Industrial Revolution 1.0 — Era of Mechanization

Society for Industrial Management and Engineering

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SPARK by SIME

14 min readMay 23, 2021

Schwab describes an industrial revolution as the appearance of “new technologies and novel ways of perceiving the world [that] trigger a profound change in economic and social structures.”

Industrial revolutions are defined as the increase in productions as a result of new machinery, technology, energy sources, or a combination of these. It marks a major turning point in history; almost every aspect of daily life was influenced in some way.

When people think of the industrial revolution, one of two things may come to mind, namely being the changes in manufacturing brought about by the use of machinery in the eighteenth century along with the industrial revolution as an ongoing reality that we still live in today. The first viewpoint speaks to the first industrial revolution, while current advances in technology represent the fourth industrial revolution.

The modern industry has seen great advances since its earliest iteration at the beginning of the industrial revolution in the 18th century. The main features involved in the Industrial Revolution were technological, socioeconomic, and cultural. The technological changes included the following:

The use of new basic materials,
The use of new energy sources,
The invention of new machines, that permitted increased production with a smaller expenditure of human energy,
A new organization of work known as the factory system, which entailed the increased division of labor and specialization of function,
Important developments in transportation and communication, and
The increasing application of science to industry.

These technological changes made possible a tremendously increased use of natural resources and the mass production of manufactured goods. The progress from Industry 1.0 was then a rapid uphill climb leading up to the upcoming industrial era — Industry 4.0.

It is the histories of our various pursuits that inform their futures, and manufacturing is no different. For centuries, goods including food, clothing, houses, and weaponry were manufactured by hand or with the help of work animals. By the beginning of the 19th century, though, manufacturing began to change dramatically with the introduction of Industry 1.0, and operations rapidly developed from there. We have undergone three industrial revolutions, find ourselves in the midst of a fourth, and are poised to predict what a fifth might hold. The Industrial Revolution has long been seen as the spark for modern, global industrialization and sustained economic growth, and here is an overview of that evolution.

Why did it happen?

Identifying the factors that caused the industrial revolution is vital not simply as a historical exercise but as the basis for understanding the complexity of the hurdles awaiting societies that tried to establish an industrial revolution even after Britain showed the way. The variety of developments that combined to create the first industrial revolution had somehow to be replicated, though not necessarily in an identical fashion.

Occasionally, industrialization is presented as flowing simply from a few dramatic inventions and some new thinking about the economy. Adam Smith’s market-oriented theories issued in 1776 stressed the importance of vigorous economic competition free from government controls as a means of generating innovation and growing prosperity.

One key step in Britain’s industrialization is the imposition of tariffs on cotton from India, which occurred before free-market logic began to gain ground. Any explanation of the industrial revolution must account for new behaviors on the part of literally thousands of people: the entrepreneurs who gradually moved toward a factory system, the workers who staffed the factories, the investors who provided the capital, the consumers who eagerly accepted the machine-made products. Several powerful factors had to combine to generate a change as substantial as even the early phases of industrialization.

For the industrial revolution to occur, considerable investment funds were required — the new machines were expensive, far costlier than any manufacturing equipment previously devised, even in the very small factories that characterized much early industry. Also needed was access to raw materials, including textile fibers, but particularly coal and iron, the sinews of the industrial revolution but very expensive to transport over long distances. Government interest in supporting economic innovation was a factor, and various kinds of specific government policies helped. One major importance was an available labor force that did not have more acceptable employment options, for although some workers might be attracted to the industrial life because of high pay for their particular skills, the excitement of innovation, and greater independence from a traditional family and community controls, most workers entered factories because they had little choice.

Finally, industrialization, particularly in its first manifestation in Britain, required an aggressive, risk-taking entrepreneurial spirit that would drive businesses to venture into innovation. All these ingredients must be considered in connection with the causes of the industrial revolution.

