Proceedigs of the 15th IFAC Symposium on

Proceedigs
Information
Proceedigs of
of the
Control
the 15th IFAC
Problems
15th IFAC Symposium on
in Manufacturing
Symposium on
Proceedigs
Information of theOttawa,
Control
May 11-13, 2015. 15th IFAC
Problems Available
Symposium on
in Manufacturing
Canada Manufacturingonline at www.sciencedirect.com
Information
Information Control
Control Problems
Problems in
in Manufacturing
May
May 11-13, 2015. Ottawa, Canada
May 11-13,
11-13, 2015.
2015. Ottawa,
Ottawa, Canada
Canada
ScienceDirect
IFAC-PapersOnLine 48-3 (2015) 1658–1663
Improving the Performance of a New Storage and Retrieval Machine Based on a
Improving
Improving the Performance of a New Storage and Retrieval Machine Based on a
Improving the
the Performance
Performance of
of a
a New
New Storage
Using and
Storage
Parallel Manipulator and
FMEARetrieval
Retrieval Machine
Machine Based
Analysis Based on
on aa
Parallel
Parallel Manipulator Using FMEA Analysis
Parallel Manipulator
Manipulator Using
Using FMEA
FMEA Analysis
Analysis
Bashir Salah*, Omar Janeh **, Tobias Bruckmann **, Bernd Noche**,
Bashir Salah*,
bsalah@ksu.edu.sa
Bashir Omar Janeh **,
omar.janeh@stud.uni-due.de Tobias Bruckmann **,
tobias.bruckmann@dui.edu.de Bernd Noche**,
bernd.noche@dui.edu.de
Bashir Salah*,
Salah*,
bsalah@ksu.edu.sa
Omar
Omar Janeh
Janeh **,
**,
omar.janeh@stud.uni-due.de
Tobias
Tobias Bruckmann
Bruckmann **,
**,
tobias.bruckmann@dui.edu.de
Bernd
Bernd Noche**,
Noche**,
bernd.noche@dui.edu.de
bsalah@ksu.edu.sa
bsalah@ksu.edu.sa omar.janeh@stud.uni-due.de
omar.janeh@stud.uni-due.de tobias.bruckmann@dui.edu.de
tobias.bruckmann@dui.edu.de bernd.noche@dui.edu.de
bernd.noche@dui.edu.de
*Industrial Engineering Department, College of Engineering, King Saud University, (KSU)
*Industrial Engineering Department,
P.O. Box 800, 11421College
Riyadh,of Engineering, King Saud University, (KSU)
*Industrial
*Industrial Engineering
Engineering
P.O.
Department,
Department,
Box 800, 11421
College
College
Riyadh,of,, Kingdom
of Kingdom of Saudi
Engineering,
Engineering,
of
King Arabia
Saud
Saud University,
KingArabia
Saudi University, (KSU)
(KSU)
** Transport SystemsP.O.
and
P.O. Logistics
Box
Box 800,
800, Institute,
11421
11421 Faculty
Riyadh,
Riyadh, ,
, of Engineering,
Kingdom
Kingdom of
of Saudi
SaudiUniversity
Arabia
Arabia of Duisburg-Essen
**
** Transport Systems and Keetmanstraße
Logistics Institute,
3-9,Faculty of Engineering,
47058 Duisburg, University
Germany of Duisburg-Essen
** Transport
Transport Systems
Systems and Logistics
Logistics Institute,
and Keetmanstraße
Institute,
3-9,
Faculty
Faculty
47058
of
of Engineering,
Engineering,
Duisburg,
University
University of
Germany of Duisburg-Essen
Duisburg-Essen
Keetmanstraße 3-9, 47058 Duisburg, Germany
Keetmanstraße 3-9, 47058 Duisburg, Germany
Abstract: Automated Storage/Retrieval Systems (AS/RS) are computer-controlled material handling
systems thatAutomated
Abstract:
Abstract:
Abstract: Automated
Storage/Retrieval
can automatically
Automated store and retrieve
Storage/Retrieval
Storage/Retrieval
Systems
Systems
Systemsloads
(AS/RS)
loads
(AS/RS)
(AS/RS)with highare
are computer-controlled
throughput. In this work,
are computer-controlled
computer-controlled
material
material
material we handling
estimate
handling
handling
systems
important
systems that
that can
design
can automatically
parameters
automatically forstore
a
store and
newly
and retrieve
designed
retrieve storage
loads with
with/ high
retrieval
high throughput.
(SGP-AS/RS)
throughput. In
In this work,
machine
this work, we
based
we estimate
on the
estimate
systems that
important can automatically
design parameters store and designed
retrieve loads with high throughput. In this work, based
we estimate
specific input
important
important design
designdetails to comefor
parameters
parameters upaaa with
for
for
newly
newly
newly andesigned
optimized
designed storage
design/// retrieval
storage
storage solution.(SGP-AS/RS)
retrieval
retrieval The new system
(SGP-AS/RS)
(SGP-AS/RS)
machine
is based
machine
machine based
basedon onon
on
the
cable-
the
the
specific
driven
specific input
parallel
input details
details to
manipulator
to come
come up
(or
up with
wire
