Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Warehouse Automation'

The aim of this study is to present the advantages and disadvantages of automation in warehouses. The goal is to introduce a way of approaching when implementing a new technology. The following research question are thus stated:     RQ1. What are the advantages with automation in warehouse companies?    RQ2. What are the disadvantages with automation in warehouse companies?    RQ3. How can automation be implemented within a warehouse company?    The research questions worked as a guideline to build the theoretical framework and result section. The analysis and conclusion section were then formulated, and the research questions were answered. To answer the research questions, the approach of the systematic literature review has been used. Which means the information gathered was done in a systematic way.     It can be said that there are both advantages and disadvantages when it comes to automation in warehouses. The automated systems that were introduced in this thesis was AGVs and palletizing robots. Both these systems require more investigation and do not fully fulfil the customer demand. Yet, it can be said that automation in warehouses can have many positive effects on for example productivity, effectivity, and employees phycological and physical aspect.     For implementation of automation a guiding principle of three head phases was introduced with several steps. The head phases are the pre-project phase, implementation phase and post-project phase. The pre-project phase is about analysing the current company state and deciding if the implementation is possible with the resources available. The implementation phase is about the importance of structuring the planning and reducing the uncertainty during the project. Lastly, post-project phase is about adjusting after the automation and reflecting about the implementation. Reflecting the processes that occurred during the project is valuable experience, therefore it is important to think over the whole process and how to keep improving processes within the organization.    There are both advantages and disadvantages with the use of automation within warehouse companies. It is believed that implementation of automation in a warehouse is strongly dependent on the individuals involved. In this study the key individuals that were discussed were managers and employees. A framework for implementation of new technology was introduced as a guiding principle for managers. The framework is aimed to work for warehouse companies and presents the risks of not following the recommended procedure.     In future studies, the programming field within palletizing and AGVs can be further researched, which can reduce the disadvantages with the usage of automation within warehouse companies.

This thesis and appended papers present the process of tacking the problem of environment modeling for autonomous agent. More specifically, the focus of the work has been semantic mapping of warehouses. A semantic map for such purpose is expected to be layout-like and support semantics of both open spaces and infrastructure of the environment. The representation of the semantic map is required to be understandable by all involved agents (humans, AGVs and WMS.) And the process of semantic mapping is desired to lean toward full-autonomy, with minimum input requirement from human user. To that end, we studied the problem of semantic annotation over two kinds of spatial map from different modalities. We identified properties, structure, and challenges of the problem. And we have developed representations and accompanied methods, while meeting the set criteria. The overall objective of the work is “to develop and construct a layer of abstraction (models and/or decomposition) for structuring and facilitate access to salient information in the sensory data. This layer of abstraction connects high level concepts to low-level sensory pattern.” Relying on modeling and decomposition of sensory data, we present our work on abstract representation for two modalities (laser scanner and camera) in three appended papers. Feasibility and the performance of the proposed methods are evaluated over data from real warehouse. The thesis conclude with summarizing the presented technical details, and drawing the outline for future work.
Automatic Inventory and Mapping of Stock (AIMS)

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to focus on the challenges with the implementation of technical solutions for automation of warehouse operations for the movement and tracking of goods. Additionally, the focus is on the similarities and differences between the identified challenges in theory and practice. MethodologyThis study employs a qualitative research strategy with a cross-sectional research design. A qualitative analysis of the challenges for the automation of warehouse operations is done, with the help of semi-structured interviews of 9 different companies.TheoryThe theory chapter starts with an introduction of warehouse management systems (WMS) and the differentiation between the main and supportive warehouse processes, whereby the focus is drawn on the supportive processes. The supportive processes are differentiated into the movement and tracking of goods. For the movement of goods automated guided vehicles (AGVs), Automated forklifts and Automated conveyor systems are analyzed. For the tracking of goods Barcodes, QR-Codes and RFID technology is examined. These two areas are also analyzed regarding their identified challenges. AnalysisThe analysis is based on the identification of the challenges from theory and empirical data for the tracking and movement of goods within a warehouse. Therefore, the empirical perceived challenges are processed and merged together. Afterwards, the theoretical and empirical identified challenges are compared for each of the technical solutions for automation for the movement and tracking of goods. Additionally, a comparison between the degrees of importance of the perceived challenges is drawn.Conclusion Technical solutions for automation for the movement and tracking of goods perceived in theory and practice are analyzed in this thesis. The conclusion of this study is that there are differences and similarities between the challenges for the movement and tracking of goods. Regarding the movement of goods, theory is more directed to see challenges after the implementation in contrast to the focus of practice on the pre-implementation challenges. For the tracking of goods, the perceived challenges in practice are more about the usage and not as technical oriented as the theory.

L'objectif de ce travail de thèse est de proposer une approche permettant l'automatisation complète du processus de transformation de modèles pour le développement d'entrepôts de données. L'idée principale est de réduire au mieux l'intervention des experts humains en utilisant les traces de transformations réalisées sur des projets similaires. L'objectif est d'utiliser des techniques d'apprentissage supervisées pour traiter les définitions de concepts avec le même niveau d'expression que les données manipulées. La nature des données manipulées nous a conduits à choisir les langages relationnels pour la description des exemples et des hypothèses. Ces langages ont l'avantage d'être expressifs en donnant la possibilité d'exprimer les relations entres les objets manipulés mais présente l'inconvénient majeur de ne pas disposer d'algorithmes permettant le passage à l'échelle pour des applications industrielles. Pour résoudre ce problème, nous avons proposé une architecture permettant d'exploiter au mieux les connaissances issues des invariants de transformations entre modèles et métamodèles. Cette manière de procéder a mis en lumière des dépendances entre les concepts à apprendre et nous a conduits à proposer un paradigme d'apprentissage dit de concepts-dépendants. Enfin, cette thèse présente plusieurs aspects qui peuvent influencer la prochaine génération de plates-formes décisionnelles. Elle propose, en particulier, une architecture de déploiement pour la business intelligence en tant que service basée sur les normes industrielles et les technologies les plus récentes et les plus prometteuses
This thesis aims at proposing an end-to-end approach which allows the automation of the process of model transformations for the development of data warehousing components. The main idea is to reduce as much as possible the intervention of human experts by using once again the traces of transformations produced on similar projects. The goal is to use supervised learning techniques to handle concept definitions with the same expressive level as manipulated data. The nature of the manipulated data leads us to choose relational languages for the description of examples and hypothesises. These languages have the advantage of being expressive by giving the possibility to express relationships between the manipulated objects, but they have the major disadvantage of not having algorithms allowing the application on large scales of industrial applications. To solve this problem, we have proposed an architecture that allows the perfect exploitation of the knowledge obtained from transformations' invariants between models and metamodels. This way of proceeding has highlighted the dependencies between the concepts to learn and has led us to propose a learning paradigm, called dependent-concept learning. Finally, this thesis presents various aspects that may inuence the next generation of data warehousing platforms. The latter suggests, in particular, an architecture for business intelligence-as-a-service based on the most recent and promising industrial standards and technologies

The goal of this diploma is understanding and evaluation of the warehouse processes, the specification of problems and finding the best ways to deal with these drawbacks. The method used for the diploma is comparison. The theoretical part briefly focuses on the fashion logistics. The practical part then describes the distribution centre of the company Bonmarché Ltd. At first the functioning processes in all warehouse departments are specified and the problems are appointed. The second part focuses on the considered changes that would eliminate the problems. The final comparison will tell us whether these changes will solve the problems and enable the company to stay competitive on the British clothing market.

