ES2912599B2 - SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR WAREHOUSE MANAGEMENT - Google Patents

Description

DESCRIPTION

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR WAREHOUSE MANAGEMENT

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention refers to the field of management and organization of warehouses where products or material of any kind are received, stored and distributed, that is, belonging to any sector (automotive, textile, chemical, pharmaceutical, construction or any other). More specifically, the present invention proposes a system and a method that allows a substantial improvement in the efficiency of the operation of said warehouses, through their management based on an optimized treatment and processing of information collected by different activity monitoring sensors. in these stores.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Warehouse management where a large number of products are stored is a complex task, since numerous activities are carried out in a warehouse (loading, unloading, product storage, product extraction, product identification, product transport within the warehouse). ...), many times simultaneously. It is important to control all these activities so that they are carried out correctly and in the shortest possible time, so that the warehouse works as quickly, efficiently and correctly as possible.

Currently, warehouses are managed in a rudimentary way, in most cases manually and when it is done in a digitized and automated way, it is not done efficiently. It must be taken into account that, in general, in these stores the products are constantly changing, as well as their quantities and locations, so in most cases there are no behavior patterns.

Thus, some of the problems that can currently be found in warehouses are, among others:

- Trucks (or any other vehicle used to transport products) take up too much time on the loading/unloading dock of the warehouse, for example due to the time it takes to load or unload the products or the time it takes for the truck to stand on the pier. This causes an inefficient use of the docks (or gates or the like) for loading/unloading the warehouse; making the number of trucks loaded/unloaded at a given dock during the day low.

- The forklifts (or any other internal transport vehicle in the warehouse) take too long to transport the products, for example because the distance they must travel is not optimized or because they cannot transport a sufficient quantity of products.

- Something similar happens with the terminals for placing and picking up objects on the shelves (called by the English term "picking"), which take too long to pick up or place each product.

Due to all these problems (and others that have not been mentioned here), warehouse management is currently carried out in an inefficient manner. For this reason, there is a need for a warehouse management procedure and system that solves all these problems and that, in general, allows efficient and fast warehouse management that involves saving resources.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The objective of the present invention is to develop a warehouse management (and monitoring) system and method by means of one or more monitoring sensors and one or more processing algorithms, which make it possible to obtain parameters for improving the efficiency of some of the most relevant resources of a warehouse and, in general, that improve the efficiency in the management of the warehouse solving, among others, the previously exposed problems. The present invention can be applied to any type of warehouse that stores any type of object, both for logistics purposes (logistics warehouses, product receivers and distributors, belonging to any sector: automotive, textile, chemical, pharmaceutical, etc.) and for industrial purposes (internal warehouses of a certain factory, or external to it, which carry out the reception and distribution of products or components to any industrial process).

With the proposed method and system, the following technical advantages can be achieved, among others:

• At warehouse loading docks (or gates or similar): reduction of usage times. Trucks will be loaded or unloaded in less time, so the docks can be used by more trucks at the same time.

• In trucks (or other similar vehicles) reduction of product loading and unloading times, as well as the inefficiencies associated with said processes.

• Reduction of truck positioning times at the docks; that is, the time it takes for the truck to arrive and position itself at the assigned dock.

• In forklifts (or similar vehicles), reduction in transport times and spaces traveled, increase in volumes and weights transported, as well as reduction of other inefficiencies associated with said processes.

• In the manual collection/placement terminals for objects ("picking" or similar), if any, reduction in the time spent during collection/placement and the spaces covered by the terminals, as well as other inefficiencies associated with said processes.

In a first aspect, the present invention proposes a system for managing a warehouse, where the system comprises:

- At least one presence sensor (P) of goods transport vehicles (for example, trucks), configured to detect if a goods transport vehicle is (correctly) located at a loading/unloading location (for example, a dock or gate);

- At least one moving element traffic sensor (T), configured to detect the crossing of a moving element (eg a person or a forklift) at the loading/unloading location;

- At least one electronic processor configured to, in a process of loading or unloading packages (of a specific type or types) and at the loading/unloading location, perform:

- Receiving the information captured by the at least one goods transport presence sensor (P) and by the at least one moving element traffic sensor (T), through a telecommunication network;

- From the information received from at least one presence sensor (P), calculate the time in which the loading/unloading location is occupied and from the information received from at least one traffic sensor (T), while the loading/unloading location is busy, determining the time that the location is being worked on, Tworking, and the time that the location is not being worked on, Tactive, where this determination comprises:

- While the information received from the presence sensor (P) indicates the presence of a goods transport vehicle at the loading/unloading location, if the time difference between the moments in which two consecutive detections of crossing some element occur in movement of the traffic sensor (T), is less than a predetermined time threshold, the working T continues to increase; if not, after the predetermined time threshold, Tactive begins to increase until the next signal from said traffic sensor (T) is received. ;

- When the information received from the presence sensor (P) indicates that the presence of the goods transport vehicle in the loading/unloading location, Tactive begins to increase, until a new signal from the presence sensor (P) arrives;

- Obtain, from the calculated times, one or more parameters of warehouse efficiency.

The default time threshold may be a predetermined maximum upload time if the process is upload or a predetermined maximum download time if the process is download, plus a predetermined tolerance time; the maximum loading or unloading time may depend on the type of package.

The predetermined time threshold can be obtained from time parameters calculated from the information received from at least one traffic sensor (T) in reproductions of loading or unloading situations of a goods transport vehicle for each type of vehicle. bundle, under ideal conditions. It can also be obtained from time parameters calculated from the information received from at least one traffic sensor (T) in real loading or unloading situations of a goods transport vehicle during a predetermined period of time.

The at least one presence sensor (P) can be of the inductive type or of the photocell type and the traffic sensor (T) can be of the photocell type.

