OREANDA-NEWS. April 15, 2011. With system innovation as the main battleground, Baosteel's employee economic and technical innovation activity continues to stimulate employees' creative energy by constructing innovation culture and creating innovative atmosphere. Today, this activity has become an important part of Baosteel's technological innovation system. According to statistics, during the past three years, Baosteel employees have applied for 4,178 patents and are awarded 2,841 patents. It can be said that Baosteel produces four patents per day. Last year, 70% of Baosteel licensed patents comes from economic and technological innovation activity, reported the press-centre of Baosteel.

At Baosteel, it is agreed that "everyone can be innovative". Baosteel Party and administrative leaders at all levels work together to create the innovative atmosphere. Each unit requires that every employee should base on his own position, benchmark with the advanced indicators at home and abroad and the best historical standard. Through improvment, change, upgrading, benchmarking, fault finding, employees can improve themselves and achieve optimal performance.  By deepening the activity of best practice, each unit encourages employees to adhere to their posts, to do better as time passes and emulate others and to become autonomous employees who are self-disinclined, initiative, cooperative and innovative. Baosteel will also put employees' technological innovation activity into enterprise management system. Through the establishment of economic and technological innovation system and incentive system, Baosteel ensures that the activity continues to unfold.

At all levels, Baosteel creates conditions and provides support for its employees to participate in innovative activities. Through the building of "employee innovation base", the holding of chief engineer innovation forum, innovation salon, innovation results press conference and the creation of employee innovation web site, Baosteel builds a platform for employees to share knowledge, exchange experiences and train skills. Innovation activity volunteer team composed of 358 technical experts such as Kong Liming, Han Mingming, Wang Jun and Wang Kangjian and Innovation Workshops named after worker inventors provide communication channels between innovation activists and experts. Baosteel's first generation of worker inventor, Gao Yuqiang, of  Baosteel cold rolling mill, sets up "Gao Yuqiang innovation incubator room" with other experts. With their good personal innovation performance, they influence and lead workers to participate in the innovation activity conscientiously. Last year, "Gao Yuqiang innovation incubator room"  supported five research projects of cold rolling mill, helps the mill's innovation association to form 45 patents and 125 technical secrets .

With rational proposal and self-management activity as the carrier, each unit carries out labor emulation such as  product quality improvement, material consumption reduction , accident reduction and energy saving. The units promote staff innovation, with the emergence of a large number of patents, technical secrets and advanced operation skills. According to statistics, for the past three years, Baosteel has set up 7985 economic and technological innovation groups with 69,359 participants, has set up 14728 JK Groups with 12446 JK results, has received 304 awards outside Baosteel and has implemented 489,000 rational proposal and 6991 technical secrets. Since 2004, economic and technological innovation results have won 125 gold prizes, 192 silver prizes, 401 bronze prizes and 10 special prizes (honorable mention) in invention exhibitions above  provincial level. A group of first line workers come out. 9 worker inventors such as Kong Liming, Du Guohua, Chen A'wei are awarded "Shanghai best worker inventors". The invention of Han Mingming, Wang Jun and Wang Kangjian wins the National Science and Technology Progress Award.