demand weighted distance to a set of demand points in a weighted graph. In this research, an algorithm for solving the median problem on real road networks is proposed. The proposed algorithm, referred to as the Multi-Threaded Dijkstra’s (MTD) algorithm, is used to locate Walmart distribution centers on the 28-million node road network of the United States with the objective of minimizing the total demand weighted transportation cost. The resulting optimal location configuration of Walmart distribution centers improves the total …


Integrated Intermodal Network Design With Nonlinear Inter-Hub Movement Costs, Mohammad Ghane-Ezabadi, Hector A. Vergara Jan 2018

Integrated Intermodal Network Design With Nonlinear Inter-Hub Movement Costs, Mohammad Ghane-Ezabadi, Hector A. Vergara

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

In this research, transportation mode and load route selection problems are integrated with the hub location problem in a single mathematical formulation to find the optimal design of intermodal transportation networks. Economies of scale are modeled utilizing a stepwise function that relates the per container transportation cost to the amount of flow between two nodes. A heuristic method combining a genetic algorithm and the shortest path algorithm was developed to solve this integrated planning problem. Computational experiments were completed to evaluate the performance of the proposed heuristic for different problem instances. At the end, conclusions are presented and future research …


Shuttle-Based Storage And Retrieval Systems With Robotic Order-Picking Shuttle Carrier, Tone Lerher Jan 2018

Shuttle-Based Storage And Retrieval Systems With Robotic Order-Picking Shuttle Carrier, Tone Lerher

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

Shuttle-based storage and retrieval systems with robotic order picking shuttle carrier are relatively new systems not yet address in automated storage system research. The objective of this research paper is to propose analytical model for robotic order picking shuttle carriers. Analytical expressions for the calculation of multi cycle have been determined by assuming uniform distributed order-picking locations and the probability theory. The proposed model enables the calculation of the expected travel (cycle) time for multiple command cycles of the robotic order picking shuttle carrier, from which the throughput performance can be evaluated.


Batching In Bucket Brigade Order Picking, Yossi Bukchin, Eran Hanany, Eugene Khmelnitsky Jan 2018

Batching In Bucket Brigade Order Picking, Yossi Bukchin, Eran Hanany, Eugene Khmelnitsky

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

Order picking is the most labor cost consuming element in warehouse operations. In this paper, we consider an order picking process in a single picking aisle in the forward pick area, consisting of multiple locations (pick faces). The picking is performed by a group of pickers, each characterized by stochastic (forward and backward) walking process and picking times. We assume that the bucket brigade (BB) approach is applied, in a static environment, in which a given set of orders has to be picked. In order to improve the picking process, we suggest a batching procedure, where the objective is to …


Deployment Of An Distributed Strategic Material Flow Control For Automated Material Flow Systems Consisting Of Autonomous Modules, Christian Lieberoth-Leden, Johannes Fottner Jan 2018

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 Jan 2018

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 Jan 2018

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 Jan 2018

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 Jan 2018

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 Jan 2018

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 Jan 2018

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 Jan 2018

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 Jan 2018

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 Jan 2018

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 Jan 2018

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 Jan 2018

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 Jan 2018

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 Jan 2018

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 Jan 2018

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 …