The warehouse efficiency parameters calculated at each moment can be one or more of the following (this is an example and other efficiency parameters can be used):

- Efficiency of the charging process, OEEcarga, calculated as:

OEEcarga = ((Number of packages loaded) x (Ti_carga of each package)) / (Ttot_carga); where Ttot_carga is the Total Time spent loading the freight vehicle up to now and Ti_carga is the ideal loading time of the type of package in question, measured under ideal conditions or obtained from a historical load data; - Availability of the charging process, DISPcarga, calculated as:

DISPload = (Tloading) / ((Tloading Tstopped)), where “Tloading” is the sum of the time in the “working” state, Tworking for a given period and “Tstopped” is the sum of the time in the state "Not Working", Tactive during the determined period;

- Efficiency of the discharge process, OEEdischarge, calculated as:

OEEunload = ((Number of unloaded packages) x (Ti_unload of each package)) / (Ttot_unload); where Ttot_unload” is the Total Time spent unloading the merchandise vehicle so far and Ti_unload the ideal unload time of the type of package in question measured under ideal conditions or obtained from unload data history;

- Availability of the download process, DISPdescarga, calculated as:

DISPdescarga = (Tdownloading) / ((Tdownloading Tstopped)), where “Tdownloading” is the sum of the time in the “working” state, Tworking during the determined period and “Tstopped” is the sum of the time in the “Not Working” state , Tactive, during the determined period;

In one embodiment, the at least one processor is further configured to:

- Calculate the time elapsed from when a goods transport vehicle is detected to enter the facilities where the warehouse is located until a presence sensor (P) detects that said goods transport vehicle is located in a loading location /download. The detection that a goods transport vehicle enters the facilities can be obtained from information from a location sensor (L) located in the goods transport vehicle, from a license plate reader sensor configured to detect the license plate of goods transport vehicles that enter the facilities where the warehouse is located or from information entered by a warehouse operator in an electronic device through a user interface.

The system can also include:

- At least one movement sensor (M1) configured to detect when a warehouse package transport truck is stopped or moving and at least one volume and/or weight sensor (V) configured to detect when a package transport truck carries load or not and the characteristics of volume and/or weight transported;

- Where the at least one electronic processor is also configured to receive the information captured by the at least one movement sensor (M1) and/or from the at least one volume and/or weight sensor (V) through the network telecommunication and determine, based on this information, the time in which a package transport truck is loaded and the volume and/or weight that a truck transports at each moment, the time in which a package transport truck is stopped and the time that a package transport truck is in motion.

The at least one electronic processor can also be configured to determine the space covered by a warehouse truck, based on information received through the telecommunication network from at least one location sensor (U1) configured to detect the location of a package transport truck or the information received through the telecommunication network from at least one distance traveled sensor (E1) configured to detect meters traveled by a package transport truck.

In one embodiment, the system further comprises:

- At least one movement sensor (M2) configured to detect when a terminal for picking/placement of packages in the warehouse is stopped or moving; - Where the at least one electronic processor is also configured to receive the information captured by the at least one movement sensor (M2) through the telecommunication network and determine, based on this information, the time in which a communication terminal pick/drop is stationary and the time a pick/drop terminal is moving.

The cause of the stoppage of the bulk transport truck or the bulk pick/place terminal can be determined from information from sensors or from information entered by a warehouse operator in an electronic device through a data interface. Username.

The at least one electronic processor can also be configured to determine the space traveled by a terminal for collecting/placement of packages in the warehouse, based on information received through the telecommunication network from at least one location sensor (U2) configured to detect the location of the package collection/placement terminal or the information received through the telecommunication network from at least one distance traveled sensor (E2) configured to detect meters traveled by the package collection/placement terminal.

The at least one electronic processor can also be configured to associate to each type of package, the times and/or parameters calculated by the at least one electronic processor.

At least one electronic device can present to a user one or more of the times and/or parameters calculated by the at least one electronic processor, through a user interface of the device (through graphs, tables, or any other type of format). .

In a second aspect, the present invention proposes a method for managing a warehouse, where the method comprises for a process of loading or unloading packages in a loading/unloading location of the warehouse, the following steps carried out by one or more electronic processors:

a) Receiving the information captured by at least one goods transport presence sensor (P) through a telecommunication network, where the at least one goods transport vehicle presence sensor (P) is configured to detect if a freight vehicle is located at the loading/unloading location

b) Receiving the information captured by at least one moving element traffic sensor (T), through the telecommunication network, where the at least one moving element traffic sensor (T) is configured to detect the crossing of an item in motion at the loading/unloading location;

c) From the information received from at least one presence sensor (P), calculate the time in which the loading/unloading location is occupied and from the information received from at least one traffic sensor (T), determine within that time, the time that the location is being worked on, Tworking, and the time that the location is not being worked on, Tactive, using the following steps:

c1) While the information received from the presence sensor (P) indicates the presence of a goods transport vehicle at the loading/unloading location, if the time difference between the moments in which two consecutive detections of crossing some moving element of the traffic sensor (T), is less than a predetermined time threshold, the working T continues to increase; if not, after the predetermined time threshold, Tactive begins to increase until the next signal from said traffic sensor (T) is received;

c2) When the information received from the presence sensor (P) indicates that the presence of the goods transport vehicle at the loading/unloading location has ended, Tactive begins to increase, until a new signal from the presence sensor arrives. (P).

d) Obtain from the calculated times, one or more efficiency parameters of the warehouse.

Finally, in a third aspect of the invention, a computer program is presented that comprises instructions executable by computer to implement the described method, when executed in the system. Said instructions may be stored in a digital data storage medium.

For a fuller understanding of the invention, its objects and advantages, reference may be made to the following specification and accompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To complement the description that is being made and in order to help a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, in accordance with some preferred examples of practical embodiments thereof, a set of drawings is attached as an integral part of this description. where, with an illustrative and non-limiting nature, the following has been represented:

Figure 1 schematically shows a warehouse where the system and method proposed according to an embodiment of the invention are applied.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention proposes a system and method for managing a warehouse, based on monitoring sensors and on the processing of the data obtained from said sensors (applying certain algorithms). The present invention is applicable to any type of warehouse (or more generally speaking, storage facility) that can store any type of objects: any type of material or products of any type such as components, food, drugs, fabrics...or any another type of object.

