On the performance of robotic parts-to-picker order picking systems

Order picking is the activity in which a number of items are retrieved from a warehousing system to satisfy a number of customer orders. Automating order picking systems has become a common response to the wide variety of products and components stored in today’s warehouses and the short delivery lead times requested by today’s customers. As a result, new technical solutions have reached the market, including robotic parts-to-picker order picking systems such as robot-based compact storage and retrieval systems (RCSRSs) and robotic mobile fulfilment systems (RMFSs).\ua0Despite the increased use of robotic parts-to-picker order picking systems, knowledge about how they perform in terms of throughput, order lead time, human factors, quality, flexibility, operational efficiency, and investment and operational costs needs to be further developed, as does knowledge about how their performance is affected by the order picking system’s design and context. Accordingly, the purpose of this thesis is to expand knowledge about the performance of robotic parts-to-picker order picking systems by investigating how their design and context influence their performance. \ua0The thesis is built upon three studies: a systematic literature review study focusing on automated order picking systems, a multiple-case study on RCSRSs, and a single-case study on RMFSs. First, the systematic literature review study on the performance of automated order picking systems provides an overview of literature on order picking systems to date, aspects of their performance, and how their performance relates to their design. Second, the multiple-case study sheds light on characteristics of the performance of RCSRSs and the relationships between their performance and design. Third and last, the single-case study affords insights on how the context of RMFSs affects their performance.\ua0The thesis contributes to practice by providing guidance to decision makers within industry in terms of the performance to expect of robotic parts-to-picker OPSs depending on their design and context. In turn, such knowledge can facilitate the selection and design of an OPS or else the redesign of a current system. At the same time, the thesis contributes to theory by providing a synthesis of literature addressing the performance of automated OPSs and by outlining the relationships between their design and performance

Automated Order Picking Systems and the Links between Design and Performance: A Systematic Literature Review

With new market developments and e-commerce, there is an increased use of and interest in automation for order picking. This paper presents a systematic review and content analysis of the literature. It has the purpose of understanding the relevant performance aspects for automated, or partly automated, OPSs and identifying the studied links between design and performance, i.e. identifying which combinations of design aspects and performance aspects have been studied in previous research. For this purpose, 74 papers were selected and reviewed. From the review, it is clear that there has been an increased number of papers dealing with the performance of automated, or partly automated, OPSs in recent years. Moreover, there are differences between the different OPS types, but, overall, the performance categories of throughput, lead time, and operational efficiency have received the most attention in the literature. The paper identifies links between design and performance that have been studied, as well as links that appear to be under-researched. For academics, this paper synthesises the current knowledge on the performance of automation in OPSs and identifies opportunities for future research. For practitioners, the paper provides knowledge that can support the decision-making process of automation in OPSs

Roadmap towards a Lean and Sustainable Production for Medium Sized Manufacturers: A Case Study