Syftet med fallstudien var att undersöka vad Airshoppen Travel Retail kan tänka på viddesignen av sin nya lagerlayout. För att genomföra studien har en teoretisk modell tagits fram som fokuserar på hur företags layout kan designas. Med den teoretiska modellen analyseras först två verksamheters lagerlayout. I nästa steg användes analysen för att vidare analysera och ge rekommendationer till Airshoppen Travel Retail angående vad företaget kan tänka på vid designen av sin nya lagerlayout. Genomförda intervjuer och observationer visade att utvecklingen av lagerverksamheternas processer anpassades till, och begränsades av, platsbristen. Tidigare forskning talade för att designen av ett lager ska grundas i valet av system. Bristfällig design kan leda till höga kostnader, begränsad flexibilitet och minskad effektivitet. En intressant aspekt som studien lyfte var att den tidigare forskningen främst fokuserar på att minska travel distance, medans studiens empiriska underlag visade att företag främst fokuserade på att öka plocksäkerhet och produktivitet. Studiens resultat presenterades som en rekommendation för hur Airshoppen Travel Retail kan designa sin lagerlayout. Resultatet visade vikten av att välja system i samband med kontrollregler för att undvika låsningar i layouten, att plocka i zoner kan leda till ökad effektivitet. Slutligen krävs noggranna kalkyler för företaget att avgöra om automation är en nödvändig och lönsam investering.
The purpose of the case study was to investigate what Airshoppen Travel Retail could take into consideration when designing their new warehouse layout. In order to carry out the study, a theoretical model was developed, the model focuses on how warehouse layout could be designed. The theoretical model analyzes the warehouse layout of two companies. The findings were then used to analyze and give recommendations to Airshoppen Travel Retail regarding what the company could take into consideration when designing their new warehouse layout. Interviews and observations showed that the development of the warehouses processes was adapted and limited by the lack of space in their warehouses. Previous research suggested that the design of a warehouse should be based on the choice of system, either manual or automatic. Inadequate design can lead to high costs, limited flexibility and reduced efficiency. An interesting aspect that the study highlighted was that the previous research mainly focuses on reducing travel distance, while the study's empirical basis showed that companies primarilyfocus on decreasing picking errors and increasing productivity. The results of the study were presented as recommendations to Airshoppen Travel Retail on how the company could design their new warehouse layout. The results showed the importance of choosing systems and control policies simultaneously to avoid limitations in the layout. Furthermore, with a manual system, implementation of zone picking could lead to increased efficiency. On a final note, careful calculations are required for the company to properly determine whether automation is a necessary and profitable investment.

This paper is a practical and empirical investigation into the relationship and overlap between the two industrial paradigms of Lean Management and Industry 4.0. This is accomplished with an in-depth case study of a goods receipt to identify Lean wastes and accompanied by a discussion on how these wastes can be eliminated by enhancing the processes and material flows with Industry 4.0 technologies. It was found that efforts to enhance a process with Industry 4.0 Technologies should be preceded by ensuring that the process can be performed in a standardized manner. After that the study recommends improved methods of data collection which enables the effective implementation of other supporting Industry 4.0 Technologies.
Denna uppsats är en praktisk och empirisk utredning av relationen och samspelet mellan de två industriella paradigmen Lean Management och Industri 4.0. Till grund för det för det ligger en utförlig fallstudie av en godsmottagning för att identifiera Lean slöserier och en tillhörande diskussion om hur dessa slöserier kan elimineras genom att förbättra arbetsprocesser och materialflöden med Industri 4.0 och tillhörande teknologier. Ur det uppdagades att åtgärder för göra processer mer effektiva med dessa Industri 4.0 teknologier bör föregås av att processen kan utföras på ett standardiserat vis. När det är säkerställt så är det denna studies rekommendation att fokusera på metoder och verktyg för insamling av data vilket blir den grund som möjliggör implementering av behjälpliga och automatiserande Industri 4.0 teknologier.

This paper is a practical and empirical investigation into the relationship and overlap between the two industrial paradigms of Lean Management and Industry 4.0. This is accomplished with an in-depth case study of a goods receipt to identify Lean wastes and accompanied by a discussion on how these wastes can be eliminated by enhancing the processes and material flows with Industry 4.0 technologies. It was found that efforts to enhance a process with Industry 4.0 Technologies should be preceded by ensuring that the process can be performed in a standardized manner. After that the study recommends improved methods of data collection which enables the effective implementation of other supporting Industry 4.0 Technologies.
Denna uppsats är en praktisk och empirisk utredning av relationen och samspelet mellan de två industriella paradigmen Lean Management och Industri 4.0. Till grund för det för det ligger en utförlig fallstudie av en godsmottagning för att identifiera Lean slöserier och en tillhörande diskussion om hur dessa slöserier kan elimineras genom att förbättra arbetsprocesser och materialflöden med Industri 4.0 och tillhörande teknologier. Ur det uppdagades att åtgärder för göra processer mer effektiva med dessa Industri 4.0 teknologier bör föregås av att processen kan utföras på ett standardiserat vis. När det är säkerställt så är det denna studies rekommendation att fokusera på metoder och verktyg för insamling av data vilket blir den grund som möjliggör implementering av behjälpliga och automatiserande Industri 4.0 teknologier.

