Is your facility ready for 24/7 automation?

Lights-out manufacturing is rapidly emerging as the future of Indian industry, but its success hinges on blending advanced automation with strong digital infrastructure, cybersecurity, and human adaptability.

- BY: Pranav Vadehra

As manufacturers push for higher productivity and resilience, lights-out manufacturing – factories operating without human intervention – is gaining traction. Enabled by advances in robotics, AI, IoT, and predictive analytics, this concept promises round-the-clock production, reduced downtime, and optimised resource usage.

Cheaper, smarter, and more adaptable automation systems are already transforming manufacturing in a host of different ways. Indian manufacturers are evaluating their readiness for ‘lights-out’ or ‘dark’ manufacturing as automation capabilities grow. But readiness requires more than machines: it demands digital infrastructure, cybersecurity vigilance, and cultural adaptation on the shop floor.

As the technology becomes more straightforward to implement, the business decisions become crucial – success will depend on blending technology, security, and human adaptability into a rhythm that never sleeps.

Making the autonomous shift

“The shift toward lights-out manufacturing is indeed a critical conversation for the Indian sector right now, especially as we balance Industry 4.0 ambitions with our unique infrastructure and labour realities,” believes Rahul Jain, Assistant Professor, UPES Online.

Lights-out manufacturing will start taking momentum once the enablers of Robotics, powered by AI and Automation, can closely bind all the existing systems with newer technologies, but the cost of setting up these factories is prohibitively high because of the need to import technologies.