R. W. Cooke-Taylor, the author of The Factory System was also an Inspector of Factories. In his book he explained the 1891 Factory Act.

The Factory Act, 1891 made the requirements for fencing machinery more stringent. Under the heading Conditions of Employment two considerable additions to previous legislation. The first is the prohibition on employers to employ women within four weeks after confinement; the second the raising the minimum age at which a child can be set to work from ten to eleven.