Les experiències prèvies en l'àmbit dels magatzems de dades (o data warehouse), mostren que l'esquema multidimensional del data warehouse ha de ser fruit d'un enfocament híbrid; això és, una proposta que consideri tant els requeriments d'usuari com les fonts de dades durant el procés de disseny.Com a qualsevol altre sistema, els requeriments són necessaris per garantir que el sistema desenvolupat satisfà les necessitats de l'usuari. A més, essent aquest un procés de reenginyeria, les fonts de dades s'han de tenir en compte per: (i) garantir que el magatzem de dades resultant pot ésser poblat amb dades de l'organització, i, a més, (ii) descobrir capacitats d'anàlisis no evidents o no conegudes per l'usuari.Actualment, a la literatura s'han presentat diversos mètodes per donar suport al procés de modelatge del magatzem de dades. No obstant això, les propostes basades en un anàlisi dels requeriments assumeixen que aquestos són exhaustius, i no consideren que pot haver-hi informació rellevant amagada a les fonts de dades. Contràriament, les propostes basades en un anàlisi exhaustiu de les fonts de dades maximitzen aquest enfocament, i proposen tot el coneixement multidimensional que es pot derivar des de les fonts de dades i, conseqüentment, generen massa resultats. En aquest escenari, l'automatització del disseny del magatzem de dades és essencial per evitar que tot el pes de la tasca recaigui en el dissenyador (d'aquesta forma, no hem de confiar únicament en la seva habilitat i coneixement per aplicar el mètode de disseny elegit). A més, l'automatització de la tasca allibera al dissenyador del sempre complex i costós anàlisi de les fonts de dades (que pot arribar a ser inviable per grans fonts de dades).Avui dia, els mètodes automatitzables analitzen en detall les fonts de dades i passen per alt els requeriments. En canvi, els mètodes basats en l'anàlisi dels requeriments no consideren l'automatització del procés, ja que treballen amb requeriments expressats en llenguatges d'alt nivell que un ordenador no pot manegar. Aquesta mateixa situació es dona en els mètodes híbrids actual, que proposen un enfocament seqüencial, on l'anàlisi de les dades es complementa amb l'anàlisi dels requeriments, ja que totes dues tasques pateixen els mateixos problemes que els enfocament purs.En aquesta tesi proposem dos mètodes per donar suport a la tasca de modelatge del magatzem de dades: MDBE (Multidimensional Design Based on Examples) and AMDO (Automating the Multidimensional Design from Ontologies). Totes dues consideren els requeriments i les fonts de dades per portar a terme la tasca de modelatge i a més, van ser pensades per superar les limitacions dels enfocaments actuals.1. MDBE segueix un enfocament clàssic, en el que els requeriments d'usuari són coneguts d'avantmà. Aquest mètode es beneficia del coneixement capturat a les fonts de dades, però guia el procés des dels requeriments i, conseqüentment, és capaç de treballar sobre fonts de dades semànticament pobres. És a dir, explotant el fet que amb uns requeriments de qualitat, podem superar els inconvenients de disposar de fonts de dades que no capturen apropiadament el nostre domini de treball.2. A diferència d'MDBE, AMDO assumeix un escenari on es disposa de fonts de dades semànticament riques. Per aquest motiu, dirigeix el procés de modelatge des de les fonts de dades, i empra els requeriments per donar forma i adaptar els resultats generats a les necessitats de l'usuari. En aquest context, a diferència de l'anterior, unes fonts de dades semànticament riques esmorteeixen el fet de no tenir clars els requeriments d'usuari d'avantmà.Cal notar que els nostres mètodes estableixen un marc de treball combinat que es pot emprar per decidir, donat un escenari concret, quin enfocament és més adient. Per exemple, no es pot seguir el mateix enfocament en un escenari on els requeriments són ben coneguts d'avantmà i en un escenari on aquestos encara no estan clars (un cas recorrent d'aquesta situació és quan l'usuari no té clares les capacitats d'anàlisi del seu propi sistema). De fet, disposar d'uns bons requeriments d'avantmà esmorteeix la necessitat de disposar de fonts de dades semànticament riques, mentre que a l'inversa, si disposem de fonts de dades que capturen adequadament el nostre domini de treball, els requeriments no són necessaris d'avantmà. Per aquests motius, en aquesta tesi aportem un marc de treball combinat que cobreix tots els possibles escenaris que podem trobar durant la tasca de modelatge del magatzem de dades.
Previous experiences in the data warehouse field have shown that the data warehouse multidimensional conceptual schema must be derived from a hybrid approach: i.e., by considering both the end-user requirements and the data sources, as first-class citizens. Like in any other system, requirements guarantee that the system devised meets the end-user necessities. In addition, since the data warehouse design task is a reengineering process, it must consider the underlying data sources of the organization: (i) to guarantee that the data warehouse must be populated from data available within the organization, and (ii) to allow the end-user discover unknown additional analysis capabilities.Currently, several methods for supporting the data warehouse modeling task have been provided. However, they suffer from some significant drawbacks. In short, requirement-driven approaches assume that requirements are exhaustive (and therefore, do not consider the data sources to contain alternative interesting evidences of analysis), whereas data-driven approaches (i.e., those leading the design task from a thorough analysis of the data sources) rely on discovering as much multidimensional knowledge as possible from the data sources. As a consequence, data-driven approaches generate too many results, which mislead the user. Furthermore, the design task automation is essential in this scenario, as it removes the dependency on an expert's ability to properly apply the method chosen, and the need to analyze the data sources, which is a tedious and timeconsuming task (which can be unfeasible when working with large databases). In this sense, current automatable methods follow a data-driven approach, whereas current requirement-driven approaches overlook the process automation, since they tend to work with requirements at a high level of abstraction. Indeed, this scenario is repeated regarding data-driven and requirement-driven stages within current hybrid approaches, which suffer from the same drawbacks than pure data-driven or requirement-driven approaches.In this thesis we introduce two different approaches for automating the multidimensional design of the data warehouse: MDBE (Multidimensional Design Based on Examples) and AMDO (Automating the Multidimensional Design from Ontologies). Both approaches were devised to overcome the limitations from which current approaches suffer. Importantly, our approaches consider opposite initial assumptions, but both consider the end-user requirements and the data sources as first-class citizens.1. MDBE follows a classical approach, in which the end-user requirements are well-known beforehand. This approach benefits from the knowledge captured in the data sources, but guides the design task according to requirements and consequently, it is able to work and handle semantically poorer data sources. In other words, providing high-quality end-user requirements, we can guide the process from the knowledge they contain, and overcome the fact of disposing of bad quality (from a semantical point of view) data sources.2. AMDO, as counterpart, assumes a scenario in which the data sources available are semantically richer. Thus, the approach proposed is guided by a thorough analysis of the data sources, which is properly adapted to shape the output result according to the end-user requirements. In this context, disposing of high-quality data sources, we can overcome the fact of lacking of expressive end-user requirements.Importantly, our methods establish a combined and comprehensive framework that can be used to decide, according to the inputs provided in each scenario, which is the best approach to follow. For example, we cannot follow the same approach in a scenario where the end-user requirements are clear and well-known, and in a scenario in which the end-user requirements are not evident or cannot be easily elicited (e.g., this may happen when the users are not aware of the analysis capabilities of their own sources). Interestingly, the need to dispose of requirements beforehand is smoothed by the fact of having semantically rich data sources. In lack of that, requirements gain relevance to extract the multidimensional knowledge from the sources.So that, we claim to provide two approaches whose combination turns up to be exhaustive with regard to the scenarios discussed in the literature

Les experiències prèvies en l'àmbit dels magatzems de dades (o data warehouse), mostren que l'esquema multidimensional del data warehouse ha de ser fruit d'un enfocament híbrid; això és, una proposta que consideri tant els requeriments d'usuari com les fonts de dades durant el procés de disseny.
Com a qualsevol altre sistema, els requeriments són necessaris per garantir que el sistema desenvolupat satisfà les necessitats de l'usuari. A més, essent aquest un procés de reenginyeria, les fonts de dades s'han de tenir en compte per: (i) garantir que el magatzem de dades resultant pot ésser poblat amb dades de l'organització, i, a més, (ii) descobrir capacitats d'anàlisis no evidents o no conegudes per l'usuari.

Actualment, a la literatura s'han presentat diversos mètodes per donar suport al procés de modelatge del magatzem de dades. No obstant això, les propostes basades en un anàlisi dels requeriments assumeixen que aquestos són exhaustius, i no consideren que pot haver-hi informació rellevant amagada a les fonts de dades. Contràriament, les propostes basades en un anàlisi exhaustiu de les fonts de dades maximitzen aquest enfocament, i proposen tot el coneixement multidimensional que es pot derivar des de les fonts de dades i, conseqüentment, generen massa resultats. En aquest escenari, l'automatització del disseny del magatzem de dades és essencial per evitar que tot el pes de la tasca recaigui en el dissenyador (d'aquesta forma, no hem de confiar únicament en la seva habilitat i coneixement per aplicar el mètode de disseny elegit). A més, l'automatització de la tasca allibera al dissenyador del sempre complex i costós anàlisi de les fonts de dades (que pot arribar a ser inviable per grans fonts de dades).
Avui dia, els mètodes automatitzables analitzen en detall les fonts de dades i passen per alt els requeriments. En canvi, els mètodes basats en l'anàlisi dels requeriments no consideren l'automatització del procés, ja que treballen amb requeriments expressats en llenguatges d'alt nivell que un ordenador no pot manegar. Aquesta mateixa situació es dona en els mètodes híbrids actual, que proposen un enfocament seqüencial, on l'anàlisi de les dades es complementa amb l'anàlisi dels requeriments, ja que totes dues tasques pateixen els mateixos problemes que els enfocament purs.

En aquesta tesi proposem dos mètodes per donar suport a la tasca de modelatge del magatzem de dades: MDBE (Multidimensional Design Based on Examples) and AMDO (Automating the Multidimensional Design from Ontologies). Totes dues consideren els requeriments i les fonts de dades per portar a terme la tasca de modelatge i a més, van ser pensades per superar les limitacions dels enfocaments actuals.

