A "two-way journey" between technical workers and digital competitions

30 six axis industrial welding robots are arranged in sequence, posing the ultimate challenge to millimeter level precision control; 91 four axis unmanned aerial vehicles set sail successively, showcasing the aerial version of "speed and passion" with fancy twists and turns at speeds exceeding 60 kilometers per hour; 94 3D Building information modeling were loaded with building life cycle data, and the mouse and keyboard built a "ladder" across the virtual and real world.

30 six axis industrial welding robots are arranged in sequence, posing the ultimate challenge to millimeter level precision control; 91 four axis unmanned aerial vehicles set sail successively, showcasing the aerial version of "speed and passion" with fancy twists and turns at speeds exceeding 60 kilometers per hour; 94 3D Building information modeling were loaded with building life cycle data, and the mouse and keyboard built a "ladder" across the virtual and real world... From June 7 to 9, at the finals of the National Employee Digital Application Technology Skills Competition, no matter in the flashing welding arc, in the trajectory of unmanned aircraft flight, or beside the model of smart buildings, there were always technical workers who wore uniforms and skills to win glory.

In the wave of digital industrialization and industry digitalization, the voice of "intelligent OEM" and "machine replacement" has been heard everywhere. This national professional skills contest for employees, hosted by the All-China Federation of Trade Unions and the Fujian Provincial Government for the first time in the field of digital skills application, has made more people inside and outside the arena see another possibility of "skills becoming talents and skills serving the country" in the digital era.

Digital Empowerment: The "Possibility" of Expanding Careers

On the first day of the competition at 9:00 am, at the drone operator project site, Fujian representative team and project coach Chen Jie stood outside the guardrail, carefully observing the team members' every step of flying to the bottom and crossing obstacles.

As a senior "operation and maintenance worker" with over 20 years of experience in power inspection work, the flight instructions completed by the contestants in the competition by manipulating drones between layers of obstacles are a "mandatory course" that he and his colleagues have to complete in their daily inspection work in the past 5 years.

Set the time back to 10 years ago. Every day, Chen Jie wears heavy insulation clothes, carries a 15 kilogram tool kit, walks into the mountainous area, climbs level by level transmission towers for inspection, and completes the inspection task within the jurisdiction for a full 5 years. Nowadays, under the observation of drones, patrolling a high mountain at an altitude of 500 meters has reduced the round-trip time from the past 4 hours to 5 minutes.

The UAV has brought efficiency to Chen Jie, while the industrial welding robot has reduced the risk of Occupational injury for Chen Jianglan, who is also a coach in the welding robot arena. As a female welder who had been in the industry since the 1990s, Chen Jianglan, who rolled up her sleeves and walked briskly in the competition area, can still see scars left by the splashed welding slag on her arm. In Chen Jianglan's memory, "manual welding" refers to the "pain" of squatting under an iron plate while welding upside down, allowing molten iron to drip, penetrate protective clothing, and burn the skin, yet remaining motionless to ensure welding quality.

Now, Chen Jianglan, who has switched careers to research industrial welding robots, is a training lecturer at the Fujian Special Equipment Inspection and Research Institute. "It is more and more difficult to recruit welders, but the training of Robot welding has become more and more popular." In recent years, more and more post-00s followed Chen Jianglan to learn Robot welding technology. In her view, industrial robots are redefining welders, saying that one day robots will make the scars of welding burn no longer a necessary price for the growth of welder skills

"6-18-02-04", "4-04-05-04" and "4-99-00-00.

Digital technology is gradually "refreshing" the stereotype of traditional professions among the public, and also profoundly changing the form of career development, attracting more young people to enter the "new workplace" of the digital field.

The "digital portrait of the contestants" at the competition site confirms the youthful power in the digital industry - the average age of the contestants is 30.6 years old, and the youngest contestant is only 19 years old.

For me, the competition is more like a 'dream factory'. Deng Yu, a drone operator from Deyang Power Supply Company of State Grid Sichuan Electric Power Company, born in 1997, completed practical assessments such as drone assembly, debugging, multi person and multi machine collaborative precision transportation, high-speed operation, and innovation and creativity on the field. Deng Yu exclaimed that he still remembers the "hard days" of following his master up the mountain for inspection four days a week when he first joined the company four years ago. "Drone inspection has liberated our feet, and digital technology has opened up new possibilities for our generation of 'new workers' in the' cloud '

There is a set of data that may better prove the significance of this competition for technical workers: since its launch in July 2022, the competition has attracted over 400000 employees to participate in the preparation. The entire competition embodies the concept of digital hosting, with over 2.74 million participants participating in online learning and training.

Behind this, there is a strong pulse of digital China and the infinite potential of digital craftsmanship in life.

Using numbers to improve skills: stepping onto the stage of "chasing light"

Wrapping construction project information around one's fingertips and using a keyboard and mouse to "build tall buildings" is something that BIM engineer Zhao Zhengqiao of Beijing Zhuzong First Development and Construction Co., Ltd. has repeatedly explored over the past five years. Under his control, the design drawings of construction projects completed by designers with drawing boards, T-square, ink line pens and other tools have become three-dimensional images "on paper" through the processing of BIM technology.

