Assessment and comparison of human-robot co-work order picking systems focused on ergonomic factors

Abstract

Order picking activities are most labour-intensive process in retail warehouse. Although order picking automation is possible, it still requires human worker’s activities. There have been various order picking systems in the field for decades but after amazon’s KIVA system was introduced, the interest in this field has been rising. Most advanced order picking system can be classified into AS/RS type and moving robot type. Both types are goods-to-picker systems, the purpose of the systems is reducing picker’s travel time to find a locations of products and move to pick them in accordance with customer’s request. In many researches, the efficiency and effectiveness of the automated order picking systems are focused on the system performance aspect. Although humans are essential actors in the order picking system and key factors for both effectiveness and efficiency of order picking process, the human factors of these systems are rarely evaluated. In this paper, we focus on the ergonomic aspects of order picking system. We compared the ergonomic factors of two types of the system- moving robot and AS/RS type using digital human modeling (DHM) application (Delmia Human) and the assessment of risk factors for work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) was conducted. We collected the data and information of automated order picking systems which are popular and applied on the site, and created virtual work place scenarios for two order picking systems. Diverse human factors were analyzed in DELMIA software with digital manikins considering various anthropometric data.