Trends such as globalization, increased customer demands and the increased sustainability challenge are forcing medium sized manufacturers to rethink their production processes and start developing lean and sustainable production systems.Many of the developed tools and methods for the lean and sustainable production presented in the literature are not well suited for medium sized manufacturers with a lack of empirical case studies, and therefore investigating suitable approaches for improving the production and sustainability performances is needed in their case. This thesis proposes to use a mixture of tools from both the Lean and sustainable development literature for creating a lean and sustainable production roadmap for medium sized manufacturers. It demonstrates a case study conducted at a medium sized roller blind manufacturer who is preparing to introduce lean and enhancing their sustainability at the production to cope with the condensed market and their customer requirements. The study analyzes the manufacturing processes from both the lean and sustainability perspectives, where different tools were adopted and used throughout the work, which are: Value Stream Mapping, Sustainable Life Cycle Assessment, and Sustainability Compliance index, with the data collected through interviews, dialogues, observations, time studies and internal documents. Understanding the company specific problems and value acted as a foundation for further analysis and improvement potentials identification to reach a future lean and sustainable state in the production, which resulted in enhancing the firm´s lean and sustainability performances. This thesis complement the lean initiatives with a sustainability assessment effort to grasp the whole picture and generate ultimate improvement potentials in order to cope with today´s evolving trends and the increased sustainability requirements. A main contribution is the developed guidelines for creating a lean and sustainable production roadmap for medium sized manufacturers, which result in leveraged benefits satisfying both the lean and sustainable needs.Trender såsom ökad globalisering, nya kundkrav och ökade utmaningar inom hållbarhet, leder till att medelstora tillverkningsföretag tvingas att tänka om gällande produktionsprocesser och börja utveckla koncept inom lean och hållbar produktion.Många av de utvecklade verktygen och metoderna inom lean och hållbar produktion, som återfinns i litteraturen, är inte väl lämpade för medelstora tillverkningsföretag och saknar empiriska fallstudier. Detta motiverar till vidare analys kring lämpliga metoder för att öka prestationen inom produktion och hållbarhet för dessa företag. Denna uppsats går igenom de olika verktyg som finns definierade i litteraturen, både ifrån lean och hållbarhetsutveckling, och föreslår en väg framåt för att skapa en optimerad och hållbar produktion för medelstora tillverkningsföretag.Denna uppsats demonstrerar en fallstudie utförd på en medelstor rullgardinstillverkare som är beredd att introducera lean och öka deras hållbarhetsperspektiv i produktionen. Detta för möta den mättade marknaden och deras kundkrav. Studien analyser tillverkningsprocesserna från både lean och hållbarhetsperspektiv, där olika verktyg har blivit anpassade och testade under hela processen (Value Stream Mapping, Sustainable Life Cycle Assessment och Sustainability Compliance index). Uppgifterna som använts har samlats in genom intervjuer, dialoger, observationer, tidsstudier och intern dokumentation. Förståelse av företagets specifika problem gav en grund för vidare analys, där förbättringspotentialer identifierades för att nå ett framtida lean och hållbarhetsperspektiv i produktionen. Uppsatsens resultat bidrog till reella förbättringar för företaget inom området. Denna uppsats drar slutsatsen att komplettering utav lean initiativ med hållbarhetsutvärdering är nödvändigt för att få fram en helhetsbild kring en optimal förbättringspotential. På så sätt kan företagen bättre klara av dagens nya trender med ökade hållbarhetskrav. De utvecklade riktlinjerna för att skapa en lean och hållbar produktion i ett medelstort tillverkningsföretag resulterar i fördelar som uppfyller kraven både från ett lean och i hållbarhetssynpunkt

Roadmap towards a Lean and Sustainable Production for Medium Sized Manufacturers: A Case Study