with an
an optimized
robot)
optimized technology design
design solution.
that is
solution. The
similar
The new
to
new system
a parallel
system is
is based on
Stewart-Gough
based on cable-
cable-
specific
driven input details to come up with an optimized design solution. The new system is based on cable-
platformparallel
driven
driven parallel
manipulator
architecture.
parallel manipulator
manipulatorFor the(or (or
(or
wire
reliability
wire robot)
wire robot) of such
robot)
technology
a system, that
technology
technology that
that
is
a Failure
is similar
Mode to
is similar
similar to
to
aa parallel
Effect Analysis
a parallel
parallel
Stewart-Gough
(FMEA) is
Stewart-Gough
Stewart-Gough
platform
carried
platform outarchitecture.
to find
architecture. out For
how
For the
much
the reliability
reliable
reliability of
of issuch
this
such a
a system,
machine
system, a
as
a Failure
a whole
Failure Mode
based
Mode Effect
on
Effect theAnalysis
of DIN’s
Analysis (FMEA)
EN 60812
(FMEA) is
is
platformout
carried architecture.
to find out For
how the
muchreliability
reliable ofissuch this amachine
system, as a Failure
a whole Mode
based Effect
on theAnalysis
of DIN’s (FMEA)
EN 60812 is
standards.
carried
carried out
out This
to
to International
find
find out
out how
how Standard
much
much reliable
reliabledescribes
is
is this
this methods
machine
machine for
as
as a
aFMEA
whole
whole and helps
based
based on
on not
the
the only
of
of to
DIN’s
DIN’s optimize
EN
EN the
60812
60812
standards.
machine,
standards. This
but
This International
also to achieve aStandard
International disturbance
Standard describes methods
free operation.
describes methods for FMEA and helps not only to optimize the
standards.but
machine, This International
also to achieve a Standard
disturbance describes
free methods for
operation. for FMEA
FMEA and and helps
helps notnot only
only to to optimize
optimize the the
machine, but also to achieve aa disturbance free operation.
© 2015,
machine, IFAC
but (International
also to achieve Federation
disturbance of Automatic
free operation.Control)
Keywords: Wire Robot based Automated Storage / Retrieval System (SGP-AS/RS); Failure Mode Effect Hosting by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords:
Analysis
Keywords: Wire
(FMEA);
Wire Robot based
Performance Automated
Improvement Storage / Retrieval System (SGP-AS/RS); Failure Mode Effect
Keywords:
Analysis Wire Robot
(FMEA); Robot based
based Automated
Performance Automated
Improvement
Storage
Storage // Retrieval
Retrieval SystemSystem (SGP-AS/RS);
(SGP-AS/RS); Failure Failure Mode
Mode Effect
Effect
Analysis (FMEA); Performance
Analysis (FMEA); Performance Improvement Improvement
a disturbance free operation of the machine. Additionally,
aasuggestions
disturbance free operation
given of the machine. Additionally,
1 INTRODUCTION disturbancehave
disturbance
asuggestions free been
free
have
operation
operation
been given ofregarding
of the
the machine.
regarding
maintenance,
machine. after
Additionally,
Additionally,
maintenance,
1
11 INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION sale service
suggestions have
suggestions and also
have been effort
been given has been
given regarding maintenance, after
taken to
regarding maintenance, see that the
after
after
Fully automated warehouses are playing an important role in sale machine
sale
sale
service
service
serviceis and
user
and also
friendly.
also effort has been taken to
also effort has been taken to see that the
andfriendly. effort has been taken to see
see that
that the
the
Fully automated of thewarehouses are playing
in aan important role in machine
machine is user
the
Fully
Fullysuccess
automated
automated industry structure
warehouses
warehouses are
are playing
playing an
anbusiness
important
important plan. role
roleThein
in machine is is user
user friendly.
friendly.
the success of
warehouses
the arethe industry
differentiated structurebasedin a on
business
their plan. kind The of FMEA is a step-by-step approach for identifying all possible
the success
success of ofarethe industry
industry structure
the differentiated structure in
in aa onbusiness
business plan.
plan. The
The FMEA isinaathe
step-by-step
warehouses
