Introduction
Several technologies can be used for material handling purposes. Existing examples of
these technologies include automated storage and retrieval and automated guided vehicle. These
designs are however not similar in design and performance. In this paper, the automated guided
vehicle is preferred based on its performance elements.
Preferred Material Handling System
Based on a comparison of the two material handling systems, the most preferred is the
automated guided vehicle (AGV). According to Bozer and Aldarondo (39), the automated guided
vehicle system works by handling all of the container movements between the pickup stations
and the forward area. The system handles one container at a time and waits for the picking to be
performed before the container is returned to the forward area. An example of a real-life
application of the AGV system is the goods-to-person order picking system purchase by Amazon
known as Kiva. The system was designed in a manner that it can be used to transport racks that
are identified as pods.
Performance Factors used to Guide the Decision
The preference of the automated guided vehicle over the automated storage and retrieval system
was based on performance elements of the two. According to Bozer and Aldarondo (41), with
the same number of mini-load aisles and number of pickup stations, the automated storage and
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retrieval system has 700, and the AGV system has 712 line items per hour representing a rate of
98% and 99% respectively of throughput. Therefore, the AGV system has a better performance
than its counterpart.
Conclusion
Existing examples of material handling technologies include automated storage and
retrieval and the automated guided vehicle. Based on an assessment of performance factor, the
automated guided vehicle is preferred due to its superior performance.
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Works Cited
Bozer, Yavuz, and Francisco Aldarondo. “Material Handling: Robots or Conveyors? Weighing
the Pros and Cons of Amazon's Kiva vs Miniload Automated AS/RS.” ISEMagazine,