Racing into the Industrial Age
Joseph first went to check on Marat's injuries, and then hurried towards Nancy.
Toul is less than 5 Lieue from Nancy, so his convoy arrived at the newly built Nancy Industrial Development Zone just after noon.
The development zone is located Meurthe River and is surrounded by an endless gray stone wall, covering an area of about five or six hundred acres.
Even from a distance, Joseph could see smoke rising into the air from the development zone—it was full of Coal Mine, so coal was the primary fuel in production. After the introduction of Steam Engine, coal consumption increased dramatically.
Upon learning of the Dauphin Has Arrived, the officials of the Industrial Development Zone hurriedly put aside their work and gathered at the west gate of the development zone to welcome him.
The head of the development zone was named Alexander Lamo. He was not a local Nancy official, but was recommended by Mirabeau to manage the development zone. He also ran a sizable ironware factory.
Joseph, as the initiator and planner of the development zone, enjoyed immense prestige here, surrounded by hundreds of officials and Workshop owners. He was enveloped in respectful and enthusiastic greetings and praises.
Unable to refuse his earnest invitation, Joseph gave a motivational speech on the spot, which allowed him to "escape."
Lamo and about a dozen key managers from the development zone began to show him around the park. The others, however, were unwilling to leave and followed him from fifty or sixty meters behind, peeking out suspiciously.
"Your Highness, that's Workshop Iron Smelting over there. The Grigault Brothers' and Viscount Olivier's Workshop are both very large." Lamo pointed to the large area of buildings shrouded in black smoke by the river, remembering all the data very clearly, "The two Workshop have a total of 7 furnaces and 9 forging workshops. They can produce more than 50,000 pounds of Iron Ingot every day."
"In particular, the Grigault Brothers ' Workshop used the latest Reflectory Furnace, producing Iron Ingot of extremely high quality."
Joseph offered words of encouragement to the two Ironworks, but in reality, he was not entirely satisfied.
50,000 pounds sounds like a lot, but it's actually only about 25 tons per day and 7,000 tons per year.
Keep in mind that this accounts for almost 90% of Nancy's steel production.
Currently, the total annual pig iron production in France is only around 120,000 tons, which is far from enough for the Industrial Revolution.
Moreover, Joseph himself was not very familiar with the steelmaking process. The only theories he could recall were "using coke" and "blast furnace steelmaking." In the short term, the only way to increase production would probably be to expand the scale of operations.
In fact, the key to a significant increase in steel production is demand.
If Iron Rail can be laid on a large scale across the country, strong demand will stimulate capital to invest in the steelmaking industry, thereby giving rise to new technologies.
The prerequisite for building railways is trains. The prerequisite for trains is efficient and mature Steam Engine.
Joseph thought to himself, "That depends on how things go on Murdoch's end..."
Lamo led him through the buildings along the riverbank, pointing out several Glass Workshop, ironworks Workshop, and Coal Crushing Plant along the way.
When a light gray two-story building appeared in the distance, Lamo said with some delight, "Your Highness, that's the ' Production Management Consulting Company ' that Mr. Jean Sonnet just established."
"The 'factory-style' and 'standardized production' you requested are currently being promoted by them."
Joseph nodded. This consulting firm was one he had instructed Jean Sonnet establish. After receiving his training in production standardization, Sonet came to Nancy to impart new management concepts.
The transition from Workshop to factories is an important task for Industrial Development Zone and will serve as a model for the whole of France.
Although "Workshop" and "factory" differ by only one word, their connotations are worlds apart, spanning an entire Industrial Revolution!
The so-called "Workshop" was simply a large courtyard where Craftsman gathered together. Apart from being larger in scale, it was no different from a primitive small workshop, and management was basically done by the Workshop owner's Whip.
The "factory" is a product of the Industrial Revolution. First and foremost, it requires a complete set of management systems, from the most basic lateness and early departure to further shifts to shift and team leader responsibility, and then to production standardization, which leads to a sharp increase in production efficiency.
Furthermore, the employment methods are very different—factories operate under a fully capitalist employment system, where workers establish labor contracts with the factory and have the freedom to choose between them. Workshop, on the other hand, typically follow Craftsman -apprentice model. Apprentices are personally dependent on their masters, and this dependence Guild in various industries.
For example, in France today, entering a particular trade isn't simply a matter of mastering the skills. First, you need to find a master to guide you Guild a 5-7 year apprenticeship, during which your master can exploit you at will. After completing your apprenticeship, you become a laborer, nominally able to work independently, but still dependent on your master in many ways. It takes another 3-5 years to obtain Guild Registration, becoming a true Craftsman, and then the exploitation of apprentices begins...
This model severely hinders industrial development. Often, things that can be done in a few months of training in factories can take years or even more than a decade to get started because of the Guild rules.
Finally, factories must have a higher pursuit and adaptability to new technologies.
Machines aim to maximize production efficiency through automation to achieve higher profits.
The transformation from Workshop to factory, if following the normal pace of history, would have taken more than a decade, or even longer, to gradually complete after the Industrial Revolution.
Under Joseph's guidance, the Industrial Development Zone will directly adopt the most efficient model and rush into the industrial age.
Once factory production is fully developed, we can unleash the ultimate weapon in industrial production—assembly line operations.
At that time, France factories will crush all their competitors in Europe!
Lamo chimed in, "Your Highness, although Guild have been completely banned in the development zone, the Craftsman are used to the master-apprentice system. It will take some time to completely change their ways."
As for Standardized Production... it's still being promoted, and no Workshop has been able to implement it yet.
"Yes, that's normal. But you guys, don't be impatient. Everything should be done without affecting the Workshop's production." Joseph knew that such a significant improvement in management style couldn't be achieved overnight.
"Yes, Your Highness."
Lamo then led Joseph through the development zone's dormitory area, schools, hospitals, and other areas.
These supporting facilities are of great help to factories moving in. The dormitories alone can reduce the cost of the Workshop by a lot, allowing them to even hire homeless people to work in the factories. And the hospital greatly increases the attendance rate of workers.
After walking for a while, Lamo gestured towards the large cluster of buildings in front of him, from which white smoke was constantly billowing. "Your Highness, that's the French United Steam Engine Company."
(End of this chapter)