Zhang Zhenfeng from Qinglong County, Hebei: A safety guardian unafraid of criticism (The most outstanding grassroots official)

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The focus of work safety lies at the grassroots level, and so do the challenges. Since starting work in safety supervision in 2002, Zhang Zhenfeng, the head of the safety supervision station in Zhuzhangzi Township, Qinglong County, Hebei Province, has remained dedicated and worked hard in his ordinary position. \"As long as I’m working, I must give my best; it’s a task involving human lives, and nothing can go wrong under my responsibility.\" ”Thanks to his efforts, the entire township has remained free from work safety accidents for 10 consecutive years. With responsibilities on their shoulders, and adhering to the principle of being prepared for any possibility, the township safety supervision stations serve as both the grassroots level and the frontline for oversight. There are 18 enterprises in Zhuzhangzi Township, including those in high-risk industries such as non-coal mines, hazardous chemicals, and fireworks, which imposes a heavy burden on supervision efforts. With heavy regulatory responsibilities on our shoulders, a strong sense of responsibility is of the utmost importance. To ensure solid oversight at the grassroots level and close attention to the front lines, Zhang Zhenfeng set a rule for himself: he would personally deliver all documents issued by higher authorities to the enterprise leaders, so as to guarantee that the Party’s and the state’s guidelines and policies regarding safety in production, as well as various decisions and arrangements, were transmitted promptly and accurately to the rural areas and enterprises. The documents can be picked up by someone from the company by phone, or they can be sent to them by another person, or mailed – so why does one have to deliver them in person? In Zhang Zhenfeng’s view, delivering documents signifies the transfer of responsibility; “only when a company assumes that responsibility can we talk about its implementation.” ” Whether it’s delivering documents or conducting law enforcement inspections, it’s inevitable to have to go to businesses and mines on a daily basis. Every month, Zhang Zhenfeng is away working for over 20 days. Over 14 years, whenever Zhang Zhenfeng went out, his mode of transportation was almost always a bicycle. It should be noted that Zhuzhangzi Township is located in a mountainous area with few flat roads; the farthest village is about fifteen or sixteen kilometers away from the township. Over 14 years, Zhang Zhenfeng has ridden over 40,000 kilometers, breaking 3 bicycles in the process. When it was urgent to get to the mine and riding a bike wasn’t fast enough, Zhang Zhenfeng would pay out of his own pocket to rent a car and go there. Compared to his income, a rental fee of thirty to fifty yuan each time is not small at all. But he doesn’t care about such things; “I feel happy when I see that the safety of the company I’m in charge of is intact, with no accidents.” When a person is happy, everything else doesn’t matter. ” Over the past two years, the mining industry has been in a downturn, and many companies have stopped operations. “I can’t afford to be careless at all; even for companies that have stopped production, I still need to go there two or three times a week. In terms of safe production, it’s better to be overly cautious – after all, accidents can happen at any moment! ”Zhang Zhenfeng said. With 5 tailing ponds in the village, the rainy season becomes the most stressful time for Zhang Zhenfeng every year. When it started to rain heavily, while others ran back to their homes, he headed towards the countryside and the tailing ponds; the 5 tailing ponds in that area are inspected at least once a day. When Zhang Zhenfeng got busy, he would sometimes simply stay in a makeshift shelter on top of the tailings pond dam. He once stayed away from home for two consecutive weeks, having his clothes sent to him by others so he could change them. In his mind, \"the heavier the rain, the more worried I get; I’ll be anxious if I leave.\" ” Full of resilience, \"preferring to hear insults rather than cries.\" Safety supervision is not only a tough and demanding task, but it also involves offending people. “I’m doing this for their own good; why do they still say I’m being slow? ”When he first started working in safety supervision, many companies said he was \"nosy,\" which puzzled Zhang Zhenfeng greatly. But he refused to accept this, saying, “We’ll urge the company to address these safety issues; if it doesn’t work the first time, we’ll try again.” As long as accidents can be avoided, what other people think of me doesn’t matter. Prefer insults to cries! ” In 2002, on one occasion, Zhang Zhenfeng went to an enterprise to conduct an inspection, but the person in charge of the enterprise refused to allow him in. To this end, Zhang Zhenfeng made repeated trips, identified the facts of the company’s violations of regulations, and demanded that corrective actions be taken promptly along with imposing penalties. Since then, the person in charge of this company has also begun to pay attention to safe production. During the flood season in 2011, while conducting inspections in the Minyi Mining area in the rain, Zhang Zhenfeng noticed that a high-voltage power pole near a stream had been submerged in the rising water; if it were washed down, it could pose a serious danger. Zhang Zhenfeng then went to the company owner and asked him to reinforce the structure, but the owner didn’t take it seriously. So, he returned to the site and watched the utility pole; as soon as any sign of tilting appeared, he rushed over to pull his boss to the site, and eventually convinced him to send people to reinforce it, thus preventing an accident. As Zhang Zhenfeng himself said, one must have perseverance when doing things – not fearing trouble or criticism, and never giving up until the goal is achieved. “He not only looks for faults, but also helps companies establish systems for preventing occupational hazards and improving their records. ”Having worked together for over 10 years, Huang Yuhua, the manager of Fazha Mining in Zhuzhangzi Township, understands Zhang Zhenfeng very well; “Everyone knows that he does it for our benefit.” ” Through hard work and dedication, he went from being a complete novice to an expert in work safety supervision; Zhang Zhenfeng can be considered to have entered this field later in life. Since transitioning from a township judicial assistant, he has insisted on learning skills through practice and professional knowledge through books. In the first few years, whenever he went to inspect the company, Zhang Zhenfeng would seize the opportunity to keep asking the company’s technical staff for advice. A book titled “300 Questions on Training Materials for Mineral Processing Workers” that he stumbled upon in 2008 was like a treasure to him; he promptly made copies of it to study whenever possible, carrying it with him whenever he went to the mines for inspections. Before long, the book was worn out, and Zhang Zhenfeng gained a thorough understanding of the entire process, from mining and ore processing to the disposal of tailings in reservoirs. Gradually, during corporate inspections, Zhang Zhenfeng was always able to use his keen eye to identify potential safety hazards. His diligence in studying and asking questions, along with his willingness to put in effort to delve deeper into matters, has greatly improved Zhang Zhenfeng’s professional capabilities. Over the years, he has been the one to draft all the rules and regulations related to work safety in the township ； He is responsible for organizing and carrying out emergency drills such as tailings pond failures, gas station oil leaks, and those related to non-coal mines on a yearly basis. In 2002, without any mandates from higher authorities, Zhang Zhenfeng took the initiative to establish eight different record-keeping systems, such as the \"Work Safety Inspection Record Book\" and the \"Hazardous Situation Register.\" Today, he has created nine such record-keeping systems based on practical needs. After going from a layperson to an expert, Zhang Zhenfeng began to plan safety training programs so that more people in the village could acquire safety knowledge and skills. “The work of grassroots safety inspectors may seem ordinary, but when the people in our community are free from suffering and live safely and happily under our supervision, then our work becomes anything but ordinary. ”Zhang Zhenfeng feels deeply satisfied to be able to do something for the safety supervision cause he loves, as well as for the common people and enterprises. People’s Daily (July 15, 2016, Page 06)