Research on workstation-to-zone assignment for tandem automated guided vehicle system with multiple AGVs in overload zone of transport

This paper studies the method for assigning workstations optimally in tandem automated guided vehicle system (TAGVS) with multiple automated guided vehicles (AGVs) in overload zone of transport. Workstations are assigned to zones by minimizing inter-zone and intra-zone flow and avoiding collision between AGVs. In TAGVS, only one AGV is assigned to each zone, so carrying load is not available or takes long time, in case of vehicle failure or overload of vehicle. This problem can be resolved by assigning multiple vehicles in such zone. This paper proposes a novel method for assigning workstations optimally in order to minimize inter-zone and intra-zone flow in accordance with building layout and transport flow in manufacturing process and avoid collisions between AGVs in overload zone with multiple AGVs. This method is compared with the architecture of traditional TAGVS. The proposed method is experimented at AGVS for a book printing process in Textbook Print Shop as the real world, and it is verified that this method is effective.