Master of welding proves knowledge is power
Automation and digitalization are helping to free workers from repetitive labor in many manufacturing industries. But handson skills and personal initiative are still crucial, as the story of one man in Shanxi shows.
Liu Yanpeng, a winner of the 2022 Shanxi May 1 Model Worker award, is an expert welder at the equipment production plant of Fenxi Mining Industry. It is a branch company of Shanxi Coking Coal Group and it is based in the city of Jiexiu.
Liu has been a welder for nearly 10 years after he graduated from Taiyuan University of Technology.
“As a graduate from a leading university in Shanxi, he should be an engineer or a researcher in the company,” said Ma Yitian, the instructor of Liu when he began his career.
Ma said it surprises him that Liu decided to be a welder and has remained at the post for 10 years.
Liu said he made the choice because of his fondness for handson work. “I’m a mechanic by nature and I like to make and repair things by myself,” he said.
He added that another reason he is reluctant to leave his post is because of his instructor Ma, who is an expert welder and known throughout the province. Ma is the chief of an innovative welding studio at the company.
“Ma is the right person to teach you to be an outstanding welder,” Liu said. “It’s definitely worth a lifetime to learn from him.”
Liu said it is the impression of many that welding is a laborious practice that requires endurance, concentration and physical strength.
“That impression is true because you have to endure the high-temperature environment and maintain your arm muscle strength for stable operations,” Liu said. He added that to keep his arm strong he is a frequent user of a local fitness club during his spare time.
However, Liu said hands-on skills are not the ultimate attainment of a welder. “A successful expert welder should constantly innovate by keeping up with the latest technologies and techniques,” he said.
He added that Ma’s welding studio is one such place where he can make innovations by combining his hands-on skills with academic knowledge.
Liu recalled that the company installed two welding robots last year to improve efficiency. He later discovered the robots could not replicate the accuracy of manual work done by a skilled welder.
“We found something was wrong with the setting of technique parameters,” Liu said. “After hundreds of experiments, we finally set the right operational parameters for the robots, which helped to reach the desired accuracy.”
Liu, who has won a string of awards in provincial skill competitions since 2015, is now one of the leading members in the studio. He is also the instructor for new workers.
He has proposed a number of new techniques, which have helped his company save millions of dollars in costs.