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A Century of Heritage, A New Chapter of Craftsmanship——NHI of Fangda Group Forges an Engine for High-Quality Development Through Talent Cultivation
Key Point
National craftsmen are the cornerstone and pillars of the Chinese nation's development. China's economy must be underpinned by the real economy, which requires a large number of professional and technical personnel, as well as numerous national craftsmen.
The Party Central Committee has always attached great importance to the development of industrial workforce. Especially since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, national craftsmen, as a crucial support for high-quality development of manufacturing industry, have received unprecedented attention and respect. Documents such as the Plan for the Capacity Building for Industrial Workers in the New Era and the Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Deepening the Reform of Industrial Workforce Development have been successively issued and implemented. The "Skilled China Initiative" has been deeply promoted, and national craftsmen and highly skilled personnel have been incorporated into the national strategic talent force. The contemporary value and leading role of the craftsman spirit have become increasingly prominent.
In Liaoning, which boasts a solid industrial foundation and abundant educational resources, and in large enterprises such as Northern Heavy Industries of Fangda Group (hereinafter referred to as "NHI"), batches of highly skilled personnel have been cultivated on the production frontline. The spirit of craftsman has been passed down from generation to generation, continuously injecting new vitality into the high-quality development of enterprises.
Carry Forward the Spirit of Craftsman
Stimulate the Internal Drive for Pursuing Excellence
The spirit of craftsmanship is not only a tradition and a philosophy, but also a value orientation.
NHI, known as "the Cradle of New China’s Heavy Machinery Industry", has a development history that is not only a struggling history that resonates with the development of China's heavy machinery industry, but also an inheritance history of craftsman spirit from generation to generation.
In the development of NHI, a large number of national model workers and skilled craftsmen with exquisite skills and outstanding contributions have emerged. Jin Fuchang, known as the "King of Cutting Tools", promoted over 300 types of cutting tools. He tackled more than 180 key production challenges and technical difficulties for the factory, helped over 100 enterprises solve hundreds of critical production and technical issues, and overcame countless production obstacles with extraordinary craftsmanship. Wang Zheng'an, who had the aspiration of "letting China soar", overcame the torture of illness and presided over the design of China's first 12,500-ton horizontal extrusion press for non-ferrous metals, contributing to China becoming the third country in the world to possess a 10,000-ton class extrusion press. Yang Hongji, who spent years working on the production front line, grew from an ordinary worker to a team leader. He led his team in hard work and perseverance, overcoming technical challenges and extending the lifespan of open-hearth furnace roofs from 300-400 cycles to over 2,000 cycles. His team successfully smelted high-manganese steel using open-hearth furnaces. These treasures of the era, marked by struggle and growth, have inspired generations of industrial workers at NHI to keep forging ahead.
NHI has passed down these vivid figures and stories as precious spiritual wealth through such forms as factory history education, the first lesson for new employees, the establishment of honorary exhibition halls, and the organization of model worker forums. This effort carries forward the professional dedication and research spirit of older-generation labor models like Jin Fuchang, Wang Zheng'an, and Yang Hongji, and stimulates the internal drive of all employees to inherit craftsmanship and pursue excellence.
Tong Hailong from the Machining Workshop of Heavy Component Branch of NHI is one of the outstanding inheritors. As an ordinary boring machine operator, he has grown from an apprentice to a "vanguard" with technical breakthroughs and a model worker craftsman with dual professional titles, through 20 years of solid practical experience and diligent research. To achieve a flatness of 0.02 millimeters, he once stayed by the machine for three consecutive days. While performing manual scraping, he was so focused that he didn't even notice when metal shavings fell into his safety shoes and blisters formed on the back of his feet. In 2024, Tong Hailong was awarded the Liaoning May 1st Labor Medal. His persistent pursuit of craftsmanship and ultimate focus on quality not only inherit the spirit of hard work and striving of the older generation, but also make the strength of industrial workers in the new era shine brilliantly.
