On the shores of the South China Sea, by the Bohe Bay, waves surge and tides rise, with a gentle breeze brushing the face.

In winter, Bohe in Maoming, Guangdong is warm and full of greenery, with a surging tide of high-quality development everywhere.

As the year draws to a close, looking back on 2024, all projects of Shandong Electric Power Construction No.1 Company have advanced in an orderly manner, with steady and improving contract performance. Looking ahead to 2025, how will the company ride the wind and waves and continue to move forward?

Showcase achievements, share experience, set the tone, build consensus, and plan major initiatives. From December 6 to 8, Shandong Electric Power Construction No.1 Company's Project Management Exchange Meeting and Benchmark Demonstration Project Learning Activity was held as scheduled at the Guangdong Maoming Yuedian Bohe Project. Company leaders, heads of relevant functional departments and secondary business units, and project manager representatives—70 participants in total—gathered together to summarize experience, plan for the future, offer suggestions for high-quality contract performance and profit creation across the company's projects, and jointly sound the "strongest voice" of grasping projects and promoting development.

Bright highlights

"Unlike the past, this project management exchange meeting featured strong innovation in its format and many highlights. It changed the previous format of purely text-based material exchange and innovatively adopted on-site PPT reports, video clip presentations, and live on-site linkups for exchange, greatly enhancing the meeting's appeal and the effectiveness of the exchange," said Shao Derang, Assistant to the General Manager and Director of the Production and Operation Center, excitedly.

At the project management exchange meeting, 3 projects communicated in the form of on-site PPT reports plus video, 1 project communicated in the form of on-site video footage, and 5 projects communicated in the form of live on-site linkups. The biggest highlight was that the company adopted a live broadcast format for the first time, connecting with on-site personnel for live commentary on site conditions.

"Please have the meeting staff connect live to the Haiyang Nuclear Power Project." "Respected leaders and dear colleagues, good morning! I am Shi Liang, Manager of the Construction Management Department of the Haiyang Nuclear Power Project. I am now at the 16-meter turbine platform of the Haiyang Nuclear Power Project. The steel roof truss assembly and hoisting is a major highlight of the project department. In accordance with the upstream unit's requirements, from construction planning to scheme preparation and expert demonstration, through to the smooth hoisting and positioning of the first 10-11 truss and the perfect completion of the last truss, the whole process took 32 days in total. This double-truss roof hoisting also received high recognition from the upstream unit."

"Next, please have the meeting staff connect live to the Datang Huizhou Boluo Gas Turbine Project." "Respected leaders and dear colleagues, hello everyone! I am Li Jie, Chief Engineer of the Datang Huizhou Boluo Project. I am now in the area of the network control building and the comprehensive office building at the front of the plant. At present, greening construction in the plant area is in full swing. Please follow the camera, leaders, to overlook the project as I report to you on the highlight practices of zone-based management and layered construction at the Datang Huizhou Boluo Project."

"Dear leaders and colleagues, good morning! This is the construction site of the Xinjiang Huadian Hami 2x1,000 MW coal-fired power project. On the left side of the camera is the construction area of Unit 1. What you see now in the camera is the first-piece physical sample wall for masonry and plastering in the building discipline. Signboards have been installed for the control points of each process, and samples have been displayed one by one for each process. In subsequent construction, on-site training will be carried out for newly arrived personnel, and this will serve as the construction process standard, ensuring the overall physical and appearance quality of masonry and plastering."

...

Wherever the eye reaches, there are highlights. Projects such as Haiyang Nuclear Power, Datang Boluo, Binzhou Xiyuan, Wanrong Plaza, and Huadian Hami adopted live on-site linkups and live broadcasts to intuitively display project features and highlights—a feast for the eyes, with highlights flashing and dazzling.

One minute on stage takes ten years of hard work off stage. Each project presentation lasted at most just over ten minutes, yet it embodied the painstaking efforts and wisdom of the cadres and employees of each unit's project in overcoming difficulties and achieving success through good work.

