The factory system is a method of
manufacturing
Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to ...
using machinery and
division of labor. Because of the high capital cost of machinery and factory buildings, factories are typically privately owned by wealthy individuals or corporations who employed the operative labor. Use of machinery with the division of labor reduced the required skill level of workers and also increased the output per worker.
The factory system was first adopted in
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
at the beginning of the
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
in the late eighteenth century and later spread around the world. It replaced the
putting-out system
The putting-out system is a means of subcontracting work. Historically, it was also known as the workshop system and the domestic system. In putting-out, work is contracted by a central agent to subcontractors who complete the project via remote w ...
(domestic system). The main characteristic of the factory system is the use of machinery, originally powered by water or steam and later by electricity. Other characteristics of the system mostly derive from the use of machinery or
economies of scale
In microeconomics, economies of scale are the cost advantages that enterprises obtain due to their scale of operation, and are typically measured by the amount of output produced per unit of time. A decrease in cost per unit of output enables ...
, the
centralization of
factories
A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. T ...
, and
standardization of
interchangeable parts.
Characteristics
The defining characteristics of the factory system are:
* The factory system is considered a form of production. The operative labour generally does not own a significant share of the enterprise. The capitalist owners provide all machinery, buildings, management and administration, raw or semi-finished materials and are responsible for the sale of all production, as well as any resulting losses.
* Use of
unskilled labor
Skill is a measure of the amount of worker's expertise, specialization, wages, and supervisory capacity. Skilled workers are generally more trained, higher paid, and have more responsibilities than unskilled workers.
Skilled workers have long had ...
– Before the factory some systems had many products such as shoes and muskets were made by skilled craftsmen who usually custom-made an entire article. In contrast, factories practiced
division of labour, in which most workers were either low skilled labourers who tended or operated machinery, or unskilled labourers who moved materials, semi-finished and finished goods. There were a few skilled mechanics. Division of labour was also practiced by the
putting out system
The putting-out system is a means of subcontracting work. Historically, it was also known as the workshop system and the domestic system. In putting-out, work is contracted by a central agent to subcontractors who complete the project via remote w ...
in which, for example, pieces of leather were cut off-site and brought to a central shop to be made into shoes or other articles.
*
Economies of scale
In microeconomics, economies of scale are the cost advantages that enterprises obtain due to their scale of operation, and are typically measured by the amount of output produced per unit of time. A decrease in cost per unit of output enables ...
– Factories produced products on a much larger scale than the putting out or crafts systems. Because factories could oversupply local markets, access to transportation was important so that goods could be widely distributed. Factories used far less manpower per unit of production and therefore lowered product cost.
* Location – Before the widespread use of
steam engines and railroads, most factories were located at water power sites and near water transportation.
Railroads became widespread (itself a consequence of steam power becoming more efficient and affordable), so factories could be located away from water power sites but nearer railroads.
[
]
*
Centralization – The cost and complexity of machinery, especially that powered by water or steam, was more than cottage industry workers could afford or had the skills to maintain. The exception was the sewing machine, which allowed
putting out of sewing to continue for decades after the rise of factories. Home spinning and weaving were displaced in the years following the introduction of factory production, especially as distribution became easier.
:Workers and machines were brought together in a central factory complex specially designed to handle the machinery and flow of materials. Although the earliest factories were usually all under one roof, different operations might be done on different floors. (Multi-story buildings were common because they facilitated transmission of power through
line shaft
A line shaft is a power-driven rotating shaft for power transmission that was used extensively from the Industrial Revolution until the early 20th century. Prior to the widespread use of electric motors small enough to be connected directly to e ...
s.) In large factories, such as
Baldwin locomotive works, different processes were performed in different buildings.
[
]
:Foundry and blacksmith operations were normally kept in a separate building for reasons of safety, cleanliness and health.
:The efficiency of steam engines increases with size. Because of this, the smallest steam engines were about 2 horsepower, which was larger than needed by most workshops. Consequently until electrification in the 1910s and 1920s most workshops relied on manual power or rented space in ''power buildings'' which provided a centrally powered
line shaft
A line shaft is a power-driven rotating shaft for power transmission that was used extensively from the Industrial Revolution until the early 20th century. Prior to the widespread use of electric motors small enough to be connected directly to e ...