operation:
warehouses fully-automatic,
are
warehousesfully-automatic, differentiated
are differentiated
based
partially-automated,
based on
based on their
their
their or kind
classical.
kind of
kind of failures
of FMEA
FMEA is isinathe design, a approach
step-by-step
step-by-step manufacturing
approach
approach
for
for identifying
or assembly
for identifying
identifying
all
all possible
process,
all possible
possible
operation:
Automated
operation: rack feeders
fully-automatic, for partially-automated,
high racks perform
partially-automated, or
fast
or classical.
loading
classical. failures
or a
failures product
in or
the design,
service.
design, a
a manufacturing
“Failure modes”
manufacturing or
or assembly
refer to
assemblythe process,
ways, or
process,
operation: fully-automatic, partially-automated, or classical. failures
or a in theordesign,
product service. a“Failure
manufacturing
modes” orrefer
assembly
to the process,
ways, or
Automated
and unloading
Automated rack
rackof feeders
containers,
feeders for
for high
but
high racks
have
racks a perform
drawback:
perform fast
While
fast loading
loading the modes,
or a in
product which
or something
service. “Failuremight fail.
modes” Failures
refer to refer
the to
ways,any
or
Automated rack feeders for high racksa perform fast loading or
modes,a productin or service.
which “Failure
something might modes”
fail. refer to the
Failures referways,
to or
any
and unloading
containers
and unloading or of
goods
of containers,
to be
containers, movedbut
but have
are
have drawback:
often
a very
drawback: While
lightweight,
While the
the errors
modes, orindefects,
which especially
something ones
might that affect
fail. the
Failures customer,
refer to and
any
and unloading of containers, but have a drawback: While the modes, in which something might fail. Failures refer to any
containers
the rack feeder
containers
containers
or
or goods
or goods
goods
to
itself
to
to be
bemay
moved
moved
bemay
moved be areveryoften
are
are
very
heavyweight,
often
often very
very lightweight, which errors
lightweight,
lightweight, errorsbeor
can
errors or defects,
or potentialespecially
defects,
defects, or actual.
especially
especially
ones
ones
that
that affect
ones“Effects
that affect
affect
the
the customer,
analysis”
the refersand
customer,
customer, to
and
and
the rack
increases
the rack
the
feeder
the
rack feeder energyitself
feeder itself consumptions
itself may may be be very
be very and heavyweight,
limits
very heavyweight, the
heavyweight, which which can be potential or actual. “Effects analysis” refers to
which
possible can
studying
can be
be potential
the
potential or
consequences
or actual.
actual.of “Effects
those failures
“Effects analysis”
[Nancy,
analysis” refers
(2004)].
refers to
to
increases
accelerations
increases the
the energy
and consumptions
velocities
energy for
consumptions and
manoeuvring.
and limits
limits This the
the possible
limits
possible the studying
studying the
the consequences
consequences of
of those
those failures
failures [Nancy,
[Nancy, (2004)].
(2004)].
increases the energy consumptions and limits the possible studying the consequences of those failures [Nancy, (2004)].
accelerations
reduction and
of the velocities for manoeuvring.
are of majorThis limits the
in Failures are prioritized according to how serious their
accelerations
accelerations andcycle
and times which
velocities
velocities for
for manoeuvring.
manoeuvring. importance
This
This limits
limits the the Failures are prioritized according
reduction of the cycle times which are of major importance in consequences are are, how frequently theyto how
tooccur,
how and
serious their
how easily
logistics
reduction
reduction
logistics
applications
of the cycle
of the cycle times
applications
[Brackmann,
times which areet
of
which areetof al.
[Brackmann,
al.
major
major (2012)].
importance
importance
(2012)].
In
In in Failures
this
in
this
Failures
consequences
are prioritized
prioritized
are, how
according
according
frequently they
to how
occur, and
serious
serious
how
their
their
easily
paper,
logisticswe introduce
applications a newly designed
[Brackmann, et (Figure
al. 1)
(2012)]. Automated
In this they can
consequences
