Other Videos in This Series
- Part 2: Automated Factories: A Discussion on Challenges in Automation
- Part 3: Software is Key to Realizing the Idea of a Dark Facility
- Part 4: Labor, Power & Security in a Lights-Out Factory
Guy Courtin, vice president of Industry and Advanced Technology at supply chain software and services business Tecsys Inc., spoke with Sharon Spielman, technical editor at Machine Design, about the concept of a dark, or “lights-out” facility.
In this first of a four-part video series, get to know a little about Courtin and his role at Tecsys as well as the company’s supply chain execution software and orchestration software such as order management and point of use.
READ MORE: R&D Spotlight: Manufacturers Automate Through Robotics
Factories and warehouses are evolving. With that, Courtin points out that we are seeing less dependency on labor. “We need more physical robotic automation in there to do the dangerous jobs, to do the boring jobs, to do the repetitive jobs,” he says. Machines and robotics will supplement that.
Courtin talks about the drivers for a future with fully automated factories and ponders the chasm between science fiction and reality. There are many jobs that humans are still better equipped to do, he says, “and that we still—as humans ourselves—recognize that humans are better equipped to do those jobs.”
More Lights-out Manufacturing Coverage
Barely There: Replacing Manual Operations with Lights-out Processes