1. MDBE segueix un enfocament clàssic, en el que els requeriments d'usuari són coneguts d'avantmà. Aquest mètode es beneficia del coneixement capturat a les fonts de dades, però guia el procés des dels requeriments i, conseqüentment, és capaç de treballar sobre fonts de dades semànticament pobres. És a dir, explotant el fet que amb uns requeriments de qualitat, podem superar els inconvenients de disposar de fonts de dades que no capturen apropiadament el nostre domini de treball.
2. A diferència d'MDBE, AMDO assumeix un escenari on es disposa de fonts de dades semànticament riques. Per aquest motiu, dirigeix el procés de modelatge des de les fonts de dades, i empra els requeriments per donar forma i adaptar els resultats generats a les necessitats de l'usuari. En aquest context, a diferència de l'anterior, unes fonts de dades semànticament riques esmorteeixen el fet de no tenir clars els requeriments d'usuari d'avantmà.

Cal notar que els nostres mètodes estableixen un marc de treball combinat que es pot emprar per decidir, donat un escenari concret, quin enfocament és més adient. Per exemple, no es pot seguir el mateix enfocament en un escenari on els requeriments són ben coneguts d'avantmà i en un escenari on aquestos encara no estan clars (un cas recorrent d'aquesta situació és quan l'usuari no té clares les capacitats d'anàlisi del seu propi sistema). De fet, disposar d'uns bons requeriments d'avantmà esmorteeix la necessitat de disposar de fonts de dades semànticament riques, mentre que a l'inversa, si disposem de fonts de dades que capturen adequadament el nostre domini de treball, els requeriments no són necessaris d'avantmà. Per aquests motius, en aquesta tesi aportem un marc de treball combinat que cobreix tots els possibles escenaris que podem trobar durant la tasca de modelatge del magatzem de dades.
Previous experiences in the data warehouse field have shown that the data warehouse multidimensional conceptual schema must be derived from a hybrid approach: i.e., by considering both the end-user requirements and the data sources, as first-class citizens. Like in any other system, requirements guarantee that the system devised meets the end-user necessities. In addition, since the data warehouse design task is a reengineering process, it must consider the underlying data sources of the organization: (i) to guarantee that the data warehouse must be populated from data available within the organization, and (ii) to allow the end-user discover unknown additional analysis capabilities.

Currently, several methods for supporting the data warehouse modeling task have been provided. However, they suffer from some significant drawbacks. In short, requirement-driven approaches assume that requirements are exhaustive (and therefore, do not consider the data sources to contain alternative interesting evidences of analysis), whereas data-driven approaches (i.e., those leading the design task from a thorough analysis of the data sources) rely on discovering as much multidimensional knowledge as possible from the data sources. As a consequence, data-driven approaches generate too many results, which mislead the user. Furthermore, the design task automation is essential in this scenario, as it removes the dependency on an expert's ability to properly apply the method chosen, and the need to analyze the data sources, which is a tedious and timeconsuming task (which can be unfeasible when working with large databases). In this sense, current automatable methods follow a data-driven approach, whereas current requirement-driven approaches overlook the process automation, since they tend to work with requirements at a high level of abstraction. Indeed, this scenario is repeated regarding data-driven and requirement-driven stages within current hybrid approaches, which suffer from the same drawbacks than pure data-driven or requirement-driven approaches.
In this thesis we introduce two different approaches for automating the multidimensional design of the data warehouse: MDBE (Multidimensional Design Based on Examples) and AMDO (Automating the Multidimensional Design from Ontologies). Both approaches were devised to overcome the limitations from which current approaches suffer. Importantly, our approaches consider opposite initial assumptions, but both consider the end-user requirements and the data sources as first-class citizens.

1. MDBE follows a classical approach, in which the end-user requirements are well-known beforehand. This approach benefits from the knowledge captured in the data sources, but guides the design task according to requirements and consequently, it is able to work and handle semantically poorer data sources. In other words, providing high-quality end-user requirements, we can guide the process from the knowledge they contain, and overcome the fact of disposing of bad quality (from a semantical point of view) data sources.
2. AMDO, as counterpart, assumes a scenario in which the data sources available are semantically richer. Thus, the approach proposed is guided by a thorough analysis of the data sources, which is properly adapted to shape the output result according to the end-user requirements. In this context, disposing of high-quality data sources, we can overcome the fact of lacking of expressive end-user requirements.

Importantly, our methods establish a combined and comprehensive framework that can be used to decide, according to the inputs provided in each scenario, which is the best approach to follow. For example, we cannot follow the same approach in a scenario where the end-user requirements are clear and well-known, and in a scenario in which the end-user requirements are not evident or cannot be easily elicited (e.g., this may happen when the users are not aware of the analysis capabilities of their own sources). Interestingly, the need to dispose of requirements beforehand is smoothed by the fact of having semantically rich data sources. In lack of that, requirements gain relevance to extract the multidimensional knowledge from the sources.
So that, we claim to provide two approaches whose combination turns up to be exhaustive with regard to the scenarios discussed in the literature

Automation provides the opportunity for many tasks to be done more effectively and with greater safety. However, these benefits are unlikely to be attained if an automated system is designed without the human user in mind. Many characteristics of the human and automation, such as trust and reliability, have been rigorously examined in the literature in an attempt to move towards a comprehensive understanding of the interaction between human and machine. However, workload has primarily been examined solely as an outcome variable, rather than as a predictor of compliance, reliance, and performance. This study was designed to gain a deeper understanding of whether workload experienced by human operators influences compliance with and reliance on an automated warehouse management system, as well to assess whether age-related differences exist in this interaction. As workload increased, performance on the Receiving Packages task decreased among younger and older adults. Although younger adults also experienced a negative effect of workload on Dispatching Trucks performance, older adults did not demonstrate a significant effect. The compliance data showed that as workload increased, younger adults complied with the automation to a greater degree, and this was true regardless of whether the automation was correct or incorrect. Older adults did not demonstrate a reliable effect of workload on compliance behavior. Regarding reliance behavior, as workload increased, reliance on the automation increased, but this effect was only observed among older adults. Again, this was true regardless of whether the automation as correct or incorrect. The finding that individuals may be more likely to comply with or rely on faulty automation if they are in high workload state compared to a low workload state suggests that an operator's ability to detect automation errors may be compromised in high workload situations. Overall, younger adults outperformed older adults on the task. Additionally, older adults complied with the system more than younger adults when the system erred, which may have contributed to their poorer performance. When older adults verified the instructions given by the automation, they spent longer doing so than younger adults, suggesting that older adults may experience a greater cost of verification. Further, older adults reported higher workload and greater trust in the system than younger adults, but both age groups perceived the reliability of the system quite accurately. Understanding how workload and age influence automation use has implications for the way in which individuals are trained to interact with complex systems, as well as the situations in which automation implementation is determined to be appropriate.

This Thesis aims to conduct analysis and reengineering of work methodology and warehouse layout in specific wholesale company. Thesis is divided into phases. In first phase the suitability of existing warehouse is reviewed. There will be evaluated hypothesis that existing warehouse is dimensionally insufficient, with incorrect layout and insufficient intake and expedition area. In second stage, there are created possible variants of reengineering and those are regarding to the conditions of uncertainty analyzed with Monte Carlo method.

