A view of a tool room of Zhao's team in Dalian Power Supply Company on Sept 28, 2016. (Photo by Wu Yan/chinadaily.com.cn)
On the day of the work, Zhao checks every tools and equipment repetitively, such as whether ropes and sticks are wet or damp which is forbidden, and has to make sure that they are functioning well. "Safety is most important. I used to worry about my own safety before, and now worry about every one of my team member."
Whenever there's a break in work, Zhao starts thinking about easier and faster ways of doing work to better protect the team's safety.
To reach high cables, apart from climbing up transmission tower, the other way is to hang a rope ladder on the cable and climb it. It usually requires workers on the tower to help hang the ladder. But Zhao's team found a new method to hang the ladder on the 500kv extra-high-voltage cable with all workers staying on the ground.
"We thought of many ways to hang a rope on the targeted cable," said Zhao, adding that they even tried to use bow and crossbow to let arrow bring a rope, which connects the rope ladder on the other end, flying across the cable.
They also tried model airplane. Several young workers practiced to fly model airplane on computer simulation at first and then in reality in spare time for three months in 2012. They did many experiments and even damaged a model airplane.
"It is too hard to control," said Zhao, "We hope it flies steadily rather than fast."
Fortunately, they heard of a new type of drone available in the market. "We tried drones and they work very well," said Zhao with a smile. This innovation was recognized by the industry and brought a reward to his company.
"He always tells us to think what is the hardest part in the latest task and find a solution," said 30-year-old Nie Lu, a member of Zhao's team.
"I hope all teammates can be better than me," said Zhao, who is the oldest and most experienced worker in the team. "Do best everyday work and make yourself the best, then others will recognize you."
