Implementing an AGV System

Sanity Check

When all is said and done, whether you chose to utilize ‘benchmark’, ‘user’, or ‘simulation’ validation, a sanity check should always be performed. This can be achieved in a variety of ways.

Plain old common sense is an often-overlooked virtue. Sometimes people get too wrapped up in automation to realize that they are actually making a concept too risky or complex.

Some simple general questions to ask are:

• What is the concept payback?
• How much support will the concept require from the supervisory management level.
• What are the maintenance requirements for the concept?
• Are the load rates required from each AGV excessive compared with real world experience?
• Are we automating an interface that provides no benefit?
• Can anything in the concept be simplified?

Don’t overlook asking the ‘what if’ questions such as:

• What if our rates change, how will the system adjust?
• What if an operator fails to unload an AGV or AGV station?
• What if the central AGV controller fails, how do we operate until we recover?
• What if an interface fails, how do we handle it?
• What if an operator interferes with an AGV, how do we recover?