#Lights out manufacturing full#

#Lights out manufacturing full#

Ongoing advances in automation technology mean that manufacturers can move closer to full automation. These sites are often used to construct a prototype system to offer a physical demonstration as part of the proof-of-concept process. OMRON, for example, has a dedicated proof-of-concept laboratory in Milton Keynes, and other high-tech facilitates available across the globe. This can be quite a complex task, but many systems integrators and technology vendors can carry out analysis and develop a proof-of-concept – from single applications to entire facilities. Which also leads to the common trend of the manufacturing workforce shifting from traditional operational duties to supervisory roles.Ī critical step for manufacturers is to identify to what extent and in which areas automation will offer them the best return-on-investment. It is examples such as these that could mean that it is not practical to automate the last 10% of a production facility to achieve the fully lights out factory. Essentially, you can keep adding steps to optimise a line but never truly guarantee that all the potential problems are eliminated. It is possible to put in steps to measure the bottles before they are fed into the line, but then there could be a material issue that can cause another machine fault.

But, if a later batch of the supplier's bottles' falls out of spec, the issue could reappear despite best efforts. Sticking with the bottle filling line scenario, it would be possible to redesign the filling machine's guides to eliminate the bottle jam. This can then inform the adaptation of lines and machinery to minimise, or even eliminate, machine stoppages. However, for a human, this is a relatively straightforward issue to deal with.Ī significant benefit of digitalisation is that it enables the collection of valuable process data that can be analysed to identify the route-causes of production problems. If a bottle jams, it isn't easy to rectify using automation. In the most basic of examples, let’s consider a bottle filling line. As advanced as today's automation technologies are becoming, there are situations where human flexibility is still the best match to undertake complex processes – for example, where improvisation or complicated decision making is required to react to an unexpected event. A key reason why a fully lights out factory is not viable is that manufacturing needs people.