Historical Evolution of Factories:
– Max Weber’s perspective on ancient vs. modern production methods.
– Transition from household to independent production in early history.
– Notable ancient factories like Naucratis in Egypt and production in ancient Athens.
– Early tools found in a South African cave.
– Inventions like the wheel and watermills shaping factory development.
– Role of individuals like John Lombes and Richard Arkwright in the Industrial Revolution.
– Evolution from artisan shops to mechanized factories.
– Impact of electrification on factory automation and layout efficiency.
– Henry Ford’s assembly line innovation and subsequent advancements in mass production.
Types and Operations in Factories:
– Categorization of factories into discrete and continuous production.
– Chemical manufacturing facilities often referred to as plants.
– Distinction between final goods and parts production.
– Utilization of heat or electricity in continuous production industries.
– Historical use of the term ‘mill’ in various industries.
– Modern factories with large warehouses and heavy equipment for assembly line production.
– Strategic location near transportation hubs for efficient operations.
– Supply chain management concepts and importance in modern factories.
Challenges and Trends in Factory Development:
– Impact of factories on urbanization and industrial slums.
– Regulatory measures like Factory Acts to control industrialization excesses.
– Shift towards service sector growth overshadowing traditional manufacturing.
– Globalization leading to manufacturing relocation to developing countries.
– Challenges faced by traditional factories as labor shifts to office settings.
– Technological advancements and future trends in Industry 4.0 technologies.
Management and Governance of Factories:
– Development of management theory to control factory processes.
– Influence of labor hierarchies on management assumptions.
– Contemporary approaches like Socio-Technical Systems in facility design.
– Importance of ethical considerations in organizational management.
– Academic research on management skills and processes in factories.
Literature and Research on Factories:
– Historical significance of factories in ancient civilizations.
– Technological advancements in milling technology crucial for factory development.
– Role of supply chain management in modern factory operations.
– Influence of individuals like Henry Ford on manufacturing industry.
– Notable references and works on the history and development 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. They are a critical part of modern economic production, with the majority of the world's goods being created or processed within factories.
Factories arose with the introduction of machinery during the Industrial Revolution, when the capital and space requirements became too great for cottage industry or workshops. Early factories that contained small amounts of machinery, such as one or two spinning mules, and fewer than a dozen workers have been called "glorified workshops".
Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production. Large factories tend to be located with access to multiple modes of transportation, some having rail, highway and water loading and unloading facilities. In some countries like Australia, it is common to call a factory building a "Shed".
Factories may either make discrete products or some type of continuously produced material, such as chemicals, pulp and paper, or refined oil products. Factories manufacturing chemicals are often called plants and may have most of their equipment – tanks, pressure vessels, chemical reactors, pumps and piping – outdoors and operated from control rooms. Oil refineries have most of their equipment outdoors.
Discrete products may be final goods, or parts and sub-assemblies which are made into final products elsewhere. Factories may be supplied parts from elsewhere or make them from raw materials. Continuous production industries typically use heat or electricity to transform streams of raw materials into finished products.
The term mill originally referred to the milling of grain, which usually used natural resources such as water or wind power until those were displaced by steam power in the 19th century. Because many processes like spinning and weaving, iron rolling, and paper manufacturing were originally powered by water, the term survives as in steel mill, paper mill, etc.
