Retrieval scheduling in crane-based 3D automated retrieval and storage systems with shuttles

Wenquan Dong, Mingzhou Jin (), Yanyan Wang and Peter Kelle
Additional contact information
Wenquan Dong: The University of Tennessee
Mingzhou Jin: The University of Tennessee
Yanyan Wang: Shandong University
Peter Kelle: Louisiana State University

Annals of Operations Research, 2021, vol. 302, issue 1, No 5, 135 pages

Abstract: Abstract Retrieval task scheduling has been extensively studied for 2D automated retrieval and storage systems (AS/RS). A good schedule can significantly reduce the makespan for finishing a given group of retrieval tasks. However, the task scheduling problem has never been studied for crane-based 3D AS/RS with shuttle-based depth movement mechanisms (DMMs), which has become increasingly popular in practice. This study considered how to schedule a group of retrieval requests in a crane-based 3D AS/RS with shuttle-based DMMs with the objective to minimize the makespan. A mixed-integer programing model was developed to represent the problem, and the problem was proven to be NP-hard. Four heuristics were investigated for their computational performance. First-Come-First-Serve is the current practice while the Percentage Priority to Shuttle Reallocation with the Shortest Leg rule was developed based on the existing rule for scheduling storage and retrieval tasks in 3D AS/RS with conveyor-based DMMs. The Genetic Algorithm, which is popular for 2D systems, was adapted to deal with the 3D system. The Lowest-Waiting-Time-First heuristic was proposed based on the optimality condition of the scheduling problem and was demonstrated to outperform the other three algorithms in terms of solution quality and computational time. Further numerical results revealed insights for improving 3D AS/RS productivity. When the number of retrieval tasks is small (e.g., when a short planning horizon is adopted for high responsiveness), having more shuttles can improve the system performance. When there are many tasks to schedule, for example, in a situation with a long planning horizon, using a crane with higher speed rather than adding more shuttles can improve system efficiency more.

Keywords: Material handling; Crane-based 3D AS/RS with shuttles; Retrieval task scheduling; Optimization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10479-021-03967-8 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:annopr:v:302:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1007_s10479-021-03967-8

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/journal/10479

DOI: 10.1007/s10479-021-03967-8

Access Statistics for this article

Annals of Operations Research is currently edited by Endre Boros

More articles in Annals of Operations Research from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().