Graph-based solution for performance evaluation of shuttle-based storage and retrieval system

Abstract

The aim of this study is to provide a graph-based solution for performance evaluation of a new autonomous vehicle-based storage and retrieval system shuttle-based storage and retrieval system (SBS/RS) under various design concepts. By the graph-based solution it is aimed the decision-maker (i.e. warehouse manager) evaluates a pre-defined system’s performance promptly and decides on the correct design concept based on his/her requirements from thousands of alternative design scenarios of SBS/RS. The design concepts include number of bays (NoB) aisles (NoA) and tiers (NoT) for the rack design and arrival rate of storage/retrieval (S/R) transactions to an aisle of the warehouse (AR). The performance of the system is evaluated in terms of average utilisation of lifts and average cycle time of S/R transactions. Simulation is utilised for the modelling purpose. Seven NoT seven NoB and six AR scenarios are considered in the experiments. Hence 294 experiments are completed to obtain the graphs. By this study to the best of our knowledge it is the first time a graph-based solution including comprehensive design concepts of SBS/RS is presented. © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.