How does Cochrane's motivation differ from a focus purely on labor reduction?

Her focus was on protecting fragile, high-value items leading to superior engineering

The fundamental difference in Cochrane's invention driver lies in its specificity: asset protection versus general efficiency. If her goal had simply been faster washing or generalized labor reduction, she might have optimized existing tools like scrub brushes or soap. However, because her concern was the destruction of expensive, delicate china, her engineering required a paradigm shift—automated spraying, precise water control, and secure holding mechanisms—to eliminate human abrasion entirely. This focus on protecting high-value assets resulted in a superior, more complex mechanical process that became the foundation of the commercially viable automatic dishwasher.