Sandvik Rock Tools is operating in a highly competitive market. This requires them to constantly improve the efficiency of their organization, in order for them to maintain their position as market leaders, both in a short-term and a long-term perspective. Sandvik Rock Tools is currently working on developing and further improving their supply chain. The supply chain is a key organizational function and improvements of the supply chain aim to yield benefits like lowered total costs and better utilized inventory levels. The purpose of our work has been to develop the supply chain between Sandvik’s in-market warehouse and their customer site at Dannemora. The main focus of this thesis has been to enable automatic data collection and to lower the stock levels at the customer site in Dannemora. This would be accomplished by improving the information flow between the two entities in the observed supply chain and by enabling real-time inventory information, easily accessible to the warehouse manager. A barcode system was implemented in the warehouse at the Dannemora customer site and was integrated with warehouse management software that was developed by the authors. The implemented barcode system and the warehouse management software were used at the Dannemora customer site for a period of two months. The effects of the implemented barcode system working in combination with the warehouse management software were observed in several operational areas after implementation, and the results were positive and beneficial. Firstly, the barcode system and warehouse management software simplified the warehouse manager’s decision process, by providing easy access to necessary warehouse management information, like realtime inventory information. Secondly, it made the day-to-day work routine of the warehouse manager easier, this being the case because the barcode system that had been implemented had digitalized and automated many tasks that had previously been performed manually by warehouse manager. An excellent example would be the simplified process for order placement and stocktaking. Thirdly, it improved the information flow between the Dannemora customer site and Sandvik’s in-market warehouse in Sandviken, thereby improving the overall effectiveness of the entire supply chain, through shared information. The barcode implementation successfully lowered inventory levels by six percent on average.

Sammanfattning Syfte: Syftet med detta examensarbete är att skapa ett ramverk för att underlätta valet av automatisk identifieringsteknik för tillverkningsföretag med tillhörande lagerhanteringsprocesser. Syftet är också att identifiera brister i Emballator Lagan Plasts nutida spårbarhetslösning, tillämpa ramverket för att välja en lämplig automatisk identifieringsteknik och utforma en bättre framtida spårbarhetslösning.  Metod: Denna studie är baserad i kvalitativ forskningsmetod och inkluderar en systematisk litteraturstudie, en intervjustudie och en fallstudie. Data till första forskningsfrågan insamlades genom en systematisk litteraturstudie och en intervjustudie med expert inom automatiska identifieringstekniker. Data till forskningsfråga två insamlades genom intervjuer med anställda hos Emballator Lagan Plast tillsammans med vetenskapliga artiklar.  Resultat: Genom att analysera data från den systematiska litteraturstudien gentemot data från intervjustudien sammanställdes ramverket för val av automatisk identifieringsteknik. Baserat på intervjuer med anställda identifierades brister i den nuvarande spårbarhetslösningen hos Emballator Lagan Plast. Ramverket tillämpades sedan för att välja automatisk identiferingsteknik som en del av den framtida spårbarhetslösningen. Den framtida spårbarhetslösningen baseras på 2D-streckkoder, förändringar i lagerhanteringsprocesserna samt mer utnyttjande av det tillgängliga lagerhanteringsystemet.
Abstract Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to create a framework for manufacturing companies to facilitate the choice of auto-id technology. The purpose is also to identify faults in the current traceability solution at Emballator Lagan Plast, apply the framework to choose an auto-id technology and to suggest the future traceability solution.  Method: This thesis is based on qualitative method and includes a systematic literature review, an interview study and a case study. For research question one data was gathered through a systematic literature review and through an interview with an expert in the field of auto-id technologies. For research question two data was gathered through interviews with employees at Emballator Lagan Plast together with scientific articles.  Results: By analysing data from the systematic literature review and the interview the framework for choosing an auto-id technology was established. Based on interviews with employees’ faults in the current traceability solution at Emballator Lagan Plast was identified. The framework was applied to choose an auto-id technology as a part of the future traceability solution. The future traceability solution consists of 2D-barcodes, changes in warehouse processes and increased utilization of the warehouse management system.

Syfte – Syftet med studien är att identifiera kritiska begränsningar i inlagringsprocessen i ett distributionslager för att därmed kunna effektivisera materialflödet. Studiens syfte uppnås genom att följande forskningsfrågor har formulerats: Vilka kritiska begränsningar kan förekomma i materialflödet i en inlagringsprocess i ett distributionslager? Hur kan de identifierade begränsningarna exkluderas i en inlagringsprocess? Metod – Studien hade en induktiv ansats och datainsamling skedde genom intervjuer, observationer, dokumentstudier och litteraturstudier. En fallstudie genomfördes på ett distributionslager och empiri och teori har jämförts för att kunna uppfylla studiens syfte. Resultat – Studiens resultat påvisar att de förekommande kritiska begränsningarna i ett distributionslager är brist på yta, materialhantering, automatiska system samt lagerlayout. Studiens slutsats är att begränsningarna är sammankopplade och påverkar varandra eftersom de ingår i samma process. För att exkludera begränsningarna bör distributionslager implementera diverse standarder i sin inlagringsprocess och arbeta med ständiga förbättringar. Implikationer – Studien bidrar inte med nya teorier men bidrar med praktisk nytta för distributionslager med liknande kriterier som studiens fallföretag. Begränsningar – Studien riktar enbart in sig på distributionslager och var en fallstudie av enfallsdesign. Genom att utföra flera liknande undersökningar på företag med liknande kriterier hade generaliserbarheten kunnat stärkas.
Purpose – The purpose of the study is to identify critical constraints in the inbound process at a distribution warehouse. To accomplish the purpose two research questions were formulated: Which critical constraints can occur in the material flow in the inbound process at a distribution warehouse? How can the identified constraints be excluded in the inbound process? Method – The study was performed inductively, and the data collection techniques were interviews, observations, document studies and literature studies. A single case study was performed at a distribution warehouse and the empirical data and theories were compared to accomplish the purpose of the study. Findings – The result of the study demonstrates that the critical constraints in the inbound process at a distribution warehouse are space, material handling, automatic systems and warehouse layout. The conclusion of the study is that the constraints are connected and affect each other since they are all included in the same process. To exclude the constraints different types of standards should be implemented in the inbound process, and distribution warehouses should work with continuous improvements. Implications – The study does not contribute to new theories but can be practically beneficial for distribution warehouses similar to the studies case study. Limitations – The study only focuses on one distribution warehouse and is therefore a single case study. The generalizability could have been higher if the study had been conducted at multiple distribution warehouses.

Data warehousing systems have been around for 25 years playing a crucial role in collecting data and transforming that data into value, allowing users to make decisions based on informed business facts. It is widely accepted that a data warehouse is a critical component to a data-driven enterprise, and it becomes part of the organisation’s information systems strategy, with a significant impact on the business. However, after 25 years, building a Data Warehouse is still painful, they are too time-consuming, too expensive and too difficult to change after deployment. Data Warehouse Automation appears with the promise to address the limitations of traditional approaches, turning the data warehouse development from a prolonged effort into an agile one, with gains in efficiency and effectiveness in data warehousing processes. So, is Data Warehouse Automation a Trick or Treat? To answer this question, a case study of a data warehousing architecture using a data warehouse automation tool, called WhereScape, was developed. Also, a survey was made to organisations that are using data warehouse automation tools, in order to understand their motivation in the adoption of this kind of tools in their data warehousing systems. Based on the results of the survey and on the case study, automation in the data warehouses building process is necessary to deliver data warehouse systems faster, and a solution to consider when modernize data warehouse architectures as a way to achieve results faster, keeping costs controlled and reduce risk. Data Warehouse Automation definitely may be a Treat.
Os sistemas de armazenamento de dados existem há 25 anos, desempenhando um papel crucial na recolha de dados e na transformação desses dados em valor, permitindo que os utilizadores tomem decisões com base em fatos. É amplamente aceite, que um data warehouse é um componente crítico para uma empresa orientada a dados e se torna parte da estratégia de sistemas de informação da organização, com um impacto significativo nos negócios. No entanto, após 25 anos, a construção de um Data Warehouse ainda é uma tarefa penosa, demora muito tempo, é cara e difícil de mudar após a sua conclusão. A automação de Data Warehouse aparece com a promessa de endereçar as limitações das abordagens tradicionais, transformando o desenvolvimento da data warehouse de um esforço prolongado em um esforço ágil, com ganhos de eficiência e eficácia. Será, a automação de Data Warehouse uma doçura ou travessura? Foi desenvolvido um estudo de caso de uma arquitetura de data warehousing usando uma ferramenta de automação, designada WhereScape. Foi também conduzido um questionário a organizações que utilizam ferramentas de automação de data warehouse, para entender sua motivação na adoção deste tipo de ferramentas. Com base nos resultados da pesquisa e no estudo de caso, a automação no processo de construção de data warehouses, é necessária para uma maior agilidade destes sistemas e uma solução a considerar na modernização destas arquiteturas, pois permitem obter resultados mais rapidamente, mantendo os custos controlados e reduzindo o risco. A automação de data warehouse pode bem vir a ser uma “doçura”.

