In Control or under Control? Human-Robot Collaboration in Warehouse Order Picking

39 Pages Posted: 14 Apr 2021

See all articles by Alexandros Pasparakis

Alexandros Pasparakis

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) - Department of Technology and Operations Management

Jelle de Vries

Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University

M. B. M. de Koster

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) - Department of Technology and Operations Management

Date Written: March 31, 2021

Abstract

Warehouse operations are rapidly becoming more robotized to increase performance and cut costs. One important new way of working is in collaboration between humans and robots. However, even though humans and their behavior remain essential for operational performance, human factors in human-robot collaboration are still underrepresented in Operations Management literature. To contribute to the scarce knowledge in this domain, we conducted a unique real-effort experiment in a warehouse especially erected for this study. In this experiment we compare the objective outcomes of collaborative productivity, collaborative accuracy, and human pick speed between a scenario with the human leading the robot and a scenario with the human following the robot. Furthermore, we investigate the behavioral mechanism that governs the reaction of humans to the novel collaboration with robots. We find that human leading allows for superior collaborative order picking productivity compared to human following. In contrast, human following allows for greater collaborative order picking accuracy compared to human leading. We additionally establish prevention regulatory focus as the behavioral mechanism through which workers may accelerate their pick speed to bridge the productivity gap between the setups. Finally, we confirm that competence in manual order picking is directly transferable to the human-robot collaborative environment.

Keywords: Human-Robot Collaboration, Human Leading, Human Following, Order Picking, Prevention Regulatory Focus, Behavioral Operations

JEL Classification: M11

Suggested Citation

Pasparakis, Alexandros and de Vries, Jelle and de Koster, M.B.M. René, In Control or under Control? Human-Robot Collaboration in Warehouse Order Picking (March 31, 2021). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3816533 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3816533

Alexandros Pasparakis (Contact Author)

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) - Department of Technology and Operations Management ( email )

RSM Erasmus University
PO Box 1738
3000 DR Rotterdam
Netherlands

HOME PAGE: http://https://www.rsm.nl/people/alexandros-myron-pasparakis/

Jelle De Vries

Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University ( email )

Burgemeester Oudlaan 50
Rotterdam, 3062PA
Netherlands

HOME PAGE: http://https://www.rsm.nl/people/jelle-de-vries/

M.B.M. René De Koster

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) - Department of Technology and Operations Management ( email )

RSM Erasmus University
PO Box 1738
3000 DR Rotterdam
Netherlands
+31 10 408 1719 (Phone)
+31 10 408 9014 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.rsm.nl/rdekoster

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
815
Abstract Views
1,855
Rank
56,147
PlumX Metrics