Ns08 - Order Picking

8/6/2019 Ns08 - Order Picking

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Re: Lean Manufacturing and Lean Warehousing Series

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8 . 18 . 28 . 2 . 18 . 2 . 28 . 38 . 48 . 4 . 18 . 4 . 28 . 4 . 38 . 58 . 68 . 78 . 7 . 18 . 7 . 28 . 7 . 38 . 88 . 8 .8 . 8 . 28 . 8 . 38 . 8 . 4g . g . 58 . 98 . 9 .8 . 9 . 2

8. I SYSTEM

SECTION 8

ORDER ICKING

lable of Contents

S y s t e n S e l e c t i o nOrder SequencingB a t c h P i c k i n gZone PickingS y s E e m C o m p a t i b i l i t yLevel-By-Level Order Fi l l ingP r i n c i p l e s .P r o c e sDocumentat onRackables Order PickingBinnables Order PickingRo1l-Ttrrough Order PickingApp icat ionP a l l e t O r d e r P i c k i n g

Mechanized Order Picking EquiprnentAutomated Order Picking Equipment . ,Storage Equipment ArrangementMult i -Level ShelvingP a l l e t R a c k S h e l v i n g

SELECTION

P a g e N o .

8 - I8 - 1

8 - 38 - 38 - 58 - 58 - 78 - 78- r 38-l 38-r 3

8-228-228-228-258-25

8 - 28 - 28 - 3

B i n n a b l e s O r d e r P i c k i n g . . 8 - f6M a c h i n e A s s i s t e d O r d e r P i c k i n g . . . . 8 - f 5O r d e r P i c k i n g T r u c k s . . . . 8 - f 5R a d i o C o n t r o t l e d Tr a i l e r - Tr a i n 8- f6Man-Aboard S/R Machines

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The nature of the rnater ial in the Navy supply systen dictates that only a fewk i n d s o f a p p l i c a t i o n s a r e a p p r o p r i a t e . P r o d u c t e a r e e i t h e r i n s h i p p e r c a s e aon pal lets and shelves or loose in bin and tote boxes on shelves. Ttre shippercases are hand-selected to pal lets and the loose i tems to tote boxes. Thesetechniques also apply to rnater ial which has been returned from the f ie ld orth e r e p a i r c e n t e r s f o r r e s t o c k i n g t o i n v e n t o r y. I n a l l o f t h i s s h e l f t y p epicking, the select ion is made rnanual ly and there is a considerable amount ofident if icat ion and verif icat ion involved in the picking funct ion. Ttrus , theh u n a n a c t i v i t y a t t h e s h e l f i s s i g n i f i c a n t . I f h a n d - p u s h e d c e r t s a r e u s e d ,the physique of the order picker l imite the height of the pick. A seven foothigh shelf systen is general ly the maximum wtrich can be used with manual orderpicking. Any increase in height requires rnul t ipl .e leve1 shelving, specialladder-equipped carts , or high level order picking trucks.

8.2 ORDER EQUENCTNG

The sequencing of pick orders before sending them to the order pickers is enimportant element in the overal l eff ic iency of an order picking operat ion.The form and content of the pick document can contr ibute signif icant ly to thepresence or absence of picking errors . In general , picking errors should al-ways be avoided even at the expense of increased product ivi ty since i t gener-

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a l l y c o s t s f a r m o r e t o c o r r e c t a n e r r o r a f t e r i t h a s o c c u r r e d t h a n i t d o e s t op r e v e n t t he e r r o r i n t h e f i r s t p l a c e . P i c k i n g d o c u m e n t s m u s t t e l l t h e o r d e rp i c k e r w h a t i s w a n t e d a n d w h e r e i t i s s t o r e d . I d e n t i f i c a t i on o n t h e r a c k o rs h e l f m u s t m a t c h t h a t o n t h e p i c k d o c u m e n t . T he p r e f e r r e d w a y t o i n c r e a s e e f -f i c i e n c y a n d r e d u c e e r r o r s i s t o k e e p t h e i n f o r m a t i o n p r o v i d e d t o t h e o r d e rp i c k e r a t a m i n i m u m . G e n e r a l l y, w h a t i s n e e d e d i s a c u s t o m e r ' s n a m e o r c o d en u m b e r , s t o r a g e a d d r e s s , i t e m s , p r o d u c t d e s c r i p t i o n s , a nd q u a n t i t i e s . P i c k i n gd o c u m e n t s s h o u l d s t a t e t h e n u m b e r o f i n d i v i d u a l p i e c e s to be p i c k e d a n d no tt h e u n i t o f r e c e i p t o r u n i t o f s t o r a g e .

C o m p u t e r a s s i s t e d o r d e r p i c k i n g i s o n e s o l u t i o n t h a t e l i m i n a t e s p a p e r w o r k a n dc a n c o r r e c t o r c o m p e n s a t e f o r e r r o r s i n i n v e n t o r y l o c a t i o n o r q u a n t i t y by p r o -v i d i n g a r e a l t i m e r e s p o n s e t o t h e o r d e r p i c k e r. S e v e r a l r n e t h o d s a r e a v a i l -a b l e t o l i n k o r d e r p i c k e r s to a c o m p u t e r. T h e s e i n c l u d e d i s p l a y s o n t h e p i c kr a c k o r p o r t a b l e o r v e h i c l e m o u n t e d C RT / k e y b o a r d t e r m i n a l s .