consequences be detected.
are,
are, how
how frequently
frequently they
they occur,
occur, and
and how
how easily
easily
logistics applications [Brackmann, et al. (2012)]. In this
paper,
Storage
paper,
paper,
we
we
we
introduce
/ Retrieval
introduceSystem
introduce aa newly designed
newly(SGP-AS
a newly designed// RS)
designed (Figure
(Figure
(Figurebased1)
1) on
1) a cable- they
Automated
Automated
Automated they
they can
can be
can be
detected.
be detected.
detected.
Storage
driven
Storage / Retrieval
Stewart-Gough
// Retrieval System
System (SGP-AS
Platform
(SGP-AS RS)
(also //called
RS) based on
wire robot).
based on a cable-
The
aa cable-
Storage
driven Retrieval
Stewart-Gough System (SGP-AS
Platform (also RS)
called based
wire on
robot). cable-
The
basic
drivenidea
driven behind the proposed
Stewart-Gough
Stewart-Gough Platformstorage
Platform (also and retrieval
(also called
called wire
wire robot). machine
robot). The
The
basic
is to
basic idea
idea behind
minimize
behind the
the
the proposed
mass to
proposed bestorage
moved
storage and
and retrieval
using a
retrieval machine
wire
machinerobot
basic
is idea
to minimizebehind
minimize the
the mass proposed
mass to Platform storage
be moved and
moved using retrieval
using Conventional machine
-based
is
is to on Stewart-Gough
to minimize the
the mass to be moved(SGP).
be
to Platform aaa wire
wire robot
using Conventional
wire robot
robot
-based
storage
-based on
and
on Stewart-Gough
retrieval
Stewart-Gough machines (S/R)
Platform (SGP).
are
(SGP). replaced
Conventional with a
-based on
storage and Stewart-Gough
retrieval machines Platform
(S/R) (SGP).
are Conventional
replaced with aa
platform
storage
storage and which
and is attached
retrieval
retrieval to
machines
machines up to eight
(S/R)
(S/R) pre-tensioned
are
are replaced
replaced with cables
with a
platform
[Salah,
platform which
etwhich is
al. (2012)].
is attached
attached to
to up
up to
to eight
eight pre-tensioned
pre-tensioned cables
cables
platform
[Salah, which
et al. is
(2012)].attached to up to eight pre-tensioned cables
[Salah,
[Salah, etet al.
al. (2012)].
(2012)].
FMEA is an analytical methodology used to investigate the
FMEA is
technological
FMEA is an analytical
risks of themethodology
new concept;used and hasto investigate
been selected the
FMEA is an
technological an analytical
analytical
risks of the
methodology
methodology
new concept;
used
used
and
to
to investigate
has investigate
been selected
the
the
firstly, to
technological
technological ensure that
risks
risks of
of potential
the
the new
new risks
concept;
concept;have been
and
and has
has considered
been
been selected
selected and
firstly,
addressedto ensure that
throughout potential
the risksdesign have been considered and
firstly,
firstly,
addressed
to
to ensure
ensure that
that potential
throughout potential
the
risks
risks
design havedevelopment
have been
been considered
considered
development
cycle,
and
and
cycle,
secondly,
addressed
addressed to find out
throughout
throughout how much
the
the reliable
design
design is this
development
development machine as
cycle,
cycle, a
secondly,
whole
secondly,basedto
to find
on
find out
the
out how
DIN’s
how much
much EN reliable
60812
reliable is this
standards
is this machine
machine [8]. as
This
as a
secondly,
whole basedto find
on out
the how
DIN’s much EN reliable
60812 is this machine
standards [8]. as aa
This
helps
wholeus
whole not only
based
based on to
on theoptimise
the DIN’s
DIN’s EN the machine
EN 60812 but also to[8].
60812 standards
standards achieve
[8]. This
This Figure 1: The new design of (SGP-AS/RS).
helps us not only to optimise the machine but also to achieve Figure
Figure 1: The new design of (SGP-AS/RS).
helps us not only to optimise the machine
helps us not only to optimise the machine but also to achieve but also to achieve Figure 1: 1: The
The new
new design
design of of (SGP-AS/RS).
(SGP-AS/RS).
2405-8963 ©
Copyright © 2015, IFAC (International Federation of Automatic Control)
2015 IFAC 1728Hosting by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Peer review©under
Copyright 2015 responsibility
IFAC of International Federation of Automatic
1728 Control.
Copyright
