A Multi-Commodity Network Design Approach For Automated Guided Vehicle Systems

Abstract

This paper presents a multi-commodity network design approach to solve the problem of simultaneously locating I/O stations and determining the orientation of path segments in a flexible manufacturing environment. A unidirectional material handling system is assumed, as they are more common in industry than bi-directional systems mainly due to their simpler control. The problem is modeled using a mixed integer linear program with the objective of minimizing material handling costs. The model is used at the design stage of the system.

Key Words:

• Material Handling
• Automated Guided Vehicles
• Multi-Commodity
• Integer Linear Programming

Additional information

Notes on contributors

André Langevin

André Langevin is a Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Industrial Engineering al Ecole Polytechnique, Montréal. Québec. Canada. He holds a B.Sc. in Mathematics from UQAM, Montréal, Québec, Canada. He received a M.Sc.A. in Industrial Engineering and a Ph.D. in Operations Research from Ecole Polytechnique, Montréal, Québec, Canada. His research interests encompass logistics, distribution, and mathematical optimization. His articles have appeared in International Journal of Production Research, Transportation Science, Network, and others journals.

Diane Riopel

Diane Riopel is a Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Industrial Engineering at Ecole Polytechnique, Montréal. Québec, Canada. She holds a B.Eng. and a M.Sc.A. in Industrial Engineering. She received a doctorate in Industrial Engineering from Ecole Centrale de Paris, France. Her research interests are in the areas of facility layout, material handling, warehousing, and logistics. Her articles have appeared in International Journal of Production Economics, International Journal of Production Research, International Journal of Flexible Manufacturing Systems, and others journals.

Gilles Savard

Gilles Savard is a Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Industrial Engineering at Ecole Polytechnique, Montréal, Québec, Canada. He holds a B.Sc. in Mathematics from Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec, Canada, a M.Sc.A. in Operations Research and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Ecole Polytechnique, Montréal, Québec, Canada. His research interests include bilevel optimization, scheduling and routing, and energy modelling. His articles have appeared in Operations Research. Mathematical Programming. IEEE Automatic Control, SIAM J. on Scientific and Statistical Computing. Transportation Science. Operations Research Letters and others journals.

Rachel Bachmann

Rachel Bachmann completed her B. Eng. in Industrial Engineering and her M.Sc.A. in Operations Research at Ecole Polytechnique, Montréal. Québec, Canada. Her research interests include distribution scheduling and logistics. She presently works for Air France in Paris as an analyst.