Technician dedicates life to improving coal production

For over 31 years, Gong Jiuhong has been working at a coal factory in Hubei province, and gave up the chance to work in the office or start his own business. He owns 32 patents and is known as a technical inventor.

Gong has been working at China Baowu Steel Group and is rated the chief technician in Hubei. In October, as a delegate from the grassroots, he participated in the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in Beijing.

During the Congress, Gong told stories about the shifting and upgrading of his company over the past few decades. After attending the meeting and getting back to work, Gong has attended some 20 publicity events at workshops, schools and communities to convey the voice of the Party to every corner of the grassroots.

In 1991, Gong became a maintenance fitter at a coal preparation workshop of what is part of today's China Baowu Steel Group after graduating from a technical school. The tasks of the workshop are to store and transport coking coals for the coke oven. The work environment has been tough.

"We are now developing China as a quality power. The iron and steel industry should make great achievements in intelligent growth. People who work for the industry should also possess the good qualities of iron and steel — they should be firm and persistent," Gong said.

At work, Gong has been keeping his habit of daily on-site inspections. Whether it is a coal tower as high as 50 meters, or an area that is 20 meters underground, he would go there. He racks up about 20 kilometers a day during inspections.

Gong said daily inspections can only help find problems, and solving those problems requires technical support. He asked for help from college graduates in the factory to teach him computer graphics. After mastering the skill, he has become someone who loves drawing.

"Any invention can't be separated from three graphics. The first graphic is about principles and logic, the second is about methods and steps, and the third is about animation and demonstration," he said.

Gong was afraid he might become rusty with the skills he had learned, and he practiced on video and image software whenever he had time. Soon, he became as adept as young people.

Last year, he led the research and development of a device used to detect the temperature of the center of coking coals. Based on real-time data, a temperature curve was established, enabling online management and remote control of the temperatures. The device has helped his workshop replace manual temperature measurement and realize intelligent production.