T h e t w o p r i m a r y m e a n s o f s e q u e n c i n g o r d e r s a n d c o n t r o l l i n g o r d e rb a t c h p i c k i n g a n d z o n e p i c k i n g .

p i c k i n g a re

8 . 2 . L B a r c h P i c k i n g

In g e n e r a l , w h e n a l a rg e v o l u m e o f f u l l c a s e i t e m s i s s h i p p e d t o m a n y c u s t o m -e r s , b a t c h p i c k i n g ca n p r o v i d e E h e b e s t m e a n s t o a c h i e v e o r d e r p i c k i n g r a t e .B a t c h p i c k i n g c o n s i s t s o f a n o r d e r p i c k e r p i c k i n g a l l t h e u n i t s o f o n e i t e nn e e d e d t o s a t i s f y a n u l t i p l e o f c u s t o m e r o r d e r s . T h e k e y e l e m e n t i n a b at c hp i c k i n g o p e r a t i o n i s t h e s o r t i n g s y s E e m h a t s e p a r a t e s a c o n c e n t r a t e d f l o w o fc a s e s i n t o i n d i v i d u a l o r d e r s . B a t c h p i c k i n g s y s t e m s d e p e n d o n a c e n t r a l o r d e rs o r t i n g s y s t e m t o s e p a r a t e t h e b at c h e s i n t o i n d i v i d u a l o r d e r s .

B a t c h p i c k i n g c an b e a c c o m p l i s h e d i n s e v e r a l w a y s . O n e m e t h o d c o n s i s t s o f ab e l t c o n v e y o r i n s t a l l e d b e l o w t h e e n d o f a i s l e p i c k i n g s t a t i o n . T h i s c o n v e y o ri s u s e d t o c a r r y e n p t y t o t e b o x e s t o th e o r d e r p i c k e r s a n d c a r r i e s f i l l e d b o x -e s b a c k t o s o r t i n g . A l a rg e n u m b e r o f t o t e b o x e s a r e r e q u i r e d f o r t h i s type

o f s y s t e m a n d t h e r e m u s t b e a n u m b e r o f s o r t i n g s t a t i o n s w h e n o r d e r p i c k i n gt r u c k s o r m a n - r i d e m a c h i n e s a r e u s e d fo r o r d e r p i c k i n g . B a t c h p i c k i n g c a n b ea c c o m p l i s h e d b y c a r r y i n g s e v e r a l t o t e b o x e s o n a v e h i c l e w i t h e a c h t o t e b o xh o l d i n g p a r t s for a d i f f e r e n t c u s t o m e r. T he r e q u i r e d q u a n t i t y of a p a r t i c u l a ri t e n i s p i c k e d to s a t i s f y t h e t o t a l f o r a l l c u s t o m e r s i n t h a t b a t c h . I h e o r -der picker then moves to the next i tem.

8 . 2 . 2 Z o n e P i c k i n g

Z o n e p i c k i n g r e s e m b l e s a r i b u c k e t b r i g a d e " p r o c e s s i n w h i c h a n i n d i v i d u a l c u s -t o m e r o r d e r i s p a s s e d f r o m o n e o r d e r p i c k e r t o a n o t h e r. E a c h o r d e r p i c k e r i sa s s i g n e d a s p e c i f i c p o r t i o n o f t h e s t o r a g e a r e a a n d p i c k s o n l y t h o s e i t e m s c o n -t a i n e d w i t h i n t ha t a r e a . Z o n e p i c k i n g i s a s e q u e n t i a l o p e r a t i o n i n w h i c h i n d i -v i d u a l i t e m s f o r a s p e c i f i c c u s t o m e r ar e p i c k e d o n e a f t e r a n o t h e r b y o n e o rs e v e r a l o r d e r p i c k e r s .

The advantage of a zor.e picking concept is that the s ize of pick zones canchange as volume or act ivi ty increases or decreases. Ttr is permits warehousemanagement o balance operat ions to accoomodate peaks or val leys and seasonal

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demand. When operat ions are computer ized,adj us ed .

z o n e s l z e c an b e a u t o m a t i c a l l y

Typical ly ' zone picking is implemented by instal l ing gravi ty and power convey-or in each pick ais le . The worker places a tote box or containei on the gt . r-i ty conveyor and nanual ly pushes the box through the pick zone while pict ingi tems for an individual customer order. When the order picker has completedpicking within a zone, the container or tote box is placed on the power con-veyor for transport to the next zone. There, the next order picker beginsworking on the order. At the last zone in the system, container" ar" sent bypolrer conveyor to the shipping area.

Z o n e p i c k i n g d o e s n o t r e q u i r e a s e p a r a t e s o r t i n g a r e a s i n c e o r d e r s a res e q u e n t i a l l y a n d a r e c o m p l e t e d b e f o r e b e i n g s e n t t o s h i p p i n g .

