New Employee, Embarking on a Dream-Filled Journey: A Profile of Li Yu, a Construction Worker at the San Gong Department's Manjin Expressway Tunnel Fire Department

Li Yu, a construction worker in the fire protection department of the Manjin Expressway tunnel, Joined in July 2020 and arrived at the Manjin project in October. He is of medium height and slightly overweight, outgoing and cheerful, loves to laugh and talk, and is warm and sincere to others. Colleagues all like this unassuming Bai ethnic young man. Months of wind and sun on the construction site have tanned his skin, but the eyes behind his black-rimmed glasses still sparkle with the passion he had when he first joined the company. From the first day he joined the project, he said, "I can't sit still, I don't want to be idle, I want to go to the site," and this has not changed to this day. Every day, as soon as the alarm clock rings, he gets up, washes up, quickly finishes his breakfast, and drives to work full of energy.

Li Yu majored in Surveying Engineering. He was diligent and studious at school, achieving excellent grades, and even before graduation, he participated in several field measurement projects with his teachers. In 2019, he won the first prize in the National College Students' UAV Surveying and Mapping Skills Competition. Upon arriving at the project, he fully utilized his professional skills in the elevation measurement of the high-level water pool and the laying out of external pipelines, which impressed veteran employees. After serving as the pipeline construction worker for the Manjin project, he realized that he lacked not only on-site management experience but also a grasp of construction techniques. Completing work independently was very difficult. To quickly bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practice, he had to learn while doing, and do while learning, making up for his lack of knowledge in pipeline construction. He carefully observed experienced veteran construction workers and project managers, learning how they arranged work and coordinated conflicts between different trades. In the evenings, he would take out his old textbooks and specifications to solve the problems encountered that day and learn about potential problems for the next day, fully immersing himself in on-site management work and learning. His main responsibilities included organizing and coordinating the land acquisition and water fire protection construction sites, and implementing work plans. When he first arrived at the project, he was also afraid of land acquisition. He gritted his teeth and repeatedly chatted with villagers, trying to coordinate relations between both sides to complete land acquisition as soon as possible. However, not all villagers were easy to talk to. When encountering unreasonable people, being scolded was a common occurrence. To ensure that the project's overall schedule was completed on time, he always restrained himself, silently enduring, and completed the land acquisition work for six water pools as required by the project manager, ensuring the smooth start of the project. During the construction process, he closely monitored the construction site, strictly followed the specifications, insisted on daily on-site work, conducted written technical briefings before work, provided on-site guidance and inspection during construction, reasonably arranged team personnel and work assignments, distinguished priorities, focused on key tasks, and ensured the normal operation of each work point. Every procedure on the work surface he was responsible for was completed with high quality and quantity, and successfully passed the supervision acceptance. He kept "dual responsibility" in mind, and actively cooperated with the project safety officer, adhering to the principle of "safety production is everyone's responsibility." Before work, he conducted written safety technical briefings, identified and evaluated hazard sources, and during construction, strictly required workers to follow the operating procedures and safety technical briefings to eliminate safety hazards. During the project's rush work period, with overlapping operations, fatigue work, and high-intensity work, the fire protection construction team did not have any safety accidents. In the 2021 labor competition of the Manjin project, the fire protection department won praise from the general contractor due to its good construction quality, fast progress, and no safety accidents. As a construction worker, he not only strictly controlled quality and safety but also had a strong cost awareness. He often actively consulted with the cost accountant and project manager, discussing and studying the terms of the construction contract, familiarizing himself with the engineering quantity list, and promptly completing each economic visa for signature and confirmation by the supervisor and client, striving to obtain reasonable benefits for the project. What is most admirable about Li Yu is his unwavering execution. He meticulously records the schedule requirements and work arrangements of the command center, implements node tasks item by item and day by day, and does his utmost to follow up and provide feedback to achieve the expected goals.

In mid-January 2021, as the Spring Festival approached, the workers' desire to return home became increasingly strong, and their work gradually became slack. However, there were still two fire water pools left to be constructed. The Manjin Expressway is 50.58 kilometers long, and a round trip takes 3 hours. To improve work efficiency and ensure the completion of the schedule before the New Year, he hardly returned to the project department, staying day and night at the water pool masonry site on the hillside, eating and living with the workers, and occasionally taking a nap in his car when he was too tired. January is the coldest time of the year locally, with continuous mountain rain and biting cold wind. After a few days, Li Yu's rheumatism flared up, his feet were sore and swollen, and he had difficulty walking. Yet, he still stood in the cold rain and wind, closely monitoring the construction progress. The project manager asked him to hand over his work and go to the hospital, but he said, "I can hold on a little longer, it's not a big deal, the pool walls will be poured soon, I can't leave." On the 19th, the water pool began to be poured. Due to poor communication between the construction team and the mixing station, the concrete truck did not arrive at the site until 4 pm after waiting since 9 am. During this time, the workers took turns resting and eating, but Li Yu alone waited at the site, afraid that there would be no one there when the concrete truck arrived. One concrete truck after another climbed the mountaintop with difficulty. Li Yu worked alongside the team members in the cold concrete, shuttling back and forth. Days of sleepless nights made him exhausted, and his swollen rheumatic foot had become numb. He dared not sit down or lie down in the car, fearing that he would not get up once he lay down. He kept watch until the last truck of concrete was poured at 10 pm, and finally climbed into his car, lay down, and slept a full night's sleep.

In ordinary positions, only those who persevere can stand out; in arduous work, only those who are tenacious can be tempered! Li Yu is such a person who is willing to silently dedicate himself to the most ordinary construction work. Although his work is busy and his life is hard, in this busyness and hardship, he has harvested growth and blossomed with his efforts. He constantly reflects and summarizes, planning a path for himself that combines knowledge and practice, learning from professional books, specifications, practice, and others. He is energetic, hardworking, and conscientious, improving both his professional skills and management abilities, creating a good atmosphere of working and learning among new employees in the project department, laying a solid foundation for undertaking more important work in the next project. In the most ordinary frontline construction worker position, he is hardworking, overcomes difficulties, and finds his own value in his day-to-day work. With his selfless work attitude, he responds to the Manjin project's high-speed and high-efficiency construction rhythm, infecting his colleagues with his work enthusiasm of "doing what can be done and striving for what can be strived for"; working hand in hand to help the group achieve the goal of "all roads being accessible" in highway engineering. He is moving forward with his dreams. 。

【Construction Department /Chen Siyu    Editor /Hu Hengjin 】