An iterative stochastic approach estimating the completion times of automated material handling jobs

Abstract

Recently manufacturing facilities increasingly use automated material handling systems (AMHS) owing to the advancement in control technology. They provide various material handling functions such as transportation, storage, sorting, and identification with quicker and precise devices. This paper studies an estimation method encountered in manufacturing facilities operated by automated material handling systems. A heuristic method based on a stochastic approach is used to estimate the arrival times of transportation jobs to their final destinations in a manufacturing facility. To analyze the performance of the new method, the authors collected a set of actual transportation data from the industry and the analysis shows that the new method outperforms an existing method that uses simple statistics based on historical data.