Ma Tao: An Exemplary Grassroots Leader

Ma Tao is the leader of the third shift of the dispersant unit in the ashless workshop of Lanzhou Lubrizol Lanzhou Refinery Additives Co., Ltd. - an ordinary employee who has produced outstanding results in an ordinary post, and a grassroots leader who has built a team full of enthusiasm for learning and cohesion. Under his leadership, the team has been rated an advanced team by Lanzhou Lubrizol Lanzhou Refinery Additives Co., Ltd. four times, and he himself has been named an advanced employee year after year.
Fearing no hardship, shouldering heavy tasks
The dispersant unit belongs to the hazardous chemical industry: the raw material maleic anhydride handled at the post is a hazardous chemical material, chlorine is a suffocating gas with an irritating odor, and the by-product hydrogen chloride gas is highly toxic. For many years Ma Tao has always charged to the very front of the production line, insisting on doing first whatever he asks his team members to do. When danger arises he always rushes to the front, snatching up the dirty and heavy work, keeping difficulties for himself and leaving convenience to others. On one night shift last winter, at around 4 a.m. during his patrol inspection, Ma Tao smelled an unusual odor in the maleic anhydride tank area and found a flange leak on the maleic anhydride circulation line. After confirming the repair environment was safe, he put on protective gear and joined his team members in emergency repairs, battling for more than two hours in the biting wind and the pungent smell of maleic anhydride until the leaking gasket was replaced, averting a serious maleic anhydride leakage accident and ensuring normal operation of the unit. He is meticulous in his work; with a rigorous style he lets no safety hazard pass, and for more than twenty years he has insisted on careful patrol inspections without missing the slightest clue. In March last year, just after the dispersant unit started up, the system was unstable because of the long preceding shutdown. During his shift Ma Tao inspected the unit closely, discovered a fault in a control valve and excessive flow in the secondary hydrochloric acid absorption tower that caused flooding; he immediately replaced the control valve and controlled the flow, smoothly solving the production problem.
Scientific management that unites hearts and builds strength
As a team leader, Ma Tao attaches importance to arming minds with knowledge, creating a learning-oriented team and actively creating conditions to use maintenance periods for organizing team members to study the processes of each post. He operates a job rotation system and encourages team members to learn from one another so that most of them become all-round operators competent at every post. Ma Tao also pays attention to team performance appraisal, setting up monthly performance assessments that let employees see clearly how well the month's work has been completed and reflect on problems and shortcomings, thereby urging team members to actively complete tasks and improving overall work efficiency. Under the monthly performance appraisal system, such factors as the ingredient ratio at each post, the cycle of single-agent in- and out-feeding, the first-time pass rate of product distillation, and the contracted responsibility for area housekeeping are all tied to performance pay, giving product quality and the management system an institutional guarantee and providing the basis for year-end selection of the best, so that it is fair, just and evidence-based. Rewards and penalties are combined: employees with a positive attitude and hard work are praised promptly, while those with flaws in their work are reminded promptly. Under his leadership the team's management level has risen year after year.
Uniting with and helping every team member has always been his style. In his company you always feel a warm spring breeze. If anyone has trouble at home, a single phone call is enough; no matter how busy he is, he will accommodate them as far as he can. One of his favorite sayings is that everyone has urgent matters at home, big or small, and we should understand one another - if something comes up at home, just go and deal with it without worry. If any post has a leak to plug or a gasket to change, he helps with the work. Under his lead and influence, whenever anyone on the team hits a production problem, everyone pulls together to help solve it, and the atmosphere within the team has become more harmonious, more cordial and warmer.
In his many years working in additives, he cannot remember how many holidays and rest days he has spent at work; he cannot say how many matters he has handled day or night, on call at any hour; and he cannot say how many novices he has mentored or how many laymen he has trained into skilled hands. What he does remember clearly is being punctual and on time every day; what he can state clearly are the workshop's process flow, production ingredient ratios and product specifications; and what he can count clearly are the thousands of days and nights with no accidents!
An ordinary employee in an ordinary post has thus completed a qualitative leap through a hard transformation. He often says that work has no end point, only a starting point; there is no best, only better!