Copyright © 2015 IFAC
© 2015 IFAC
10.1016/j.ifacol.2015.06.324 1728
1728
INCOM 2015
Bashir Salah et al. / IFAC-PapersOnLine 48-3 (2015) 1658–1663 1659
May 11-13, 2015. Ottawa, Canada
FMEA may deliver information about: where errors could
occur and where risks are hidden. Ideally, FMEA begins
during the earliest conceptual stages of design and continues
throughout the life of the product or service. Additionally,
FMEA can be described as a systematized group of activities
intended to: recognize and evaluate the potential failure of a
product or process and its effects, identify actions which
could eliminate or reduce the chance of the potential failure
occurring, and document the process. It is complementary to
the design process of defining positively what a design must
do to satisfy the customer [SAE, (2008)].
Finally, it helps us to understand as to how much is this
machine as presented worth applying for transferring of small
loads in warehouses keeping in mind the advantages, the
risks and the overall safety working with such a machine.
2 SYSTEM DESCRIPTION
Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (AS/RSs) are
major material handling support systems that have been
widely used in automated factories and distribution centers.
The basic components of AS/RS are: storage racks,
storage/retrieval (S/R) machines, pick up and deposit stations,
interface conveyors and the warehouse management system
Software.
While a conventional AS/RS uses a heavyweight lifting
device and a rail system to move the payload in front of the
high rack, the application of a wire robot approach is
extremely lightweight: A wire robot uses a system of wires in
a parallel topology to move payload. These wires are coiled
and stored on winches commanded by a real time control
system and fixed to the moving platform which serve as
loader of the payload.
At the University of Duisburg-Essen in the department of
Mechatronics, a research project under the name of
SEGESTA ARTIST is being carried out (figure 2). It is a
specialized platform driven by cables and with working space
in this platform [Bruckmann et al (2006)].
Figure 2: Segesta testbed
1729
The new system will be implemented in small load
warehouses mini-loads system. The loaded platform is the
container for holding the transfer goods. For the application
of such a unit, two factors have to be taken into
consideration: one is that this unit can be embedded with the
existing logistic units available in the company, and the other
one is that the loaded platform should be flexible for
transferring different moving load sizes.
The intrinsic lightweight approach reduces the energy
consumption and allows for faster movements, which is
demanded at all logistics processes. The wire robot design
will give the S/R machine the ability to completely cover the
whole workspace of the high storage rack. A robust control
system must be designed. One of the most important benefits
of using wire robot in this design is the speed in both the
horizontal and the vertical directions enabling a direct motion
to any storage cell, which gives the S/R machine more
flexibility in the structure design as well as inherently
increasing in the overall system throughput.
In the initial stage, and before reaching the actual design,
many prototypes with different functionality were built and
tested, but were discarded due to a major problem mostly in
physical implementation. From them, the most important one
is described as can be shown in (Figure 3).
In the prototype, we observed the six degrees of freedom
(6DoF) in depth, as well as velocity, tension and force related
issues were noticed. These issues provided us a handful of
knowledge to achieve our goal by developing an error free
SGP-AS/RS prototype.
The SGP-AS/RS prototype under study is a single aisle and
one sided rack system served by eight motors mounted on the
so called machine bed of the storage area. Each side of the
storage rack has four motors which are driving the shuttle
through cables (i.e. ropes).
Figure 3: Prototype of SGP-AS/RS Platform based on wire
robot technology.
INCOM 2015
1660 Bashir Salah et al. / IFAC-PapersOnLine 48-3 (2015) 1658–1663
May 11-13, 2015. Ottawa, Canada

