Editing Factory system (section)

==Characteristics==
The defining characteristics of the factory system are:
* The factory system is considered by economists a form of [[Production (economics) | production]].  The operative labour generally does not own a significant share of the enterprise.  Under [[capitalism]], capitalist owners provide all machinery, buildings, management, administration, and raw or semi-finished materials; and are responsible for the sale of all production, as well as for any resulting losses.
* Use of [[unskilled labour| unskilled labor]] – Before the rise of factories, some systems had many products (such as shoes or muskets) 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]] 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.<ref name = "Thomson 1989"/>
* [[Economies of scale]] – 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 engine]]s and railroads, most factories were located at water-power sites and near water transportation.<ref name = "Hunter 1991"/>  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.<ref name="Taylor 1951">
{{cite book
|title= The Transportation Revolution, 1815–30002 |last=Taylor
 |first= George Rogers
 |year=1951 |publisher = Rinehart & Co.
|location=New York, Toronto
|isbn= 978-0-87332-101-3}}
</ref>
* [[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 system|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.<ref name = "Thomson 1989"/>
: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]]s.)  In large factories, such as [[Baldwin locomotive works]], different processes were performed in different buildings.<ref name = "Hunter 1991">
{{cite book |title      = A History of Industrial Power in the United States, 1730–1930, Vol. 3: The Transmission of Power
 |last       = Hunter
 |first      = Louis C.
 |authorlink =
 |author2    = Bryant, Lynwood
 |year       = 1991
 |publisher  = MIT Press
 |location   = Cambridge
 |isbn       = 0-262-08198-9
 |page       =
 |url-access = registration
 |url        = https://archive.org/details/historyofindustr00hunt
}}
</ref>
:Foundry and blacksmith operations were normally kept in a separate building for reasons of safety, cleanliness and health.<ref>*{{cite book|last=Nelson|first=Daniel|title=Frederick W. Taylor and the Rise of Scientific Management|year=1980|publisher=University of Wisconsin Press|location=Madison|isbn=0-299-08160-5}}</ref>
: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]].<ref name = "Hunter 1991"/>
* [[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.<ref name = "Thomson 1989">{{cite book |title      = The Path to Mechanized Shoe Production in the United States
 |last       = Thomson
 |first      = Ross
 |authorlink =
 |year       = 1989
 |publisher  = The University of North Carolina Press
 |location   = Chapel Hill and London
 |isbn       = 978-0807818671
 |url-access = registration
 |url        = https://archive.org/details/pathtomechanized00thom
}}
</ref>  Near the end of the nineteenth century metal [[interchangeable parts]] became widely used.<ref name =Hounshell-1984>{{Hounshell1984}}</ref>
* Guarantee of supply – Factories were able to produce and distribute a steady supply of goods.

Workers were paid either daily [[wage]]s or for [[piece work]], either in the form of money or some combination of money, housing, meals and goods from a company store (the [[truck system]]).  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 favor with the advent of the [[production line]], which was designed by factory staff on standard times for each operation in the sequence, and workers had to keep up with the work flow.

Critics of the factory system have associated it with the other example of bulk human-labor organisation of its era - [[slavery]].<ref>
{{cite book
 |last1                = Freeman
 |first1               = Joshua B.
 |author-link1         = Joshua Freeman
 |year                 = 2018
 |title                = Behemoth: A History of the Factory and the Making of the Modern World
 |url                  = https://books.google.com/books?id=iYUrDwAAQBAJ
 |location             = New York
 |publisher            = W. W. Norton & Company
 |isbn                 = 9780393246322
 |access-date          = 18 March 2023
 |quote                = [...] in the early years of the factory system, it was as likely to be dubbed a new form of slavery as a new form of freedom. [...] For Robert Southey, the association of slavery with the factory system did not stem from particular abuses but from the nature of the system itself. [...] An 1844 letter in the ''Manchester Operative'' [...] likened the mill bell calling workers to their tasks to 'a slave driver's whip' [...]
}} 
</ref>