8.3 SYSTEM OMPATIBILITY

f i l l e d

In applying different pieces of equipment to order picking systems, one mustexamine the relat ionships between shelving, automation, and the various meth-ods of order select ion and s tocking. As a general rule of thumb, manual pick-i tg operat ions should be used whenever there i s a relat ively low transact ionrate and a modest number of i tems. There are a number of levels of sophist i -c a t i o n w h i c h c a n be a p p l i e d t o o r d e r p i c k i n g . T h e t r a n s a c t i o n ra te i s t heprirnary cri ter ion in the mechanizat ion of open s tock picking. In general , theopt ions range from shelf picking by hand onto certs to highly automated sys-tems wtrich del iver the product from computer-control led release mechanisms.Conpat ibi l i ty between the order picking and replenishment systems must also beconsidered. In many systems, both pal let handling and order picking equipmentc e n u s e t h e s e m e a i s l e . I n m o s t c a s e s , t h e same a i s l e g u i d a n c e s y s t e m( S e c t i o n l l . 2 ) ca n b e u s e d f o r b o t h s y s t e m s .

8. 4 LEVEL.BY.LEVEL oRDER FILLING

8 . 4 . I P r i n c i p l e s

One of the basic elements of order picking is the issue of breakdown of unitloads and shipper containers into a lower level of uni t for response tocustomer demand. Figure 8-1 demonstrates the concept of level-by-levelpackage breakdown. In the development of an order picking system, the levelof access or quant i ty break wtrich is cornmon o the oidet chaiacter is t ics ofthe system determines the level of package break or uni t degradat ion to wtr ichE h e o r d e r s y s t e m m u s t r e s p o n d . In a r e a l l i f e s i t u a t i o n , i t i s n o t u n c o n m o nto h a v e a mi x o f o r d e r s w t r i c h r e q u i r e s r n u l t i p r e l e v e l s o f a c c e s s .

F o r e x a m p l e , i f a p a c k a g e c o n t a i n s a g r o s s o f an i t e m , a s i n t h e i l l u s t r a t i o n ,a c u s t o m e r c o u l d o r d e r l 7 - L / 2 g r o s s , w h i c h w o u l d r e q u i r e on e u n i t l o a d o f 1 5

gross plus one carton of one gross plus 6 inner packs of a dozen each. Goodo r d e r p i c k i n g p r a c t i c e w o u l d r e q u i r e t h a t t h e f u l l u n i t l o a d ( 16 g r o s s ) b y p a s sthe order picking system and go direct ly from reserve storage to the shippingd o c k o r o t h e r a c c u m u l a t i o n a r e a ; t h e l T t h g r o s s (a s i n g l e c a r t o n ) w o u l d b epicked from a rackables pal let rack pick area; and the 6 dozen would be takenfrom a binnables pick area or a rol l - through picking system. In this s i tua-t i o n , th e f u l l c a s e p i c k i n g f r o m p a l l e t r a c k s w o u l d b e r e p l e n i s h e d i n f u l lpal le t uni ts moving from the reserve area, and the open case picking area

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PALLET LOAD

TIER

SHIPPING CARTON

INNER PACK( D O Z E N )

INDIVIDUALIECE( R E O U I R E D Y

cusToMER)

PACKAG]E ts]R.]EAKDOWN

UNIT PACK( U N I T O F I S S U E

T O C U S T O M E R )

Fi-gure 8-1

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would be replenished in ful l case uni ts picked from the ful l case pick rackarea. Figure 8-2 demonstrates the economics of this approach. The l{arehouseDesign Problem in Sect ion 20 il lustretes the flow chart ing procedures used todetermine the proper product f low for transact ion rete anatysis .

8 . 4 . 2 P r o c e s s

The basic principle involved in this nul t i -s tage order f i l l ing concept is the

s a m e a s i n a l l m a t e r i a l s h a n d l i n g o p e r a t i o n s :

Move the largest possible quant i ty as far as possible towards thenext point of use before breaking down or | tdegradingt ' the uni te L z e .

A 11 o f t he p i c k i n g t e c h n i q u e s d i s c u s s e d i n t h i s s e c t i o n s h o u l d b e a p p l i e d i nan appropriate relat ionship with this basic level-by-level order f i i l ing con-c e p t . O r d e r f i l l i n g s h o u l d n e v e r t a k e p l a c e i n a b u l k s t o r a g e e r e a u n l e s ethat order f i l l ing is on a unit load tevel . t{ i thdrawal . of individual packagesfron fu11 pal lets in f loor-s tacked storage operat ions generetes honeyconbiig,e x c e s s i v e t r a v e l , a n d n u l t i p l e h a n d l i n g a n d e h o u l d b e a v o i d e d a t a l l . t i n e s

8 . 4 . 3 D o c u m e n t a t i o n

Frorn an operat ional point of view, the order eystem muet be designed to dealwith both nult iple eource order f i l l ing and reeponeive replenishment on a lev-el-by-level basis . To do this , the computer or order clerk would, upon entryof the order into the prepost inventory system, calculate the nunber of pal :Iets , the nunber of separate ful l cases , and the number of uni te from op"ostock. Ttt is infornat ion would be entered on the order document , end the doc-ument would be prepared with no lees than three picking copies . One of theserould be used to tr igger the rnovement of the ful l pal le t direct ly to the orderaccumulat ion area. In a modern faci l i ty thie would be accomplished by radiodispatching a fork l i f t t ruck and placement of the pal let on a towline cartfor del ivery to the shipping area. Ttre saoe procedure would be ueed to moveful l pal lets from reserve storage to the ful l caee picking area for replenish-ing that l ine. In this cese, the move order would be tr iglered by the compu-ter on the basis of demand or by a aignal from the ful l caee picking aieaindicat ing a ehortage of the i ten.