Take raw materials, for example. A large seam of coal ran from Britain through Belgium and northern France to the Ruhr Valley in Germany, and the most intense early industrialization developed along this coal seam. Iron ore deposits also existed in western Europe, in some cases close to the coal sources. Without these raw materials — and especially coal as the energy source for smelting metal and powering the steam engine — early industrialization would have been impossible. On the whole, however, raw materials form preconditions for industrialization, not active causes; several other societies were not in as good a position as Europe when it came to resources, and we will see a few cases where industrialization occurred without a particularly good resources base.

Early industrialists were more likely to emerge from craft backgrounds, though there were some exceptional landowners and traders involved. Europe’s role in preindustrial world trade set up the industrial revolution in several ways. Europeans acquired minerals and agricultural goods from other areas (including their colonies in the Americas, India, and elsewhere) and in return sold manufactured products. Because Europeans could price their goods to include the cost of processing, they were in general able to profit from the exchange. Growing amounts of commercial experience developed through the trading companies, and new technologies relating to shipbuilding and warfare received an impetus. Governments were encouraged to pay attention to the importance of fostering trade, though this attention at times led to heavy-handed efforts at control. Trade leadership helped stimulate a taste for new products.

We have seen that growing interest in cotton cloth originated first from trade with India, particularly in Britain, and then the tariffs imposed in the 1730s were explicitly designed to encourage local manufacturing. At the same time, Britain used its holdings in India and particularly the southern colonies in North America to provide raw cotton for its new textile branch. Trade also provided capital through the growing wealth of many business and landowning groups.

Most directly, experience in global competition pushed manufacturing innovation directly. It helped European entrepreneurs realize that a focus on exporting manufactured goods elsewhere was a source of profit. And it directly encouraged innovation to counter traditional Asian superiority in production. Again the cotton trade provides an explicit example. European trading companies began handling printed cotton cloth from India as early as the sixteenth century. They could make money selling these colorful goods not only in Europe but in other markets. However, by the late seventeenth century some European businessmen began to wonder if the goods could be made in their own countries, with even more profit possible. The deterrent was the experience and low cost of Indian artisans. But if machines could be devised to do the printing more efficiently, this competitive barrier could be overcome.

From Switzerland to Britain, from the late seventeenth century onward, Europeans began experimenting with new technologies, and by the mid-eighteenth century were ready to supply the market with factory-made goods. Here was a concrete case in which Europe’s industrial revolution, which was to have such dramatic effects on the wider world, stemmed in great part from Europe’s changing position in the wider world, and a particular desire to catch up or surpass Asian manufacturing competitors.

Why Britain is called the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution

Firstly, Britain’s financial system encouraged innovation and investors who were instrumental in funding various industrial projects, while other European nations lacked economic conditions even remotely necessary for industrialization to take place. Secondly, Britain’s isolated geography allowed it to maintain a relatively stable government compared to the rest of the European nations, which were still struggling to establish their states. Lastly, Britain had important industrial resources such as coal and iron in abundance which accelerated their industrial process altogether. Overall, Britain’s economic, political and geographical advantages made it the perfect candidate for the launch of the Industrial Revolution.

Introduction:-

First Revolution of Industry (Water, Steam & Coal — The Industrial Revolution that started it all)

Date range: 1750–1840

Notable revolution: The standard production process moves from Hand to Machine

This period was marked by a switch from hand production to manufacture through the use of machines powered mostly by steam and water. It was hugely beneficial in terms of manufacturing a larger number of various goods and creating a better standard of living for some. Many different industries were affected by this change including the textile industry, the iron industry, the farming industry, the mining industry, and many others.

The industrial revolution began around 1750 and while the advancements quickly became noticeable across much of the planet, its roots are tied in the continent of Europe, particularly, the United Kingdom.

Why the United Kingdom?

