The article talks about what a factory is, when the first such enterprises were created and what is their advantage over manual labor.
Ancient times
At all times, people have realized the importance of crafts. After all, it is much easier to purchase or order a product than to spend months or even years on mastering the skills of its manufacture. In any society, tribe or community, there have always been those who were engaged in one thing, devoting, for example, sewing boots most of the time, not being distracted by everything else. Such people were called artisans.
But with the development of society and the growth of the total population of the Earth, people began to consume much more various goods, including food. And it became very difficult to meet the needs of everyone with the help of small craft shops. In addition, the more expensive this or that product, the more time and effort spent on its manufacture. And all this gradually led to the emergence of factories. This is a natural process, in which the development of technology and the first electronics played a big role. And, by the way, the emergence of such a production phenomenon as a factory is one of the signs of the industrial revolution in the 18th-19th centuries. But first things first.
Definition
This word comes from the Latin language and in the original sounds like fabrica, which means "factory" or "workshop". Now let's take a closer look at what it is.
A factory is an industrial enterprise whose work is based on the use of machines for more productive and high-quality work. Most often, a factory complex consists of several buildings, each of which deals with its own production stage or type of product. Also (but not necessarily) at the factory there are storage rooms and management offices. So the factory is an industrial enterprise, whose work is clearly established. The real heyday of such enterprises came in the middle of the 19th century, when many manual labor processes were replaced by machines.
But this term is most often used in relation to light or extractive industries, for example, a furniture factory, or a knitwear factory. And in other areas, the word "plant" is usually used. In the event that a group of factories and other production enterprises is united by a common territory and management, then they are called a combine. For example, a processing plant.
History
The factory is one of those manifestations of the technical and industrial revolution, which greatly influenced the world and changed it. The flourishing of fully or partially automated production quickly replaced manufactories, enterprises where all work cycles were carried out manually.
It all started in the late XVIII - early XIX centuries inEngland. And by the way, steam engines, looms and some other inventions of those times played a big role in factory production. The first country that almost completely transferred light industry to the factory type is England. Of course, not everything went so smoothly - there is numerous historical evidence of how often disgruntled artisans tried to sack weaving factories because they produced products in much larger volumes, which depreciated exclusively manual labor. For example, a furniture factory could provide entire cities with inexpensive furniture, while ordinary carpenters could not boast of such productivity.
Gradually, starting from the middle of the 19th century, mechanization also covered other areas of production. Powerful steam engines, mechanical hammers, milling, turning and other machines appeared, which greatly increased labor productivity in general.
Flourishing
But the real heyday of such production can be called the beginning of the 20th century, when universal electrification greatly facilitated the work of such enterprises as a factory. Photos of those times often show that, for example, lathes were driven by the muscular power of animals, water, or the efforts of the worker himself, which cannot be called a productive approach.
Now there are factories in all countries, and they are an important part of the industry and economy of any state. So we figured out what a factory is and what are their advantages.before manufactories or even purely manual labor.
