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  • Investigation of operational parameters that affect the use of drones in goods’ stock count process: Evidence from experimental results

    Thomaidis, N.C., Zeimpekis, V.,

    Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management, Vol. 17, Issue. 1, pp. 115-132, 2024

    Abstract
     
    Purpose: Recently, the complexity of managing warehouses has been amplified significantly due to factors that include increased requests for more frequent and smaller order fulfilment, reduction of operational cost, and improvement of customer experience. Product stock count is a critical process in order to address the aforementioned challenges. This articles presents experimental results from the adoption of drones coupled with RFID tags used for real time goods’ stock count.
     
    Design/methodology/approach: The research methodology adopted combines three different methods, namely Systematic Literature Review (SLR) for identifying parameters that affect the performance of drones in stock count process, survey via questionnaire and interviews to logistics managers to map needs and requirements in warehouse operations, as well as laboratory testing via Design of Experiment (24 full factorial design & ANOVA) methodology to investigate how certain parameters corelate and affect the reading accuracy of RFID tags as well as the time needed by a drone for stock count completion.  
     
    Findings: The results of the experiments are encouraging, showing that the use of drones coupled with RFID tags may support faster, cost-effective, and safer stock count in warehouses. In both ambient and chilled storage environment an 100% RFID tag reading accuracy was achieved. Less stock-count completion time when compared to manual stock-count was achieved in both cases.
     
    Research implications: Understanding the effect of technical and operational parameters of RFID technology in conjunction with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)-drones may have the potential to radically transform the stock count process by considerably increase the efficiency and accuracy of the process.
     
    Practical implications: Real-time stock count via drones has significant cost-saving implications for organizations. The elimination of manual stock counting saves operational expenses and increases staff safety. Furthermore, real-time data collection of existing product stock allows managers to efficiently allocate resources, enhancing overall efficiency and performance.
     
    Originality/value: This research is among the first studies that aim to present evidence from experimental results that assess the use of drones coupled with RFID technology for real-time stock count. The results from laboratory experiments demonstrate the effect of certain operational parameters, such as drone speed, number of rack levels, and RFID tag location on products, during the execution of the stock count process in terms of RFID reading accuracy and stock-count completion time.
     
     
    Keywords: Drones, logistics, industry 4.0, stock count, warehouse, RFID technology
     
    Post date: Tuesday, September 9, 2025 - 12:59
  • Weather-Related Disruptions in Transportation and Logistics: A Systematic Literature Review and a Policy Implementation Roadmap
     
    Touloumidis, D., Madas, M., Zeimpekis, V., Ayfantopoulou, G.,
     
    Logistics 9(1), 32
     
    Abstract
    Background: The increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather events (EWEs) as a consequence of climate change pose critical challenges on the transport and logistics sector, hence requiring systematic evaluation and strategic adaptation. Methods: This study conducts a comprehensive systematic literature review (SLR) of 147 peer-reviewed articles and reports through a PRISMA framework to comprehensively identify key weather-induced challenges, quantify their operational, infrastructural and economic impacts, and explore alternative mitigation strategies. Results: With a greater focus on rainfall, flooding and snowfall, this study highlights their notable impacts causing reductions in transport efficiency, increased maintenance costs and substantial financial losses. Also, it emphasizes the role of advanced technologies, resilient infrastructure, and adaptive policy frameworks as critical enablers for enhancing sector resilience while simultaneously formulating a robust roadmap for cities and companies with actions ranging from direct operational adjustments to long-term transformational changes in policy and infrastructure. Conclusions: This work underscores the importance of using a data-driven approach to safeguard transport and logistics systems against evolving climate risks contributing to the broader goal of sustainable urban resilience and operational continuity.
    Keywords: extreme weather events; transport resilience; urban logistics; infrastructure vulnerability; climate change adaptation; operational disruptions; adaptive strategies

     

    Post date: Tuesday, September 9, 2025 - 12:55
  • Sustainable lime-based nano-reinforced pastes for structural health monitoring of the restoration areas of Monuments of Cultural Heritage
    Zeimpekis V, Gialos A, Dimou A. E.,Charalampidou Ch. M., Asimakopoulos G., Karatasios I., Gournis D., Karakassides M. A., Metaxa Z. S., Kourkoulis St. K., Alexopoulos N. D.
     
