A carousel storage system is to be designed to serve a mechanical assembly plant. The specifications on the system are that it must have a total of 400 storage bins and a throughput of at least 125 storage and retrieval transactions/hr. Two alternative configurations are being considered: (1) a one-carousel system and (2) a two-carousel system. In either case, the width of the carousel is to be 2 m and the spacing between carriers = 50 cm. One picker-operator will be required for the one-carousel system and two picker-operators will be required for the two-carousel system. In either system, vc= 25 m/min. For the

Convenience of the picker-operator, the height of the carousel will be limited to five bins.

The standard time for a pick-and-deposit operation at the load/unload station = 0.4 min if one part is picked or stored per bin and 0.6 min if more than one part is picked or stored. Assume that 50% of the transactions will involve more than one part. You are required to brain storm in your team and write a report to the plant manager with your analysis and recommendations. Your analysis should include the following:

1. Executive Summary