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Chapter 158: A Revolutionary Production Model
🕑 Added 2024-12-25 21:04:53 +0000 UTCChapter 158: A Revolutionary Production Model
Before Fashion Week even began, Joseph had already started laying the groundwork for promoting ready-to-wear clothing.
For instance, he made specific requests to the designers participating in Fashion Week. He asked them to avoid the typical designs that emphasized distinct shapes for the chest, waist, and hips, and instead move toward a style with a smoother transition between the waist and other parts of the body.
The reason for this is that clothing, especially dresses, which emphasize the chest, waist, and hips, require extremely precise measurements. Two women with similar height and weight but slight differences in their chest-to-waist ratio might find that they can't wear each other's clothes at all. By switching to designs with smoother transitions, it became possible to create standard sizes that could fit a range of body types.
Coincidentally, French designers were seeking inspiration for this season's fashion and were very appreciative of this somewhat "retro" style—reminiscent of the gowns worn in ancient Rome. They quickly embraced the trend of designing clothes with smoother transitions in the waist area.
Of course, the fact that this design concept came from the Crown Prince played a significant role. After all, Europe's fashion trends were set by France, French fashion was dictated by Paris, and Parisian fashion was influenced by the royal family.
Following this, Joseph held discussions with representatives from the Lyon Textile Guild, where they initially established standard sizes for ready-to-wear clothing. The sizes were divided into five categories: very small, small, medium, large, and very large, with specific measurements outlined for each.
Once Fashion Week concluded, Joseph planned to require the Textile Guild to further refine these size standards and promote them across France.
The next step would be to find ways to expand the scale of ready-to-wear clothing production and continually reduce costs.
As the cost of ready-to-wear clothing became affordable for the average person, many who cared more about style and had some disposable income might shift from making their own clothes to buying ready-made garments.
Joseph knew this would be a challenging process, requiring coordinated industrial policies, new types of looms, and steam engines to drive them. It might even necessitate addressing issues related to landowning aristocrats, abolishing feudal privileges, and freeing a large number of tenant farmers to provide labor for the industrial workforce.
"It's going to be tough…" Joseph sighed with a wry smile.
...
"Congratulations, my dear Mr. Walsh!"
On the eastern side of the Tuileries Garden, in front of a partially constructed villa, a sales manager ceremoniously handed a set of keys and the deed to Walsh in front of more than a dozen tall and handsome sales staff.
"From this moment, you are officially a distinguished homeowner in the 'Royal Garden'! From now on, your biggest concern might be dealing with the countless envious gazes directed your way."
Around them, lively music played, and a beautiful young woman stepped forward to present flowers to Walsh, followed by a priest offering prayers for the new home...
In short, the sense of ceremony was fully emphasized, attracting many onlookers.
Yes, Mr. Walsh ultimately couldn't resist the temptation and spent 2,050 pounds to buy a house in the Royal Garden.
The main reason was that he had learned through his own channels that France would be vigorously developing its ready-to-wear industry, which would greatly increase the demand for woolen products.
And as a wool merchant, buying a house in Paris to expand his business was a perfect opportunity.
Of course, another reason was that—prices for homes in the Royal Garden were visibly rising every day!
The house Walsh bought was priced at 50,000 livres, or 2,000 pounds, just three days ago. Now it had jumped to 2,050 pounds.
This made him regret his hesitation over the past few days.
When the sales staff mentioned that prices would continue to rise in a few days, he could no longer hold back and decided on the spot to buy the house!
Mrs. Walsh was even more delighted. From the moment she arrived in Paris, she had fallen in love with the city—clean, comfortable, orderly, and full of fashionable flair, with convenient public buses.
And let's not forget the sense of security brought by the excellent law enforcement!
The police patrolling the streets of Paris were all upright and never extorted money from foreigners or merchants. When they encountered theft or robbery, they would immediately rush to apprehend the perpetrators, unlike in London, where British police would disappear unless the victim was a noble of some status.
Of course, she had no idea that just a few months ago, Parisian police were no different from their British counterparts. These positive changes had all occurred after the Crown Prince's police reforms.
Last night, Mrs. Walsh had already written a letter to her beloved son in London, asking him to bring his fiancée to Paris for a vacation. After returning, they would have plenty of stories to boast about in social circles.
...
March 19, 1788.
The Paris Fashion Week, which had captivated all of Europe, finally came to an end. After the grand event, it left behind endless memories of revelry and the mesmerizing luxury of the Tuileries Palace.
Following that, the Paris Fashion Art Exhibition officially opened.
This exhibition was primarily a showcase for French designers—only by making their names known could Parisian fashion gain wider acceptance across the globe.
During the five-day exhibition, fashion designers from all over Europe were invited to participate, with an award for the "Best Designer of the Year" and the presentation of the "Golden Feather Award."
On the same day, another significant yet lesser-known event took place—
The "Royal French Armory" had completed all preparations and officially began production.
On the southeast side of Versailles Palace, just outside the plane tree grove, stood a small courtyard about a hundred meters square, enclosed by stone walls. Inside, there was a crucible furnace for iron smelting and about a dozen wooden workshops of varying sizes.
At this moment, Joseph was standing at the main gate of the courtyard, where a stone tablet marked "Royal Armory," bowing his head respectfully as King Louis XVI departed.
Earlier, he had accompanied His Majesty to the armory's opening ceremony. His father was so pleased that, unusually, he delivered a speech of as many as five sentences in public and, remarkably, did so without stuttering.
Of course, it was understandable. After all, this factory was built with his investment, producing weapons he had designed, and even most of the craftsmen were trained by him. It was only natural for him to be happy.
Once his father had left, Joseph turned back to the two key managers of the armory, ready to get down to business.
"Mr. Garman, what is the current production output?"
