Chapter 59: What Assembly Line? Isn't This Delaying Us Old Workers?

"Look, this transmission system is the most backward." Li Mingyuan pointed at those pulleys and chains, "We must replace it with a gear transmission system."

He took a blueprint out of his pocket and spread it on the workbench: "According to this drawing, redesign the transmission system; the precision will increase by at least ten times."

The technicians gathered around the drawing and clicked their tongues in wonder; this kind of design had almost never been seen in the country, exquisite and peerless.

"Chief Engineer Li, the machining precision requirements for these gears are too high. Can we achieve it?" a young technician asked worriedly.

Li Mingyuan was full of confidence: "Yes, I have already designed a specialized gear machining device, and it can be installed by this afternoon."

For an entire day, the technical team was busy retrofitting this machine tool; Li Mingyuan personally adjusted the most critical components, meticulous in every detail.

"The bearings must be replaced with imported ones, the transmission shaft must be re-turned, and the clearance must be controlled within 0.01 millimeters." Li Mingyuan continuously instructed on the details.

Night fell, but the retrofitting work continued; the workshop was brightly lit, and the workers took turns resting to ensure the work never stopped.

Factory Lou Changzhang came to inspect in the middle of the night and, seeing Li Mingyuan still buried in his work, could not help but exclaim: "Young people really have drive!"

At four o'clock the next morning, the first retrofitted machine tool finally made its debut; although its appearance had not changed much, the interior was completely different.

"Start the test!" Li Mingyuan pressed the start button, and the machine tool ran smoothly, with almost no noise to be heard, only a faint humming sound.

A piece of test steel was fixed onto the machine tool, and cutting began; the entire process was smooth and flowing, without a hint of vibration.

Ten minutes later, the first part was finished; Li Mingyuan carefully removed it and measured the dimensions with precision measuring tools.

"The precision error is less than 0.05 millimeters!" Li Mingyuan held the part high and announced excitedly, "It's an improvement over the original!"

The workers and technicians present erupted into a cheer; this result far exceeded expectations.

Factory Lou Changzhang hurried over to take a look, holding the part and unable to put it down: "This quality is even better than the imported ones!"

Li Mingyuan, however, did not stop; he immediately led the team to begin retrofitting the second machine tool while designing more supporting equipment.

"I need to make a simple indexing head and a combination fixture; only then can I guarantee consistency during mass production." Li Mingyuan muttered to himself while drawing.

That afternoon, Li Mingyuan organized a technical lecture to introduce the basic concepts and operational points of assembly line work to all the factory workers.

"What is the core of assembly line production?" Li Mingyuan stood on the stage, his gaze sweeping over the workers below, "It is standardization and specialization!"

The workers listened attentively, occasionally recording key points in their notebooks; the atmosphere was focused and enthusiastic.

"Each person is only responsible for one process, but it must be done with extreme precision." Li Mingyuan held up his index finger to emphasize, "This is more important than anything else!"

After the lecture, Li Mingyuan proposed a suggestion to Factory Lou Changzhang: "We need to open three night school crash courses to train workers to master assembly line operational skills."

Factory Lou Changzhang slapped the table: "Good idea! Start recruiting tomorrow, and you will be the lead instructor!"

That evening, the night school opened as scheduled; a simple podium was set up in the workshop, and nearly a hundred workers packed the classroom.

"Comrades, today I am going to talk about standardized operating procedures." Li Mingyuan held the teaching materials he had written himself, his voice resonant.

The young workers listened intently, their eyes sparkling with a thirst for knowledge, occasionally letting out exclamations of admiration.

"In the past, when making a part, one master craftsman completed it from start to finish; now we are going to change it so that each person only does one process, but it must be done to the extreme." Li Mingyuan gave an example to illustrate.

In the back row of the classroom, several old workers frowned, clearly disapproving of this new method.

"What assembly line, what not assembly line; isn't our craftsmanship good enough?" Liu Haizhong muttered in a low voice.

Yi Zhonghai sat to the side and nodded in agreement: "If a worker only does one process, what kind of technical worker is that called? It's simply ruining the craft!"

Li Mingyuan keenly sensed the anomaly in the back row and raised his voice: "Some veteran masters may worry that the new method will devalue their skills; on the contrary, this is the sublimation of technology!"

But the likes of Yi Zhonghai were clearly unmoved; after the lecture ended, they gathered together to whisper, their eyes full of resistance.

Over the next few days, the night school training continued; the young workers' enthusiasm for learning was high, and they quickly mastered the new operational skills.

But the old workers led by Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong became increasingly resistant; they were used to working with freedom and were unwilling to be fixed at one workstation repeating a single motion.

"I've been a blacksmith for ten years; now you want me to only be responsible for hammering one step? Isn't this insulting?" Liu Haizhong complained loudly in the breakroom.

Yi Zhonghai nodded in agreement: "Exactly, a part from raw material to finished product, it was all completed by me alone; that is what you call craftsmanship!"

Complaining was just complaining, but assembly line production continued to advance.

The first test section of the assembly line was installed, and the workers began trial operations according to the new division of labor.

The parts started from the first process and flowed through each workstation in turn; each worker was only responsible for one simple action, but the speed was incredibly fast.

In less than an hour, the first batch of parts completed all processes; the output was eight times that of the traditional method, and the quality was even more stable.

"Too awesome!" The young workers cheered and jumped for joy, excited by this unprecedented high efficiency.

But Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong had ashen faces; they saw the skills they were so proud of being replaced by this "simplified" method, and they felt both angry and uneasy.

"What kind of craft is this? Even a machine could replace it!" Liu Haizhong threw down his tools indignantly.

Yi Zhonghai took a deep breath, a flash of determination in his eyes: "Let's go, let's go find the workshop director and have a word!"

The two of them, along with several old workers, headed straight for the workshop director's office, pushed the door open, and entered aggressively.

"Director, we have objections!" Yi Zhonghai stood in front, his voice loud, "This kind of assembly line work does not respect the skills of old workers at all!"

Liu Haizhong also chimed in: "Right! We demand to return to the traditional work mode, otherwise this work cannot be done!"

The workshop director stood up abruptly, his face darkening: "What kind of attitude is this? This is a national directive!"

"Are you trying to resist a national order?" The workshop director's question exploded in the office like a thunderclap.

Yi Zhonghai's arrogance wilted instantly, and fine beads of sweat seeped out on his forehead: "No... no, we just have some objections..."

"Objections?" The workshop director sneered and pulled a document stamped with a bright red seal from his drawer,

"Look clearly, this is specially approved by the Military Industry Department and signed by the Chief himself! Who do you few think you are, daring to raise objections?"

Liu Haizhong's face turned deathly pale, and his legs went weak involuntarily: "We... we didn't know it was such a high-level directive..."

"You didn't know? Now the whole factory knows, it's just you few old stubborn fools playing dumb!" The workshop director pointed at the door, "If there's nothing else, get out, and don't delay national affairs!"