Since the new column Little-known Sides of JUSTECH is launched, we have posted articles, like Uniforms of JUSTECH and New Factory Building Planning, that have drawn wide attention among employees. Many readers are surprisedby the story behind our uniforms and many customers even ask us for one. Afterreading the previous article about planning of JUSTECH Industrial Park, manyreaders shared with their expectation for a new workplace. I, just like you, early anticipate earlycompletion of our new factory building and the rise of JUSTECH Empire.
Next, I will share with you the story for today’s Little-knownSides of JUSTECH.
AnInconspicuous Stele without Inscription
Employees at JUSTECH are used to a clean and beautiful workingenvironment, as JUSTECH adopts a very stringent and high standard for sanitationand furnishings. However, on the south of the gate of our headquarters standsan ugly and rusty iron plate without anything on it, which is incompatible withour stylish working environment. This iron plate is just like a stele withoutinscription, and few knows what it is used for. The old look of this stelewithout inscription indicates that there is a story behind it.
Today, I am going to tell you the story about it.
In 2008 when smart technology was not as advanced as today, Nokiaplayed a leading role and the revolutionary iPhone 4 was not launched until twoyears later, years of imbalance between virtual economy and physical economy inthe United State triggered a global financial storm. It was this financialcrisis that made developed countries aware of drawbacks of traditionalindustrial development and drove these countries to develop strategies to back to manufacturing.Additionally, development of technologies like big data and cloud-basedcomputing catalyzed transformation into smart manufacturing. Smartmanufacturing was regarded the future of manufacturing and it was expected thatsmart manufacturing would play an absolutely leading role. Then developed industrialcountries like Germany, the United States, Japan and France developed theirIndustry 4.0 Plans, and China also developed its own version of Industry 4.0Plan-- Made in China 2025.
JUSTECH had engaged in the mold processing industry for two yearsin 2008. JUSTECH was not content with what it had achieved in Kunshan andworked t o make new breakthroughs. Given the global context at that time, JUSTECHwas aware that automation will be a trend in future and decided to seize thisopportunity for development. In the first half of 2008, JUSTECH set up anautomation department,employed a professional manager and built a team of 20.
Failure of a Professional Team
Not long after the department was founded, we got an order for CNCequipment. Technologies of CNC equipment manufacture were well-developed at that time and this order wasalmost free of technical barriers, but for a startup like us, it was still abig challenge. The then person in charge of the automation team promised to ourshareholders that he had fully understood the complete set of drawings andcould certainly deliver the order. Finally, his decision was approved.
The team immediately began to build a prototype based on drawings,but the process was full of challenges: firstly, we took more than half a yearto build the main body after a series of process from molding to casting andrepeated modification; then we bought parts and began to assemble based on thedrawings, but finally we failed. We were unable to make expected products withthese drawings. We did not want to fail, but after years ofimprovement, we ended up with failure to deliver CNC equipment required by thecustomer.
Finally, we failed to deliver this order that we expected to deliverwithout doubt and lost more than a million Yuan.
TheSetup of Warning Plate
Failure is unavoidable if you enter an industry with littleknowledge about technologies in the industry and just rely on what other peoplesay without assessment.
Failure to deliver this order and a loss of more than a millionYuan were beyond our capacities to afford at that time. To avoid bankruptcy,Shark, founder of the company, dissolved the team of over 20 members and justretained Deng Wei and another three team members. All equipment was disassembled and parts like motors and guiderails were returned or sold, and this iron part was kept as a warning.
Today, JUSTECH, withtechnically robust capacities, has great influence on domestic automation industry, but we do not dare to engage in CNCmanufacturing without sufficient preparation. Because to enter this industry,we have to take a long period of time to do researches and experiments to gaina deep insight into CNC. We need to gain experience, and it is not as easy asit seems to be, just as an old say goes: the first three years in a newindustry will be hard, Shark said.
Successof a Team led by a Layperson
The failure to deliver the first order had a great impact on us,but we never wanted to give up. With deficiency in professional talents,experience in automation industry and working capital, this five-member team, led by Shark, alayperson in the industry, gained unexpected success.
The first order we got was 8 height screeners about which the teamknew nothing at that time. Led by Shark, the team learnedfrom scratch and devoted themselves to study on technologies applied throughoutthe process of height screeners manufacturing. Optical fiber technology was oneof the key technologies in manufacture of height screeners. To get a deepinsight into it, theteam collected and studied all optical fiber instructions and visited opticalfiber manufacturers to learn about product features when they had doubts. Theirdevotion to learning allowed the team to get a deep insight into keytechnologies of height screeners.
A height screener uses optical fiber technology on the productionline to allow products with height within a normal range to pass through and intercept thosewith height beyond the normal range. To ensure a high level of precision of ourheight screeners, the team managed to keep optical screener and receiver on astraight line more precisely.As they further learned about these technologies, they found that what they didbefore was wrong because the ray of optical fiber was not on astraight line, but a sector emitting outward. In other words, an optical fiberreceiver can receive signal from an emitter that is not on a straight line withit. Therefore, the key in height screener design is not how to align opticalfiber emitter with receiver, but to set the most appropriate threshold ofreceiver to ensure sensitivity. Then, the team was dedicated to studying impactof height, surface smoothness and light on the equipment’s sensitivity tolight. Finally, their devotion and efforts paid off. Customers were satisfiedwith products that run well. Led by Shark, a layperson, theteam delivered their first order successfully. The successful deliveryincreased the team’s confidence and encouraged them to carry on, and sincethen, JUSTECH has become a real participant in automatic manufacturing.
Meaningbehind the Warning Plate
This is the story behind our warning plate. You may wonder why aprofessional team fails but a team led by a layperson succeeds? Is it becauseShark is the boss? What are secrets behind their success? I talked withShark later, what he said gave me answers to these questions.
Most people will give upwhen in the face of different, instead of devoting themselves to finding outthe root cause and technical research. For every order, I will delve into andgain a deep insight into its technological basis. The key to mysuccess is that I never deceive myself, I just focus on how to solve problemswhile others just want to muddle along and not to be caught by their superiors…Determination to figureproblems out, curiosity and a sense of responsibility are what a qualifiedemployee at JUSTECH must have, Shark said.
Therefore, the plate is set up as a warning to staff at JUSTECH:the key to success is not resources, but a sense of responsibility, curiosityand commitment to excellence.
1. A sense of responsibility: sheer tenacity in work anddevotion to goals;
2. Curiosity: continuous learning, curiosity about andinsight into logic and truth behind things;
3. Commitment to excellence: pursuit of excellence,continuous improvement of products and techniques and enjoyment of improvement