The information collection of over 30 drawings and nearly a hundred random pieces of information data are the virtual skeleton of the 27 story "data building" in front of Zhao Zhengqiao's computer screen in the competition arena. How to orderly connect the glass curtain walls of high-rise buildings, how to comprehensively arrange the building layout, and how to solve the problem of pipeline collisions in various mechanical and electrical specialties... With the support of BIM technology, contestants are searching for the fastest "shortcut" to find solutions in the model.

From digital office to collaborative management platform, from 3D visualization technology to VR visualization system, from electronic Distance measuring equipment to 3D scanner to surveying and lofting robot, swimming in the "sea of technology" of BIM, Zhao Zhengqiao sighed: "The process is like exploring, fascinating." In 2021, he obtained the Grade II BIM certificate of architecture specialty; Last year, he won third place in the first Beijing Workers' Vocational Skills BIM Technician Skills Competition... Zhao Zhengqiao admitted, "Just like actors yearning for stage spotlight, BIM engineers also have a desire for 'light'

"Butt weld width of 12mm to 13mm is the first level, 13mm to 14mm is the second level, 14mm to 15mm is the third level, and more than 15mm or less than 12mm is the fourth level. The difference of 3mm is the difference between 10 points and 0 points." In the thick scoring materials in the hands of Zhou Guangtao, the robot event judge of the welding equipment operator, there are as many as 11 quality inspection items for 8 welds of the Robot welding composite test piece.

As the first Robot welding competition in China, this competition is more like a "sample question", filling the gap in the professional skills competition of workers in the field of Robot welding in China. While building an unprecedented competitive arena for competitors, it also sets a Weather vane for the welding technicians with more than 300000 employees in China.

Zhou Guangtao pointed to the arc light in the Robot welding area through the light shielding glass and sighed: "In this arena, the workers who shine because of their skills are brighter than the arc light."

It's not just the engineers on the field who want to "chase the light". The digital industry also looks forward to people with "skill pursuers".

"1.5 million", which is the estimation of the current construction information model technology talent gap by Park Shanzhi, the technical director of the competition and the secretary-general of Building information modeling Technology Application Association of Heilongjiang Province. In Park Shanzhi's view, the charm of the competition lies not only in allowing 'skilled craftsmen' to find the light of professional confidence, but also in allowing more young people to see that the charm of life can also be illuminated by skills

Numerical Intelligence Iteration: "Craftsmanship" is irreplaceable

In the imagination of most people, this national skills competition is destined to be a sweat soaked competition. However, in the real competition scene, it is difficult for us to find the industrial "aura" that has solidified in our memories on the field.

30 robots form a "welding team" to work, with the machine's giant arm rotating and dancing flexibly, and the welding is quickly completed in the splashing of steel flowers; 94 independent workstations, keyboard sounds everywhere, 3D models spinning out on computer screens... These "sci-fi like" scenes not only appear at the competition site, but also in the workshops of digital factories and office buildings of technology companies.

On the surface, digital intelligent equipment seems to have replaced workers as the "protagonist" of factories. However, as long as the observation lens is focused deeper and farther, it can be seen clearly that behind these machinery is a new type of composite and comprehensive industrial worker.

Cai Jiwei, a senior technician of Haixi Technical Training Institute of Power Construction Corporation of China Fujian Engineering Co., Ltd., is a worker standing behind the welding robot. Driven by Cai Jiwei's programming, the robotic arm rises, moves laterally, tilts, approaches, performs flat welding, and suspends the arc... During the welding process, the welding gun is driven by the robotic arm and moves seamlessly along the workpiece weld seam. In the programming system, parameters such as welding current, speed, swing, frequency, and dwell time have already been entered one by one into the "welding process package" customized by Cai Jiwei for this workpiece.

After completing the programming, the robot still needs more than 30 minutes to perform welding operations, and Cai Jiwei told reporters: "The instructions have been issued, and the competition has become a 'final decision' at the moment the programming is completed

Cai Jiwei started learning electric welding projects with his master in 2012, completing it in 3 years and graduating in 5 years. However, after his first exposure to welding robots in 2019, he only spent less than 15 days learning programming. He said, "Perhaps the robotic arm of a robot can replace the hands of workers, but what machines can never replace is our craftsmanship. The wisdom of workers is the driving force for the development of digital technology

Cai Jiwei still remembers the days when his master took him to work on the burner renovation project at Guodian Jiangyin Power Plant in 2013. In order to catch up with the project, he worked continuously for a full 29 hours. That was the brightest day of my career, "he said.

Workers need a stage, and the stage of the competition is even more 'shining' because of the workers. This can be considered a 'two-way journey'! "Cai Jiwei smiled as he looked at the award-winning contestants standing on the podium, illuminated by the spotlight. (Fuzhou, June 9th)

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