Before the meeting, participants conducted an on-site observation of the "benchmark demonstration project"—the Yuedian Bohe Project—walking into the turbine hall, climbing up the boiler, and visiting the assembly yard. Walking and observing along the way, the cleanliness and orderliness of the construction site, the exquisite workmanship, and the safety standards left a deep impression on the participants. Everywhere the participants went, they saw new achievements in project construction; wherever their eyes reached, they saw the bustling scenes of project construction.

The construction goals of the Yuedian Bohe Project—"quality project, green project, safe project, smart project"—and the series of new methods, new technologies, and new processes implemented for this purpose produced continuous highlights and won unanimous praise from the observers.

How was the Yuedian Bohe Project, as a "benchmark demonstration project," built into a benchmark? What distinctive practices does it have? How great are the effects of its high-quality contract performance?

"The Yuedian Bohe Project Department unswervingly implements the 'five persistences' to promote high-quality project development: persist in Party building leadership and create a safe project; persist in giving priority to engineering while running commerce in parallel and build a dual-excellence project; persist in plan-based leadership and support high-quality contract performance; persist in accelerating supply chain development and promote project cost control and profit creation; persist in building strong professional teams and cultivating professional talent."

"The Yuedian Bohe Project Department overcame unfavorable factors such as delayed site handover, untimely arrival of drawings, high temperatures and severe heat, and typhoons, and completed 9 milestone items ahead of the contract schedule, including main plant negative excavation 23 days ahead, first concrete pouring for the main plant foundation 28 days ahead, start of boiler steel structure hoisting 63 days ahead, and start of boiler heating surface hoisting 15 days ahead."

...

Zhang Zonghua, Project Manager of the Yuedian Bohe Project, passionately introduced some distinctive practices of the Yuedian Bohe Project, which opened the eyes of participants and deeply impressed them.

This year, whether in project contract performance or in creating efficiency and profit, the "heat value" of all projects has remained at full level, project construction has advanced vigorously, and enthusiasm for high-quality contract performance has run high.

2024 is a key year for implementing the "14th Five-Year Plan" and also a year in which the company has firmly pushed forward project management improvement. Displaying the "report card" demonstrates the "spirit" of undertaking work and striving for achievement. Looking at the "report card"—156 projects have been completed so far (17 thermal power projects, 60 new energy projects, 8 power grid projects, 6 infrastructure projects, and 65 other projects), 56 units (sets/sites) of generating capacity have been put into operation, with an installed capacity of 10,803.88 MW (15 thermal power units, 6,315 MW; 16 wind farms with 474 wind turbines, 2,628.2 MW; 25 photovoltaic stations, 1,860.68 MW), infrastructure building area of 173,800 ㎡, and total length of transmission lines erected of 470 km. A total of 42 advanced collective commendations and 39 banners have been received from owners.

High enthusiasm

Collisions of thought temper sparks of wisdom, and experience exchange drives quality improvement. This was a conference of pooling wisdom—how to advance project construction and achieve breakthroughs in creating benefits?

What experience is there to share about project contract performance? What are the secrets of creating efficiency and profit? The principal heads of the New Energy Company, South China Company, Northwest Company, and Overseas Business Department spoke freely and summarized and shared experience, making the direction and path for promoting high-quality project contract performance increasingly clear.

Strings of numbers and indicators converged into a weighty report card. The heads of 4 secondary business units, starting from "five-self control" and combining actual work, held lively discussions on the management models and business models that should be adopted in project contract performance, focusing on mature experience measures and management highlights in project contract performance management. Everyone sometimes pondered thoughtfully, sometimes marked and circled points, and warm applause broke out from time to time.

The meeting was pragmatic and action-oriented. It exchanged experience and practices on how to enhance the "four-self" capability and promote good project contract performance, analyzed problems such as project team management capability, EPC project technical control capability, and labor resource constraints on project contract performance, planned the next work goals and development direction, and clearly proposed greater focus on core business projects and emerging projects, greater focus on people-oriented development, greater focus on new quality productive forces, greater focus on project "five-self control," and greater focus on innovation and efficiency creation. It proposed measures to further strengthen full-life-cycle project management and establish project "guarantee responsibility system" and "special task force system," striving to ensure that project construction goals and indicators advance steadily and improve amid progress.

