Factory system

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The Factory system was a method of manufacturing adopted in England at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Basically, each worker did a seperate part of the total assembly of a product. Workers, paid by wage, and machines were brought together in a central factory. Generally, all the processes would be carried on under one roof, continuous as long as it was practical. For instance, in the mills pioneered by John Lombe and Richard Arkwright, the raw material would arrive at the top of the mill and emerge as reels of spun cotton or silk at the base.

[edit] Before the Factory System

In the previous traditional cottage industries, individual families would carry on a trade, such as spinning or weaving, and sell their products as best they could, usually at a market. In time, particularly as equipment became more complex or expensive, or where a landlord or merchant cornered the supply of materials, the equipment and material was rented out to the worker, a process known as outsourcing.

[edit] Effect on Society

The factory process would be brought about by an increase in demand for a commodity. This demand would lead to a method being devise to produce it in quantity, usually with a process requiring numbers of people to operate. However, it was more efficient to bring workers to the machines and organize their labour collectively, particularly as the factories would be located power sources near rivers and streams.

The concentration of labour in the new factories also brought the labourers and their families to live in the new towns that rapidly grew up around the factories. The growth of new towns and existing cities helped to start the process of urbanization in many industrial age areas.

While it is often claimed that the products were inferior; many of the products were innovative, and they could not have been produced in quantity any other way. The factory system marked the end of the individual craftsman.

[edit] Role of the Steam Engine

The factory system was pushed to even greater heights of productivity by the invention of the steam engine, which played a major role in the Industrial Revolution. Originating with the production of cotton goods, the factory system spread to other areas of production, therebye creating whole new industries. The steam engine secured the triumph of the Industrial Revolution.