PACKAGING
The potential of robotics for the ‘lights-out factory’ The term ‘lights-out factory’ is generally presented as something to aspire to for manufacturers. But is the concept – which essentially means manufacturing without humans – a realistic goal?
T
ODAY, THERE ARE some fully ‘lightsout’ factories operating worldwide – such as the Foxconn plant in Shenzen, China, which the World Economic Forum has recognised as a leader in the fourth industrial revolution. Yet these examples are few and far between. The concept is finding the most traction in situations where a lack of human interaction is
automation technology can be found. But, beyond that point, it becomes unviable to continue automating.
a benefit. This includes applications with a risk of contamination, such as food processing or specialist electronic component manufacturing. It may also include sectors where the product margins can be higher – such as pharmaceutical production – where a return on investment is more achievable. These examples nearly all require a high-volume, low product-mix scenario to make them viable, and this is at odds with a broader move towards low-volume, high product-mix across manufacturing as businesses move towards creating greater choice for their customers. The 100% automated, fully ‘lights-out’ factory is not a realistic goal for a large proportion of manufacturing businesses currently in operation. However, for all manufacturers, a point exists somewhere between zero and 100% automation where the greatest return on investment in
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. In the most basic of examples, let’s consider a bottle filling line. If a bottle jams, it isn’t easy to rectify using automation. However, for a human, it is relatively straightforward to address.
MANUFACTURING NEEDS PEOPLE A key reason why a fully ‘lights-out’ factory is not viable is that manufacturing needs people. As advanced as today’s automation technologies are becoming, there are
Ongoing advances in automation technology allow manufacturers to move closer to full automation A significant benefit of digitalisation is that it enables the collection of valuable process data which can be analysed to identify the routecauses of production problems. This can then
inform the adaptation of lines and machinery to minimise, or even eliminate, machine stoppages. Sticking with the bottle filling line scenario, it would be possible to redesign the filling machine’s guides to eliminate the bottle jam. But, if a later batch of the supplier’s bottles falls out of spec, the issue could reappear despite best efforts. 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. Essentially, you can keep adding steps to optimise a line but this never truly guarantees the elimination of all potential problems. Examples such as these are a case in point that it’s not practical to automate the last 10% of a production facility to achieve a fully ‘lights-out’ factory. Which also leads to the common trend of the manufacturing workforce shifting from traditional operational duties to supervisory roles. PROOF OF CONCEPT A critical step for manufacturers is to identify to what extent and in which areas automation will offer them the best return on investment. This can be quite a complex task, but many systems integrators and technology vendors can carry out the analysis and develop a proof of concept – from single applications to entire facilities. Omron, for example, has a dedicated proofof-concept laboratory in Milton Keynes, UK, as well as other high-tech facilitates available across the globe. These sites are often used to construct a prototype system to offer a physical demonstration as part of the proofof-concept process. ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES Ongoing advances in automation technology allow manufacturers to move closer to full
Omron’s innovation lab in Milton Keyes, UK
24
QUARTER 2 2021 // P&C AFRICA
automation. Machine vision is a great example. The development of 3D vision systems means that more complex pick-and-place operations are now feasible. Where previously items needed to be carefully presented to pick-and place-systems, vision technology can now
