簡介：◎ 關燈工廠小詞典 ◎ 什麼是 the sky's the limit？ ◎ 關燈工廠 vs. 智慧工廠

Lights Out: A Transition to Fully Automated Factories

A "lights-out factory," the idea of which originated in the 1980s, is more a set of practices than a single process for automated manufacturing. With existing lights-out factories, several technologies are employed to eliminate or reduce the need for human interference. For example, companies like Foxconn and Phillips use automated robots to replace human labor in third-shift operations. More advanced plants, like the one operated by Japanese robotics manufacturer FANUC, can run completely unsupervised for periods of 30 days, producing 50 robots daily. For these technologies, the sky's the limit — when done right, they increase throughput while also reducing injuries, overhead, and labor costs.

關燈工廠：全自動化生產的必經之路

概念源自 1980 年代的 「關燈工廠」對自動化製造而言，比較像是一套做法，而非單一過程。對應現有的關燈工廠，有好幾項技術被用以排除或減少人為干預的需要。舉例來說，富士康和飛利浦等公司在夜班時使用自動化機器人來取代人力。更先進的如日本機器人製造商發那科所營運的工廠，可完全無人監管達三十天之久，每天產出五十個機器人。對這些技術而言，一切都是有可能的──運作得宜時，它們能提高生產率，同時降低傷害、經常性開支及勞力成本。