The second copy of the order set would be dispatched to Ehe ful l csne pickingrecks, and these orders would be routed to the order aeeembly area by towline,pal let and fork truck, or conveyor, depending upon the design of the faci l i ty.The order f i l l ing operat ion in this area would algo include the rnovenent offut l caee merchandige forward to the open s tock ehelves or f low racks. Ttr isact ion would also be tr iggered by the computer or a picker eignal . The openetock ordere rrould be picked into a tote box or car ton and be dispatched by

conveyor or vehicle to the packing aree, and from there to the ordlr assenblyp o i n t .

Ttre third copy would be used in ei tuat ions wtlere open etock i tems are also in-volved in the picking system. This third copy would be routed to the openstock order picker, n 'ho would gather the rnater ial and ei ther pack i t or del iv-er i t to a packing stat ion. Fron that point , i t would be routed to the order

(turn to page B - Z)

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zb'4O c.

I3ElIOVE

I

Il /? -; A

RESERVE E L O C K STORAGE

I O N A L X O N E Y C O M E I N G L O S SC E N E R AT E D Y F I E L D P I C K I N G

ADOITONAL

. 3 ' C A

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GENERATED YAISLE LOSSF I E L D P I C K I N G

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I c a t E / x o v E

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( TRUCK OR CAR }

( T ) r I E I o P I C K I N G w I T H H T G I IR I O E R O R PA L L E T-R E P L A C E M N T E X T R A 2 PA L L E T M O V E S

@ r r E t D p r c x r r c F R o M F L o o R L E v E L

@ ruu! paluEr uove ro DocK Bypass prcxL N E .

@ p r c K L r N E s y s r E u - p a L L E T T o R A C K u t { t rTO DOCK

lI]R,A\T]EL ]ECONOMNCSPICK LINE VS FIELD PICKING

Figure 8-2

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accumulat ion area to be joined with the ful l case and ful1 pal let merchandiseon Ehe same order.

I{tren the Navy single l ine order document is used, the above described three-Part order paPer system would, in fact , be three groups of single l ine entryorders dest ined for the same shipment . Their consol idat ion into a singlepicking document or their accuuulat ion into a packet of s ingle l ine order doc-uments would be optional procedures wtr ich wouLd not s ignif icant ly affect then a t u r e o f th e f i l l i n g o p e r a t i o n .

A p r o c e d u r e s u c h a s t h a t d e s c r i b e d a b o v e w i l l n o t a f f e c t th e c a l c u l a t i o n ofT / I r a t i o s i f t he p r o c e d u r e o u t l i n e d i n S e c t i o n 1 4 i s f o l l o w e d . T h e i n d i v i d -ua l a r e a s of p a l l e t , f u l l c a s e , a n d s h e l f b ox o r d e r p i c k i n g w i l l b e c o n s i d e r e da s s e p a r a t e o p e r a t i o n s w i t h i n d i v i d u a l T / I r a t i o s . R e g a r d l e s s of i t s s i z e ,a n y o r d e r t h a t i n v o l v e s p a l l e t , f u l l c e s e , a n d s h e l f p i c k s w i l l p r o d u c e at r a n s a c t i o n i n e a c h o f t h o s e s y s t e m s . I n t h e T / I c a l c u l a t i o n , t h e o b j e c t i v ei s t o n e a s u r e th e a c t i v i t y o f e a c h s y s t e m .

8. 5 RACKABLES RDER ICKING

Figure 8-3 shows a typical warehouse trai ter wtr ich is f requent ly used as an

order picking vehicle in operat ions wtlere fair ly large cube products are se-lected. I . lhen his type of operat ion is used and volume is high, i t is not un-conmnon o use a trector trai ler system to do order picking. Figure 8-4 showsa t r a c t o r t r a i l e r s y s t e m a p p r o a c h w t r i c h , i n t h i s c a s e , u s e s r a d i o c o n t r o l ofthe tractor so that the order picker doee not have to get on and off the t rac-to r to rnove i t as he t ravels down the ais le . This technique al lows for thepicking of a large quanti ty of merchandise in a s ingle pass through the sys-tem. Manned S/R uni ts ( t r ' igure 8-5) and order picking trucks (Figure- g-6) t"r,b e u s e d f o r f u l l c a e e o r d e r p i c k i n g .

The ful l case order picking procedure used in this Publicat ion is out l ined inS e c t i o n 1 5 . T h e t y p i c a l s y s t e m w i l l b e s t r u c t u r e d a r o u n d a p a l l e t s t o r a g e o p -e r a t i o n w i t h a p o r t i o n o f t h e p a l l e t p o s i t i o n s a l l o c a t e d t o f u l l c a s e o r d e rp i c k i n g . T o a c c o m p l i s h r e p l e n i s h m e n t , t h e s e r v i c e a i s l e m u s t b e a b l e t o a c-c o m n o d a t e b o t h t h e p a l l e t s y s t e m v e h i c l e ( S e c t i o n 2l ) a n d th e o r d e r p i c k i n gv e h i c l e ( S e c t i o n 2 2 ) . A s o u t l i n e d i n S e c t i o n 8 . 4 , t h e u s u a l form o f l o a a a e g -r a d a t i o n w i l l b e f r o r n p a l l e t t o f u l l c a s e . S t a n d a r d t i m e s fo r t h e e e o p e i -at ions can be found in Sect ions 18 end 22.

