WITHsucheasyandaffordableaccesstosomanynewtechnologiesthesedays,theaweweusedtohaveforrocketlaunchesseemstobeathingofthepast.ButtoYangYinyu鈥檚team,everysuccessfulliftoffisinspiringandmakeseverysinglememberproudandimpassionedforgreatersuccess.
鈥淚gnitiondetonatordevicesaresomethinglikethefusesoffirecrackers.Withoutthem,arocketcannotbeinitiated,鈥漵aidYangYinyu.Fordecades,YangYinyu鈥檚teamhasbeendevotedtoproducingsuchdeviceswithmeticulousattentiontodetail,improvingtheircraftsmanship,andincessantlystrivingforthebest.
TheteamspecializesinbenchworkinoneofthemachiningshopsofChuannanPyrotechnicsCo.Ltd.,anignitiondevicemakerinChina鈥檚SichuanProvince,whichisaffiliatedwiththeChinaAerospaceScienceandTechnologyCorporation.Inhonorofitsoutstandingaccomplishments,theteamwasnamedafteritsleaderYangYinyuin2004.
PerfectingSkills
Bornin1965toafamilydevotedtoChina鈥檚aerospacecause,Yanghadbeeninculcatedwiththeideaofpursuingexcellencebytheprecedinggenerationsincehewasayoungboy.Joiningtheworkforceasatechnician,heputingreatefforttoimprovehisskillsbylearningfromseniorlevelandexperiencedworkerswhilealsolearningfundamentaltheoriesofbenchworkbyhimself.Regardingstudyandpracticealife-longtask,hehasgainedagoodcommandofbenchworkandassemblyskillsforproductsusedinaerospaceindustry,andalsocontributedtomultipleinnovativesolutionsinhisfield.
InJune1981,Yangsufferedanaccidentjustthreemonthsafterhejoinedthecompany.Helostthetipofhisrightmiddlefingerduetoamachineryaccident.鈥淣earlyeveryoneworkingonthepunchingmachinehadtheirfingersinjuredatleastonce,鈥漴ecalledYang.Atthattime,hewaswellawareofthepotentialhazardsofthejob.Aftertheincident,heprintedamodelofhisbrokenhandonthewalltoremindfellowworkersofthepotentialworkdangers.
Yang,beinginthetradefor37years,hasbeenreviewingthepastpracticesandconcludedthatsafeoperationcannotdependsolelyonpersonalexperience,butmustfollowstandardizedprocedurestopreventsimilaraccidentsfromoccurring.In2004,afterrepeatedinvestigationsandtrials,he,togetherwithhisteam,puttogetherastandardizedoperationalprocedure.Sincethen,theteamhasbeenkeepingazero-accidentrecord.Safetyisalwaystheprioritytoeverymemberofthecrew.鈥淭heregula-tionsandrulesarenotsetouttoconfineyouinboxes,buttoensureyouguystoretirewithintactfigures,鈥漎angstressed,tongueincheek,overandoveragain.
Smallasitmaybe,successfullyinitiatingtheexplosivedeviceisamake-or-breakfactorforlaunchingarocket.Inviewofthis,everyoperationbyYangYinyuhasbeendonewithmeticulousattentiontodetailinanattempttoavoideventheslightesterror.鈥淥nesingleignitiondeviceisvitaltotheentirelaunch,鈥漢esaid.Fordecades,Yanghasbeendrivenbyazealforexcellence.Theresultisthatthedevicehiscrewproducedboastsbeingalmost100percentperfect.
PassingontheSkillandSpiritofCraftsmanship
Onedayin1994,anurgentordercametothecompany,butYang,theonlyonepossessingtheknow-how,wasonabusinesstrip.Thecompanyhadnochoicebuttoassembleateamfromscratch,whichturnedouttobeinvain.Eventually,Yanghadtorushback.Afterthatexperience,herealizedthatthecoretechnologycannotbecontrolledbyonesingleperson.
In2015,Yang鈥檚teamwasupgradedtoanationalworkshopformastersofskills,andatalentincubationcenter.WangChenglongisayoungapprenticeintheworkshop,who,underYang鈥檚mentorship,inventedarobotthatcanautomatetediousmanuallabor,whichbeforerequiredfourworkers.
鈥淓venwithoutme,theworkshopiscapableofmanufacturingtheproducts,鈥漵aidYang.
鈥淲ealladmirethischarismaticmanofastrongsenseofresponsibility,鈥滾iangKejuan,amemberoftheworkshop,saidofYang.
InspiringeverymemberandtreatingthemastalentsarethesecretofYang鈥檚management.Hebelievedemployeescouldgainself-assuranceandbecomemorecommittedtotheaerospacecauseiftheyareproperlymotivatedwithincentives.
Overtherecentyears,histeamhasmaintainedapassingrateof98percentinproduction,withnobatchbeingrejectedornoqualityaccidentcausedbyhumanerror.ThedevicesmadebyYangandhisteammetorexceededoperationalexpectationsonmultipleflightandgroundrockettests,propellingtheadvancementofChina鈥檚aerospacecause.
ForCommonExcellence
Theignitiondevicefortheaerospaceindustryhastomeetaveryhighstandard.Devotingdecadesofeffortstocraftingsuchdevicesandtheirresearchanddevelopment,ChuannanPyrotechnicshasfosteredaconceptaboutproductquality,whichassertstheproductionoftheignitiondeviceisamake-or-breakmatter.Followingthisconcept,YangYinyugraduallypickedupsomemanagementwisdomduringthethreedecadesofwork,anddevelopedasetofrulesformanaginghisteam.鈥淎teamislikeatree.Theexuberanceofthetreedependsoneverybranch,whichiseveryteammember,鈥漢esaid.Thekeyformulaofhismanagementistoinspireandrewardeveryonesoastoachievecommonexcellence.
Forefficientteamwork,hebelievesthereshouldbeahighlyharmoniousrelationshipamongitsmembers,andacorecorporatecultureofcommonexcellenceinplace.Inpractice,everymemberstrivesforthebestpersonallyandthenhelpsothersachievethesamefeat.Ultimately,commonexcellencebecomesareality.
Underthismodel,Yang鈥檚teamhasdevelopedauniqueculturalatmospherewhereleadershipisshared,andeveryoneisactiveininnovationandcontributingtheirfullcapabilities.Members鈥檚tateofmindisnotconfinedtothepursuitofpersonalinterests,butelevatedtoworkingforthecommongoodoftheteamandthecountry.
Withgoodmanagementinplace,theteamhasbeensuccessfullycompletingtheresearchandproductiontasksassigned,witnessingcontinuouslyimprovingproductivity.Withaveryhighoutput,theteamhasstillbeenabletomaintainexceptionallylowrejectionrates.Efficiencyandproductionqualityalsocontinuetoimprovedespiteadecreaseinmembers.
Intermsofcostcontrol,theteamworkstoenhanceefficiencybutreduceconsumption.Anevaluationsystemisputinplacebasedonindicatorssuchasresourcessquanderedandrecyclingofusedmaterial.Everymemberoftheteamvaluesefficiencyandhasbeenproactivelyengagedincostcontrol.Fromthemanagementlevel,theteamformulatesayearlyplanonconsumptionreduction,andholdsteammembersequallyaccountablefortheyear-endtargetssoastocontrolcoststotheutmostextent.
Drivenbyinnovation,theteamencouragesmemberstotakeboldattemptsandimproveproductquality.In2014,itaccomplishedsome50newinnovations,manyofwhichwereuptonationalstandards,savingRMB500,000forthecompany.C
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