The grand gathering to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions and to commend national model workers and advanced workers was held in Beijing on the morning of April 28.Li Changtao of Foundation Group was awarded the honorary title of "National Model Worker."

On the morning of the 27th, Yin Hongxia, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of the Labor Union of Shanghai Construction Group, saw off National Model Workers Wang Siman and Li Changtao as they departed for Beijing.

Zhang Siqun, Party Committee Secretary and Chairman of Foundation Group, and Chen Wangao, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission, saw off National Model Worker Li Changtao.

Li Changtao is currently the professional leader of the shield equipment business division and the fitter technical worker (shield machine crew) team at Shanghai Construction Group Foundation Group, and a core member of the national demonstrative innovation studio — the Lu Kaizhong Model Worker Innovation Studio. He has successively won honors including Model Worker of the National Housing and Urban-Rural Development System and the Shanghai May 1st Labor Medal.

His strong interest in and intense thirst for knowledge of professional mechanical skills such as shield equipment has driven Li Changtao to continuously refine his professional expertise. It is precisely by maintaining such tenacious dedication to study and persevering over the long term that Li Changtao grew from an ordinary fitter into a young craftsman in the industry who is highly skilled in the hydraulics of shield machinery. He has participated in the construction of nearly a hundred major projects in major cities across the country, broke through the Minjiang River crossing construction of Fuzhou Metro Line 1 — hailed as a "world-class challenge" — and high-risk chamber-opening and cutter-replacement operations, and successfully completed the assembly, commissioning, and disassembly of nearly 200 shield machines of various types.

His outstanding skills have given Li Changtao the confidence to challenge authority. In 2022, during a routine inspection at the Beiheng Passage project, Li Changtao discovered that the seal of the shield machine's drive box was poor, posing a huge hidden danger of loss of pressure at the excavation face, which could damage the strata and trigger a collapse. However, the imported equipment supplier, an industry authority, refused to acknowledge it. Li Changtao stood by his judgment and contacted the manufacturer's design director. After repeated testing by the technical personnel, the other party finally admitted the defect and adopted Li Changtao's suggestion to improve the equipment.

Having spent every day with shield equipment, Li Changtao regards them not merely as important tools in his work, but as old friends. In Li Changtao's view, the running and rotation of the machine are like a companion's every breath, each with its own warmth. His thorough research and understanding of the equipment's mechanisms have made him intimately familiar with the temperament of every component, which is why he can handle equipment failures with the effortless ease of a master butcher carving an ox.

As his experience in precision maintenance settled into the confidence for predictive modification, Li Changtao's craftsman perspective has extended from equipment diagnosis and treatment to process innovation.

In 2024, Li Changtao led his team in the independent design, improvement, and upgrading of the shield machine, adding electrical and hydraulic valve groups to avoid ground settlement and shield machine retreat during excavation. Later, the shield machine manufacturer also improved the equipment based on the ideas provided by Li Changtao.

Benchmarking against industry-leading standards, Li Changtao helped the enterprise win the "Grade II Qualification Certification for Production and Service Level of Full-Face Tunnel Boring Machine Enterprises," promoting the continuous development and growth of domestically produced shield equipment.

Over eight years, Li Changtao has carefully mentored more than 20 apprentices, 18 of whom have become frontline backbone personnel and 12 of whom have successfully been promoted to skill levels such as senior worker and technician.

He imparts not only skills but also craftsmanship. When an emergency requiring urgent handling occurred in a shield tunnel under construction, Li Changtao, who was on his rotation rest at the time, rushed back to his post upon hearing the news and, without hesitation, was the first to climb into the head of the shield machine. He sealed the screw conveyor, applied flocculation and solidification, and performed polyurethane grouting, ultimately turning the crisis into safety.

What Li Changtao safeguards is not only the steel skeleton of the shield machine, but also the spiritual backbone of Shanghai Construction Group's pursuit of excellence. He once held deep respect for the image of his master — National Model Worker Lu Kaizhong — who unhesitatingly jumped into the mud pit to carry out emergency repairs. Today, through day-after-day dedicated research, the will to strive for innovation, and his readiness to step forward in moments of crisis, Li Changtao practices the spiritual inheritance of the new-era industrial workers of Shanghai Construction Group.