You must have been watching a different program, Chappy's Grandad dead at 37, Forge workers known for their husky voices and hacking coughs, 'oh for the good old days'
Lazy, yes I'm sure given a choice in the matter the women chain makers would have chosen to give birth on Friday and be back at work at a Forge on the Monday.
I've heard Project managers and Site agents measure a project based on deaths per man hours.
'We're doing quite well, we should have had another death by now, looking at the man hours'
I think you'll find the skills haven't gone forever, but they're a lot more specialised/niche now and you have to pay a premium price to access them.