3 FMEA ANALYSIS figure 5, the entire system components and their

Following is a FMEA of the proposed SGP-AS/RS. Through
this analysis, suggestions for improvement have been
developed and will be presented and considered.
3.1 Basic Fundamentals of FMEA
functionalities are presented, giving an idea of the system, its
components and functions. The elements above are presented
in the form of a systematic structure based on logical
connections. This gives an idea about the functionality of the
system component and its relation with other system
elements.

The FMEA process was first introduced in 1980 in the DIN Probability
25448 standard. It is a methodology through which a system Evaluation Failure Probability of of
is analyzed for possible failures, its failure sources and the Criteria type B occurance A discovery
effects of these failures on the entire system output. The aim E
of FMEA analysis is the predetermination of possible risks, 10 very high 500.000 ppm 90.00%
its notification, its evaluation and possible suggestion for 9 very high 100.000 ppm 90.00%
optimization. 8 high 50.000 ppm 98.00%
7 high 10.000 ppm 98.00%
Structural 6 average 5.000 ppm 99.70%
development 5 average 1.000 ppm 99.70%
4 average 500 ppm 99.70%
3 low 100m ppm 99.90%
2 low 50 ppm 99.90%
1 very low 1 ppm 99.99%
Functional Failure Risk
Analysis Analysis Analysis Optimisation Table 1: Evaluation catalogue (FMEA) based on VDA 4.2

Figure 4: The working procedure of FMEA [DIN 25448]

The FMEA methodology (Figure 4) is very formal: at first,

the entire system structure is made containing all equipment
of the system, and secondly, a detailed description about each
system element is made. For the execution of the analysis, a
team is formed comprising of a moderator and experts from
respective system element fields. The moderator is
responsible for effective and efficient execution of the
analysis and the experts are responsible for their respective
fields.
In the concept and design phases, each and every system
element is identified and analyzed for possible failures, the
source of failure, the type of failure and its effects are made
concrete and have been identified. Finally, leading to the
evaluation of the results, which is made based on three
criteria: A, the severity of the failure B, the possibility of
occurrence A, and the possibility of detection E.
As shown in Table 1, on multiplying these three values, we
get the Risk Priority Number RPZ. The value of RPZ
indicates the urgency / priority for inspection. A possible
change in the construction or design of the component is
made leading to a reduced RPZ value where, all the values
Figure 5: System structure
are duly tabulated and a report is made accordingly. Based on
this, all the necessary corrections or changes would be made.
3.3 Functional Relationship

3.2 Structural Analysis SGP system made up of many components, each simply
connected to each other. The loaded platform or containers
For proper analysis, an overview of the whole system are brought through the conveyor belt at the I/O point; here
structure has been made to concentrate on the key areas. In the containers are carefully transferred to the transport

