Staffing problems and symmetric integer programs

Issued as Final project report, Project no. E-24-63

The best shape for a crossdock

The article of record as published may be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.10.1287/trsc.1030.0077Within both retail distribution and less-than-truckload transportation networks crossdocks vary greatly in shape. Docks in the shape of an I, L, or T are most common, but unusual ones may be found, including those in the shape of a U, H, or E. Is there a best shape? We show that the answer depends on the size of the facility and on the pattern of freight flows inside. Our results suggest that many large crossdocks in practice suffer from poor design that increases labor costs on the dock.Office of Naval ResearchNational Science FoundationN00014-95-1-0380 (ONR)DMI-0008313 (NSF)N00014-00-WR-20244 (ONR

Chaos and Convergence on Bucket Brigade Assembly Lines

One way to coördinate the efforts of workers along an assembly line that has fewer workers than work stations is to form a bucket brigade. Each worker in a bucket brigade simultaneously assembles a single item (an instance of the product) along the line. The worker carries the item from work station to work station until either he hands off his item to a downstream co-worker or he completes the work for his item. The worker then walks back to get another item, either from his co-worker upstream or from a buffer at the beginning of the line. The most notable application of bucket brigades is to coördinate workers to pick products for customer orders in distribution centers, as reported in Bartholdi and Eisenstein (1996b) and Bartholdi et al. (2001). Bucket brigades have also been used in the production of garments, the packaging of cellular phones, and the assembly of tractors, large-screen televisions, and automotive electrical harnesses (see Bartholdi and Eisenstein (1996a,b, 2005), and Villalobos et al. (1999a,b)). In the Normative Model of bucket brigades (Bartholdi and Eisenstein 1996a) the work content of the product is assumed to be deterministic and to be continuously and evenly

Independent agents and self-organizing logistics system

Issued as final reportNavy Office of Naval Researc

Production lines that balance themselves

Issued as Report, and Final report, Project no. E-24-61

Algorithm for logistics and coordination

Issued as Progress reports [nos. 1-2], and Final project report, Project no. E-24-615Final project report has title: Algorithm for logistics and coordinatio

Static and dynamic balance of rotor stacks

Issued as Final technical report, Project E-24-X5

Self-organizing logistics systems

John J. Bartholdi, III is Professor at ISyE and Manhattan Associates Professor of Supply Chain Management and Research Director, The Supply Chain & Logistics InstituteLecture presented on September 4, 2007, 2:00-3:00 pm in the Neely Lobby of the Georgia Tech LibraryRuntime: 88:28 minutesThe social insects, such as bees or ants, operate complex logistics systems that are efficient even though no agent is in charge. Instead of a centralized control, each agent follows a simple local rule and an efficient global organization emerges spontaneously. This idea has been successfully adapted to coordinate order-pickers in a warehouse. Under a protocol called "bucket brigades", each worker follows a simple rule; and without conscious intention or even awareness of the workers, the flow of work is smoothed and bottlenecks are removed. Furthermore, this happens without the advice on engineers, consultants, or management. The bucket brigade protocol has increased pick rates by 20-50% at some major distribution centers. (This is joint work with Don Eisenstein of the University of Chicago.