Designing Multiple-Load Automated Guided Vehicle Systems for Delivering Material from a Central Depot

Abstract

We develop and illustrate an approach for design of shop floor automated guided vehicle systems (AGVSs) with multiple-load capacity. Vehicles provide material from a central depot to shop floor workcenters. The AGVS supplements an existing nonautomated material handling system. The design decision is to determine which workstations to service by the AGVS, and how many vehicles are needed, to meet a specified service level. We build upon an existing AGVS design model (a mathematical program) which assumes that vehicles visit workstations on a first-come-first-served basis, carrying one load per trip. We show how that model can be adapted to solve a design problem in which vehicles can carry more than one load per trip—yielding an improved system design. We illustrate our approach by solving six examples inspired by design problems faced at Hewlett-Packard Company.