Figure 1 schematically shows (as a non-limiting example) a generic warehouse (1) where the method and system of the present invention can be applied. In said warehouse there are N shelves (11...1N, with N>=1), or in general N structures of any type where objects can be stored. The warehouse also has one or more loading and unloading locations (docks, gates, or any type of facility where objects are loaded and/or unloaded for their exit and/or entry, respectively, into the warehouse). In the example of figure 1, there are 3 docks and 2 gates (this is just an example, the number of docks and gates are parameters specific to each warehouse) through which the loading/unloading vehicles (20) (usually trucks) will load or unload the objects, and one or more forklifts (30) to transport packages. With the generic term of forklifts, we refer to any vehicle that is used for the internal transport of the packages within the warehouse or the facilities (that is, to move the objects or packages inside the warehouse from the truck to the shelves). in the case of unloading or from the racks to the truck in the case of loading or even between trucks).

The warehouse may also have one or more terminals (40) for collecting or placing the objects (individual or normally grouped in packages) on the shelves (called "picking" terminals, using the English term).

As seen in figure 1, several sensors can be used to capture different types of data related to warehouse resources and, in general, warehouse operation data. Several types of sensors appear in figure 1 but not all of them are mandatory in all embodiments of the invention (that is, one or several types of the sensors that appear in figure 1 can be optionally used, depending on the embodiment of the invention ).

The data from the different sensors used is collected by one or more electronic devices (generally called data collection devices) and, generally, stored in one or more databases for processing in one or more electronic processors (by means of one or more algorithms that will be exposed later) to improve the efficiency of warehouse management. These data collection devices may be part of the electronic operating devices (which will be discussed later) or they may not be part of them but rather send the data, through any telecommunication network, to the devices. operating electronics.

Some of the different sensors that can be used are (this is just a non-limiting example, other types of sensors can be used and the use of all types of sensors that are listed below is not mandatory):

- One or more sensors (P) to detect the position/presence of a truck (in general, any goods transport vehicle) at a loading/unloading location (for example, a dock or gate). It can be, for example, of the photocell, inductive type, or of any other type. With this sensor, it is detected if a truck is located at the loading/unloading location (dock/gate) correctly, that is, ready to load or unload. The information captured by said sensor will be sent to the warehouse data collection device, through any type of telecommunications network (wired or wireless).

- One or more sensors (T) for the traffic of people or forklifts (or more generically, for moving elements) at each loading/unloading location, to detect whether the truck (or generally speaking the transport vehicle) is being loaded or unloaded. of goods). This sensor can be of the photocell type or of any other type. Every time you cross a moving element (for example, a person or forklift) into/outside the truck, this crossing will be detected, for example, by cutting off the light beam from the photocell. The processing of the data collected by this sensor (by means of an algorithm that will be explained later) makes it possible to detect when the truck is being loaded/unloaded, as explained later. The information captured by said sensor will be sent to the warehouse data collection device, through any type of telecommunications network (wired or wireless).

- One or more sensors (L) to detect the location of each truck. This sensor can be, for example, of the Global Positioning System (GPS) type or of any other type. Typically it will be located in the merchandise transport vehicle (typically a truck); the vehicle will send the information from said sensor to the warehouse data collection device, through any type of telecommunications network (wired or wireless).

- One or more sensors (R) to read the license plate of the goods transport vehicles that are going to load/unload in the warehouse. This sensor can be located at each of the docks or at the entrance doors of the facilities where the warehouse is located, detecting the license plate of the vehicles (trucks) that enter said facilities. The information captured by said sensor will be sent to the warehouse data collection device, through any type of telecommunications network (wired or wireless).

- One or more movement sensors (M1), preferably placed on each of the trucks to detect when a truck is stopped or moving. Motion sensors (M2) may also be used, preferably each of the pick/place terminals ("picking" terminals), to monitor their movement (and detect when the terminal is stationary or moving).

- One or more volume and/or weight sensors placed in each of the forklifts (V) to detect when each forklift is loaded or not, the characteristics of volume and/or weight transported, as well as when loading or unloading its packages ( or objects). The information captured by said sensor will be sent to the warehouse data collection device, through any type of telecommunications network (wired or wireless).

- One or more location sensors to detect the location of each truck (U1) or each pick/place terminal (U2). This sensor can be, for example, of the Global Positioning System (GPS) type or of any other type. This sensor will typically be located in each forklift or terminal, which can send the information from said sensor (for example, in real time) to the warehouse data collection device (and from there to the operating device, if not the same), through any type of telecommunications network (wired or wireless).

- One or more distance traveled sensors to calculate meters traveled by each forklift (E1) or pick/place terminal (E2). In one embodiment, this sensor is not necessary as such, but from the information collected by each location sensor (U1, U2), the meters traveled by each truck or terminal are calculated.

In one embodiment, the system is made up of two types of fundamental elements, on the one hand, the sensors (one or more of those mentioned above) and, on the other, the electronic devices for exploiting the information monitored by the sensors. Said electronic exploitation devices can be any device with one or more electronic processors of any type (for example, a server, a smartphone or of any other type) where these data are collected/received, permanently or temporarily stored (in databases). data external or internal to the device) and are processed (using one or more algorithms that will be explained later).

The communication between the different elements can be carried out wired or wirelessly (by means of WiFi, Bluetooth, ZigBee, GSM mobile telephony, 3G, 4G, 5G... or any other type of wireless communication) through any type of communication network. telecommunication.

The sensors must be able to communicate with one or more electronic devices (called data collection devices) to which they send the signals they capture (using any type of wired or wireless communication technology, as explained above); These electronic devices that collect sensor data will communicate with the processor or processors of the electronic operating devices that process said data to send them said data for processing or, in an alternative embodiment, the same electronic device that collects the data. (that is, the one that receives the information from the sensors) is the one that is in charge of processing them. It should be noted that the data is obtained from the sensors, preferably in real time.

