The cold chain industry is vital for preserving perishable goods, especially in Singapore’s robust food import market that relies heavily on cold storage facilities. However, the harsh working conditions in refrigerated and freezing cold storage environments pose operational challenges due to its demanding nature, leading to a shortage of workers and high turnover, impacting workforce efficiency and raising operational costs. This study investigates the potential of Automated Mobile Robots (AMRs) as a solution to address these issues by enhancing workforce productivity and operational efficiency in cold storage environments.
To address these challenges, the study explores the current state of automation in Singapore’s cold chain sector. An in-depth comparative analysis between “traditional” manual processes and AMR-integrated operations assesses the potential benefits and challenges to AMRs adoption. This was coupled with research from case studies and FlexSim simulations to visualise the impact of AMRs applications. Additionally, a survey was created and distributed to industry leaders and professionals working in cold storage environments. The survey focused on three main objectives: the current AMRs market and demand in Singapore, perceptions and attitudes towards AMRs and future plans and implementation strategies.
The study concludes that AMRs are a viable solution for enhancing workforce efficiency and safety in cold storage environments, particularly in operations focused on scalability and efficiency. Findings from this study could potentially assist companies considering automation in their cold chain operations, guiding them in developing and implementing automation strategies and performance evaluation metrics that are tailored to their operational needs.