8. 5 BINNABI"ES RDER ICKING

Figure 8-7 shows a typical pick cart for binnables order picking with shelvingh i g h e r t h a n s e v e n f e e t . Wi th t h i s type o f l a d d e r c a r t , a n 8 o r 9 f o o t s h e l fh e i g h t i s q u i t e f e a s i b l e , t h u s i n c r e a s i n g c u b e u t i l i z a t i o n w i t h a m a n u a l p i c k -ing system. Manned S/R machines (Figure 8-5) can also be used for binnablesorder picking under ei ther manual or computer control . The most

conmon typeof high volume order picking vehicle i s the order picking rruck (f igure 3-6) .Ttr is uni t is adaptable to pal let rack for rackables order pi"t ing and to highr i s e s h e l v i n g s y s t e m s f o r b i n n a b l e s o r d e r p i c k i n g .

8 - 7

(ann to page I - LA )


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Xt.]E IC]TE CON T']R,OIL]L]EDCRD]ER. ]P]ICKNNG SYSII]ENI

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8.7 ROLL.THROUGH ORDER PICKING

8 . 7 . 1 A p p l i c a t i o n

In nany instances where there is high volume picking of a few or even manyi t e n s , t h e c o n c e p t o f f l o w - t h r o u g h r a c k s o r l i v e p a l l e t r a c k s c a n be c o n s i d e r-e d . W h e n a rg e q u a n t i t i e s o r h i g h t h r o u g h p u t r a c e s e x i s t fo r a n i t e n o ri t e m s , t h e g a i n i n c u b e u t i l i z a t i o n a n d r e d u c t i o n i n s t o r a g e a i s l e s c a n m o r e

t h a n j u s t i f y t h e c o s t o f a f l o w - t h r o u g h s y s t e m .

A g e n e r a l r u l e g o v e r n i n g t h e a p p l i c a t i o n o f f l o w - t h r o u g h B y s t e m s s t a t e s t h a t ,i f t h e u n i t o f h a n d l i n g i s d e g r a d e d f r o m i t s i n p u t l e v e l t o a l o w e r l e v e l o fd e t a i l a s i t p a s s e s t h r o u g h t h e f l o w - t h r o u g h s y s t e m , a p p l i c a t i o n o f t h e f l o w -t h r o u g h s y s t e m w i l l g e n e r a l l y i n c r e a s e e f f i c i e n c y. I f t h e s e t e c t i o n e n d w i t h -draws goods in the same uni ts in which they ere entered, f low-through racksw i l l u s u a l l y n o t p r o d u c e a n y s i g n i f i c a n t a d v a n t a g e s . A n o t a b l e e x c e p t i o n t ot h i s r u l e o c c u r s w h e n t h e c r u s h a b i l i t y or s t a c k a b i l i t y o f t h e l o a d l i n i t s t h eu s e o f b u l k s t o r a g e .

8 . 7 . 2 P a l l e t O r d e r P i c k i n g

I n a f l o w - t h r o u g h s y s t e m , e a c h p a l l e t o r p i c k face f r o n t r e q u i r e s t w o a i s l e s ,one to input the goods and one to take the goods out . If the goods are han-d l e d i n a n d o u t i n t h e s a m e u n i t , t h e h a n d l i n g o p e r a t i o n i s i d e n t i c a l t o t h a tw h i c h w o u l d b e a p p l i e d i f i t w e r e l o a d e d f rom the p i c k a i s l e f a c e . T h e t r a n s -a c t i o n r a t e s a t b o t h e n d s o f t h e s y s t e m a r e i d e n t i c a l an d t h e r e i s u s u a l l y n obasic advantage to the f low-through system except for the fact that the inputdoes not interfere with the output and firet- in f i rs t -out movement s assured.Conversely, when the product uni t is degraded or broken down into emalleru n i t s o n t h e o u t p u t s i d e , t h e i n p u t h a n d l i n g o p e r a t i o n d o e s n o t i n t e r f e r e w i t hthe output or picking operat ion. Ttr is is becauge the input to a f low-throughs y s t e m i s u s u a l l y i n u n i t l o a d s o r s h i p p e r c a a e s a n d i s t h e r e f o r e a t a h i g h e rproduct ivi ty raEe than the output . In many instances the input a is le woutd

have a different configurat ion from the output ais le in order to permit euff i -c i e n t c a p a c i t y t o b e b u i l t i n t o t h e s y s t e m .

Figure 8-8 shorrs what is known as a car a is le operat ion. In this case, astack of three or more pal lets enters the systen in a high voluue input f lowand uni t pal lets are removed from the system on a demand basis . The advantageo f t h i s t y p e o f o p e r a t i o n i n b u l k s t o r a g e i s t h e e l i n i n a t i o n o f a i s l e s a n d t h eapplicat ion of movement through the s torage system. I t a lso guarantee{t f i ret-i n f i r s t - o u t s t o r a g e . In t h i s c a s e t h e f o r k t r u c k d r i v e s b e t w e e n t h e r o l l e rrai le and pushes the load forward as i t placee merchandise in s torage. Theo p e r a t i o n c a n e l s o b e p o w e r e d .

