<P> Operation of weaving in a textile mill is undertaken by a specially trained operator known as a weaver . Weavers are expected to uphold high industry standards and are tasked with monitoring anywhere from ten, to as many as thirty separate looms at any one time . During their operating shift, weavers will first utilize a wax pencil or crayon to sign their initials onto the cloth to mark a shift change, and then walk along the cloth side (front) of the looms they tend, gently touching the fabric as it comes from the reed . This is done to feel for any broken "picks" or filler thread . Should broken picks be detected, the weaver will disable the machine and undertake to correct the error, typically by replacing the bobbin of filler thread in as little time as possible . They are trained that, ideally, no machine should stop working for more than one minute, with faster turn around times being preferred . </P> <P> Once the weaver has made their circuit of the front of the machines, they will then circle around to the back . At this point they will gently stroke their hand over the raised metal "tells" on the back of the machine . These tells, located over a special metal circuit, are held up by the tension of the thread coming from the warp . Should the warp thread be broken, the tells will drop and cause the machine to stop working . However, it is possible for them to become stuck in the upward position, and by doing so create problems in the weaving . By gently touching the tells, then, it is possible for the weaver to find tells which have become stuck in the up position, and correct the error . As with pick breaks, the weavers are trained to keep the machines running as much as possible; with speedy knot tying and correction being stressed . In this situation, they are expected to take less than a minute, with the mean ideal being ten to thirty seconds, to correct a break . The weaver also watches for warps that are about to run out, or problems in the warp itself which were not detected in the slashing process . Typically, weavers can expect to make several dozen circuits of their machines a night, with most of their time spent ensuring the quality of the cloth and the company standards of production . </P> <P> The first ideas for an automatic loom were developed in 1678 by M. de Gennes in Paris and by Vaucanson in 1745, but these designs were never developed and were forgotten . In 1785 Edmund Cartwright patented a power loom which used water power to speed up the weaving process, the predecessor to the modern power loom . His ideas were licensed first by Grimshaw, of Manchester who built a small steam - powered weaving factory in Manchester in 1790, but the factory burnt down . Cartwright's was not a commercially successful machine; his looms had to be stopped to dress the warp . Over the next decades, Cartwright's ideas were modified into a reliable automatic loom . </P> <P> These designs preceded John Kay's invention of the flying shuttle and they passed the shuttle through the shed using levers . With the increased speed of weaving, weavers were able to use more thread than spinners could produce . </P>

Who invented the mechanical loom which was powered by a horse or a water wheel