33 principal heads of projects under construction conducted experience exchange and discussion around the "eight topics" of project management, including contract performance, subcontracting, and team building.

Below the stage, participants listened attentively and intently, and a sense of urgency—that time waits for no one and every minute counts—rushed over them. "Grasping projects means grasping development; planning projects means planning the future," said Shao Derang. Next, he said, greater focus will be placed on areas such as project management innovation and high-quality project contract performance, providing solid support for building premium projects and benchmark demonstrations.

"Headquarters functional departments should fully leverage the role of 'strong leadership, emphasis on empowerment, and excellent service' to provide strong support and service guarantees for project construction," emphasized Zhang Hongmei, Secretary of the Company's Party Committee and Chairman.

At the meeting, headquarters functional departments put forward work ideas, goals, and related requirements for project construction from aspects such as enterprise management, human resources, compliant operation, cost control, safety, technical quality, equipment and materials, and design management, providing clear guiding direction and business service support for the high-quality development of secondary business units.

Sing the main melody and take the initiative in the active battle. "Seven firm grasps," "five-self control," "fine control," "penetrating management," "supply chain development," "subcontracting management," "efficiency and profit creation," and "talent team" became "hot words" at the meeting and also hot topics of discussion among participants, who discussed them with great relish.

Inside the venue, thoughts blended and consensus coalesced, and surges of striving enthusiasm and practical strength flowed powerfully.

Zhao Xiaowei, Project Manager of the Huadian Hami Project, listened carefully while earnestly marking key tasks. He said that, guided by the project execution concept of "balanced green construction and creating a dual-excellence project" and with milestone nodes as the goal, and on the premise of ensuring safety and quality, he would scientifically organize and coordinate various resources and relationships, comprehensively advance project construction, ensure the smooth realization of 2025 goals, and promote efficient project contract performance.

Shi Huigang, General Manager of the New Energy Company, said that the company would firmly uphold the concept of "projects as the king," improve the working mechanism for the New Energy Company's leadership team to guarantee and grasp projects, judge heroes by project performance, and sound the strongest voice of high-quality project contract performance; improve the full-life-cycle project management system, establish a rapid project decision-making mechanism, and use the efficiency revolution to "clear blockages and remove obstacles," strongly promoting safe, high-quality, and efficient project construction.

"The Northwest Company will continue to improve five mechanisms—the leadership project guarantee system, monthly scheduling mechanism, quarterly analysis mechanism, supervision and handling mechanism, and coordination service mechanism—and build a management model of leadership guarantee, dynamic assessment, follow-up supervision, coordinated advancement, and closure-based management, ensuring 'obstacle-free' project advancement and truly achieving 'acceleration' in project construction," said Zhang Houjun, Deputy Chief Engineer of the Company and General Manager of the Northwest Company, excitedly.

In the exchange speeches, statements and commitments strengthened confidence and uplifted spirits, coalesced hearts and strength, and transformed into spiritual strength for forging ahead. Just as Shao Derang, Assistant to the General Manager and Director of the Production and Operation Center, said: "We must always maintain a clear head, pay more attention to and solve existing problems, effectively enhance the sense of urgency that cannot afford to wait, work together with one heart, and strive to push project construction to a new level!"

Satisfying the owner is the common aspiration of our builders and even more a conscious guide to action. Since the beginning of this year, under the strong leadership of the Company's Party Committee, all secondary business units have strengthened their leadership teams, built teams, and displayed their image. Leadership teams led special working groups to enter the site immediately, promoted mutual integration and mutual reinforcement between Party building work and production operations, accelerated project construction implementation, achieved breakthrough progress in project construction, and received high recognition from owners. They also demonstrated valuable tenacity, perseverance, and the "nail spirit," laying a solid foundation for achieving the annual goals and delivering a brilliant and inspiring answer sheet.

