Analysis and Productivity Improvement of an Automated Material Handling System Through Simulation
Author | : Willow Primack |
Publisher | : |
Total Pages | : 67 |
Release | : 2015 |
Genre | : |
ISBN | : |
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As Amazon.com has grown, the company has invested in warehouse systems similar to those traditionally found in manufacturing. These systems are a complex and interconnected set of manned work processing stations linked together by conveyance. This thesis examines one such system, arranged as a set of parallel single piece workflow lines joined by a central computerized sorter that route work between lines, and examines the effect of sorter algorithms and line capacity on production output. Work studies, interviews, and a practical experiment suggest a deterioration in the feedback provided to the central sorter for work routing. A Monte Carlo simulation model of the system further supports this hypothesis, suggesting that system throughput is 11.7% lower than a system that perfectly routes work to line in a pull fashion. While perfect routing is not practically feasible, the thesis then explores two routing heuristics designed around starvation response and dynamic capacity analysis, which simulation suggest may yield a 6.73% increase in throughput. In doing so, the thesis provides a case study on process improvement using simulation to characterize a complicated mechanical production system that is otherwise analytically intractable.