"Physical work" becomes "technical work" - building assembly promotes industrial workers from "workers" to "craftsmen"

Molding, oiling, tying, embedment, inspection... On the automatic production line of superimposed floor slabs at the "China Construction·Intelligent Manufacturing" base in Huadu District, Guangzhou, employees only need to press a few operation buttons, and within 2 minutes, a laminated board is poured out of the oven.

In July 2021, this prefabricated construction production base covering an area of 157 mu, which was constructed by the China Construction Fourth Engineering Bureau and Company, was officially put into operation. The base has the characteristics of intelligent manufacturing, intelligent management, three-dimensional storage and transportation, one-stop logistics, and green operation. There is a "three-dimensional curing kiln" dedicated to storing and curing concrete pouring components, which can store 114 large mold tables at the same time.

Most of the traditional construction industry is on-site cast-in-place operations, while prefabricated buildings transfer a large number of on-site operations in traditional construction methods to factories, where they are processed into building components and accessories. It is then transported to the construction site and assembled on site through precise and reliable connections.

The "China Construction·Intelligent Manufacturing" base superimposed floor automatic production line. Photo courtesy of the interviewed unit.

In recent years, my country has issued a number of plans and opinions on prefabricated buildings. The "14th Five-Year" Development Plan for the Construction Industry in Guangdong Province proposes to vigorously promote prefabricated buildings, government investment projects to take the lead in the development of prefabricated buildings, and affordable housing and large-scale public building projects should implement prefabricated buildings in principle. By 2025, the proportion of urban prefabricated buildings in the Pearl River Delta region will account for more than 35% of the new construction area.

Zheng Jiafen, who has worked in the construction industry for 17 years, lamented the changes brought by the prefabricated construction method to the construction site. "In the past, the machines on the construction site were roaring everywhere when they were working, and the speech had to be loudly roared to be heard. After the prefabricated building is adopted, many materials are prefabricated components directly produced by the factory, and the construction waste is much reduced than before, which is more environmentally friendly." He said.

The "China Construction·Intelligent Manufacturing" base superimposed floor automatic production line. Photo courtesy of the interviewed unit.

The technological innovation represented by prefabricated buildings not only realizes energy saving, consumption reduction, quality and efficiency improvement, but also improves labor productivity, allowing workers to change from "manual work" to "technical work".

In the "China Construction·Intelligent Manufacturing" base, a total of 127 industrial workers are employed, of which 22 are female workers, accounting for 17%. There are 63 industrial workers under the age of 35, accounting for 50%. Ran Hongfang, a 24-year-old worker from Chongqing, has been able to skillfully operate equipment for production alone. Young workers like her can quickly master job responsibilities, work station standards and operating procedures after training to achieve independent work.

Chen Jiankang and Du Jiayan, who came to the "China Construction Intelligent Manufacturing" base at the beginning of the factory's construction, have been engaged in the assembly industry for a certain period of time. Because of their excellent technology, the salary of the couple has been significantly improved. Since the advancement of the national industrial worker team construction and reform work, many like Chen Jiankang and Du Jiayan and his wife have achieved the transformation from "peasant workers" to "contracted" employees through skill learning. The training plan formulated by enterprises for industrial workers helps them transform from workers into craftsmen with excellent professionalism, skilled skills and high level.