Article ID: | iaor1994661 |
Country: | United Kingdom |
Volume: | 31 |
Issue: | 6 |
Start Page Number: | 1387 |
End Page Number: | 1407 |
Publication Date: | Jun 1993 |
Journal: | International Journal of Production Research |
Authors: | Tanchoco J.M.A., Kim Kap Hwan |
Keywords: | materials |
In this paper, the authors suggest a branch-and-bound procedure for designing flow paths of fixed-path material handling systems. The method may be applied to automated monorail systems, automated guided vehicle systems (AGVS), flexible conveyor systems and other fixed-path material handling systems. The authors formulate an economic model which considers the construction cost of each path segment as well as the travel cost. A procedure is developed to determine the configuration of flow path and the direction of flow path segment. A tight lower bound for the optimal objective function and an efficient search strategy are suggested. Computational performance of this procedure is compared with a procedure previously developed by Kaspi and Tanchoco for the special case of AGV systems.