The smaller population meant there was an increased demand for better methods of industry, as the potential workforce sizes were smaller on a local level. Plus, the United Kingdom had science and education well-ingrained into its culture by this point. It was well-positioned academically to achieve such feats of engineering.

The 1800s introduced water- and steam-powered machines to aid workers in their tasks. This increased efficiency and potential, which is necessary for growth in other areas; businesses grew from individual interests to organizations with owners, managers, and employees serving customers. With the increase in production efficiency and scale, small businesses grew from serving a limited number of customers to large organizations serving a larger number of customers. Textiles and transportation, in particular, benefited immensely from industrialization, and machine use in manufacturing became even more widespread with the use of coal as an additional fuel source.

Diving straight into the early beginnings of the soon-to-be world-dominant British textiles industry was John Kay’s (1704–1779) invention of the flying shuttle (1733). This dramatically increased both the quality of production from a single weaver and the speed at which it could weave. In turn, this increased the demand for yarn, to keep up with the quicker production processes, this encouraged the invention of the spinning jenny (1764) and the water frame (1769).

Over time these processes were gradually mechanized. With mills situated by flowing water sources, engineers were able to create hydropower systems using water wheels.

At the same time, the steam engine was being developed from concept to working mechanism. The best example of an early steam engine would have been found around the pre-1900 British coal mines of Lancashire, Yorkshire, and South Wales. Developed by Thomas Newcomen, it was able to pump water out of mines and this, in turn, led to increased productivity in the form of more coal, which powered… more steam engines!

Fuel sources like steam and coal made machine use more feasible, and the idea of manufacturing with machines quickly spread. Machines allowed faster and easier production.

The first revolution brought economies around the world out of agriculture and handicrafts, into the world of machines. While farming and handmade goods still form a large part of today’s economy, they are nonetheless affected by the use of machines.

The revolution first began in Britain and then spread throughout the rest of the world. Here are some of the advances it introduced in manufacturing:-

The invention of new machines, such as the spinning jenny
Improvements in transportation and communication
Reliance on new energy sources, such as coal
The use of new raw materials, such as steel
Division of labor and worker specialization

Industrial revolutions have historically served to separate man’s work from machine’s work: allowing machines to take over most of the jobs that are in some way unsuitable for people, whether they be dangerous or plain boring.

Industry 1.0 can also be deemed as the beginning of the industry culture which focused equally on quality, efficiency, and scale.

Social Impact of Industrial Revolution

Its technological and organizational core had ramifications reaching into almost every facet of society — from personal life to wider institutions and cultures. No society managed to industrialize without massive social dislocations. There are distinctions as well between short-term and long-term social impacts. Different groups of workers fared differently, and different aspects of material standards also varied — clothing, for example, improved, whereas housing often deteriorated amid urban crowding, however with time, working-class poverty decreased. Early attention also existed on the heavy use of women and, in Britain, of child workers in factories. With time, however, the removal of many women from manufacturing work and the downgrading of their economic importance appeared more significant.

The clearest direct result of the industrial revolution involved the expansion of a new, predominantly urban working class and middle class, spurred not only by the rise of factory owners and managers in the industry but also by various professional groups such as engineers. The middle class readily saw the industrial revolution as a source of social and personal progress. These individuals accepted the ethic of hard, intense work and saw it pay off in personal achievement.

MAJOR INVENTION:-

The first factory opened by Lombe

Lombe’s Manufactory/Mill, Derby circa 1770

One of the first documented factories was opened by John Lombe in Derby around 1721. Lombe’s factory used water power to help the factory mass produce silk products. The factory was built on an island on the River Derwent in the English county of Derby. The idea for the factory came to Lombe after he had toured Italy looking at silk throwing machines.

On his return to the UK, he employed the services of the architect George Sorocold to design and build his new “Factory”. Once completed the mill, at its height, employed around 300 people.