In one embodiment, one or more of the sensors may also communicate with each other via any type of wired or wireless communication.

The data exploitation devices (although for conciseness, we speak only in the plural, there may be one or more than one data exploitation device) can be located inside or outside the warehouse or even in the cloud. These devices will have (or will have communication with) one or several databases that will contain the information collected by the different sensors.

In one embodiment, it is proposed to improve the efficiency of a warehouse, improving the times and efficiency of the loading and unloading locations, for example, achieving an improvement in the occupancy rate of said locations (for example, docks or gates) and a reduction of loading and unloading times; by obtaining parameters that define the behavior of these processes. To this end, the following tasks are performed in one or more electronic processors of the data exploitation device (this is a non-limiting example and not all tasks are mandatory):

- Receive the data captured by the position sensor (P) of the truck (or any other goods transport vehicle) at the loading/unloading location and the sensor (T) for detecting traffic of people and/or forklifts. Although it is being assumed that there is one P-sensor and one T-sensor per loading/unloading location (per dock or gate), in general there may be more than one P-sensor and more than one T-sensor per dock or gate. Or even have docks or warehouse gates where these sensors do not exist.

- For each loading/unloading location (for example, dock or gate), thanks to the information received from the P sensor, the time in which no truck is detected (or more generally speaking no goods transport vehicle) will be computed. at said location (status "without truck", that is, not occupied) and the time in which a truck is detected at said location (status "with truck", that is, occupied).

- Within the "with truck" state, a distinction will be made between the time in which the T sensor detects traffic (in which it will be considered that the truck is being loaded/unloaded, that is, it is working on loading/unloading) and the time in where the T-sensor does not detect traffic (in which the dock or gate will be considered to be occupied but not loading/unloading, i.e. no loading/unloading work is in progress) Sensor data processing T to detect the working and non-working states will be explained later.

- The parameters of occupation time of each location, working time and occupation time without working are important to improve the efficiency of each dock or gate (each entry/exit location). As the data from the sensors is obtained in real time, the value of these parameters is obtained in real time, which allows immediate reactivity in the continuous improvement of inefficiencies. These values can also be stored in databases for historical analysis.

- An Efficiency parameter of the charging process (or Overall Equipment Effectiveness, OEE) can also be used, which, in one embodiment, would be calculated as follows:

OEEcarga = ((Number of objects loaded) x (Ti_carga of each object)) / (Ttot_carga) or OEEcarga = ((Number of packages loaded) x (Ti_carga of each package)) / (Ttot_carga), if the parameters are determined for each package; where "Ttot_carga" is the Total Time spent loading the truck so far and Ti_carga is the ideal loading time for each object/package.

In the case of the Efficiency of the discharge process, it would be calculated in one embodiment as follows:

OEEdownload = ((Number of downloaded objects) x (Ti_download of each object)) / (Ttot_download) u

OEEunload = ((Number of unloaded packages) x (Ti_unload of each package)) / (Ttot_unload), if the parameters are determined for each package;

where "Ttot_descarga" is the Total Time spent unloading the truck so far and Ti_descarga is the ideal unloading time for each object/package.

This OEE parameter will make it possible to predict when the truck will finish loading, since it measures and compares in real time how the loading or unloading process is actually being carried out with respect to the ideal time. In one embodiment, this ideal time is obtained by measuring the charge or discharge process under ideal conditions; In an alternative embodiment, this ideal time is obtained from a history of the loading or unloading times under real conditions (for example, the average of the loading or unloading times recorded during a certain time or the average of the loading times). upload or download registered during a certain time, removing the cases where there has been a problem).

- It is also possible to use an Availability parameter of the charging process (DISP_carga) which, in one embodiment, would be calculated as follows:

DISP = (Tloading) / ((Tloading Tstopped))

where "Tloading" is the total time that there is a truck at the dock and it is being loaded (the sum of the time in the "working" state, Tworking, during a given period) and "Tstopped" is the time that there is a truck , but it is not charging (the sum of the time in the "Not Working" state, Tactive, during a given period).

In the case of the download process, Availability of the download process (DISP_download) can also be used, which, in one embodiment, would be calculated as follows DISP = (Tdownloading) / ((Tdownloading Tstopped))

where "Tunloading" is the total time that there is a truck at the dock and it is being unloaded (the sum of the time in the "working" state, Tworking) and "Tstopped" is the time that there is a truck, but it is not is downloading (the sum of the time in the “Not Working” state, Tactive).

- By obtaining these parameters of occupation time of each location, working time and occupation time without working (and optionally other derivatives of these, such as Process Efficiency or Availability) the efficiency of each dock or gate can be improved ( each input/output location) and the warehouse in general. Thus, for example, if these parameters have values considered low (compared with a threshold or with the historical operation of the warehouse or other similar warehouses), various design and/or operation factors of the warehouse can be varied (such as number of shelves, number of forklifts or operators, distance between the docks and the rack, type of forklift, location of the objects on the rack...) that improve these parameters. For example, when faced with a change in one of the factors, these parameters can be measured to see how their value has changed and decide if this change has improved efficiency (and therefore has to be maintained) or has worsened efficiency and, therefore, Therefore, it must be revoked.

- The data exploitation device can present this information to the user (through a user interface) in any format. For example, on a graph it can tell you the periods of the day when each loading/unloading location is unoccupied ("no truck"), occupied not working ("with truck not working"), or busy working ("working"); or the amount of time spent in each of these states, thus the log or succession of states (without a truck, working or not working) and times of each state on the time axis or Pareto could be shown in a graph of states, with times and number of repetitions of each state (a Pareto will be shown with 3 vertical bars, representing the 3 different states.) This is just an example, and any other type of graph can be used.

This same information can be given in table or text form, instead of, or in addition to, graphically.

- The following table (Table 1) shows, by way of example, a possible presentation to the user (for example, through a user interface) of the data and parameters mentioned above. Thus, in the example of this table the added states and times, in this case per shift, and an indicator of loading/unloading efficiency (in this case, the %Disp availability) of the dock, as a relationship between working times and total time (total time the truck has been at the dock = Tworking + Tidle or stop).

