At the beginning of the nineteenth century, typical factory conditions were grim by todays standards.

Children 2 to 12 years old put in 12 to 13-hour days six times a week. The workplace was dismal and unsafe. Management attitudes equated the sensibilities of people with that of machines and implemented cost reduction policies by brute force. Although there were exceptions, published production guides were output oriented, concentrating on gross physical improvements, usually to the