BROKEN CASE PICKING SYSTEMS

Chapter seven RightStore Pieces: Piece Picking Principles, Systems, and Best Practices

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Figure 7.42 Robotic item picking for single bottles of consumer products

7.2 Stock-to-Picker Systems

The three major types of STP systems are carousels, miniload ASRSs, and automated guided shelving systems. Each system type is described in the following subsections. The major advantage of STP systems over PTS sys tems is elimination of the travel time for the order picker. When wage rates are high, the labor savings can be sufficient to justify the investment in the mechanical and control systems required in STP systems. If a STP system is not designed properly, an order picker may remain idle waiting on the system to present the next picking transaction. In such cases, productivity actually can be worse than that found in PTS systems. Another advantage of STP systems is supervision. In STP systems, the picking takes place at the end of an aisle. Hence all the operators should be visible to a supervisor in one quick glance down a picking line. Carousels Carousels, as the name implies, are mechanical devices that house and rotate items for order picking. Horizontal and vertical carousels are popular for order picking applications.

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