VDI 2510:2005-10

Introduction Considering the requirements of short throughput times, small inventories, and high flexibility, inhouse material flow is gaining more and more importance as an integrative element in companies. Because of their universal applicability, industrial trucks are therefore still being used in almost every company. Automatic means of transport, on the other hand, are largely inflexible. Automated guided vehicle systems (AGVS) are the only means in this group that offer a high degree of flexibility. They have been successfully used to automate in-house material flow since the early 1960s. Figure 1 shows an example of an AGVS application in the incoming goods area. The classification of AGVS is illustrated, from the viewpoint of materials handling systems, in Figure 2, and from the viewpoint of mobile floorsupported systems, in Figure 3. Aiming to reduce throughput times and manufacturing costs while achieving utmost flexibility and reliability, modern and progressive manufacturing concepts make use of automatic transport which offers, inter alia, the following advantages over manual transport: organised flow of materials and information; thus transparency of in-house logistic chains, increasing productivity transport operations always punctual and calculable minimisation of hoarded stocks and stand-by inventories reduction of personnel assigned to transport, thus reduction of personnel costs (in particular in multi-shift operation), minimisation of transport damage and wronglyrouted deliveries, thus reduction of consequential costs, high availability and reliability.