Table 1

Next, it will be explained how the data coming from the sensor (or sensors) T of people traffic or forklifts at the loading/unloading location (dock, gate...) are processed in an embodiment by way of non-limiting example. Although for conciseness and simplicity, the processing will be explained mainly in reference to the loading of the truck, the same is applicable to the unloading process. The only thing to keep in mind is that the example values of the parameters mentioned below for the upload and download processes can and often are different.

- Logically, the frequency with which forklifts/people circulate inside/outside the truck depends on the type and size of objects/packages that the truck transports, the length of the truck, the type of forklift used, the person/ persons carrying out said loading or unloading, the distance between the truck and the storage structures (racks), etc. For example, there may be loads that generate a signal from the "T" sensor, detecting the presence of a person or truck at the dock every 30 seconds, others every 3 minutes, others every 8 minutes, etc.

- An Ideal Loading Time, Ti, is calculated for each package that is loaded in the warehouse under its different conditions. By bulk, we mean a set of objects that are grouped together and, therefore, are uploaded or downloaded at once (usually because it is the number of objects that are packaged together). To calculate said ideal time, the truck loading situation can be reproduced in ideal conditions (without obstacles or problems that impair the loading process). Under these circumstances, the T-sensor measures the actual times of each individual load and sends them (directly or via data collection equipment) to the operating device or to the database.

As explained, based on these data measured in each individual charge (under ideal conditions), the developed algorithm calculates, for example, the minimum charge time (Tmin), the maximum charge time (Tmax) and the Average Time load (Tmed) of each package. In one embodiment, the average charging time under ideal conditions is what will be taken as the Ideal Charging Time, Ti. You can also calculate other statistical values such as Mean Deviation or Variance or any other. Tmin, Tmax, Tmed and Ti will be associated to the "T" sensor of each loading/unloading location (and, preferably, of each type of object), related to the frequency of circulation (of a person or a forklift in the task load), with the type of packages transported by the truck, etc. This parameterization provides enormous flexibility and reliability of the information.

In one embodiment, these parameters (Tmin, Tmax, Tmed, Ti...) can be updated with the history of actual values of the charging time measured during a certain previous period of time.

- In one embodiment, to determine when a truck is being loaded, the time "Tmax" will be used, to which a Tolerance Time "Ttol" will be added (this parameter "Ttol" is configurable). For example, if a package is considered, it has a loading time "Tmax" of 100 seconds; a Reference Time parameter (also called time threshold) of load “Tref” will be created, which will be the sum of “Tmax” plus “Ttol”: “Tref” = (“Tmax” “Ttol”). If, for example, a "Ttol" of 20% is defined (20 seconds in this case), we will obtain a "Tref" of 120 seconds (these values are only illustrative examples; any other values can be used). In this way, to the "Tmax" obtained by measuring it under ideal conditions, a configurable "Ttol" tolerance is applied (for example, through a software application in the operating device) and the "Tref' is obtained as the sum of both ( this is just an example, and this reference or threshold time can be determined in many other ways).

- In one embodiment, during the loading of a truck, after a crossing signal (from a person or a forklift) from the T sensor, it will wait to see if another signal from the "T" sensor is produced. If another crossing signal occurs before the Tref reference time elapses (in this example case 120 seconds), the counter is reset to 0 and waits for the next crossing signal before that Tref. During all this time it is considered to be charging (working mode, that is, the counter Tworking is being increased). In other words, as long as the time elapsed between two consecutive crossing signals is less than Tref, the truck is considered to be loading and therefore it is working, and all the elapsed time will be counted as "working" mode. It is assuming that the P-sensor has detected the signal that the dock is busy (if the dock is not busy, there can be no loading or unloading, so signals from the T-sensor are typically not analyzed in that period).

At the moment when another crossing signal is not produced before “Tref”, from that moment a mode indicating that the truck load is Stopped will be registered (mode “Not working” or “Inactive”), and it will be maintained. this mode until a new signal from this “T” sensor occurs (i.e. the TActive counter is being incremented) or until the P sensor reports that the truck no longer occupies the loading/unloading location (i.e. the truck has left and the loading/unloading process is finished).

These Stops (periods in which a crossing signal from the T sensor is not obtained) but there is a truck at the dock, can have a variable duration and their cause can be registered, in some cases automatically (for example by sensors that detect the cause of the stop) or in other cases thanks to the declaration of an operator, for example through an electronic device (called Operator Interface, device "I” in figure 1) with a user interface that allows the operator to enter that there has been a stoppage and its cause Although only one Operator Interface is shown in figure 1, this is just an example and there may be more than one (or none, if not deemed necessary).

Typical causes of this type of stops are, for example: Lack of cargo objects (they are unprepared, accident, verifications, previous route delay); failures (machine failure, dock failure, battery change, computer system failure, loading/unloading accident, scanner failure...); stops related to resources (lack of forklift, truck positioning problems at the dock, truck delay, truck on pause, lack of operator, lack of scanner.).

While the truck is being loaded ("Working" mode), the exact loading time of each package can be accurately measured (for example 1'49" or 1'54" or any other), which will also allow statistical calculations to be made by bulk, such as averages, deviations, etc., and compare them with the predefined times.

The time between signals from the T sensor corresponds to the package loading time. By way of non-limiting example, the loading time of the package can be measured, at least, in the following ways:

• If we only use one photocell as T sensor, the first signal is produced when the first package enters to load, the second signal when it goes out to look for the second package, and the third signal when it reloads the second package, and so on; the time between the first and the third signal is the total loading time of the second package, broken down into 2 parts: time to pick it up at the warehouse and time to deposit it on the truck)

• If, for example, the T sensor is made up of 2 photocells, one behind the other, we can know the direction of the traffic, if it is entering or leaving the truck/dock; the loading time of a package corresponds to two consecutive entries.

The use of 2 consecutive photocells as in the previous example, in addition to serving to measure charging time, also provides information on the direction of traffic and even the speed at which the truck/operator is moving, in order to measure and optimize it. .