碩士
東海大學
資訊工程學系
98
Mostly, users use reuse library, they only generally know about what they want. Usually, users must see a large number software component code in library to get the information finding software components. This spent time very much. In this paper, a Knowledge Based Reuse Library(KBRL) is proposed to assist the entire retrieving process. In KBRL, the reusable component are properly analyzed, classified, and represented. The semantics of reusable components are formally represented as predicates and annotated with each components. Based on the formalized components, KBRL can offer more accurate information to guide user to select the desired components. We also use automation warehouse system as the example to explain how the KBRL running.

碩士
國立彰化師範大學
工業教育學系
89
In order to meet market demands of personality and variety, the tougher working environment, and the application of computer networks. Virtual Reality technology is now suitable to be applied in various technical fields. In this project, 3-D Studio MAX software was used to construct objects. VRML、HTML, and Java Script languages were then used to applied the virtual reality technology , which build on Internet to the simulation flexible manufacturing system – The automatic warehouse and conveying system. It was found that, within the virtual reality environment, the user may convey and/or locate his specified objects interactively via the control panel. The dynamic simulation function enables the working fields are observed from different views. In combination with the network technology, this system may reduce design and process costs.

碩士
開南大學
空運管理學系碩士班
96
Automatic Storage Retrieval System was utilized to incipiently in manufacturing industry and was made use of it in logistics center and air cargo warehouse. Military of U.K invented RFID to indentify enemy’s fighters or partner’s fighters by contact inhibition skills and system during World War II. The basic facilities of RFID are included reader, antenna, tag, software system and is an automatic identification method, replying on storing and remotely retrieving data. Recently Aviation security and safety plans have been dramatically changed after the 911 terrorist attacks in USA. Trade security and facilitation, paperless single window and air cargo security will be implemented base on RFID and UCR system after developing by Wal-Mart and U.S. DOD and planned as a goal by ICAO, IATA and WCO. This study concentrates on the concept of automated warehouse procedure design by robot load device, RFID and MIS of air cargo. The integrating procedure is to combine standardize cartoon, convey belt, automated storage retrieval system, RFID, robot load and automatic guide vehicle(AGV), GPS, GIS, MIS and integrated platform in order to assure trade security and facilitation, also to save operation cost and improve the managing efficiently.

Para o setor automóvel torna-se imperativo a prossecução da excelência para que as variegadas organizações a ele indissociadas possam permanecer competitivas e, assim, corresponderem às exigências do mercado sem descurarem as condições adversas da atual conjuntura económico-financeira. Pretende-se com o presente trabalho, no contexto da obtenção do grau académico de mestre, investigar e propor uma solução para o transporte e alimentação de linhas de montagem, com a adoção da filosofia Lean e aplicação de métodos e formas de automatização. Após proceder-se a uma revisão da literatura relacionada com os temas associados à filosofia Lean e das tecnologias disponíveis de automação em processos de manuseamento e transporte e, ainda, à descrição e análise sobre o funcionamento atual do processo que é objeto de estudo será, então, proposta uma solução de otimização e agilização do processo correspondente à atividade logística secundária da movimentação de materiais, incluindo a respetiva análise financeira do projeto, bem como a proposta de melhorias futuras.
For the automotive sector, it is imperative to pursue excellence so that the variegated organizations associated with it can remain competitive and thus respond to the demands of the market without neglecting the adverse conditions of the current economic and financial environment. The objective of this work is to investigate and propose a solution for the transport and feeding of assembly lines, with the adoption of a Lean philosophy and the application of methods and forms of automation. After undertaking a literature review on the thematic associated with the Lean philosophy and technology available for the automation and material handling and perform a description/analysis of the process that is the subject of study, is then presented a solution for optimization for the secondary logistic process of material flow, including the respected financial analysis and future improvements.

碩士
崑山科技大學
電子工程研究所
104
Automated warehouse has become popular and mature in past years. Since it used to be applied to flexible manufacturing and the automated warehouse systems of logistics centers, automated warehouse is critical in manufacturing and logistics. An automatic guided vehicle (AGV) plays an important role in automated warehouse and is an independent handling system. Transport in warehouse is the key to link equipment. In addition to the signal feedback of current position and status, an automatic guided vehicle presents high-accuracy requirements for moving the bearing objects. For this reason, an automatic guided vehicle system (AGVS) is designed where the factors of moving cargos, moving path, stability, plant layout, and traffic problems are taken into account. Aiming at the moving path and the stability of the automatic guided vehicle (AGV), an omnidirectional moving platform is designed with Mecanum Wheel to study the effects of different moving methods and landforms on the stability of the automatic guided vehicle under constant moving distance. With a constant moving distance, the stability of 6 different moving directions and 3 distinct landforms is tested in this study, and the errors are adjusted through PID control. The optimal design of the automatic guided vehicle and the replaceability in the future application are found out through this study.

Automated storage and Retrieval (AS/R) systems have had a significant impact on storage and retrieval of finished goods, work-in-process, and raw materials and supplies. A microcomputer-based simulation model was developed to evaluate different unit load AS/R systems serving multiple input sources and output destinations. The simulation results were statistically analyzed on different performance measures including throughput, mean waiting times maximum waiting times and rejects. The results showed that for single-dock, square-in-time layouts, the class based arrangement produced significantly higher throughput for all scheduling policies. Among the scheduling policies, the relief nearest neighbor produced consistently higher throughput. Comparing square-in-time versus non-square-in-time layouts, the square-in-time layout performance was better; the performance deteriorated as deviations from square-in-time increased. For the two dual-dock layouts, at lower arrival rates the dedicated layout produced higher throughput; there was no significant difference between the two layouts at higher arrival rates.
Graduation date: 1992

碩士
亞洲大學
資訊科學與應用學系碩士班
96
The purpose of data warehouse is to integrate all the data distributed over the enterprise, provide the decision makers with various business intelligence systems or OLAP tool to analyze the required data, and with the effective decision information. At the highly competitive markets and to create more profits, enterprises can't depend on single selling site, and therefore multiple selling sites organization across multiple nations are thereupon created. This research is based on the enterprise of 3C franchises across nations, which is composed of so scattered retail branches at the disperse locations that the enterprise face the distributed, inconsistent, lacking in-time data, and etc. The enterprise will make a mistake in decision making due to the incomplete data. Based on the reasons mentioned above, this research will build an integrated data base system platform to enhance the speed and accuracy of information, and implement a EIS data warehouse by using the characteristic of Oracle database. This implemented data warehouse system will provide the enterprise with automatically detecting data transaction, automatic data duplication, integrating distributed data base, and the complete real time information system.

