The youngest squad leader of a century-old brand installs a strong "Chinese heart" on the ship

Yu Ziwei at work. Courtesy of the unit

On the afternoon of May 8, Yu Ziwei, wearing dark blue overalls, was conducting technical exchanges with team members in the innovation studio of Yu Ziwei Model Worker Technician of Guangzhou Diesel Engine Factory Co., Ltd., located in Fangcun Avenue, Liwan, Guangzhou. As a leader of a post-90s studio, Yu Ziwei is making every effort to pass on new technologies and new knowledge to more newcomers in the manufacturing industry.

Guangzhou Diesel Engine Factory Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Guangchai Co., Ltd.") is one of the oldest enterprises in China's diesel engine manufacturing industry, and is also the largest medium-speed diesel engine manufacturer in South China. With 13 years of deep cultivation in the field of diesel engine assembly and testing, Yu Ziwei has helped domestic diesel engines to continuously break the monopoly of foreign technology with his own wisdom and efforts, and made positive contributions to the country's scientific and technological self-reliance and self-reliance. Recently, Yu Ziwei was awarded the National May Day Labor Medal.

Strive to catch up

From a "layman" to the youngest squad leader of a century-old enterprise

A ship can sail smoothly, and the diesel engine as the power equipment plays a key role. To assemble thousands of parts into an efficient diesel engine, it takes hundreds of processes to test the patience and perseverance of every beginner. In 2011, Yu Ziwei, who had just graduated from a technical school and entered Guangchai Co., Ltd., a century-old "time-honored brand", had experienced such a test.

At that time, Yu Ziwei was an ordinary apprentice assembly fitter, and his work was mostly dirty and tiring. After a busy day in the workshop with a high temperature of more than 40 degrees Celsius, he was full of mobile phone oil, and his clothes were even soaked, like being poured with a bucket of water. Coupled with the mismatch of majors and having to learn from scratch, Yu Ziwei felt unprecedented pressure, and even thought about changing careers.

Confused, he made a phone call to his father. Yu Ziwei's father is a third-class high school graduate, and it is a lifelong regret that he did not go to college. On the phone, his father taught him that everything is difficult at the beginning, and that he must persevere in doing things, not to give up when he encounters difficulties, and to "stick to what he chooses, and believe in himself".

His father's encouragement made Yu Ziwei suddenly open. Coming from a rural area in western Guangdong, he went to work as a plasterer at a construction site with his father when he was young. He quickly dispelled the idea of escaping, quickly adjusted his mentality, and devoted himself to his work. Through company training, watching professional books, videos and online public courses, etc., he "supplemented" the professional knowledge of diesel engines; When encountering practical problems, I diligently ask the seniors for advice.

Hard work pays off. With the enthusiasm to learn and dare to drill, less than nine months after joining the company, Yu Ziwei led the team to independently install and test a diesel engine of nearly 30 tons, while it takes the average apprentice two and a half to three years to complete such an operation. "It was a great sense of accomplishment and I loved the job."

"To do it is to work hard to do it well", in line with this work enthusiasm, Yu Ziwei continued to work hard to catch up, continue to learn professional knowledge, improve professional technology, and master the core assembly skills and debugging technology of the company's various products within two years. At the age of 25, he won the recognition of many teachers with his excellent professional skills and became the youngest squad leader in the company's more than 100 years.

In October 2016, Yu Ziwei participated in the skills competition held by the group on behalf of the company, and broke the company's past participation record with the first place in the machine repair fitter project, and became famous in the competition.

Overcome difficulties

Realize the domestic independent brand of high-power and high-speed diesel engine

A diesel engine can take more than 10 years from R&D, release, ship type matching, assembly and commissioning to successful application and sea trial. For a long time, Yu Ziwei's job was to debug the diesel engines produced by Guangchai Co., Ltd. on various ships to ensure the normal operation of this mechanical "heart".

Yu Ziwei introduced that the diesel engine is a small batch, personalized customized products, which require traditional manual technology and lifting equipment to assist in assembly and commissioning, "in the process of assembly and commissioning, new technical problems often arise, and targeted solutions need to be formulated." In the process, the diesel engine roared to the red, and he often had to adjust and test little by little in the scorching heat, while at the same time adapting to the harsh offshore environment.

"I worked on the ship for 21 days at the longest, and in the first week, I vomited every day while holding the engine room pillar, and after vomiting, I continued to disassemble and inspect hundreds of diesel engine parts one by one, and then put them back one by one." Speaking of these, Yu Ziwei's tone revealed relaxation and calmness, as if the hardships and hardships in those days had become a solid cornerstone on his growth path.

With the in-depth research and testing of diesel engines, Yu Ziwei and his team members have overcome many technical problems and promoted domestic diesel engines to make breakthroughs.