F i g u r e 8 - 9 e h o w s a n u l t i - l e v e l l i v e r o l l e r r a c k fo r p a c k a g e e e l e c t i o n f rom

p a l l e t s . In t h i s c e a e i t i e o b v i o u s t h a t t h e f i x e d e q u i p n e n t g e n e r a t e s agreat deal of honeycombing and is a very expensive form of racking. However,in operat ions rrhere there is high vetoci ty movement and select ion degrades theuni t load to individual car tons or packages at the output end, i t is of ten de-s i r a b l e t o u s e t h i s t y p e o f s y s t e m .

(Ux.n to page I - 16)

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8 . 7 . 3 B i n n a b l e s O r d e r p i c k i n g

F i g u r e 8- I0 s h o w s a t y p i c a l r o l l - t h r o u g h o p e r a t i o n . T h i s k i n d o f s y s t e m i sq u i t e c o m m o n i n d r u g o r d e r p i c k i n g , s m a l l p a r t s p i c k i n g , e t c . In t h i s s i t u a -t i o n , t h e r e d u c e d p i c k e r t r a v e l a c r o s s t h e p i c k f a c e , i t r " h i g h i t e m a c c e s sp a t t e r n , th e u se o f z o n e p i c k a r e a s , a n d th e t e c h n i q u e of p i c k i n g to a n o n -powered conveyor tend to ninimize the cost impact of the labor and "prce dis-advantages of the second combined ais te replenishment accivi ty. The same typeof operat ion can be perforrned with carts , using a packing funct ion on the o, t l -Put side and pal let ized reserve stock above the racks. Ttre disadvantages oft h i s t y p e o f p i c k i n g o p e r a t i o n ar e s i n i l a r to t h o s e d i s c u s s e d b e f o r e i ; t h ero1l- through pal let racks. Ttr is system generates expensive honeycombing andr i g i d i t y i n t h e s y s t e m a n d r e q u i r e s m u l t i p l e a i s l e s a n d a g r e a t a e a f o f c a p -i ta l investment . Ttre advantage is found in the reduct ion in picker traveld i s t e n c e a l o n g t h e p i c k f a c e .

Figure 8-l l shows an applicat ion configurat ion for some of the previously men-t ioned equipment . The upper view shows the relat ionship between the turrett ruck and an order picking vehicle in a narrow aisle operat ion picking casesfrom pallets in a ful ly racked si tuat ion. Ttre bot torn view shows the samea i s l e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s r e l a t i n g th e c a s e p i c k an d p a l l e t l o a d r e s e r v e t o t h er e p l e n i s h m e n t f u n c t i o n i n a r o l l - t h r o u g h p i c k s i t u a t i o n . T h i s p a r t i c u l a r i n -s t a l l a t i o n c o n f i g u r a t i o n i s t y p i c a l o f a d r u g o r h e a l t h a n d b e a u t y a i d t y p eoperat ion. However, i t can be applied to eny high volurne small per ts s i t ia-t i o n u s i n g c a r t o n e o r t o t e b o x e s i n b o u n d to a h i g h t r a n s a c t i o n r a t e , h i g h i t e mc o u n t , p i e c e p i c k i n g o p e r a t i o n . Th e s y s t e r n i n h i b i t i o n s a n d e c o n o m i c r i s k s a rea s d e s c r i b e d a b o v e .

8.8 MACHINE SSISTED ORDER ICKING

8 . 8 . 1 O r d e r P i c k i n g Tr u c k s

Towline carts are often used on the forks of order picking trucks to el iminaternul t iple handling of goods between

the select ion operat i6n and vehicle loadingo r p a c k i n g a c t i v i t i e s . To d o t h i s , th e t o w l i n e c a r t i s e q u i p p e d w i t h for ib o o E s , l s s h o w n - i n F i g u r e 8 - 1 2 t o e n s u r e s a f e h a n d l i n g a t h i g h l e v e l s . F i g u r e8 - 1 3 s h o w s a t y p i c a l o r d e r p i c k e r / t o w l i n e car t c o m b i n a t i o n .

-

F i g u r e 8 - 1 4 i l l u s t r e t e s a t y p i c a l d e v i c e u s e d t o s t a c k n u l t i p l e t o c e b o x e s o nthe forks of an order picking truck, thus permit t ing batch pick operat ions tobe performed using an order picking truck and tote boxes.

8 . 8 . 2 R a d i o C o n t r o l l e d Tr a i l e r - Tr a i n

Trai ler- t rain system is sini lar to that shordn n Figure 8-4 is an effect iveand eff icient means of performing rackables order picking. Ttre vehicle is

control led by an operator carrying a radio remote control uni i wtr ictr can pro-v i d e a v a r i e t y o f c o n t r o l f u n c t i o n s d e p e n d i n g o n t h e s o p h i s t i c a t i o n o f c o n -t r o l s . O n e t y p i c a l s y s t e m c o n f i g u r a t i o n c o n s i s t s o f a w i r e g u i d e dt r a i l e r - t r a i n s y s t e m i n w h i c h t he o p e r a t o r r a d i o c o n t r o l s t h e s t a r t i n g a ndsEoPPing of the train with the wire guide system used to control the t rainpath. This system permits the order picker to walk beside or near the frontor rear of the t rain and continue to pick merchandise wtr i le having the traina u t o m a t i c a l l y a d v a n c e t o t h e n e x t l o c a t i o n .

