A hybrid metaheuristic routing algorithm for low-level picker-to-part systems. (October 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Bottani, Eleonora; Casella, Giorgia; Murino, Teresa
• Is Part Of: Computers & industrial engineering. Volume 160(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-10
• Subjects: Picking -- Manual warehouse -- Routing -- Travel distance -- Floyd-Warshall -- Harmony Search; Engineering -- Data processing -- Periodicals; Industrial engineering -- Periodicals; 620.00285
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cie.2021.107540
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0360-8352

Abstract

Highlights: The minimization of the travel distance of pickers in manual warehouses is proposed. A model in MATLAB reproduces the Harmony Search (HS) algorithm applied to picking. The model performance is tested on 25 scenarios with 30 pick lists (750 simulations) A comparison with heuristic routing policies is made to validate the results obtained. The HS algorithm is generally able to provide better results than other algorithms. Abstract: An application of an adapted Harmony Search (HS) algorithm is proposed in this study in order to minimize manual warehouses' pickers travel distance. Firstly, the distance matrix has been determined through a hybrid algorithm, and then HS is used to compute the pickers' travel distance, developing a MATLAB® simulation model. This model performance is tested on twenty-five scenarios, resulting from variable length of the order pick lists and different manual storage configurations. Thirty picklists are evaluated for each scenario, for a total of 750 simulations. The results provided by the algorithm, compared with those returned by a metaheuristic algorithm and two heuristic routing policies, suggest that HS provides better outputs results than the remaining algorithms. The algorithm is also very efficient from a computational perspective; as order picking is an operational decision, the short computational time allows the pickers route to be defined even in real-time if needed.