Welcoming the 20th National Congress, Qilu blossoms with youthful elegance. On the afternoon of July 22, the Shandong Provincial Federation of Trade Unions held in Jinan the themed event welcoming the 20th National Congress of the CPC and the release ceremony of the "Double Top Ten" awards for female employees' meritorious service. Song Zanmei of China Railway 14th Bureau Group was honored as a 2022 "Shandong Top Ten Female Employees Meritorious Service Model."

Report by Shandong Satellite TV

Song Zanmei is deputy director of the Engineering Department of the Jilai Project of the Second Company of China Railway 14th Bureau Group. Over her 14-year career, she has witnessed China's high-speed rail develop from nothing into a globally recognized "Chinese calling card," while she herself has completed a remarkable transformation from a workplace newcomer to a senior engineer. She is the "proud plum blossom" on the road of innovation, the "female artisan" of Winter Olympics construction, the "pragmatic and responsible" model of great-country craftsmanship, and a "female role model" for all employees of the company. In July 2022, Song Zanmei was awarded the "Shandong Provincial May 1 Labor Medal."

Rooted in the front line of construction · Blooming alone in the cold

In 2008, Song Zanmei graduated from Central South University with a degree in civil engineering and joined the Second Company of China Railway 14th Bureau Group. When she first arrived at the project department, she could have chosen a relatively easy position, but she resolutely insisted on choosing the arduous and tiring engineering department.

Building roads and bridges is Song Zanmei's work and also her interest. She has successively participated in the construction of the Dacheng Railway, Pingyu Expressway, Ningqi Railway, Beijing-Zhangjiakou High-Speed Railway, and more...

The Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway is China's first intelligent high-speed railway. Drawing on years of accumulated knowledge, Song Zanmei took on the important responsibility of technical management at the project department.

"The construction site is the 'main battlefield' and also a training ground for improving skills..." The Beijing-Zhangjiakou High-Speed Railway project mainly consists of subgrades, bridges, and cut-and-cover tunnels. She traveled the same route every day, walking 8 kilometers between the site and the驻地, going with questions and returning with answers. Once, during a subgrade compaction test, she stayed on site monitoring for nearly six hours.

Song Zanmei on the front line of the construction site

Everything is based on data. As a "science and engineering woman," Song Zanmei has an astonishing memory and a natural sensitivity to numbers. When reviewing engineering drawings, she carefully checks and deliberates every detail, comparing them with related drawings to ensure that all parameters are accurate and that the construction process "does not deviate." During owner inspections, when questions arose about the dimensions of engineering structures, she could answer fluently even without bringing the drawings.

"Anytime and anywhere, 'ask and answer immediately'—her brain seems to have a chip installed that can store massive amounts of engineering data." Speaking of Song Zanmei, her young apprentice Wang Haoran was full of admiration.

In addition to her extensive knowledge and strong memory, Song Zanmei also pursues overcoming construction challenges through innovation. During subgrade construction, after repeated research and comparison, Song Zanmei introduced a continuous compaction control system, fundamentally solving common problems such as missed compaction, under-compaction, and over-compaction, and ensuring subgrade construction quality. The anti-reverse braking device she developed successfully solved the safety accident problem caused by sudden reversal during the lifting process of the lifting device and the inability to brake in time during descent. It won the first prize of the group company's "Five Small" achievements and successfully applied for a utility model patent.

Experiencing the Winter Olympics project · Fragrance comes from the bitter cold

After arriving at the Winter Olympics utility tunnel project, she developed a strong interest: on the one hand, there was the glorious mission of the Winter Olympics; on the other hand, there was a new exploration of an unknown field.

Song Zanmei at the Winter Olympics utility tunnel construction site

The Winter Olympics comprehensive utility tunnel is the first application of a domestic mountain tunnel in an urban comprehensive utility tunnel. With steep slopes and complex geology, many plans and technical briefings had no reference materials, and the participants became "the first to eat crabs."

"Comprehensive utility tunnels, municipal engineering, and housing construction and water conservancy—I had never been involved in these two types of projects before." Speaking of the new fields she was exploring, Song Zanmei was as excited as a child.

Beyond the excitement, there was more devoted study and endless exploration.

The housing construction drawings were as large as half a desk. While studying the drawings and learning the specifications, she also had to compare them with drawings and atlases from other disciplines. When there was not enough room in the office, she moved to the meeting room to study. In the vast space, the only sounds were the clicking of computer keys and the rustling of pencils.

Song Zanmei and colleagues studying drawings

Thanks to her diligent study and hard training, she gradually became known as a "living drawing set" and "living specification." When colleagues encountered difficulties, they would consult her, and what she brought to everyone was sometimes "timely help" and sometimes "added brilliance."

"Sister Song knows a lot. Even when she is not sure, she patiently studies it with me until we find the best answer," said young colleague Li Wenbo, calling her a good teacher and helpful friend.

The project department signed a BIM technology cooperation plan with Shaanxi Railway Institute, which once again ignited Song Zanmei's enthusiasm for learning. Most people used being busy as an excuse and tried to "avoid it as much as possible," requiring "teachers to chase them to study," but Song Zanmei went "against the current" and squeezed out time to "chase the teacher to study." In order to master the key points of BIM as quickly as possible, she studied with instructional videos every day after work. In less than three months, Song Zanmei not only gained a clear and objective understanding of BIM technology applications, but also mastered the basic operations of the Revit series software and learned engineering modeling.

Devoting herself to hometown construction · Plum blossoms smell sweet

Song Zanmei measuring component dimensions

With her commitment to her original aspiration, Song Zanmei worked in the engineering department for 14 years.

In 2019, construction began on the Jilai High-Speed Railway, China's first high-speed railway. Song Zanmei moved to Shandong. This time, she brought richer construction technology and management experience and, full of enthusiasm, built a high-speed railway for her hometown.

Before the closure of the rotating continuous beam of the Jilai High-Speed Railway's Wari Grand Bridge, the pouring construction of the beam body was the top priority in the construction of the Wari Grand Bridge. Song Zanmei often had to climb nearly 40 meters up the beam body to reach the construction work surface. Despite the protection of the ladder cage and a full set of protective measures, the psychological fear of heights was difficult to overcome.

To ensure that the work was implemented properly, Song Zanmei worked hard to overcome her psychological fear, carefully checked the embedded positions and distances of each steel bar, and recorded prestressed tendon tensioning data to safeguard construction.

Song Zanmei at the construction site

Now, the Jilai High-Speed Railway has officially entered the final acceptance stage. It is believed that before long, a high-speed railway rainbow will connect Jinan and Laiwu, bringing a more convenient and safer travel experience.

When the mountain flowers bloom in full, she smiles among them. For Song Zanmei, this journey has benefited her greatly. "I have already met the best version of myself—that is the meaning." Speaking of her feelings, Song Zanmei smiled gently, surrounded by the overflowing fragrance of plum blossoms.