8 - 1 6

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8 . 8 . 3 M a n - A b o a r d S /R M a c h i n e s

Man-aboard S/R machines similar to that i l lustrated in Figure 8-5 nay be used

for ei ther rackables or binnables order picking. These rnachines permit max-

i m u m u r i l i z a t i o n o f a v a i l a b l e b u i l d i n g h e i g h t a n d c e n s i g n i f i c a n t l y r e d u c e

f l o o r a r e a w h e r e s p a c e r e s t r i c t i o n s a re a c o n s i d e r a t i o n . B e c a u s e t h e o r d e rpicker is carr ied aboard the machine, he has ful l access to al l i tems in the

operat ing ais le . The machines feature high speed travel and can perform si-

r l l t" . t"o, ts horizontal and vert ical movement . I tems can be picked Eo ei thera

p a l l e t o r m u l t i p l e to te b o x e s . A t th e i n p u t / o u t p u t e n d o f t he s y s t e m , th epal let or tote box used for order picking can be automatical ly conveyed by a

c o n v e y o r s y s E e m , i f n e c e s s a r y.

8 . 8 . 4 M e c h a n i z e d O r d e r P i c k i n g E q u i p r n e n t

Mechanized order picking equipment is typical ly character ized by nachines that

del iver Ehe part to the order picker. The small i ten S/R nachine (Figure 8-15 is orr" " , r"h device and is very similar to the man-aboard S/R nachine de-s c r i b e d i n S e c t i o n 8 . 8 . 3 . I n t i r e s m a l l i t e r a S / R m a c h i n e , P a r t s a r e s t o r e d i ntrays and a tray of parts is reErieved by the machine and del ivered Eo an endof a i s l e o p e r a t o r s t a t i o n . A t t h i s o p e r a t o r s t a t i o n , t h e o r d e r p i c k e r s e l e c t s

the proper quant i ty of each i tem to complete an order, then places the i temsin a separate order accumulat ion container and returns the storage tray to thesystem. These machines have nany of the space and speed advanEages of the

man-aboard S/R nachines and can general ly operaEe with greater product securi-ty since an operator is not perrni t ted l i l i thin the storage system.

The second popular type of mechanized order picking method is the carousel ma-

c h i n e ( t r ' i g u r e 8 - 1 6 ) . C a r o u s e l s c a r r y a n u m b e r o f s t o r a g e b a e k e t s s u s p e n d e d a tthe top and bottom by a powered t rack system. Ttre baskets are moved aroundthe carousel uni t under operator or computer control and order picking takesplace from the basket which is s topped at an operator stat ion. Carousels canprovide high densi ty storage and minimize operator travel . Ttrey are , however,l i rni ted in height to approximately 7 to 10 feet a l though greeter s torageh e i g h t s c a n b e o b t a i n e d b y i n s t a l l i n g a d d i t i o n a l u n i t s o n m e z z e n i n e l e v e l s .t t r is t ras the disadvantage of increasing the number of operator stat ions andthe use of this type of system must be evaluated on the basis of overal l sys-tem cost , the number of operator stat ions required, and the addi t ional expenseo r i n e f f i c i e n c y c a u s e d b y t h e a d d e d o p e r a t o r s t a t i o n s . Ty p i c a l i n s t a l l a t i o n sf o r c a r o u s e l u n i t s h a v e m u l t i p l e c a r o u s e l s s u p p o r t i n g a s i n g l e o P e r a t o r s t a -t ion so that . the operator does not have to wait on one machine to index thed e s i r e d b a s k e t p o s i t i o n . A u t o m a t i c v e r t i c a l c o n v e y o r u n i t s a r e a l s o a v a i l a b l eto permit order picking from high levet carousels . These systems are re-

s t r i c t e d t o r e t r i e v i n g s t o r a g e t r a y s o r to te b o x e s f rom t h e c a r o u s e l b a s k e t s .

8 . 8 . 5 A u t o m a t e d O r d e r P i c k i n g M a c h i n e s

Special ized automated order picking machines have been developed by a numbero f m a n u f a c t u r e r s fo r s p e c i f i c a p p l i c a t i o n i n h i g h v o l u m e s m a l 1 p a r t s o r d e rpicking operat ions. These systems have typical ly been appl ied in the pharma-c e u t i c a l , c o s m e t i c , a n d p e r s o n a l c a r e p r o d u c t s i n d u s t r i e s . A u t o m a t e d o r d e rpicking mechines are opt imized for high speed order picking of small packagedi tems which are consis tent in terms of the s ize and strength of the package.

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MOOULARHANDLING

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ROIIA,RY CONVEYOR. s[NS

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Typical i tems picked by such systems include packaged heal th and beauty aids,p a c k a g e d a u t o m o t i v e p a r t s s u c h as s p a r k p l u g s , p o i n t s , e t c . , p h a r m a c e u t i c a li t e m s s u c h as p i l l s an d m e d i c a t i o n s , a n d c o s m e t i c s .