.
*
Standardization and uniformity – Components were made to standard specifications, such as soles, heels and uppers for shoes themselves made to uniform sizes. Uniformity was mainly due to the precision possible from machinery, but also, quality was overseen by management. The quality of many machine operations such as sewing was superior to hand methods.
[
] Near the end of the nineteenth century metal
interchangeable parts became widely used.
* Guarantee of supply – Factories were able to produce and distribute a steady supply of goods.
Workers were paid either daily
wage
A wage is payment made by an employer to an employee for work done in a specific period of time. Some examples of wage payments include compensatory payments such as ''minimum wage'', '' prevailing wage'', and ''yearly bonuses,'' and remune ...
s or for
piece work
Piece work (or piecework) is any type of employment in which a worker is paid a fixed piece rate for each unit produced or action performed, regardless of time.
Context
When paying a worker, employers can use various methods and combinations of ...
, either in the form of money or some combination of money, housing, meals and goods from a company store (the
truck system
Truck wages are wages paid not in conventional money but instead in the form of payment in kind (i.e. commodities, including goods and/or services); credit with retailers; or a money substitute, such as scrip, chits, vouchers or tokens. Truc ...
). Piece work presented accounting difficulties, especially as volumes increased and workers did a narrower scope of work on each piece. Piece work went out of flavor with the advent of the production line, which was designed on standard times for each operation in the sequence, and workers had to keep up with the work flow.
History
![New Lanark buildings 2009](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/New_Lanark_buildings_2009.jpg)
Antiquity
In
Ancient Sumer around 3000 BC, the
Ancient Mesopotamia
The history of Mesopotamia ranges from the earliest human occupation in the Paleolithic period up to Late antiquity. This history is pieced together from evidence retrieved from archaeological excavations and, after the introduction of writing i ...
n economy began to develop a version of the factory system that also featured the
division of labor.
Mills
One of the earliest factories was
John Lombe
John Lombe (1693 in Norwich – November 20, 1722 in Derby) was a silk spinner in the 18th century Derby, England.
Biography
Lombe was born in Norwich in approximately 1693, the son of a worsted weaver. He was a younger half-brother of Thoma ...
's
water-powered silk mill at
Derby
Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...
, operational by 1721. By 1746, an integrated
brass mill
A brass mill is a mill which processes brass. Brass mills are common in England; many date from long before the Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continenta ...
was working at
Warmley
Warmley is a village in South Gloucestershire, England.
Warmley is situated in between Bristol and Bath. It is a parish, with its own church, and has some minor landmarks, such as a World War One memorial the focus of Remembrance Services, and ...
near
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
. Raw material went in at one end, was smelted into brass and was turned into pans, pins, wire, and other goods. Housing was provided for workers on site.
Josiah Wedgwood
Josiah Wedgwood (12 July 1730 – 3 January 1795) was an English potter, entrepreneur and abolitionist. Founding the Wedgwood company in 1759, he developed improved pottery bodies by systematic experimentation, and was the leader in the indus ...
in Staffordshire and
Matthew Boulton
Matthew Boulton (; 3 September 172817 August 1809) was an English manufacturer and business partner of Scottish engineer James Watt. In the final quarter of the 18th century, the partnership installed hundreds of Boulton & Watt steam engin ...
at his
Soho Manufactory
The Soho Manufactory () was an early factory which pioneered mass production on the assembly line principle, in Soho, Birmingham, England, at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. It operated from 1766–1848 and was demolished in 1853.
B ...
were other prominent early industrialists, who employed the factory system.
Cotton spinning
The factory system began widespread use somewhat later when
cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...
spinning was mechanized.
The first use of an integrated system, where cotton came in and was spun, bleached dyed and woven into finished cloth, was at mills in Waltham and Lowell, Massachusetts. These became known as
Lowell Mills and the
Waltham-Lowell system.
The
Nasmyth, Gaskell and Company's Bridgewater Foundry, which began operation in 1836, was one of the earliest factories to use modern materials handling such as cranes and rail tracks through the buildings for handling heavy items.