- In the previous explanation it has been considered that to determine "Tmin", "Tmax" and "Tmed", among other parameters, the truck loading process is actually measured under ideal conditions. Although this is ideal, it doesn't have to be necessary; Thus, in one embodiment, these parameters can be measured and calculated in real conditions from the first charge. Thus, for example, the "Tmin" can be considered the minimum charging time recorded over the previous time; the “Tref” may initially be several times the “Tmin” (typically 3 times), which will allow the initial measurement and calculation of the “Tmed”, automatically discounting the long stops; Once we have the "Tmin" and the "Tmed", we can calculate the "Tmax", which will be equidistant from the "Tmed" the same as "Tmin". Once this real "Tmax" is available, a "Tref" more adjusted to reality than the one initially considered can be calculated, applying the configurable parameter "Ttol" (typically 20% although it can take any other value). This is just an example, and other algorithms can be used for the calculation of “Tmin”, “Tmax” and “Tmed” from the real-time measurements.

In addition, in one embodiment, it is proposed to improve the efficiency of the warehouse, specifically by improving the positioning times of the truck at the dock or gate by obtaining parameters that affect said process. To do this, the following tasks are performed in one or more electronic processors (this is a non-limiting example and not all tasks are mandatory):

- Detection of the time of arrival of the loading/unloading vehicle (truck) at the warehouse or at the facilities where the warehouse is located. This can be done in numerous ways: For example, using the information received from the L sensor that tells us the location of the truck, using the information received from the R sensor that tells us that a certain truck (whose license plate has been read) has arrived at the facilities or through an employee (for example, a person from the office or security guard or any operator) who sees the truck and indicates it to the data exploitation device (for example, by means of a computer application made for this purpose in any electronic device or by means of the operator interface device).

- Detection of the moment in which the truck arrives at the loading/unloading location by reading the P sensor located at said location.

- Obtaining the difference between the two previous times will indicate the time it took the truck to position itself at the dock. If the value of this parameter is too high, you can change warehouse design factors to improve it.

- Thanks to the sensors used, the occupation of the loading/unloading locations is known at all times, so when it is detected that the truck arrives at the facilities, it can be automatically indicated (for example, by means of a message to a user device of the truck driver) to which dock/gate to go, which speeds up the positioning of the truck to the dock and reduces the time of non-occupancy of the docks. Additionally, through GPS or similar technology, the system also knows the position of the truck outside the facilities, for example, when it is at a certain distance from them, so it can manage in advance which dock it is going to direct the truck to. truck and even speed up or stop the loading/unloading at a dock to vacate it, or have one of the docks vacated if the loading/unloading has finished and it is still occupied. These are just examples (not limiting) of actions that can be taken based on the determination of these parameters and that allow a better use of resources and, therefore, an improvement in warehouse management.

In one embodiment, it is also proposed to improve the efficiency of the warehouse, specifically by improving the use and efficiency of internal transport vehicles (forklifts), for example, achieving a reduction in transport times, the space they have to cover, optimizing the volumes and weights transported...; by obtaining parameters that affect said process (transport in forklifts). To do this, the following tasks are performed in one or more electronic processors (this is a non-limiting example and not all tasks are mandatory):

- Detection of the state of movement or stop of each forklift. Preferably, this is done based on the information received from the movement sensor (M1) of the forklift, through which it will be known if the forklift is moving or stopped. The cause of the stoppage of the truck can be detected in some cases automatically (for example by means of sensors that detect the cause of the stoppage) or in other cases thanks to the declaration of an operator, for example through an electronic device (Interface of Operator "I”) that allows a warehouse operator to enter that there has been a stoppage and its cause.

- Detection of whether each forklift carries a load or not, the characteristics of what it transports (volume and/or weight) as well as when it loads or unloads the packages it transports (that is, when a forklift goes from being unloaded to being loaded or vice versa). Preferably this is done from the information received from the volume sensor (V) of the truck

- Determination of the location of one or more forklifts, preferably by means of the information received from its location sensor (U1) that allows knowing the location of a forklift.

- Determination of the distance (for example, meters) traveled by each forklift in each mode (transporting packages or empty). This determination can be made from the information received from specific sensors (E1) that measure the space covered by each truck or, alternatively, from the location information of each truck at each moment collected by each location sensor U1.

- All the determined parameters (state of movement and load of each forklift, location of the same, distance traveled...) can be automatically related to the type of object or package that is treated, or more specifically with the data that they describe the objects or packages treated, called component data (C in figure 1). These data are generally obtained from the warehouse information database. In one embodiment, this information about the objects or packages stored is obtained from the so-called Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System of the warehouse.

- The determination of these parameters makes it possible to know at all times the characteristics of the transport process of each forklift, such as, for example, the state of movement and load of each forklift, location of the same or the space covered by each one of them in a time frame. This makes it possible to improve the efficiency of the use of each forklift and of the warehouse in general. Thus, for example, if it is detected that a forklift is unloaded for a long time, it can be used during that time to unload another truck; or if it is detected that a forklift travels a lot of space, it can be assigned to a transport task in another dock or to another rack, which makes the distance traveled less... These are just examples (not limiting), of actions that can be take from the determination of these parameters and that allow a better use of the resources and, therefore, an improvement in the management of the warehouse.

In one embodiment, it is also proposed to improve the efficiency of the warehouse, specifically by improving the use and efficiency of manual terminals for picking/placement of packages or objects (called "picking" terminals), for example, achieving a reduction in time employees during the collection/placement and of the spaces covered by the transport terminals, by obtaining parameters that affect the operation process of said terminals.To this end, the following tasks are carried out in one or more electronic processors (this is a non-limiting example and not all tasks are mandatory):

- Detection of the state of movement or stop of each terminal. Preferably, this is done based on the information received from the movement sensor (M2) of the terminal, through which it will be known if it is moving or stopped. The cause of the stoppage of the terminal can be detected in some cases automatically (for example by means of sensors that detect the cause of the stoppage) or in other cases thanks to the declaration of an operator, for example, through an electronic device (Interface of Operator "I”) that allows a warehouse operator to enter that there has been a stoppage and its cause.