8.9 STORAGE QUIPMENT RRANGEMENT

8 . 9 . 1 M u l t i - L e v e l S h e l v i n g

Figure 8-I7 shows a modular mult i - level shelving instal la t ion wtr ich can opti-m i z e c u b e u t i l i z a t i o n i n r n a n u a l p i c k i n g o p e r a t i o n s . T h i s t y p e o f i n s t a l l a t i o nis in general use in Navy faci l i t ies . Figure 8-18 sholrs a modular layout forconventional rnanual merchandise select ion using a rurn-pushed order pickingcart . Ttr is layout can be used in both single and mult iple level inetal la-t i o n s . I n t h i s s y s t e m , t h e s i z e o f t h e a i s l e i s d i r e c t l y r e l a t e d t o t h e s i z eof the cert . I f zone picking and pass- through documenEation are used, theais les can be onelray and the cart can pass from one picker to another. Inthis nethod, as each picker f inishes the order in his zorLe, he wil l remove thecart and park i t or place i t on a towline or a pickup point for a trectortrai ler t ra in. IIe leaves Ehe paperwork with the cart , and the next pickerf o l l o w s o n . T h i s p e r m i t s n a r r o l r a i s l e s , s i n c e p a s s i n g i s n o t r e q u i r e d , a n dqueueing is el iminated unless more than one car t is working within a s ingtez o n e .

The arrangement in Figure 8-18 is designed around the shelf box operat ion. Int h i s c e s e , t h e s h e l f d e p t h i s 1 8 i n c h e s . I t i s d e s i r a b l e t o a l l o w s u f f i c i e n ta i s l e e p a c e fo r c a r t s t o p a s s , t h u s a v o i d i n g th e p r o b l e m o f q u e u i n g .General ly, the ais le width should be twice the l r idth of the cart plus 18 to 24inches, depending upon the nature of the merchandise, the rapidi ty of thepicking, and the number of people involved in the operat ion. In any case,passing ais les are essent ial wtren zone picking and pass- through documentat iona re n o t u s e d .

Another considerat ion in the design of ais le widths for a manual picking oper-

at ion is the nature of the input funct ion. If the goods arr ive in the pickinga r e a o n p a l l e t s , i t i s e s s e n t i a l t h e t t h e a i s l e b e w i d e e n o u g h t o h a n d l e ep a l l e t on a p a l l e t j a c k o r o t h e r n a c h i n e . S i n c e t h e N a v y p a l l e t i s 40 " x 4 8 " ,the ais le would then have to be no less than 50 inches wide in order to safelym'neuver in the ais le to put merchandise away with a hand jack, electr ic pal-l e t j a c k , o r fork l i f t n a c h i n e . C o n v e r s e l y, i f t h e m e r c h a n d i s e i s p l a c e d i nstorage by hand from a picking cart , the ais le width dimension is dominated byth e p i c k i n g o p e r a t i o n .

8 . 9 . 2 P a l l e t R a c k S h e l v i n g

Iland picking operat ions involving heavy i tems often necessi ta te the uae ofp a l l e t r a c k t y p e s t r u c t u r e s t o s u p p o rt t h e s h e l v e s . F i g u r e 8 - 1 9 e h o w s t h i s

t y p e o f i n s t a l l a t i o n .

T h i s t y p e o f s t o r a g e r a c k c o n s i s t s o f s t a n d a r d p a l l e t r a c k w i t h s o l i d w o o d ,rnetalr or perforated or expanded metal decking. These heavy duty pal let racks h e l v e s c a n b e i n s t a l l e d i n c o n f i g u r a t i o n s i d e n t i c a l t o p a l l e t r a c k s an d ca nbe serviced by many of the same vehicles . In rnany instances, these rackshelves are used interchangeably for both pal let ized and Loose merchandise.

8 - 2 5


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2"TYPrcAL

OFTO PAN D

BOTTOM

- l = -l -

T H I R OLEVEL-r -

r:lT:li rl : - Il - - ll \ ll \ l

: a - ; ' )'" -L : : : :

' < ,

SECONDt 2

lTYPNCAN-MU]LII]I ]LIEVEN,

STilE]LV]ING A]RR ANG]ENfi]ENIT

3 6(TYP}

F i g u r e 8 - 1 7

8 - 2 6


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Figure E-IE

8 - n

f,o'-o':

r 8 " T Y P )

T Y P I C A LS H L V N G F+ e"(rve)

f

b a_ r )r , F

T

SHtlE[.\TNNG LAYO]U]I STIUDY( S H E L F B O X S T O R A G E C A RT S E RV I C E


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M E TA L O R G R I D O E C K I N G

STEP DOWN-TYPES T R N GE

UP TOt80"

SHELVINGTO SUITREOUIREMENTS

24" OR 49 "

I N S TA L L E DI N

DOUELE UNITSBACK TO BACK

ORS I N G L E R O W SACCESSED FROMBOTH SIDES

3" Si-f.- 70" oR s6" \-3"

TY]PNC^A.]L]HIA,.ND .OADED SIIO]R.AG]E ,ACK

( O E S I G N S I M I L A R T O PA L L E T R A C K

F i g u r e 8 - 1 9


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Ns08 - Order Picking