Arkwright
Richard Arkwright is the person credited with being the brains behind the growth of factories and the
Derwent Valley Mills. After he patented his
water frame
The water frame is a spinning frame that is powered by a water-wheel. Water frames in general have existed since Ancient Egypt times. Richard Arkwright, who patented the technology in 1769, designed a model for the production of cotton thread; ...
in 1769, he established
Cromford Mill
Cromford Mill is the world's first water-powered cotton spinning mill, developed by Richard Arkwright in 1771 in Cromford, Derbyshire, England. The mill structure is classified as a Grade I listed building. It is now the centrepiece of the D ...
, in
Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
, England. The factory system was a new way of organizing
labour made necessary by the development of machines which were too large to house in a worker's cottage. Working hours were as long as they had been for the farmer, that is, from dawn to dusk, six days per week.
Machine tools and interchangeable parts
An early instance of transition from skilled craftsmen to
machine tools began in the late eighteenth century. In 1774,
John Wilkinson invented a method for boring cannon barrels that were straight and true every time. He adapted this method to bore piston cylinders in the
steam engines of
James Watt. This boring machine has been called the first machine tool.
Mass production using
interchangeable parts was first achieved in 1803 by
Marc Isambard Brunel
Sir Marc Isambard Brunel (, ; 25 April 1769 – 12 December 1849) was a French-British engineer who is most famous for the work he did in Britain. He constructed the Thames Tunnel and was the father of Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
Born in Franc ...
in cooperation with
Henry Maudslay
Henry Maudslay ( pronunciation and spelling) (22 August 1771 – 14 February 1831) was an English machine tool innovator, tool and die maker, and inventor. He is considered a founding father of machine tool technology. His inventions were ...
, and Simon Goodrich, under the management of (with contributions by) Brigadier-General Sir
Samuel Bentham
Sir Samuel Bentham (11 January 1757 – 31 May 1831) was a noted English mechanical engineer and naval architect credited with numerous innovations, particularly related to naval architecture, including weapons. He was the only surviving siblin ...
, the Inspector General of Naval Works at
Portsmouth Block Mills
The Portsmouth Block Mills form part of the Portsmouth Dockyard at Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, and were built during the Napoleonic Wars to supply the British Royal Navy with pulley blocks. They started the age of mass-production using ...
at
Portsmouth Dockyard
His Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth (HMNB Portsmouth) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Devonport). Portsmouth Naval Base is part of the city of Portsmouth; it is l ...
, for the British Royal Navy during the Napoleonic War. By 1808 annual production had reached 130,000
sailing blocks. This method of working did not catch on in general manufacturing in Britain for many decades, and when it did it was imported from America, becoming known as the ''
American system of manufacturing
The American system of manufacturing was a set of manufacturing methods that evolved in the 19th century. The two notable features were the extensive use of interchangeable parts and mechanization for production, which resulted in more efficient ...
'', even though it originated in England.
Societal effects
Much manufacturing in the 18th century was carried out in homes under the domestic or
putting-out system
The putting-out system is a means of subcontracting work. Historically, it was also known as the workshop system and the domestic system. In putting-out, work is contracted by a central agent to subcontractors who complete the project via remote w ...
, especially the
weaving
Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal ...
of cloth and spinning of thread and yarn, often with just a single loom or spinning wheel. As these devices were mechanized, machine made goods were able to underprice the cottagers, leaving them unable to earn enough to make their effort worthwhile. Other products such as
nails had long been produced in factory workshops, increasingly diversified using the
division of labour to increase the efficiency of the system.
Factory workers typically lived within walking distance to work until the introduction of bicycles and electric street railways in the 1890s. Thus the factory system was partly responsible for the rise of urban living, as large numbers of workers migrated into the towns in search of employment in the factories. Many mills had to provide dormitories for workers, especially for girls and women.
The transition to industrialisation was not without difficulty. For example, a group of English workers known as
Luddite
The Luddites were a secret oath-based organisation of English textile workers in the 19th century who formed a radical faction which destroyed textile machinery. The group is believed to have taken its name from Ned Ludd, a legendary weaver ...
s formed to protest against industrialisation and sometimes
sabotage
Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identitie ...
d factories. They continued an already established tradition of workers opposing labour saving machinery. Numerous inventors in the textile industry such as
John Kay and
Samuel Crompton
Samuel Crompton (3 December 1753 – 26 June 1827) was an English inventor and pioneer of the spinning industry. Building on the work of James Hargreaves and Richard Arkwright he invented the spinning mule, a machine that revolutionised th ...
