Importance

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Abstract

A carrier control device estimates an amount of time to complete a picking operation at each of one or more racks which have arrived in a picking point area. The carrier control device adds up the amounts of time to perform picking operations at the racks performed after another rack has newly arrived, to thereby calculate an amount of time to wait for picking operation completion by the rack. The carrier control device compares the amount of time to wait for picking operation completion by the rack, with a previously set threshold, and determines which task the carrier having carried the rack is to perform, either putting down the rack and performing another task, or waiting for completion of an ongoing picking operation with the rack held thereon, depending on whether the time to wait until picking operation completion is larger or smaller than the threshold.

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First Claim