Abstract:

Order picking is a key part of warehouse operation, and the congestion caused by multiple pickers picking simultaneously will greatly increase the working time. Additionally, it is of great significance to optimize the walking route of multiple pickers in the picker-to-parts picking systems while considering the congestion to improve the picking efficiency. Therefore, a route adjustment method based on the return routing policy is proposed, and the walking route optimization problem is converted from the one-dimensional physical network into a space-time network combining time and space. A route optimization model of multi-pickers picking system based on the space-time network is constructed, and a route optimization algorithm considering the congestion of the system is designed to solve the model. The validity of the route adjustment method considering congestion is verified by numerical analysis, and the proposed algorithm can achieve better solutions within a reasonable solution time range, especially suitable for the optimization of picker-to-parts picking systems for small and medium-sized e-commerce enterprises with a high picking density.

Key words:

picker-to-parts picking systems, multi-pickers, congestion, space-time network, heuristic algorithm

摘要：

订单拣选是仓库作业的关键环节，多拣货员同时拣货引发的堵塞会大幅度增加拣选作业时间，在考虑堵塞的情况下，对人工拣货系统的多拣货员行走路径进行优化，对于提高拣货效率具有重要意义。因此，提出基于返回型路径策略的路径调整方法。在此基础上，将一维物理网络下的拣货路径优化问题转换为时间和空间结合的时空网络下的拣货路径优化问题，构建了基于时空网络的多人拣货系统路径优化模型，并设计了一个考虑系统堵塞的路径调整优化算法来求解该模型。数值分析验证了考虑堵塞的路径优化的有效性，所提出算法能在合理的求解时间范围内得到较好的解，特别适合对拣选密度高的中小型电商人工拣货系统进行优化。

关键词:

人工拣货系统, 多人拣货, 堵塞, 时空网络, 启发式算法