碩士
國立雲林科技大學
機械工程技術研究所
88
In this study, the recent applications of Automatic Tool Changer (ATC) were presented, especially on the warehouse type ATC . A Virtual Prototype simulation with mechanism analysis and modal analysis technology was performed to demonstrate the results. First, the kinematic simulations of the multi-link mechanism of the tool transfer unit with ADAMS mechanism software were run to get the kinematic features. And both the kinematic optimization with Newton-Raphson Iteration and Taguchi Method were conducted to acquire a better linkage positioning with lower maximum acceleration of the couple point of the multi-link mechanism. The result of the dynamic features before and after the optima were compared, both optimizations got the similar optimal solutions. Also with Taguchi Method, calculate the optimization of the mechanism with tolerance. Secondly, the modal behaviors of the frame structure of the ATC with FEM were predicted. The results of FEM modal prediction of two Tool Clip with different mesh type and density were compared. Based on the above results, predicting the modal and frequency of the ATC, help to choose the power source working frequency and the suitable structure.

碩士
國立陽明大學
公共衛生研究所
89
Since NHI (National Health Insurance) operate in March 1995, about 6 years, database keeps insurance records, until 2000 Dec., the number of enrollees in NHI had reached 21,400,826 and the coverage rate had reached 96.16%; According to the record as above, the database of NHI contains hug amount of data records and growth data rather than medium-size database can compare. By all the reason, NHI suggested by the professionalism due to ensure population privacy and database secured, NHI authorize National Health Research Institutes to maintain a academic research use database, engaged in supporting research source of hearth and medication for non-profile organization and foundation institution. Generally speaking, all the specialist looking for health and medical reference can based on Department of Health, Taiwan、NHI and National Health Research Institutes, but the first two organizations conserve only research paper and relative projects without any data about service of publics. The only way to get information is to apply request from National Health Research Institutes. To apply information from National Health Research Institutes, the process start to investigate until receive CD, which takes about tow month. In case of the CD is unable to read or you need detail information, it will take much longer then two months. The time consumes a lot of resources. Therefore, this research will provide a plan for establish a NHI warehouse system, based on warehouse architecture methodology, dedicated of providing medical and health professional as manager 、researcher and personalized information service, and managed as a well corporate system compared with present environment. User can go by Internet and select indicate format and detail source to create the query then output the data source result. The System will auto create the data cube scheduler by user selected. This research based on C.I.F methodology architecture、dimension and OLAP technology, and reference to Sybase IWS model architecture as a system architecture base. Recently, containing health policy、medical management、clinical and basic medical knowledge domains, performs a face to face knowledge base to satisfied end use request and need. End user has to login then enable to use this system, according to your research topic compared knowledge base then following up the options and selections to include the data, after all the selection done then commit your request; then system will pass your selection output as a SQL command. The System will auto create the data cube scheduler by user selected. Without long time waiting to asking for output result and not wasting time as before.

Trabalho de projecto apresentado para cumprimento dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do grau de Mestre em Ciências Empresariais – Ramo Gestão Logística
A operação logística de picking tem sido identificada como uma das actividades mais dispendiosas e trabalhosas de um armazém ou centro de distribuição, sendo que na grande maioria dos casos, o seu custo acresce em 50% do total de custos de um armazém ou centro de distribuição. A actividade de picking é caracterizada por um trabalho manual de elevada intensidade. Um mau desempenho da operação de picking pode influenciar negativamente o serviço ao cliente, os custos operacionais e consequentemente a cadeia de abastecimento. Assim, face à importância do tema, e tratando-se de uma operação praticamente composta por processos manuais, com elevados custos, riscos e preponderante no tempo e níveis de serviço ao cliente, verifica-se como fundamental a elaboração deste estudo, de forma a contribuir positivamente com propostas para a organização em estudo e para futuros casos e estudos. O objectivo deste projecto centra-se na investigação de uma operação logística de picking numa organização do sector das bebidas, fornecer uma análise empírica da operação e apresentar propostas de melhoria. O estudo fornece uma revisão bibliográfica em torno da gestão de armazéns e centros de distribuição, de sistemas e tecnologias de suporte à operação de picking e sistemas de picking automatizados. De seguida é facultada uma análise do sector agro-alimentar, uma visão da situação actual da organização, com a sua caracterização e descrição das referências e da procura. É apresentada uma análise, descrição e várias propostas de melhoria para o caso em estudo. Por fim, são apresentadas as limitações do estudo e são apresentadas sugestões de futuras linhas de investigação.
Abstract:The logistics operation of order picking has been identified as one of the most expensive and handling activities of a warehouse or distribution center, and in most cases, this operation increases in about 50% the total costs of a warehouse or distribution center. Order picking activities are characterized as intensive handling labour, and a bad performance may affect negatively customer service, operational costs, and consequently the supply chain. Therefore, given the importance of the subject, and since this is an operation practically composed of manual processes with high costs, risks and preponderant in time and customer service levels, this project seeks to give proposals that can positively contribute to the organization under study and for future studies. This project focuses on the investigation of order picking operation of an organization in the beverage sector, to provide an empirical analysis of the operation and to make suggestions for its improvement. This project provides a literature review about the management of warehouses and distribution centers, order picking systems and support technologies, and automated order picking systems. Next, it is provided an analysis of the food and beverages sector and an overview of the current situation of the organization under study, as well as an analysis, description and several proposals for improvement of the case study. In the end, it is described the limitations of the study and suggestions for future research.

碩士
國立彰化師範大學
電機工程學系
100
Enterprise Resource Planning system has been well-developed in function and fit its purpose, and it’s commonly used in enterprises to control inventory. Nevertheless, in circumstances of human error, a situation of stock record in computer system not matching to the inventory on-site easily happens. The thesis is mainly to study how automatic warning system is built up to improve the accuracy of warehousing stocks , the instantaneity of reporting safety stock shortage, and further to reduce error rate of computer operation and on-site operators with combination of current ERP system. In this framework, it reduces manpower cost, achieves easy operation, improves quality of customer service, and enhances company competitiveness. Due to the accurate and instant reporting of the proposed system, the labor cost can be saved by about 4.06 working days.

碩士
中原大學
工業與系統工程研究所
98
A well designed material handling system can improve throughput, reduce WIP and avoid overloading the plant. However, the design should fulfill the requirements of the plant. Whenever the operation environment of the plant has changed, the material handling system needs to find a way to match the change. In this study, due to new demands of touch panel, a color filter manufacturing plant plans to restructure material handling system for producing touch panel. However, the economic environment and plant space are limited, therefore stocker storage capacity of touch panel production line is not enough, color filter stocker needs to share storage space for it. This decision needs detailed and effective planning for the automatic material handling system .This study explores the effect of stocker sharing plan of touch panel and color filter, and the simulation method is used to evaluate appropriate operation models with design of experiment. In this experiment, the ratio of shared shelves, touch panel releasing rate and vehicle dispatching rule are the independent factors. Color filter and touch panel throughputs are performance indexes. ANOVA showed that all three independent factors were significant. The outcome showed that if these two stockers work independently, releasing one glass every 30 minutes with shortest dispatching rule, the color filter line had the best throughput. If color filter stocker shared 40% of shelves and releasing one glass every 29 minutes with shortest dispatching rule, the touch panel line had the best throughput. Base on the profit of both products, touch panel has thirty percent more profit than color filter. Using total profit as performance index, with color filter stocker sharing 20% of shelves, and releasing one glass every 30 minutes, and shortest dispatching rule, the operation gains the highest total profit.