1730
INCOM 2015
Bashir Salah et al. / IFAC-PapersOnLine 48-3 (2015) 1658–1663 1661
May 11-13, 2015. Ottawa, Canada
platform. Now, with the help of cables, the platform is
transferred to the desired position for unloading. While the
mechanic components of the system are simple and well-
known, the required advanced control approaches result in an
overall complex mechatronic system.
The system elements and their functionality are as follows:
 Cables: Transferring the transport platform.
 Electrical motors: Positioning the platform by the
winding and tensioning of cables using the winches.
 Transport platform: Transporting the loading device
or containers.
 I/O point: Transferring the containers from the
conveyor belt to the transport platform.
 Loading device / containers: For holding of goods to
be transferred.
 Conveyor belt: Supplying the containers to the I/O
point.
 Controls: Control conveyor belt and electrical
motors.
In the following sections, the components and/or functions,
and their possible failures are discussed respectively.
3.4 Electrical Motors and Cable Winches
For determining the motor type, many factors have to be
taken into consideration: the output, the torque, the
revolutions per minute and the size or design of the motor.
In a first discussion of failure, the motor may be blocked or
stops functioning. The whole system comes to a standstill,
now the cables are decoupled in order to safely land the
transferred goods. In a second case, due to power loss, the
motor runs freely without any control; here the automatic
brakes will be activated. Afterwards, the cables have to be
manually controlled in order to land the transferred goods
safely. Accordingly, the evaluated values are B = 9 very high
as the complete system comes to stand still. The possibility of
occurrence is not so high with A = 4 which means the
possibility of breakdown is around 0.05%. The possibility of
detection E is high as when an electrical motor is defective or
does not allow to be controlled. Leading E to be 5 and
making RPZ = 180.
In order to increase the detection of failure, sensors have to
be applied which can give us beforehand information
regarding the breakdown of the motor. Since we cannot fully
avoid the breakdown of the motor, in order to bring to
possible workable conditions, all the motors should be easily
maintainable and exchangeable. After this optimization of the
failure, a re-evaluation is done giving B = 8, the possibility of
occurrence A = 4, possibility of detection E = 2.
Another possible failure area is the cable winch; here
overlapping of the cables is possible, its effect can be
1731
negative i.e. leading to wear and tear of cables and
influencing the positioning of the platform. Evaluation leads
to B = 5, A = 5 and E = 6 giving RPZ = 150. In order to
reduce this RPZ value, one has to concentrate on reducing the
possibility of occurrence of such a failure. To correct his, the
winding of cables has to be a single layer using special winch
surface profiles. After these changes, the re-evaluation gives
rise to B = 3, A = 3 and E = 6 giving rise to new RPZ = 54.
3.5 Cables and Transport platform
In places where cables are used, it is generally considered as
high risk area. Therefore, strict standards have to be
maintained while working with cables. Evaluated cable data’s
like material, tensile strength, and dimensions have to be
supplied by the manufacturer during the supplying of the
cables.
One test that has been made by the company Schindler AG,
was mixing of Aramid cables with carbon cables; these
carbon cables are arranged in such a fashion that when wear
and tear occur, the carbon cables snap first causing the
electric current passed through them to cancel thereby help in
early detection of snapping of cables. After all these
precaution procedures, the newly evaluated values are B = 8,
A = 1 and E =1, giving an (RPZ) = 8.
The platform has to be lightweight for easy manoeuvrability
and controllability. The load transfer unit (LAM) of the
platform is an important element of the transfer system. It has
to be designed in such a way that it could carry different
loads of different sizes.
A consideration point is the collision of the platform with the
storage rack during loading and unloading of goods. These
can occur due to the swaying of the platform in the direction
of the storage rack. Evaluating this condition we get B = 4, A
= 4, and E = 3, giving an RPZ = 48. We can reduce this effect
by careful platform design and adding bumpers at the edges
and the corners of the transport platform, thereby with re-
evaluation after this correction, B = 2 and giving RPZ = 24.
One critical area where a possible failure can occur is during
loading and unloading due to technical defects, evaluation
results: B = 9, A = 5, E =5 giving RPZ = 225.
From the designer’s point of view, the platform has to be
designed such that after breakdown it should be easier to
replace the platform, also the connection between the
platform and the cables should be user-friendly and easily to
establish. The platform could also be designed for various
kinds of loads of different sizes making it flexible. With the
improved design, the evaluation values are: B = 8, A = 5, and
E = 2 giving RPZ = 80.
One area of concern is the power supply for the transport
platform; as supply through the cables is not a good option, it
could be either supplied separately through a separate line
from above or below or the power is supplied independently
through a battery. A company has designed a pallet runner
working on battery; a similar type of component could be
expected here for the load transfer option.
INCOM 2015
1662 Bashir Salah et al. / IFAC-PapersOnLine 48-3 (2015) 1658–1663
May 11-13, 2015. Ottawa, Canada