A man with a flat nose, large eye bags, and small but very bright eyes immediately bowed and replied:
"Your Highness, we are currently producing three percussion muskets per day, but we should soon be able to increase that to four."
The armory's only product at the moment was the August 1788 Model Percussion Musket.
Joseph frowned upon hearing this—producing four muskets per day meant only 120 per month, which wasn't even enough to equip a single infantry regiment in a year...
He had indeed kept the scale of this armory relatively small—during his on-site inspection, he realized that neither Versailles nor the entire Paris region had the supporting industries needed for weapon production. For example, there were no facilities for iron smelting, rough wood processing, screws, or belts, meaning these resources couldn't be supplied. So, he decided to build only a "demonstration factory" near Versailles, meant to train craftsmen and produce small quantities. A larger armory was already under construction in Saint-Étienne and was expected to be completed next month.
However, even as a "demonstration factory," this output was far too low.
As he walked into the courtyard with the two managers, he asked:
"Mr. Garman, is there any way to increase production in a short period of time? Perhaps... to ten muskets a day?"
The King's locksmith tutor, now the technical director of the armory, immediately shook his head:
"Your Highness, as you know, His Majesty has barely rested for a month, and even then, only four craftsmen have managed to master the manufacturing process of the percussion musket. Oh, that includes myself."
He had participated in the development of the musket from the start and did not require training.
"We four are now also responsible for teaching apprentices, working late into the night to produce even one musket a day."
He didn't mention that the musket barrels were custom-made blanks from Charleville; otherwise, they wouldn't even be able to produce one musket per day.
Joseph frowned again, somewhat surprised:
"Why not involve the other craftsmen in the production, while the four of you supervise and guide them?"
It should be noted that Louis XVI had recruited 16 senior gunsmiths from other places for his armory, with another 50 mid- and low-level craftsmen. If all these people were mobilized, the production capacity should be far from this dismal.
Garman replied awkwardly, "Your Highness, the manufacturing process for percussion muskets is vastly different from that of flintlock muskets, particularly in the barrel and firing mechanism. Only by mastering each step and practicing repeatedly can a qualified musket be produced."
Joseph immediately noticed the flaw in his logic: "So apart from the barrel and firing mechanism, everything else is similar to a flintlock musket?"
"Uh, yes, that's correct."
"Then the four of you should be responsible for making the barrels and firing mechanisms. Let the others handle the rest of the parts, and then assemble them. That would significantly speed things up, wouldn't it?"
"Your Highness, that might not be feasible." Before Garman could respond, the short, brown-haired middle-aged man beside him interjected, "Each craftsman has unique skills and habits, and only the parts they make themselves can be perfectly assembled together."
Garman quickly nodded in agreement:
"Mr. Martinière is right. Even the apprentices of a master craftsman would struggle to produce identical parts."
Joseph rubbed his forehead; he had forgotten that this was still the era of handicraft production, where the concept of standardized parts didn't even exist. It wasn't until the early 19th century that the idea of standardized parts began to take hold, and another 20 years before it was applied in production...
As for assembly line production, which required standardized parts, that was out of the question for now.
He sighed and looked at the manager and technical director before him:
"Well then, let's try to change that. There's a production method called part standardization."
The two managers exchanged puzzled looks: "Part standardization?"
"Yes." Joseph nodded. "In simple terms, it means that the same firearm, when produced by different craftsmen, must adhere strictly to pre-established part standards.
"The shape, materials, dimensions, and all other aspects must remain within the tolerance range. Oh, I'll explain what tolerance is later.
"This ensures that parts made by different craftsmen can be freely interchangeable."
"How is that even possible?!" Garman and Martinière exclaimed in unison.
Joseph led them into the office, gestured for them to sit down, and said seriously:
"It is definitely achievable. Of course, certain measures will need to be taken. First, we'll need to create a batch of more precise measuring tools."
Garman immediately responded, "You mean something like micrometers?"
Joseph nodded, "Exactly. Then, you'll need to lead the most skilled craftsmen in creating production standards for the percussion musket, product specifications, quality control standards, and even standardized procedures for tool placement."
"Oh, I'll have someone write detailed documents explaining these standards for you," Joseph continued. "Once the standards are established, the craftsmen will need to undergo uniform training.
"Everyone must use the same tools, follow the same measurement methods, and strictly adhere to the various standard procedures without altering any step according to personal preference.
"The finished parts will then be inspected by a dedicated quality control team. If any part exceeds the tolerance, it will be discarded.
"Parts produced this way will be nearly identical in material and size. Even an unskilled worker could assemble them into a functioning musket."
The two managers were stunned. The Crown Prince's plan, though astonishing, seemed quite feasible upon closer inspection.
If production were carried out in this manner, only a few skilled craftsmen would be needed to set the standards, while the other craftsmen could simply follow the guidelines step by step.
It was clear that this would significantly increase production speed while making it much easier to train new craftsmen!
How did the Crown Prince come up with such a brilliant idea? The title of the "Son of Heaven" is indeed well deserved!
Joseph also introduced them to concepts like "tolerance" and "quality control" and finally said:
"The craftsmen might find it difficult to accept this new production method. Initially, production may even decline, but if you stick with it, efficiency will surely improve greatly.
"I'll work with you to establish all the production standards and assist in training the craftsmen during this time."
Joseph suddenly thought that he should implement standardization practices in machine tool factories, steam engine plants, and other industries, or even introduce national product standards.
However, this would also involve standardizing measurements.
It should be noted that in France at this time, units of measurement varied widely, whether for length, weight, or other measures. Even the same unit, like the "meter," produced different results when measured by craftsmen in the south and north of France.
Of course, the situation was even worse in other European countries.
But if the goal was to advance national industrialization, standardizing measurements was the minimum requirement.
End of Chapter
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