Old K says every week – talking about things in the petrochemical design industry. Post 37: Looking back on the past – large state-owned enterprises used to be like small societies

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This post was last edited by henglinkou on 2021-3-16 at 09:00. Old K’s weekly series – Talks about things in the petrochemical design industry, Post 37: Looking back on the past – Large state-owned enterprises used to be like small societies. In the 1980s and 1990s, a large state-owned enterprise was essentially a small society in itself. I remember that our company was considered quite large at that time; it had its own cafeteria, nursery, cinema, medical clinic, heating boiler room, bathhouse, gas station (to supply household gas to the staff’s residences), and it even ran a radio and television university. The cinema was open to the public, the medical clinic was well-equipped, and most of the teachers in the nursery were family members of the employees. The office area and the residential area are located next to each other; most people commute on foot to work. The residential area is on the east side, while the office area is on the west side. The total area seems to be over 600 mu, with more than 30 dormitory buildings in the residential area. The single-student dormitory building is located in the office area, and all the assigned students live there ； There is also a pair-of-loves building in the office area; young couples who have just gotten married are not yet eligible to receive a house in the residential area, so they stay here in a room as a temporary solution, and move to the residential area once they get their own house. Housing in the workplace is classified into different grades: there are large Class A, small Class A, large Class B, small Class B, Class C, as well as those where two people share one bathroom. This grading system exists everywhere and at all times. It is necessary to mention the gas station at the facility; the gas produced there is air-generated furnace gas, whose main components are carbon monoxide and hydrogen, with a relatively high concentration of carbon monoxide. If a person suffers from carbon monoxide poisoning, they will be unable to move. At that time, gas stoves did not have a high level of safety; even when the flame went out, the gas supply was not turned off automatically. Because of this gas, more than a dozen people died. The elderly couple used gas to boil water. The kettle was on the stove, while the two watched TV in the living room. When the water overflowed, it put out the flame. As a result, they suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning. They died while still sitting on the sofa, watching TV ； There was also a worker at a gas station who was extremely skilled and daring. When there was a leak in his own gas pipeline, instead of shutting off the main valve, he went ahead and repaired it while gas was still flowing. As a result, he suffocated to death ； There was also a male employee who was on a business trip; his wife and children were at home using a gas water heater for bathing, and a gas leak caused them to die asphyxiated – it’s a tragic situation ； There was also a family of three who died from gas poisoning; only the man wasn’t at home and thus survived. Later, with the advent of city gas, the organization shut down the gas station. After the reform and opening up, society underwent tremendous changes, and real estate development flourished everywhere. In today’s workplaces, the number of employees is less than half of what it used to be ； The cinema, boiler room, and bathhouse have been demolished ； The medical clinic has been sold ； The residential area is now old, and most of the people living there are no longer employees of the company; most of the company’s employees have purchased homes in other areas and moved there. The habit of commuting on foot has given way to commuting by car with four wheels. The biggest problem with planning for centralized development zones, industrial areas, office areas, and residential areas is that it leads to inefficient operation of society and reduces people’s happiness levels. These days, most people have to travel several kilometers, a dozen kilometers, or even dozens of kilometers to get to work, wasting time on the road. Tip: You can enter “Lao K’s Weekly Thoughts – Insights into the Petrochemical Design Industry” in the website’s search engine to view previous posts