, suffered harassment when developing their machines or devices.
In other industries the transition to factory production was not so divisive.
Until the late nineteenth century it was common to work 12 hours a day, six days a week in most factories; however long hours were also common outside factories.
Debate arose concerning the morality of the system, as workers complained about unfair working conditions prior to the passage of labour laws. One of the problems was women's labour; in many cases women were paid not much more than a quarter of what men made. Child labour was also a major part of the system. However, in the early nineteenth century, education was not compulsory and in many families having children work was necessary due to low incomes (
Samuel Slater
Samuel Slater (June 9, 1768 – April 21, 1835) was an early English-American industrialist known as the "Father of the American Industrial Revolution" (a phrase coined by Andrew Jackson) and the "Father of the American Factory System". In the ...
employed children but was required to provide basic education). Children commonly did farm labour and produced goods for the household. Besides working in factories children worked in mines. Automation in the late 19th century is credited with displacing child labour, with the automatic glass bottle blowing machine (''c''. 1890) cited as an example, having been said to do more to end child labour than child labour laws. Years of schooling began to increase sharply from the end of the nineteenth century.
Some industrialists themselves tried to improve factory and living conditions for their workers. One of the earliest such reformers was
Robert Owen, known for his pioneering efforts in improving conditions for workers at the
New Lanark mills, and often regarded as one of the key thinkers of the
early socialist movement.
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...
worried that the capitalist system would eventually lead to wages only sufficient for subsistence due to the
tendency of the rate of profit to fall
The tendency of the rate of profit to fall (TRPF) is a theory in the crisis theory of political economy, according to which the rate of profit—the ratio of the profit to the amount of invested capital—decreases over time. This hypothesis ...
. Subsistence wages were indeed the case in parts of England. The
British Agricultural Revolution
The British Agricultural Revolution, or Second Agricultural Revolution, was an unprecedented increase in agricultural production in Britain arising from increases in labour and land productivity between the mid-17th and late 19th centuries. Agric ...
had been reducing the need for labour on farms for over a century and these workers were forced to sell their labour wherever they could. Conditions were particularly bad during the depression years of the late 1830s to early 1840s. The depression was immediately followed by the
Irish famine
The Great Famine ( ga, an Gorta Mór ), also known within Ireland as the Great Hunger or simply the Famine and outside Ireland as the Irish Potato Famine, was a period of starvation and disease in Ireland from 1845 to 1852 that constituted a h ...
of 1845–50 which brought large numbers of Irish immigrants to seek work in the English and American factories.
One of the best known accounts of factory workers’ living conditions during the Industrial Revolution is
Friedrich Engels' ''
The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844
''The Condition of the Working Class in England'' (german: Die Lage der arbeitenden Klasse in England) is an 1845 book by the German philosopher Friedrich Engels, a study of the industrial working class in Victorian England. Engels' first book, ...
''. By the late 1880s, Engels noted that the extreme poverty and lack of sanitation he wrote about in 1844 had largely disappeared.
[Preface to the later editions (post 1887) of ''Conditions of the Working Class in England in 1844'']
See also
*
Adam Smith
*
Arnold Toynbee (historian, born 1852) Arnold Toynbee may refer to:
* Arnold Toynbee (historian, born 1852) (d. 1883), British economic historian
* Arnold J. Toynbee
Arnold Joseph Toynbee (; 14 April 1889 – 22 October 1975) was an English historian, a philosopher of history, an ...
*
Assembly line
An assembly line is a manufacturing process (often called a ''progressive assembly'') in which parts (usually interchangeable parts) are added as the semi-finished assembly moves from workstation to workstation where the parts are added in se ...
*
Mass production
*
Mechanization
Mechanization is the process of changing from working largely or exclusively by hand or with animals to doing that work with machinery. In an early engineering text a machine is defined as follows:
In some fields, mechanization includes the ...
*
Productivity-improving technologies The productivity-improving technologies are the technological innovations that have historically increased productivity.
Productivity is often measured as the ratio of (aggregate) output to (aggregate) input in the production of goods and services. ...
References
Citations
Sources
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Factory System
Industrial Revolution
History of manufacturing