Industrial robot system operation and maintenance personnel:
"Physical examination" and "medical treatment" for industrial robots (New Position・New Knowledge (6))
Reporter Zhao Hao
Nowadays, industrial robots are used in more and more production fields, giving birth to a new profession of industrial robot system operation and maintenance personnel. They are mainly responsible for industrial robot commissioning, maintenance and other work. Figuratively speaking, the industrial robot system operation and maintenance staff is the doctor who "examines" and "sees a doctor" for the industrial robot. How do industrial robot system operators work? How is it different from a traditional maintenance master?
"Medical Examiner"
What do industrial robots look like? Is it the same as the humanoid robot in the science fiction movie? With these questions, the reporter recently walked into Ningbo Cixing Co., Ltd., located in Cixi City, Zhejiang Province, which is a supplier of intelligent knitting equipment. The scene of the production workshop is very different from what you imagined: there is no three-headed and six-armed machine, only a device that resembles a floor printer.
"Don't underestimate these devices," a staff member saw the reporter's doubts, "enter the corresponding command, they can automatically weave the yarn into different cloths, which is a well-deserved industrial robot." I saw that he was skillfully operating on the control panel, and the yarn wrapped on the top of the machine was "sucked" in, and with the sound of "rustling", the fabric was "spit out" from the machine.
"Industrial robots are not limited to one form." Li Lijun, deputy general manager of Ningbo Cixing Co., Ltd., told reporters, "Whether the industrial robot is mainly depends on whether the combination of software and hardware has been realized and whether it can independently complete the corresponding instructions." ”
In the production workshop, the reporter met Tu Xudong, the operation and maintenance officer of the industrial robot system who was debugging the equipment. Tu Xudong is a "post-95 generation", wearing a pair of black-framed glasses, a work uniform, and a somewhat immature face, but he skillfully shuttles back and forth between different devices, sometimes operating on the equipment screen, sometimes turning on the machine for inspection.
"Each of our industrial robots must be debugged before leaving the factory, mainly testing the compatibility of software and hardware, similar to 'full physical examination'," Tu Xudong said. ”
Even industrial robots that leave the factory after debugging sometimes fail during operation, affecting normal production. "This is when we need to troubleshoot in time." Tu Xudong said, "It is equivalent to 'seeing a doctor' for industrial robots." ”
As he was speaking, a machine suddenly made an error sound of "Didi". Tu Xudong stepped forward and paused the operation of the machine, only to see him skillfully entering instructions on the screen, and after a while, the machine resumed normal operation. "Unlike traditional machine failures, most of our industrial robots report errors because of incompatible software and hardware, just like the brain cannot control the body and only needs to be repaired at the software level." Tu Xudong said.
Self-taught programming
In 2017, Tu Xudong graduated from Zhejiang University of Science and Technology, majoring in electrical engineering and automation. When undergraduate graduates enter the factory, will they feel condescending? "When I applied, I felt that the work was the right professional for me, and I didn't think too much about it at that time." He said.
At the beginning, Tu Xudong was assigned to the assembly shop, working on the assembly line like ordinary workers, responsible for assembling parts. I'm a college student, can't I do even the most basic work? Tu Xudong was not convinced, but after he really came to the assembly workshop, he was dumbfounded: all kinds of parts are complicated, and the workers are working in an orderly manner, but he doesn't know where to start.
The workers did not take this new college student as an outsider, and took him hand in hand. For several months, Tu Xudong studied on different assembly lines, and this experience benefited him a lot. "What I learned in the classroom before was a big and comprehensive theoretical knowledge, and only by getting started in the factory can I combine theory with practice." He said.
A few months later, Tu Xudong returned to the commissioning workshop. "Working in the assembly shop, I learned about the structure of a weaving industrial robot, and in the commissioning workshop, I was mainly responsible for kneading different parts to achieve 'turning pieces into whole'." He said. Without the corresponding certificate, Tu Xudong initially assisted a teacher.
After studying with the master for a while, although there was a mistake, Tu Xudong made rapid progress and felt that his wings were full. However, once, a piece of equipment suddenly reported an error, and the master was not there, and Tu Xudong could only deal with it alone. This time the failure is more special, and various methods have been tried or not. Tu Xudong was so anxious that he sweated, once the fault could not be repaired, it was a loss of hundreds of thousands of yuan! Fortunately, others arrived in time to complete the restoration with the joint efforts of everyone.
To make the individual parts work together, software-driven is key. To this end, Tu Xudong also taught himself programming knowledge in his spare time. "Now that industrial equipment is developing in the direction of digitalization and intelligence, the knowledge learned in school alone is not enough to deal with it, and it is necessary to keep pace with the times and continue to learn." He said.
In 2022, approved by the Cixi Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, Ningbo Cixing organized the qualification certification examination for industrial robot system operation and maintenance personnel. The content of the examination is mainly practical, after passing, you can "hold the certificate to work" and work independently, Tu Xudong signed up. Due to the wealth of theoretical and practical knowledge accumulated before, it was finally passed smoothly.
The row is out of the element
According to the National Occupational Skill Standards for Industrial Robot System Operation and Maintenance Personnel (2020 Edition) (hereinafter referred to as the "Standards"), industrial robot system operation and maintenance personnel are divided into four levels: four-level/intermediate worker, third-level/senior worker, second-level/technician, and first-level/senior technician. The higher the level, the higher the number of years of work and the higher the number of hours required, and even the longer the duration of the theory exam.
The "Standard" has the skill requirements and related knowledge requirements for industrial robot system operators at various levels, and the high level covers the low level. For example, in the work content of "industrial robot ontology inspection", the skill requirements of level 4/intermediate workers are "able to check the appearance of the industrial robot body", "can use tools such as torque wrenches to check the installation position and forbidden state of the industrial robot body", and the second-level/technician is "can evaluate the inspection and diagnosis results of the industrial robot body" and "can make suggestions for the inspection and diagnosis of the industrial robot body".
"We have established a relatively complete evaluation mechanism and rising channels." Li Hongli, head of the human resources department of Ningbo Cixing Co., Ltd., said, "At present, there are 67 industrial robot system operation and maintenance personnel, including 8 second-level/technician and 59 fourth-level/intermediate workers. ”
Perfect evaluation mechanism, promotion channels and a series of honorary titles encourage more and more young people to work in the factory and realize the value of life in the factory. Wei Hongxing, born in 1989, was named "2022 Zhejiang Province Young Craftsman"; The older Sun Pingfan has won the titles of "2020 Innovation and Entrepreneurship Talent" and "2021 Textile Industry Annual Innovation Figure"; Li Lijun has long been engaged in the research and development of high-end knitting equipment, digital factories and other technology and industrialization projects, as the main completer of the project, he has won one second prize of national scientific and technological progress and three provincial and ministerial science and technology progress awards.
After obtaining the qualification of industrial robot system operation and maintenance personnel, Tu Xudong's treatment has improved a lot. Although he is still a fourth-level/intermediate worker, Tu Xudong is very motivated. "Three hundred and sixty lines, lines out of the top. I want to continue to take root in this field, keep up with my outstanding predecessors, keep learning, continue to improve, declare a higher professional level, and strive to become a craftsman in a big country as soon as possible. He said. (People's Daily Overseas Edition)