An Industry 4.0 mindset and a “lights-out” style of operation is driving quality and manufacturing teams to integrate measurements and process controls more tightly. The hope is that localized, closed loops will provide great benefits, including lower manufacturing costs, lower labor costs, and improved product quality.
But while these changes can indeed offer many benefits, getting there is not always straightforward. There is a potential to assume that, with some effort, closed loop controls can be developed for all operations and all drawing specifications. After all, what’s the point of “lights out” if you can’t turn all of the lights off for a given process? As is typically the case, the full solution is more complicated.