Improve the Talent Cultivation Mechanism
Build a Three-Dimensional Path for Craftsman Talent Growth
NHI insists on placing the development of the skilled talent workforce in a prominent position and as one of its work priorities. It strives to build a system for the cultivation, employment, evaluation, and incentive of skilled talents that covers all employees and runs through the entire process, smoothing channels and building platforms for various talents to stand out. "Outstanding craftsmen do not emerge with no efforts; they require systematic cultivation and training," said Liang Xiu, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of the Trade Union of NHI.
NHI has established and improved the selection systems for "Great Craftsmen" and "Chief Professionals", providing guarantees for employees' career development. In recent years, through these platforms and mechanisms, it has cultivated nearly 30 skilled craftsmen and more than 50 product experts for the enterprise.
The spirit of craftsman needs to be passed down from generation to generation. NHI has actively implemented the "Mentor-Apprentice" system, encouraging technical leaders and senior experts to pair up with young technical backbones. It clarifies training objectives and responsibilities, and selflessly imparts valuable practical experience and unique skills through "mentoring, guiding, and supporting", accelerating the growth of young talents.
Meanwhile, NHI has also carried out extensive on-the-job training, technical contests, and labor competitions, which serve as important platforms for testing and improving employees' skill levels. Through regular and institutionalized skill competitions, it has promoted learning and practice, and discovered and selected batches of technical talents.
The company has established and improved a vocational skills assessment system, broadening career development pathways for skilled personnel. By directly linking skill levels with compensation benefits, performance evaluations, and recognition awards, the company has greatly motivated front-line workers to learn new technologies, enhance their skills, and develop their capabilities. The combination of mentorship, competition-based learning, and assessment-driven excellence has effectively created a development ladder for skilled personnel, laying a solid talent foundation for the company's high-quality development.
Build an Innovation Platform
Empower the Inheritance of Craftsmanship to Move Toward Value Creation
Carrying forward the craftsman spirit requires not only inheriting craftsmanship, but also encouraging innovation. The company has actively built platforms for highly skilled talents to showcase their abilities and tackle tough challenges, guiding them to transform their exquisite craftsmanship into innovative achievements that solve production problems and drive technological progress. This allows the craftsman spirit to be sublimed in innovation and creation, directly serving the enterprise's transformation, upgrading, and high-quality development.
Various levels and types of studios can be used to tackle technical challenges. NHI strongly supports the establishment of innovation platforms such as Model Worker Innovation Studios and Skilled Master Studios. Led by model workers and craftsmen with superior skills and innovative spirits, these studios gather key technical personnel to carry out technical research, process optimization, and invention activities focusing on key and difficult issues in production and operation.
Zhao Xuping, the chief professional of the enterprise's new products, is the leader of the Liaoning Provincial Model Worker Innovation Studio. The studio has successively tackled over 30 key technical bottlenecks, completed the research and development of more than 10 scientific research projects at the provincial, municipal and enterprise levels, and won more than 20 provincial and municipal science and technology awards, making outstanding contributions to the development of the enterprise and the heavy machinery industry.
This year, Zhao Xuping was awarded the title of "Shenyang Craftsman", which not only recognizes his personal technical skills and contributions but also reflects the achievements of high-tech talent team in NHI . From him, we can see both the dedication and hard work of the older generation of craftsmen, and the innovative spirit of contemporary craftsmen facing the forefront of technology. "The enterprise has built a stage for employees to showcase their talents, nurtured our growth, and dared to entrust key projects and major research tasks to us. I am fully aware of my responsibilities and constantly remind myself to spare no effort in developing new products, so as to contribute to the company's high-quality development and the growth of China's heavy machinery industry," said Zhao Xuping.
Liang Xiu stated that facing the needs of future development, the company will continue to deepen the reform of its industrial workforce development. By improving incentive mechanisms and expanding career development paths, it will further create an environment that "respects skills and advocates innovation", providing solid talent support for revitalizing the heavy machinery industry.