- Determination of the location of one or more terminals, preferably by means of the information received from its location sensor (U2) that allows knowing the location of a terminal.

- Determination of the distance (for example, meters) traveled by each terminal for the collection/placement of each specific package. This determination can be made from the information received from specific sensors (E2) that measure the space traveled by each terminal or, alternatively, from the location information of each terminal at each moment collected by each location sensor U2.

- All the determined parameters (state of movement of each terminal, location of the same, space covered...) can be automatically related to the type of object or package that the terminal picks up or places, or more specifically with the data that they describe the objects or packages selected by the terminal, called component data (C in figure 1). Thus, for example, the frequency with which each object or package is picked up or placed (and, therefore, loaded or unloaded) could be obtained. This component data is generally obtained from the warehouse information database. In one embodiment, this information about the objects or packages stored is obtained from the so-called Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System of the warehouse. The data capture of the component (C in figure 1) plays an important role in those cases in which the terminal or truck does not have movement sensors M, or position U, or distance traveled E, but they are connected to the ERP, since this will allow knowing in real time each time the terminal or the truck picks up or places the package; therefore, following the same description as in the case of loading/unloading trucks, it will allow us to know if they are working Tworking or inactive Tactive, and to measure their Tmin, Tmax, Tmed, Tref, Disp, OEE, etc. When 2 data captures of (C) occur within a time threshold, the terminal is considered to be working, Tworking; if not, it is considered to be stopped, Tactive.

- The determination of these parameters makes it possible to know at all times the characteristics of the transport process of each terminal, such as, for example, the state of movement of each terminal, location of the same, space covered by each terminal in a period of time, frequency of loading or unloading of each package. This makes it possible to improve the efficiency of the use of each terminal and the warehouse in general. Thus, for example, if it is detected that a terminal is not moving for a long time, it can be assigned during that time to another shelf (if they are movable); or if it is detected that a terminal covers a lot of space, the objects can be repositioned on the shelves so that the distance traveled by each terminal is lower... These are just examples (not limiting) of actions that can be taken from the determination of these parameters and that allow a better use of resources and, therefore, an improvement in warehouse management.

In this text, the term "comprises" and its derivations (such as "comprising", etc.) should not be understood in an exclusive sense, that is, these terms should not be interpreted as excluding the possibility that what is described and defined may include more elements, stages, etc.

The present invention can be applied in any type of facility where objects of any type are stored.

Some preferred embodiments of the invention are described in the dependent claims that follow.

Once the nature of the invention has been sufficiently described, as well as the way to carry it out in practice, it is necessary to state the possibility that its different parts may be manufactured in a variety of materials, sizes and shapes, being able to introduce in its constitution or procedure, those variations that practice advises, as long as they do not alter the fundamental principle of the present invention.

This detailed description is provided to assist in a complete understanding of the invention. Therefore, those skilled in the art will recognize that variations, changes, or modifications of the embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope of protection of the invention. Also, the description of well-known functions and elements are omitted for clarity and conciseness. The description and drawings merely illustrate the principles of the invention. Therefore, it should be appreciated that various arrangements will be conceivable to those skilled in the art which, although not explicitly described or shown herein, represent the principles of the invention and are included within its scope. In addition, all examples described in this document are provided primarily for pedagogical purposes to help the reader understand the principles of the invention and the concepts contributed by the inventor(s) to improve the art, and should be considered as non-limiting. with respect to such examples and specifically described conditions. In addition, everything herein relating to the principles, aspects, and embodiments of the invention, as well as specific examples thereof, encompass equivalencies thereof.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that the foregoing and various other changes, omissions, and additions in form and detail may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as such. as defined by the following claims.

Claims (20)