    Construction and Building Materials, 480, 14145, pp. 1-18, 20 June 2025
     
    Abstract
    The aim of the present article is to investigate the sustainability of the production of different carbon-nanostructures that can be used to reinforce lime-based mortars for structural health monitoring of the restoration areas in Monuments of Cultural Heritage. Aspects like manufacturing cost, environmental impact, mechanical properties, and piezo-resistive response were investigated to select a sustainable carbon nanostructure to reinforce lime-based mortars under different, multi-decision criteria. A quantitative cost assessment methodology for five (5) different carbon nanostructures (graphene - G and multi-wall carbon nanotubes - MWCNTs) in laboratory-scale was adopted. The results were interpreted against the respective enhancement on the mechanical properties resulted on the end-products, e.g., the nano-reinforced lime-based pastes. The mechanical tests results showed that the modified MWCNTs enhanced flexural strength by 109 % due to increased anchoring of the reinforcing nanostructures in the paste, while compressive strength was not essentially affected. On the contrary, the modified graphene nanostructures enhanced only the compressive strength of the paste by 29 % due to their platelet geometry and their respective load transfer capability. The high manufacturing cost of reduced graphene (rGO) 2.62 €/g is related to the high cost of raw materials utilized, while graphene oxide (GO) has a manufacturing cost of 1.37 €/g, mainly due to the balanced contribution of material and labour cost, respectively. These nanostructures were calculated to have the lowest environmental impact (0.10 kg CO2eq/g), while the carboxylation process increased essentially the equivalent carbon footprint by approximately (8 x) eight times (0.83 kg CO2eq/g). In most cases, GO excel among the different carbon nanostructures studied, due to its low values in several criteria, like mechanical properties per manufacturing cost or mechanical properties per carbon footprint, as well as showed the best piezo-resistive response to cyclic compressive mechanical loads. To this end, it proved to be the most sustainable carbon nanostructure to be exploited in relevant applications.
     
    Keywords: Carbon-based materialsCost analysisCarbon footprintPiezo-resistivityMulti-decision criteria
    Post date: Tuesday, September 9, 2025 - 12:28
  • Logistics hub surveillance: Optimizing YOLOv3 training for AI-powered drone systems
    Tepteris, G., Mamasis, K., Minis, I., 
     
    accepted for publication in Logistics, Manuscript ID: logistics-3486648, 9(2), 45, 2025.
     
    Abstract
     
    Background: Integrating artificial intelligence in unmanned aerial vehicle systems may enhance the surveillance process of outdoor expansive areas, which are typical in logistics facilities. In this work, we propose methods to optimize the training of such high-performing systems. Methods: Specifically, we propose a novel approach to tune the training hyperparameters of the YOLOv3 model to improve high-altitude object detection. Typically, the tuning process requires significant computational effort to train the model under numerous combinations of hyperparameters. To address this challenge, the proposed approach systematically searches the hyperparameter space while reducing computational requirements. The latter is achieved by estimating model performance from early terminating training sessions. Results: The results reveal the value of systematic hyperparameter tuning; indicatively, model performance varied more than 13% in terms of mean average precision (mAP), depending on the hyperparameter setting. Also, the early training termination method saved over 90% of training time. Conclusions: The proposed method for searching the hyperparameter space, coupled with early estimation of model performance, supports the development of highly efficient models for UAV-based surveillance of logistics facilities. The proposed approach also identifies the effects of hyperparameters and their interactions on model performance.
     
    Keywords: AI-powered UAVs; object detection; YOLOv3; hyperparameter tuning; logistics surveillance

     

    Post date: Tuesday, September 9, 2025 - 12:19
  • Εκπαιδευτική επίσκεψη/εκδρομή φοιτητών (4ου & 5ου έτους) της Πολυτεχνικής Σχολής του Παν. Αιγαίου στο Κέντρο Διανομής της ΚΑΥΚΑΣ και στο Σ.ΕΜΠΟ της COSCO - Δευτέρα 28 Απριλίου 2025

    Στο πλαίσιο το μαθήματος "Διαχείριση Εφοδιαστικής Αλυσίδας Ι" με διδάσκοντα τον Αναπληρωτή Καθηγητή Β. Ζεϊμπέκη, του Τμήματος Μηχανικών Οικονομίας & Διοίκησης (ΤΜΟΔ) της Πολυτεχνικής Σχολής του Πανεπιστημίου Αιγαίου, διοργανώθηκε εκπαιδευτική εκδρομή στο Κέντρο Αποθήκευσης και Διανομής της ΚΑΥΚΑΣ ΑΕ καθώς και στον Σταθμό Εμπορευματοκιβωτίων  (Σ.ΕΜΠΟ) της COSCO στο λιμάνι του Πειραιά. Οι φοιτητές του ΤΜΟΔ είχαν την ευκαιρία να δουν από κοντά στην εταιρία ΚΑΥΚΑΣ, σύγχρονες τεχνολογίες, ρομποτικά συστήματα και αυτοματισμούς για τη διαχείριση και εκτέλεση παραγγελιών ενώ παράλληλα στο Σ.ΕΜΠΟ της COSCO να αντιληφθούν τη λειτουργία του μεγαλύτερου λιμένα της Ελλάδας καθώς και να γνωρίσουν τα συστήματα και τον εξοπλισμό που χρησιμοποιούνται για την ορθή διαχείριση των εμπορευματοκιβωτίων. Θερμές ευχαριστίες στον κ. Κωνσταντίνο Μαματζάκη (ΚΑΥΚΑΣ ΑΕ) καθώς και στις κυρίες Ο. Καραμολέγκου & Μ. Ομάρ (COSCO) για τις εξαιρετικές παρουσιάσεις που μας έκαναν, τις γόνιμες συζητήσεις που είχαμε και για τη φιλοξενία που μας παρείχαν. 

     

     
     

     

    Post date: Wednesday, April 30, 2025 - 12:02


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