Trends such as globalization, increased customer demands and the increased sustainability challenge are forcing medium sized manufacturers to rethink their production processes and start developing lean and sustainable production systems.Many of the developed tools and methods for the lean and sustainable production presented in the literature are not well suited for medium sized manufacturers with a lack of empirical case studies, and therefore investigating suitable approaches for improving the production and sustainability performances is needed in their case. This thesis proposes to use a mixture of tools from both the Lean and sustainable development literature for creating a lean and sustainable production roadmap for medium sized manufacturers. It demonstrates a case study conducted at a medium sized roller blind manufacturer who is preparing to introduce lean and enhancing their sustainability at the production to cope with the condensed market and their customer requirements. The study analyzes the manufacturing processes from both the lean and sustainability perspectives, where different tools were adopted and used throughout the work, which are: Value Stream Mapping, Sustainable Life Cycle Assessment, and Sustainability Compliance index, with the data collected through interviews, dialogues, observations, time studies and internal documents. Understanding the company specific problems and value acted as a foundation for further analysis and improvement potentials identification to reach a future lean and sustainable state in the production, which resulted in enhancing the firm´s lean and sustainability performances. This thesis complement the lean initiatives with a sustainability assessment effort to grasp the whole picture and generate ultimate improvement potentials in order to cope with today´s evolving trends and the increased sustainability requirements. A main contribution is the developed guidelines for creating a lean and sustainable production roadmap for medium sized manufacturers, which result in leveraged benefits satisfying both the lean and sustainable needs.Trender såsom ökad globalisering, nya kundkrav och ökade utmaningar inom hållbarhet, leder till att medelstora tillverkningsföretag tvingas att tänka om gällande produktionsprocesser och börja utveckla koncept inom lean och hållbar produktion.Många av de utvecklade verktygen och metoderna inom lean och hållbar produktion, som återfinns i litteraturen, är inte väl lämpade för medelstora tillverkningsföretag och saknar empiriska fallstudier. Detta motiverar till vidare analys kring lämpliga metoder för att öka prestationen inom produktion och hållbarhet för dessa företag. Denna uppsats går igenom de olika verktyg som finns definierade i litteraturen, både ifrån lean och hållbarhetsutveckling, och föreslår en väg framåt för att skapa en optimerad och hållbar produktion för medelstora tillverkningsföretag.Denna uppsats demonstrerar en fallstudie utförd på en medelstor rullgardinstillverkare som är beredd att introducera lean och öka deras hållbarhetsperspektiv i produktionen. Detta för möta den mättade marknaden och deras kundkrav. Studien analyser tillverkningsprocesserna från både lean och hållbarhetsperspektiv, där olika verktyg har blivit anpassade och testade under hela processen (Value Stream Mapping, Sustainable Life Cycle Assessment och Sustainability Compliance index). Uppgifterna som använts har samlats in genom intervjuer, dialoger, observationer, tidsstudier och intern dokumentation. Förståelse av företagets specifika problem gav en grund för vidare analys, där förbättringspotentialer identifierades för att nå ett framtida lean och hållbarhetsperspektiv i produktionen. Uppsatsens resultat bidrog till reella förbättringar för företaget inom området. Denna uppsats drar slutsatsen att komplettering utav lean initiativ med hållbarhetsutvärdering är nödvändigt för att få fram en helhetsbild kring en optimal förbättringspotential. På så sätt kan företagen bättre klara av dagens nya trender med ökade hållbarhetskrav. De utvecklade riktlinjerna för att skapa en lean och hållbar produktion i ett medelstort tillverkningsföretag resulterar i fördelar som uppfyller kraven både från ett lean och i hållbarhetssynpunkt

Robot based compact storage and retrieval systems performance in order picking applications

This paper addresses the application of automation in order picking systems. Specifically, Robot based Compact Storage and Retrieval (RCSR) systems are in focus. To increase the understanding of RCSR; the paper\ub4s purpose is to identify the performance aspects of RCSR systems. The methodology includes developing a theoretical framework of performance and design areas from relevant literature and presents a case study from an application of RCSR system in an e-commerce setting. The findings contribute to supporting companies in the decision making of automation in order picking systems, in terms of when and how RCSR systems could be used

Automated order picking: A literature review

Order picking is a labour-intensive process with a significant impact on overall operational performance. Automation in order picking holds potential for lowering the labour cost and increase delivery accuracy. The aim of this paper is to present a structured literature review with the purpose of identifying the context, performance, and design variables important to automation in order picking systems (OPS) that are covered in academic literature, and based on this derive areas for future research. For this purpose, 112 papers have been selected and analysed from two perspectives. First, the papers are classified according to the studied OPS type. Second, papers are analysed according to a developed framework in order to identify context, performance and design aspects important when making decisions on automation of OPS. The major streams proposed for future research are the OPS selection and picker-less systems. Also, research could benefit from more empirical research in the area, and deeper investigations of the context, performance and design aspects and their relationships

Exploration of Simulation-Driven Support Tools for Sustainable Product Development

Global society is encountering many challenges such as climate change, resource depletion, etc., which comes with a set of challenges and opportunities for businesses. Applied research in operational tools and methods that support sustainable product- and service systems innovation, aims to strengthen businesses to overcome these challenges. In recent years, several tools and methods have been developed in the sustainable product development field with focus on modelling and digitalization. This paper explores how sustainability has been integrated in modelling and simulation, and presents results from a literature review with the purpose of highlighting opportunities and challenges in the field. Furthermore, an initial model-based engineering support toolbox (MBE) is presented, with focus on support tools for socio-ecological sustainability integration in the early product development stages