Consider an automated storage/retrieval (AS/RS) system in the warehouse of eslite

bookstore located in Taoyuan. The storage system consists of two aisles, which are
served by a single automated storage/retrieval (S/R) machines that store and retrieve
material to and from a storage rack. Each aisle has rack on both sides, with each rack
having 150 storage bins (50 bins long and 3 bins high). A “pick” operation requires
the S/R machine to remove a part from storage and move it to the output station. A
“place” operation requires the S/R machine to load a part at the input station and place
it in the warehouse. This results in total storage capacity of 600 bins. Figure 1 shows
the layout of the warehouse.

Link 3
(6) (5)

Link 4
Link 2

(3) Station Pick 2 (2) Station Pick 1

Link 5 Link 1

(4) Station Place 2

(1) Station Place 1

Figure 1 Warehouse Layout

The control logic for this system is simple. Our goal is to avoid movement between
aisles by responding to in one aisle before moving to the other aisle. That is, all
incoming pick or place requests are separated by bay and are responded to on a FCFS
basis in each aisle. However, in an attempt to minimize machine travel, it is desirable
to follow a pick operation with a place, and vice versa. For this simple system, no
attempt is made to keep track of what is in the system, or where the parts are.
All requests and place locations are generated randomly. Interarrival times of the
requests are exponentially distributed with mean 120 seconds. Among of all requests,
50% are place operations and the rest are pick operations. The storage zone requested
is uniformly distributed. The probability for the request is in Shelf 1, 2, and 3, is 0.6,
0.3, and 0.1, respectively.

All links are defined as bidirectional. The setup the links is listed in Table 1. The
speed for the S/R machine is 10 per second and the initial position for the machine is
located at Intersection 5. Loading/Unloading time is 10 seconds. The time for vertical
movement for the S/R machine is 2 × (Shelf # × 2) seconds
Table 1 Setup for the Links
Link ID # of Zones Zone Length
Link 1 2 5
Link 2 50 3
Link 3 1 20
Link 4 50 3
Link 5 2 5