碩士
國立臺灣科技大學
機械工程系
95
Abstract The purpose of this paper is to study and demonstrate the standard operation procedure of an Automatic 4 Axis Machine System and with the additional Vision Control feature for the vision aided machine system to detect and define the different object sample which located in the operation area of machine system. Indeed is emphasis to the fundamental in the field of Opto-Mechatronics education teaching tool. The parts of motion control system are developed by NI-Motion Software application and the combination of hardware devices as 4 motion drivers (CSIM CSD-203 / 2 phase step driver), a Universal Motion Interface accessory (NI UMI-7764 / 4 Axis Motion Wiring Connectivity M), a motion controller (NI PCI-7344 / 4Axis Servo/Step High Performance) and a voltage amplifier circuit to supply and control 3 DC actuators (2 DC motors and a pneumatic cylinder as a grabber). The Vision system is created by integration the image processing function of the color extraction and machine vision with the feature of pattern matching technique which are served by NI Vision Assistant module (NI-IMAQ for USB camera) and using one Web-Camera (FOTOCOM-Darkhorse / USB interface) to capture the image. The program to control system and main machine interface is completed by the software of National Instrument - LabVIEW version 8.0 that makes the operator easily to input commands to PC in controlling whole machine system through the 68-Pin Motion I/O transmission connector module until the motion and vision process control complete. The contribution of this tool is able to apply for education purpose and/or industrial applications purpose effectively.

O Grupo Luís Simões opera em diferentes sectores de atividade: o transporte de mercadorias, a logística, a manutenção e comercialização de viaturas, rent-a-cargo e seguros. Este estudo centra-se na empresa Luís Simões Logística Integrada, a qual se dedica à vertente logística do Grupo. O armazém automático foi desenvolvido para fazer face à competitividade sentida no sector, este armazém inclui uma vertente automática e convencional. Para medir a performance do armazém existem, atualmente, três indicadores, os quais, na nossa opinião, se revelam insuficientes. Após descrever alguns conceitos teóricos para enquadramento do estudo, segue-se a elaboração da proposta de uma estrutura de objetivos e indicadores para avaliar, numa base periódica, o desempenho do armazém. A estrutura foi desenhada tendo por base o BSC da organização e focou-se na perspetiva dos “processos internos”. Para medir a performance do armazém foram definidos três grandes objetivos: 1) “melhorar a previsibilidade”, 2) “melhorar a disponibilidade dos equipamentos” e 3) “aumentar a fluidez”. Estes objetivos encontram-se subdivididos em 16 objetivos repartidos por quatro níveis hierárquicos. Cada um destes objetivos é medido por métricas, cada uma adequada ao respetivo objetivo. Os vários níveis da estrutura, bem como os objetivos dentro de cada nível foram ponderados, de modo a ter em conta a importância relativa atribuída pela Gestão. Foram selecionadas as métricas adequadas a cada objetivo e foram criadas funções de conversão destas métricas em mérito. Esta conversão foi efetuada através de um processo de conversão gráfica como apoio do EXCEL. Por último, foi realizada uma análise da sensibilidade do mérito global a variações (melhorias) de cada métrica, de modo a identificar os objetivos que mais contribuem para o mérito global ou para o aumento da performance do armazém e priorizar eventuais ações de melhoria.
The Luís Simões Group operates in different sectors: cargo transport, logistics, vehicle trade and maintenance, rent-a-cargo and insurances. The present thesis focuses on the company Luís Simões Logística Integrada, which deals with all the logistic matters for the Group. The automatic warehouse was developed to face the competition in the sector, with a conventional and automated component. In order to measure its performance, there are currently three indicators, which, in our opinion, seem to be insufficient. We will first define some theoretical concepts to provide a context to the analysis. Then, we will present a proposal for a structure of objectives and markers to evaluate the performance of the warehouse on a timely basis. The structure was designed in accordance to the Balanced Score Card of the organization and was based on the “internal processes” perspective. This structure was then arranged in a hierarchical fashion, accommodating four levels of objectives: three top level objectives, eight intermediate objectives and sixteen operational level objectives. Each one of the operational objectives is measured by an appropriate metric. . The three top level objectives to assess the performance of the warehouse are: 1) To improve the predictability, 2) To enhance the equipment availability, and 3) To increase the pallet flow. The different objectives were then weighted at each of the four levels taking into consideration priorities established by Management. Appropriate metrics for the operational objectives were selected and converted into a scale of merit. This conversion was accomplished by 3rd degree polynomial function assisted graphically by EXCEL. Finally, we have analyzed how the variations (improvements) of each metric impact the global merit by carrying out a sensitivity analysis. The main goal is to identify which objectives contribute the most to the global merits, that is, to the improvement of the warehouse performance and, prioritize possible measures of action. Key Words:

Dissertação de mestrado em Engenharia de Sistemas
Com o aparecimento do conceito de Indústria 4.0 a logística apresenta um papel fundamental para que se possa usufruir das vantagens deste novo conceito. Atualmente diversas soluções logísticas em vigor ainda não acompanham o novo paradigma industrial, o que leva à ineficiência na produtividade das empresas. O aumento da complexidade das operações logísticas das empresas, bem como a crescente exigência e particularidade dos consumos feitos por parte dos clientes têm conduzido a uma maior preocupação com a minimização dos custos logísticos e com o aumento da eficiência dos sistemas de armazenamento. A dissertação retrata o estudo conduzido num armazém automático de alta densidade de uma empresa produtora de para-choques. Os produtos finais são armazenados em linhas gravíticas, as quais apenas apresentam uma única entrada e uma única saída. Através da dissertação objetiva-se fazer um estudo sobre a alocação dos para-choques no armazém, visando encontrar uma solução eficiente e que culmine numa melhoria do desempenho no armazém. Através da análise da informação sobre o armazém, foi possível observar ineficiências no processo de classificação e com a alocação de produtos. Estes problemas afetam a eficiência do armazém e a produtividade da empresa. Para ultrapassar os problemas encontrados sugeriu-se, em primeiro lugar, a política de armazenamento baseada em classes seguindo a regra de Pareto. Em segundo lugar, analisaram-se configurações com diferentes afetações nas linhas de armazenamento com o intuito de verificar o impacto na operação do armazém. Conclui-se que para a obtenção do potencial máximo de eficiência do armazém, tendo em conta a dinâmica de armazenamento, tem de se alocar os diferentes tipos de produtos individualmente nas linhas de armazenamento. Pelo facto de o armazém não apresentar as condições necessárias para aplicar a alocação recomendada, sugeriu-se três alternativas: expansão do armazém, introdução de linhas em carrossel ou a diminuição da capacidade de uma parte das linhas.
With the arising of the Industry 4.0 concept, logistics plays a fundamental role to enjoy the advantages of this new concept. Currently, several logistical solutions in force still do not follow the new industrial paradigm, which leads to inefficiency in companies' productivity. The increase in the complexity of companies' logistical operations, as well as the increasing demand and particularity of consumptions made by customers, have led to a greater concern with minimizing logistical costs and with increasing the efficiency of storage systems. The dissertation portrays the study carried out in a high density's automatic warehouse of a company that produces bumpers. The final products are stored in gravity lines, which only have a single entry and a single exit. Through the dissertation the objective is to make a study on the allocation of bumpers in the warehouse, aiming to find an efficient solution that culminates in an improvement of the performance in the warehouse. Through the analysis of information about the warehouse, it was possible to observe inefficiencies in the classification process and with the allocation of products. These problems affect the efficiency of the warehouse and the productivity of the company. To overcome the problems encountered, it was suggested, first of all, the class-based storage policy following Pareto's rule. Second, storage configurations with different effects on storage lines were analyzed to verify the impact on warehouse operation. It is concluded that to obtain the maximum efficiency potential of the warehouse, taking into account the storage dynamics, different types of products must be allocated individually in the storage lines. Because the warehouse does not have the necessary conditions to apply the recommended allocation, three alternatives have been suggested: expansion of the warehouse, introduction of carousel lines, or reduction of the capacity of part of the lines.