Cycle time evaluation of automated storage and retrieval system for heavy loads

In this paper, a model is presented to estimate a cycle time for completing an operation in a new type of AS/RS (automated storage and retrieval system) which can handle very heavy loads by separating the mechnisms for vertical and horizontal movements. Considering loading/unloading time between devices, we generalize the previous work, which neglected the transfer time. Through the numerical experiments for various situations, we find that the difference of the cycle times between two models is fairly large and conclude that the transfer time between devices cannot be neglected at all.