On its completion it was the first successful silk throwing mill in England and, it is believed, the first fully mechanized factory in the world. Lombe was granted a 14-year patent for his throwing machines only to die mysteriously in 1722. His death has been attributed to the King of Sardinia, who reacted badly to the commercialization of silk production in the UK.

The Spinning Jenny increased wool mills’ productivity

Model Spinning Jenny, Museum of Early Industrialisation, Wuppertal, Germany

The Spinning Jenny was an example of the great inventions of the Industrial Revolution. It was developed by James Hargreaves who patented his idea in 1764. The Spinning Jenny was groundbreaking during its time and one that would help change the world forever. It allowed workers to spin more wool at a given time.

This vastly increased mills productivity and, along with the Flying Shuttle, helped force further industrialization of the textile industry in the United Kingdom. It allowed for a massive reduction in the work needed to produce a piece of cloth and allowed for a worker to work eight or more spools at a time. With further refinement, this increased to 120 spools over time.

Hargreaves has long been credited as the main driver for the development of a modern factory system. By the time of his death in 1778, there were around 20,000 Spinning Jennys across the UK.

The Watt Steam Engine, the engine that changed the world

James Watt created the first reliable steam engine in 1775. His invention changed the world.

His innovation blew the older less efficient models, like the Newcomen engine, out of the water. James’ innovation of adding a separate condenser significantly improved steam engine efficiency, especially latent heat losses. His new engine would prove very popular and would wind up installed in mines and factories across the world. It was hands down, one of the greatest inventions of the Industrial Revolution. His version also integrated a crankshaft and gears and it became the prototype for all modern steam engines. It would eventually lead to incredible improvements in almost all industries, including the textile industry, across the world.

Fuel sources like steam and coal made machine use more feasible, and the idea of manufacturing with machines quickly spread. Machines allowed faster and easier production. Steam engines would also lead to the development of locomotives and massive leaps forward in ship propulsion.

The Locomotive revolution

Replica of the “Rocket”, Nuremberg Museum, Germany

The invention of the steam engine would eventually lead to a revolution in transportation around the globe. Locomotives allowed large-scale movement of resources and people over long distances. Previously the industry relied on man -and animal-powered wagons and carts. These were common all over Europe and were commonly associated with mining and agriculture.

After the pioneering work of Richard Trevithick in 1804 and George Stephenson and his “Rocket”, train networks would begin to spring up all over the United Kingdom and eventually the world.

The first public railway opened in 1825 between Stockton and Darlington in England, UK. This would be the first of many railways and locomotives that would revolutionize the way business and private citizens transport their goods and themselves around.

Camera Obscura: The first photograph

World’s first photograph by Joseph Niepce

Beginning in 1814, Joseph Nicéphore Niépce started a journey of discovery that would eventually lead him to become the first person to ever take a photograph. Joseph constructed his first camera around 1816 which allowed him to create an image on white paper. But he was unable to fix it. He would continue his experimentation using different cameras and chemical combinations for the next 10 years or so.

He would eventually do this using his new-fangled camera obscura that was set up in the windows of his home in France. The entire exposure took around 8 hours to capture the image.

In 1827 he successfully produced the first, long-lasting image using a plate coated with bitumen. This was then washed in a solvent and placed over a box of iodine to produce a plate with light and dark qualities.

References

Article by- Workshop Strategists, SIME, BIT Mesra, Ranchi, India

(Shubham Kumar, Shreya, Rumi Bharti, Umang Srivastava)

You may contact the author for suggestions or criticism (click on their name above to navigate to their Linkedin page).

Authors have full rights to the content of this study, any similarity to any existing idea is just a mere coincidence and should not be considered plagiarism. Authors have done a preliminary study about the existing works done all over the world in this aspect and their idea is built over it in a successive manner.

Some images in this report may be subject to copyright, their use in the publication is solely for educational purposes. You can send the request for removal to sime@bitmesra.ac.in

Industrial Revolution 1.0 — Era of Mechanization

Written by Society for Industrial Management and Engineering