Continuous Improvement – Cooling Water Pipeline and Workshop Lighting Renovation

Zhengcun has always deeply integrated a culture of continuous improvement into the whole process of enterprise development. The General Manager takes the lead in advocating innovative ideas, actively promotes various improvement measures, and guides all employees to take the initiative in cost reduction, efficiency improvement, optimization and upgrading, so as to gather a strong joint force to promote the high-quality development of the enterprise. Taking the production shutdown during the Spring Festival, in order to further improve production facilities, enhance production efficiency and eliminate potential safety hazards, our company has focused on promoting two upgrading and renovation projects: the cooling water pipeline and workshop lighting in the rubber mixing workshop. We practice the original aspiration of improvement and meet the requirements of innovation with practical actions. 1 Renovation of Cooling Water Pipeline in Rubber Mixing Workshop 1.1 Project Initiation In 2025, the company installed two hydraulic internal mixers. The new mixers put forward higher requirements for cooling water flow and flow rate. The existing cooling water circulation system can no longer meet the operation needs of the equipment. In particular, the No. 2 internal mixer is located at the end of the pipeline, resulting in unstable water temperature control, which affects production efficiency and product quality. Therefore, the main pipelines in the rubber mixing workshop have been redesigned: the diameters of the water inlet and return pipes have been expanded from DN63 to DN125, and the "U-shaped" structure has been transformed into a square through-type pipeline. After the renovation, the unbalanced water pressure in the main pipelines can be effectively eliminated, ensuring a stable and sufficient supply of cooling water to meet the operation requirements of the new internal mixers.

1.2 Implementation

During the production shutdown for the Spring Festival holiday, we coordinated the construction team, formulated a detailed construction plan, and efficiently carried out the renovation of the cooling water pipeline. Before construction, equipment and raw materials were covered to prevent dust ingress. During construction, welding quality and installation accuracy were strictly controlled. After construction, the site was cleaned up and fully verified. After 10 days of intense and orderly construction, the cooling water pipeline renovation project was successfully completed. The upgraded system was put into use as scheduled, completely solving the problem of unstable water temperature and laying a solid foundation for the efficient and high-quality operation of rubber mixing production.

2 Workshop Lighting Renovation 2.1 Project Approval Workshop lighting is an important foundation for ensuring production safety, improving operational comfort and enhancing work efficiency. Previously, the original lighting equipment in the company's workshop had many shortcomings. The switches were inconvenient to operate, and some areas lacked sufficient brightness, which affected employees' working experience and efficiency. Moreover, there were potential safety hazards, which was inconsistent with the company's development philosophy of continuous improvement and excellence. Therefore, combined with the actual operational needs of the workshop, the company has comprehensively redesigned the lighting switch control mode and lamp positions, striving to create a safe, convenient and comfortable working lighting environment. 2.2 Implementation During the Spring Festival, the company concentrated its efforts on carrying out a comprehensive upgrade and renovation of the workshop lighting system, focusing on optimizing the control mode and adjusting the lamp positions to solve the original pain points in a targeted manner. The specific renovation contents are as follows: 2.2.1 Panel Control The original workshop lighting switches were installed inside the control box. To turn them on or off, the protective cover had to be opened first before operating the air switch, which was not only cumbersome but also posed a risk of easy damage to the air switch. This renovation optimized the lighting control system by adopting a combination of control box and panel control, simplifying the operation process, completely eliminating the inconvenience of original operation and potential equipment damage, and improving the convenience and stability of lighting control.

2.2.2 Induction Control When the lighting was turned off at night in the elevator halls on the 2nd and 3rd floors of Phase II, the areas were completely dark, causing great inconvenience to employees and posing potential safety hazards. In this renovation, the lighting in these areas was converted to induction control mode. The lights turn on automatically when someone enters the elevator hall and turn off automatically 30 seconds after people leave. This not only ensures passage safety but also achieves energy conservation and consumption reduction, balancing practicality and economy.

2.2.3 Time Control The original stair lighting adopted a single-floor panel control mode, requiring manual operation of buttons on each floor to turn the lights on and off. This was cumbersome and often led to lights being left on accidentally, resulting in energy waste. In this renovation, it was upgraded to a time control mode, allowing automatic on/off scheduling based on actual needs without manual operation. This not only improved convenience but also effectively saved energy.

2.2.4 Position Adjustment Some lighting fixtures in the Phase II workshop were blocked by cooling air ducts, resulting in insufficient brightness in the equipment operation areas below the ducts. This affected employees’ working vision and comfort, and might even lead to operational hazards due to poor visibility. In this renovation, the installation positions of the lighting fixtures in this area were adjusted to avoid obstruction by the air ducts, ensuring sufficient and uniform lighting in the operation areas. This effectively improved employees’ working comfort and operational safety.

The two renovation projects promoted during this Spring Festival are vivid practices of Zhengcun deepening the culture of improvement and implementing the advocacy of innovation. They not only effectively solved the practical pain points in production and operation, improved production facilities, and enhanced production efficiency and operational safety, but also further consolidated the consensus of all employees to participate in improvement and take the initiative in innovation. In the future, Zhengcun will continue to deeply cultivate the culture of improvement, encourage all employees to make innovative breakthroughs based on their positions, continuously optimize production facilities and operation models, make up for development shortcomings, and promote the enterprise to achieve higher-quality and more efficient development.