Baiku Cao, a member of the Communist Party of China. He was formerly the director of the First Assembly Workshop of the Tunnel Boring Machine company of Northern Heavy Industries Group Co., Ltd. He was awarded National Model Worker in 2010. 

In just a few years, Baiku Cao and his team have overcome six key technologies in the assembly of TBM, achieved nearly a hundred technological innovations, independently developed over a hundred sets of tooling fixtures, and saved value of nearly ten million yuan. They have set a national record of assembling 15 TBM in one year and a world record of assembling one large TBM in 27 days. The team he leads has reached the world's leading level in the assembly technology of TBM and has made significant contributions to the development of the national equipment manufacturing industry. On June 6, 2009, the Shenyang Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China made a decision to launch a learning campaign from Baiku Cao throughout the city.

Before 2005, "Made in China" was still a blank in the field of large TBM, and the TBM used in large underground projects such as subways were completely imported.

However, by 2008, the Northern Heavy Industries Group had produced 15 large TBM, ranking second in the world. The metro projects in Shenyang, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and other cities have all adopted this large-scale equipment made in China.

In short four years, from cooperative production to independent manufacturing, and from relying on imports to going global, it was Baiku Cao, the director of the First Assembly Workshop of the TBM company of Northern Heavy Industries Group, and his team who created this miracle.

Baiku Cao was born in 1959 in a working-class family. After graduated from junior school, he joined the army. In 1982, he was transferred from the military and later became a fitter at Shenyang Heavy Machinery Factory (which merged with Shenyang Mining Machinery Factory in 2006 to form Northern Heavy Industries Group Co., LTD.). Baiku Cao has a tenacious spirit. When he doesn't know something, he learns. When he doesn't understand something, he asks questions. He won't give up until he fully understands it. Soon, he became the most efficient worker in the entire workshop. When he was the class monitor, his class was the most capable one in the entire factory.

In April and May 2005, Shenyang Heavy Machinery Factory collaborated with the French NFM Company to produce TBM. This was China's "first" TBM used in the Wuhan Yangtze River Cross-river Tunnel. The Heavy Industry factory selected three teams to undertake this important task, and Baiku Cao Assembly Team was one of them.

The full name of the TBM is the full-section tunnel boring machine. The first set of equipment is 60 meters long, nearly 12 meters high and weighs 1,650 tons. In the past, no one of the three teams had ever seen such a huge equipment. This equipment integrates mechanics, electronics, hydraulics, sensors and information technology. Its technology is quite complex and it is currently the most advanced special construction machinery for tunnels in the world.

According to convention, assembly should be carried out in accordance with the drawings, processes and technical standards. However, the French part only provided the main drawing without anything else.

Two teams had retreated.

In the face of the huge item, only Baiku Cao assembly team remained. They could no longer retreat. "If all retreated, not only Chinese lose face, but more importantly, they will lose the historical opportunity to end their reliance on imported TBM." " Baiku Cao said.

Those who know Baiku Cao well are aware that he enjoyed tackling tough problems and got excited when saw difficult tasks. Since the 1980s, Shenyang Heavy Machinery Factory has filled 97 domestic gaps in projects, among which more than 40 were assembled by Baiku Cao. A considerable number of these projects were carried out in cooperation with countries such as Germany, Japan, France and Austria.

Baiku Cao studio became full of blueprints. In a room of about ten square meters, there are drawings hanging on the walls and placed on the table, including assembly drawings, sub-assembly drawings, component drawings... "First, thoroughly understand the drawings, and then form the assembly process." " Baiku Cao said this to himself. During that period, he often felt dizzy from looking at the drawings. When he couldn't stand it anymore, he would go out for a walk, visit the workshop or sit down to think. After half a month of continuous research, a complete and clear assembly process diagram formed in my mind. Then, he elaborated on the assembly process in detail to the technical backbone.

However, during the assembly process, unexpected problems emerged. The cutter head with a diameter of 11.38 meters and a weight of 156 tons needs to be flipped in the air during installation, but the crane in the workshop can only lift 150 tons. Coupled with the gravitational force formed at the moment of flipping, the weight of the cutter head will far exceed the load-bearing capacity of the crane, which may bend the crane track. If this happens, the consequences would be unimaginable.

The French project manager proposed an upward-flipping machine and equipped it with corresponding auxiliary facilities. However, this not only requires an investment of tens of millions of yuan, but more importantly, it affects the delivery time.

Baiku Cao held a brain storm to study this problem and finally decided to change the position of the hanging hook. The gravity of the original cutter head's hanging hook would be concentrated on one side and turned towards the middle. In this way, due to the uniform force, there would be no instantaneous gravity formed when flipping. At the same time, add two square boxes and place an inclined angle on the ground as a support point to change the aerial operation to a semi-aerial operation.

However, such a change has never occurred! Baiku Cao persuaded the French project manager to approve the plan with half doubt and half belief.

Assembly has begun! Baiku Cao held the walkie-talkie and gave calm instructions. The crane driver cooperated closely. The technicians held the cutter head and approached the main unit carefully. The 156-ton cutter head was flipped over, and 64 screw holes were aligned all at once. "Success!" Baiku Cao let out a long breath, clenched his right fist and slammed it down. This was his usual action when he was particularly happy.

The French project manager smiled and said, "The Chinese are so smart!"

In early April 2007, Baiku Cao and his team received the task of assembling a 11.38-meter diameter slurry TBM for Guangzhou to Shenzhen to Hong Kong in the new factory area, with a period of one month.

After inspecting the assembly workshop in the new factory area, the French expert said, "It cannot be completed within four months."

At this time, Shenyang Heavy Machinery Factory had merged and reorganized with Shenyang Mining Machinery Factory to form Northern Heavy Industries Group Co., LTD. Subsequently, it acquired the German Wilter Holding Company/French NFM Company through an absolute controlling stake, thus obtaining the controlling stake of a world-renowned tunnel boring machine enterprise. Meanwhile, in 2006, Baiku Cao and his team had already installed four TBM and accumulated the experience. More importantly, Baiku Cao and his team possess an enterprising spirit that is not afraid of challenges.

In the season when the weather is still chilly, the doors of the new factory haven't been installed yet, the window panes haven't been put on, and there's no heater. The cold air is biting at night. Baiku Cao and his team set up more than ten beds in the workshop, working continuously for 24 hours a day. Whoever was tired or sleepy would go to the bed to rest for a while.

With just 27 days, this slurry TBM was successfully delivered and put into use.

In March 2009, at the Heavy Equipment Workshop of NHI, nine TBM were being assembled simultaneously with great enthusiasm. A 150-ton crane roared past, lifting a shield weighing dozens of tons and flipping it in the air. Sparks were flying from several shield machines and dozens of trailers on the assembly frame. Hundreds of cutting tools weighing dozens of tons each are being installed. The chief conductor was Baiku Cao, who skillfully issued one instruction after another, directing 107 workers to play a symphony of large-scale industrial production together.

All of this let a foreign customer stunned. He raised his thumb and said, "Mr. Cao, all the ten thousand parts of the entire TBM are in your heart. You are a master of TBM assembly!"

The assembly method of the cutter head's cutter box, the assembly method of the left and right arms, the inclined pad type aerial flipping method etc.. Over the past four years, Baiku Cao and his team have achieved over a hundred technological innovations and self-made more than a hundred sets of tooling fixtures. They have become the only team in the world capable of simultaneously assembling large-scale slurry pressure balance, earth pressure balance and hard rock shield machines. While his team was honored with the title of "National Model Worker's Vanguard", Baiku Cao was also awarded the title of National Model Worker by The State Council.