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An Innovative Layout Design and Storage Assignment Method for Manual Order Picking with Respect to Ergonomic Criteria

Author

Listed:
  • Vasiliki Kapou

    (School of Mechanical Engineering, National Technical University Athens, 10682 Athens, Greece)

  • Stavros T. Ponis

    (School of Mechanical Engineering, National Technical University Athens, 10682 Athens, Greece)

  • George Plakas

    (School of Mechanical Engineering, National Technical University Athens, 10682 Athens, Greece)

  • Eleni Aretoulaki

    (School of Mechanical Engineering, National Technical University Athens, 10682 Athens, Greece)

Abstract

Background : This paper aims to improve the overall performance of manual warehouse Order Picking (OP) processes by proposing an innovative method for designing a picking area layout, and introducing a storage assignment strategy with respect to ergonomics and workers’ physical fatigue. Methods : The proposed method categorizes the available picking slots based on size and ABC analysis. Ιt takes into consideration a set of ergonomic constraints pertinent to the rack heights and travel distance restrictions for each slot type, leading to the assignment of a location to each slot type based on its individual characteristics. In doing so, the proposed method introduces an innovative ‘flame-shape’ aisle layout. Finally, the products are assigned to their optimal locations, targeting OP time minimization, balanced workload allocation, and ergonomics optimization through a ranking system measuring the ‘difficulty’ of retrieving the products based on their weight, popularity, and slot location. Results : The proposed method led to a productivity rise of 14.9% along with a significant decrease of the ‘difficulty’ index, by 31%. Conclusions : The results prove that a prominent performance improvement can be achieved when both travel distance and manual workload minimization are targeted for determining the picking area layout and storage design.

Suggested Citation

  • Vasiliki Kapou & Stavros T. Ponis & George Plakas & Eleni Aretoulaki, 2022. "An Innovative Layout Design and Storage Assignment Method for Manual Order Picking with Respect to Ergonomic Criteria," Logistics, MDPI, vol. 6(4), pages 1-21, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlogis:v:6:y:2022:i:4:p:83-:d:995087
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Rajabighamchi, Farzaneh & van Hoesel, Stan & Defryn, Christof, 2023. "The order picking problem under a scattered storage policy," Research Memorandum 006, Maastricht University, Graduate School of Business and Economics (GSBE).

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