1. Warehouse management system, where the system includes: - At least one presence sensor (P) of goods transport vehicles, configured to detect if a goods transport vehicle is located in a loading/unloading location; - At least one moving element traffic sensor (T), configured to detect the crossing of a moving element at the loading/unloading location; - At least one electronic processor configured to, for a package loading or unloading process at the loading/unloading location, perform: - Receiving the information captured by the at least one goods transport presence sensor (P) and by the at least one moving element traffic sensor (T), through a telecommunication network; - From the information received from at least one presence sensor (P), calculate the time in which the loading/unloading location is occupied and from the information received from at least one traffic sensor (T), while the loading/unloading location is busy, determining the time that the location is being worked on, Tworking, and the time that the location is not being worked on, Tactive, where this determination comprises: - While the information received from the presence sensor (P) indicates the presence of a goods transport vehicle at the loading/unloading location, if the time difference between the moments in which two consecutive detections of crossing some element occur in movement of the traffic sensor (T), is less than a predetermined time threshold, the working T continues to increase; if not, after the predetermined time threshold, Tactive begins to increase until the next signal from said traffic sensor (T) is received. ; - When the information received from the presence sensor (P) indicates that the presence of the goods transport vehicle at the loading/unloading location has ended, Tactive begins to increase, until a new signal from the presence sensor ( P); - Obtain, from the calculated times, one or more of the following warehouse efficiency parameters: - Efficiency of the charging process, OEEcarga, calculated as: OEEcarga = ((Number of packages loaded) x (Ti_carga of each package)) / (Ttot_carga); where Ttot_carga is the Total Time spent loading the freight vehicle up to now and Ti_carga is the ideal loading time of the type of package in question, measured under ideal conditions or obtained from a historical load data; - Availability of the charging process, DISPload, calculated as: DISPload = (Tloading) / ((Tloading Tstopped)), where "Tloading" is the sum of the time in the "working" state, Tworking for a given period and "Tstopped" is the sum of the time in the “Not Working” state, Tactive during the determined period; - Efficiency of the unloading process, OEEunloading, calculated as: OEEunloading = ((Number of unloaded packages) x (Ti_unloading of each package) (Ttot_unloading); where Ttot_loading is the Total Time spent unloading the merchandise vehicle so far and Ti_unload the ideal unload time of the type of package in question measured under ideal conditions or obtained from a historical unload data; - Availability of the download process, DISPdownload, calculated as: DISPdownload = (Tdownloading) / ((Tdownloading Tstopped)), where "Tloading" is the sum of the time in the "working" state, Tworking during the determined period and "Tstopped" is the sum of the time in the “Not Working” state, Tactive, during the determined period; 2. System according to claim 1, in which the warehouse efficiency parameters are obtained by monitoring at least one of the following factors: - the traffic of people and forklifts at the loading or unloading location; - traffic of internal transport vehicles (forklifts); - The operation process of the manual data terminals (picking). System according to the previous claims, where the predetermined time threshold is equal to a predetermined maximum upload time if the process is upload or a predetermined maximum download time if the process is download, plus a predetermined tolerance time. 4. System according to claim 3, wherein the predetermined maximum loading time and the predetermined maximum unloading time depend on the type of package. 5. System according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the predetermined time threshold is obtained from time parameters calculated from the information received from at least one traffic sensor (T) in reproductions of loading or unloading situations of the vehicle. Goods transport vehicle for each type of package, under ideal conditions. 6. System according to any of the preceding claims, where the predetermined threshold is obtained from time parameters calculated from the information received from at least one traffic sensor (T) in loading or unloading processes of the goods transport vehicle. during a specified period of time. System according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one presence sensor (P) is of the inductive type or of the photocell type and the at least one traffic sensor (T) is of the photocell type. 8. System according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to calculate the time elapsed from the moment a goods transport vehicle is detected entering the facilities where the warehouse is located until a presence sensor (P) detects that said freight transport vehicle is located at a loading/unloading location. 9. System according to claim 8, wherein the detection that a goods transport vehicle enters the facilities is obtained from information from a location sensor (L) located in the goods transport vehicle, from a license plate reader sensor configured to detect the license plate of goods transport vehicles that enter the facilities where the warehouse is located or based on information entered by a warehouse operator in an electronic device through a user interface. 10. System according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the system further comprises: - At least one movement sensor (M1) configured to detect when a truck transporting packages from the warehouse is stopped or moving and at least one sensor for volume and/or weight (V) configured to detect when a truck transporting packages carry cargo or not and the characteristics of volume and/or weight transported; - Where the at least one electronic processor is also configured to receive the information captured by the at least one movement sensor (M1) and/or from the at least one volume and/or weight sensor (V) through the network telecommunication and determine, based on this information, the time in which a package transport truck is loaded and the volume and/or weight that a truck transports at each moment, the time in which a package transport truck is stopped and the time that a package transport truck is in motion. 11. System according to claim 10, where the cause of the stoppage of the package transport truck is determined from information from sensors or from information entered by a warehouse operator in an electronic device through a user interface. . 12. System according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one electronic processor is further configured to determine the space traveled by a warehouse truck, based on information received through the telecommunication network from at least one location sensor. (U1) configured to detect the location of a package transport truck or the information received through the telecommunication network from at least one distance traveled sensor (E1) configured to detect meters traveled by a package transport truck. 13. System according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the system further comprises: - At least one movement sensor (M2) configured to detect when a terminal for picking/placement of packages in the warehouse is stopped or moving; - Where the at least one electronic processor is also configured to receive the information captured by the at least one movement sensor (M2) through the telecommunication network and determine, based on this information, the time in which a communication terminal pick/drop is stationary and the time a pick/drop terminal is moving. 14. System according to claim 13, where the cause of a stoppage at a package pick-up/placement terminal is determined based on sensor information or information entered by a warehouse operator in an electronic device through a data interface. Username. 15. System according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one electronic processor is further configured to determine the space covered by a warehouse package collection/placement terminal, based on information received through the telecommunication network of at least one location sensor (U2) configured to detect the location of the package collection/placement terminal or the information received through the telecommunication network from at least one distance sensor (E2) configured to detect meters traveled by terminal for collection/placement of packages. 16. System according to any of the preceding claims, where the at least one electronic processor is further configured to associate to each type of package, the times and/or parameters calculated by the at least one electronic processor. System according to any of the previous claims, where at least one electronic device presents one or more of the times and/or parameters calculated by the at least one electronic processor, through a user interface of the device. System according to any of the previous claims, where the parameters calculated by at least one electronic device are automatically related to the data of the component (C) that picks up or places a forklift or terminal. 19. Method for the management of a warehouse, where the method comprises for a process of loading or unloading of packages in a loading/unloading location of the warehouse, the following steps carried out by one or more electronic processors: a) Receiving the information captured by at least one goods transport presence sensor (P) through a telecommunication network, where the at least one goods transport vehicle presence sensor (P) is configured to detect if a freight vehicle is located at the loading/unloading location b) Receiving the information captured by at least one moving element traffic sensor (T), through the telecommunication network, where the at least one moving element traffic sensor (T) is configured to detect the crossing of an item in motion at the loading/unloading location; c) From the information received from at least one presence sensor (P), calculate the time in which the loading/unloading location is occupied and from the information received from at least one traffic sensor (T), determine within that time, the time that the location is being worked on, Tworking, and the time that the location is not being worked on, Tactive, using the following steps: c1) While the information received from the presence sensor (P) indicates the presence of a goods transport vehicle at the loading/unloading location, if the time difference between the moments in which two consecutive detections of crossing some moving element of the traffic sensor (T), is less than a predetermined time threshold, the working T continues to increase; if not, past predetermined time threshold, Tactive begins to increase until the next signal from said traffic sensor (T) is received; c2) When the information received from the presence sensor (P) indicates that the presence of the goods transport vehicle at the loading/unloading location has ended, Tactive begins to increase, until a new signal from the presence sensor arrives. (P). d) Obtain from the calculated times, one or more efficiency parameters of the warehouse. A computer program product comprising computer-executable instructions for performing the method according to any of claim 18, when the program is executed on a computer.