3.6 Controlling It is to be noted in (Table 2) that when the severity of the

Important criteria are reliability, function ability, safety, and
trustworthiness when dealing with an automated warehouse
load transfer system. Along with it, the IT-safety factor the
controllability has to be considered. Reliability and
controllability are two main sectors when dealing with IT-
controlled systems. Another area where possible failure can
occur is the sensor failure, leading to complications like
wrong positioning of the transfer platform. Evaluating we get
B = 8, A = 4, and E = 2 making RPZ = 64. Corrective steps
include a redundant sensors equipments used for better and
long lasting usage, now re-evaluation reveals B = 4, A = 4
and E = 2 making RPZ = 32. The elongation of cables is not a
major issue as the control systems take care of this through
position monitoring and accordingly making the necessary
drive control.
4 FMEA RESULTS
An FMEA should be the guide to the development of a
complete set of actions that will reduce risk associated with
the system, based on the criteria from a severity scale, to
determine the ranking number associated with the most
serious effect for a given failure mode, which reduce the
likelihood that the problem will occur, and are used as input
to the occurrence ranking.
failure is B>7 then it is of high importance as it results in the
complete halt of the system. A and E should be modified
accordingly. The main aim is that, after any sort of
breakdown, the system has to be brought back to its operating
status at the earliest.
Apart from planning and execution of the system, areas such
as maintenance, service, and spare parts backup have to be
taken into consideration. Elementary strategies are:
1. Placing of similar goods and different places in the
warehouse, so that during breakdown or low efficiency the
work is not affected.
2. Redundant implementation of supply, control, and
warehouse management system.
3. 24/7 based service contract for regular and continuous
work possibilities.
4. Storage of spare parts close to the system for quick
replacement.
Maintenance of such a system is of high importance as the
systems itself contains fewer components which are highly
dependent on each other, and therefore a regular maintenance
structure has to be kept for the successful functioning of the
machine.

System RPZ
Element Failure RPZ Solution new 5 CONCLUSION

Block Motor 64 Using a wire robot approach, Aautomated Storage and

Motor /empty 180(B=9) island (B=8) Retrieval Systems may show a drastic performance
improvement. The lightweight approach using cheap and
replacement
of double reliable components make them suitable for small and middle
angular size companies.
30 device
Cable snap
(B=10)
8 (B=8) As recommended through the FMEA analysis a number of
automatic issues should be considered to improve the reliability of the
recognition system. This includes the installation of the motors in a
of wear and
centralized, easy reachable place, the use of fibre cables,
tear
battery operated transfer unit, redundant control and drive
Storage / systems.
retrieval additional 80
Platform defect, 225(B=9) platform (B=8) With respect to the requirement of the customer for speedy
recovery of the system after breakdown, a good service
collision 48 insulation 24
concept has to be designed giving not only good service
single support but also being flexible with the changes of the
layered working environment.
Cable sleeve/roll rolling
150 54 Next, a prototype of the model has to be made so to have
drum failure support direct experience of the functioning of the unit, as
with guided
experienced here theoretically, in order to examine the above
rods
obtained results practically.
sensor
Drive defect 64 (B=8) redundant 32 REFERENCES

[1] Bruckmann, Tobias; Lalo, Wildan; Nguyen, Khoa;

Table 2: System component failure overview
Salah, Bashir: A Storage Retrieval Machine for High
Racks. In: Proceedings of the ASME 2012 International
Design Engineering Technical Conferences &

1732
INCOM 2015
Bashir Salah et al. / IFAC-PapersOnLine 48-3 (2015) 1658–1663 1663
May 11-13, 2015. Ottawa, Canada

Computers and Information in Engineering Conference.

Chicago, IL, USA: ASME International, August 12-15,
2012, in press.
[2] Salah, Bashir, Strhle, Marc, Noche Bernd, "Development
of a concept for warehouse management with
optimization approaches at the level of a new stacker
Carne" (Entwicklung eines Konzepts zum
Lagermanagement mit Optimierungsansätzen auf Ebene
eines neuen Regalbediengerätes), logistics journal 2012.
[3] Nancy R. Tague’s The Quality Toolbox, Second Edition,
ASQ Quality Press, 2004, pages 236–240.
[4] SAE, Potential Failure Mode and Effects Analysis in
Design (Design FMEA) and Potential Failure Mode and
Effects Analysis in Manufacturing and Assembly
Processes (Process FMEA) and Effects Analysis for
Machinery (Machinery FMEA), (2008).
[5] Bruchmann Tobias, Pott Andreas, Franitza Daniel Hiller
Manfred: "A Modular Controller for Redundantly
Actuated Tendon-Based Stewart Plattform", Proceedings
of EuCoMeS, Austria 2006.
[6] German Institut for Norming : DIN 25448 –
Ausfalleffektanalyse. Berlin: Beuth, 1990.
[7] Kandel, C.: Risikoanalyse des Einsatzes eines
Regalbediengerätes auf der Basis einer seilgetriebenen
Stewart-Gough-Plattform. Lehrstuhl für
Transportsysteme und -logistik, Universität Duisburg-
Essen, bachelor thesis, 2008.
[8] Analysis techniques for system reliability - Procedure for
failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) (IEC
60812:2006); German version EN 60812:2006

1733