Despite China’s effective control and containment of the COVID pandemic, sporadic outbreaks of infection appeared at the end of July.

This included several confirmed cases at the Nanjing Lukou International Airport, close to where a CISDI team of 33 engineers and managers was providing onsite technical assistance.

The team working at the Nanjing Iron and Steel Co’s intelligence centre project swiftly launched a pandemic response and control unit, in line with policy set by CISDI’s Chongqing HQ, and kept a close watch on every member of staff’s health.

CISDI HQ immediately dispatched PPE and medical supplies to supplement equipment the team obtained locally.

Every member of the team was given viral diagnostic tests every three days, in line with requests from Nanjing’s city authorities. Results were tracked and training was given to improve awareness of virus variations and effective prevention and control.

CISDI manpower at the site was reduced. Construction management and the basic automation commissioning staff remained while all other tasks were carried out remotely from the team’s hotel base.

A strict meeting schedule of daily and weekly online and onsite meetings ensured effective coordination and the project was kept on-target throughout.

NISCO thanked CISDI’s team for its dedication and productivity. “We are deeply grateful for your commitment and resilience in pushing the construction forward against the challenges of the pandemic,” said a company representative. “We will unite ever-closer together to make our intelligence centre a benchmark of excellence.”  

July and August saw the team facing other big challenges; construction looked set to be obstructed by the East Asian rainy season known as “the plum rains”, hot summer weather and the severe In-Fa typhoon. But thanks to the team’s well-organised response, solidarity and craftsmanship the project continued to run smoothly.

The onsite team distributes pandemic control supplies

Workers attend a training session to learn about improving COVID-19 safety precautions

Onsite and online coordinated meetings kept duties on schedule and standards maintained

NISCO visits the intelligence centre to witness CISDI commissioning in process, and thanks team members for their dedication and skills