Today, project after project of the company is pressing the "fast-forward button," running at "acceleration," growing rapidly together with development opportunities, and injecting vigorous vitality into the company's high-quality development.

High stature

Projects are the core and soul on which construction enterprises depend for survival and development.

The company elevated this Project Management Exchange Meeting and Benchmark Demonstration Project Learning Activity to an unprecedented new height. The company's main leaders and relevant responsible leaders personally reviewed the meeting agenda, personally attended, and personally arranged deployments, which sufficiently shows the great importance attached to this activity.

"This meeting is an important measure to implement the spirit of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee and the Group Company's 2024 Project Management Annual Meeting and Project Manager Conference, focus on the theme of high-quality development, promote high-quality project contract performance, and support the company's high-quality development," emphasized Zhang Hongmei, Secretary of the Company's Party Committee and Chairman.

Walking with the wise makes one clear-minded; associating with the outstanding inevitably leads one uphill. The company's iron-army style is reflected vividly in the construction of every project. "We must view project contract performance from the height that doing projects well is the foundation of the company's survival and establishment, and build the company's brand image," pointed out Zhang Hongmei, Secretary of the Company's Party Committee and Chairman.

"Do projects well, win trust, build image, open markets, cultivate talent, and promote development"—these earnest exhortations put forward by Zhang Hongmei, Secretary of the Company's Party Committee and Chairman, surged in the hearts of participants and coalesced into a belief and driving force for high-quality development.

"We must enhance organizational functions, strengthen fine management, and strive to build a core competitiveness of low-cost differentiated contract performance. Safety must be guaranteed, quality must be controllable, work efficiency must be improved, and cost control capability must be enhanced," required Liu Yongyang, Deputy Secretary of the Company's Party Committee and General Manager, regarding high-quality project contract performance.

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The speeches of company leaders stirred the participants' emotions and filled them with passion.

This meeting released more information of high "gold content" and proposed a series of new measures.

"Projects are the 'nose ring' of the entire company's business work, and we will hold the 'nose rope' firmly with stronger determination and more practical measures," said principal heads of the company's headquarters functional departments one after another. They said they would continue to advance the high-quality project contract performance planning system, update information in a timely manner, standardize processes, and at the same time refine, improve, and implement mechanisms for each unit to grasp projects, make rapid decisions, and conduct management assessment; continuously strengthen full-life-cycle project management; regularly carry out categorized "coordination and consultation" on problems; and achieve simultaneous improvement in quantity, scale, and quality—the "three quantities."

All units should have a collectivist mindset, help one another in difficulties, implement "one-on-one" contracted assistance, and carry out assistance measures according to "one policy for one project." In particular, headquarters functional departments should increase service guarantee efforts for projects and make control more precise, doing everything possible to solve difficulties and relieve burdens for projects.

"For large-scale business and emerging business, special task forces should be established to go to the site to help solve problems and support accelerated project construction."

All units should establish project service leading groups and implement one-stop services of "guidance, management, empowerment, inspection, supervision, and settlement"... With concrete measures, let projects feel that headquarters functional departments and secondary units are the strong backing of project departments.

"The meeting was rich in content, pragmatic, and efficient, benefiting us greatly. In the future, we will still roll up our sleeves and work hard, transform what we saw during observation and heard at the meeting into a strong internal driving force for promoting high-quality project development, resolutely implement work deployment requirements, benchmark against the company's development strategy and development goals, raise the benchmark, increase self-pressure, comprehensively grasp the implementation of key tasks such as project construction and high-quality contract performance, strive to promote high-quality project contract performance to catch up and advance in ranking and accelerate development, and boost new breakthroughs in high-quality project contract performance," participants said after the meeting.

The tide rises in Bohe Bay, and it is the right time to set sail. Only brilliance achieved through hard work exists; there is no glory that comes from waiting. Let us together grasp every project, do well every day, shape new advantages, win on new tracks, and strive to write a new chapter of the iron army in Chinese-style modernization.