In charge of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Ministry of Science and Technology of the large-scale marine engine project, Yu Ziwei led the team to successfully develop new products of CS21/32 high-speed diesel engine and DM23G high-power gas engine after five years of research and testing, filling the gap in the domestic 1-2MW power range, and the technical indicators have reached the advanced level abroad, breaking the monopoly of foreign brands and the blockade of foreign diesel engine technology, and realizing domestic independent brands in high-power and high-speed diesel engines.

In 2017, as the main commissioning technician of the main engine factory, Yu Ziwei participated in the commissioning of the first oil-electric hybrid tug "Haigang 711" in China. Under the same maximum thrust as the conventional tugboat, the tugboat can reduce the power of the main engine by 15%-20%, increase the comprehensive utilization rate of energy by about 10%, and reduce NOx emissions by more than 75%, which has laid a good foundation for the development of green, energy-saving and environmentally friendly new energy ship industry.

In the past 13 years, Yu Ziwei has also grown from an ignorant fitter apprentice to a craftsman talent and technical backbone of the enterprise, and has won the honors of Guangzhou Technical Expert, Municipal Outstanding Youth Post Expert, Municipal Outstanding Migrant Skilled Talent, Guangzhou Industrial Control Group's "Top Ten Craftsmen" and other honors.

Legacy of innovation

The only way to improve your skills is to be down-to-earth

The identity of a skilled worker has always been a label that Yu Ziwei is proud of. As a representative of Guangdong technicians, in 2018 and 2023, Yu Ziwei was elected as a representative of the Guangdong Provincial People's Congress for two consecutive terms. During this period, he was awarded the May Day Labor Medal of Guangdong Province, and this year he was awarded the National May Day Labor Medal.

"I cherish it very much, and it is these honors that remind me, spur me, and remind myself that it is my mission to carry forward and inherit the spirit of model workers, labor spirit, and craftsman spirit, and to play a pioneer and exemplary role in my work, to lead by example, and to work diligently." Yu Ziwei said.

Not long ago, a diesel engine of the company repeatedly pulled the cylinder in the factory test process, from the failure, for two whole days, Yu Ziwei has been on the scene with the team to analyze the cause of the failure, and one by one experiments, testing and troubleshooting, and finally, successfully find the root of the problem, and eliminate the fault. In the view of Su Yijun, the technical director of the company's manufacturing department, this is the daily work of Yu Ziwei, "he is very serious and responsible in his work, and he is always the first to go to the scene when he encounters production problems."

"The traditional manufacturing industry needs the demonstration effect of the technical model that has grown up from the front line, and he has set an example and benchmark for everyone by bearing hardships and standing hard work, daring to innovate and pursuing excellence." Qiao Zengyin, a management trainee of the company's marketing department, thinks.

In 2021, with the support of the company, an innovation studio led by Yu Ziwei was established. In 2022, it was named "Yu Ziwei Model Worker Technician Innovation Studio" at the municipal level. Up to now, the innovation studio has obtained 6 practical invention patents and 293 achievements have been transformed. Under the leadership of Yu Ziwei, the team improved the installation and durability test of new diesel engine products, diesel engine technical research, etc., and generated a total of 27.7386 million yuan of economic benefits for the company.

"Skills are the foundation of industrial workers, there is no shortcut on the road to improving skills, only down-to-earth is the last word." This is Yu Ziwei's message to the current young people, and it is also an encouragement to himself, and he will stick to this original intention and continue to strive for the development of the green, energy-saving and environmentally friendly new energy ship industry.

○A glimpse of life

"I had a dream of being a chef"

Playing ball, shuttlecock, climbing, camping, cooking...... As a post-90s skilled worker in the new era, Yu Ziwei, who took off his overalls, is cheerful and sunny, and in life, he is a "fashionista" who loves sports, outings, and food.

Over the years, because of work needs, Yu Ziwei has often traveled on business, "The coastal cities of the motherland have basically walked once, although I have not read more than 10,000 books, but I have traveled thousands of miles." In the first few years of work, there was very little time to accompany his family, and every Spring Festival reunion day, he either rushed back from a business trip in Chinese New Year's Eve, or was on the way to a business trip on the first day of the new year. He often said to himself: "During the Spring Festival next year, you must spend a complete Spring Festival holiday with your family." ”

"I still feel guilty about my family, especially my daughter, and I have missed many of my children's growing up." Perhaps it is the busyness of work that makes Yu Ziwei cherish the daily life with his family. In family life, he does everything he can to do the housework, and he is most interested in cooking: "I usually cook with my hands open, after all, my dream back then was to become a chef." ”

(Source: Southern Labor Daily Author: All-media reporter Xu Jieying Correspondent Sui Gongxuan)

Editor-in-charge: Jiang Lingqian

Second trial: Pan Chao