Discarding the Crude Approach of "Copying and Replicating," This Unit Learns from Experience and Practices by Grounding Itself in the Realities of Its Own Posts
Some time ago, a reporter visited an Air Force installation for a story and, at the work site of the fuel transport section, observed several officers and soldiers methodically inspecting and maintaining vehicles and equipment while referencing process cards. On closer inspection, the cards clearly marked the standardized operating procedures and key risk points for each task, with entries organized in distinct categories and several critical nodes highlighted in red marker as reminders. "We call this method of working through key steps by referencing process cards 'card-reading' (读卡式) operations," Section Chief Chen, who was participating in the work, told the reporter. "Don't let the ease with which everyone uses these cards now fool you — when we first rolled out this method, we took quite a few wrong turns."
Previously, because the unit's support missions were heavy and the operational tempo was fast, the section had experienced a string of human errors caused by missed steps in operating procedures. Although no serious consequences resulted, the matter lodged itself in Section Chief Chen's mind like a thorn.
By chance, Section Chief Chen heard that a sister unit's Fourth Station Company had introduced "card-reading" operations and was effectively reducing its human error rate. He brought several key personnel to learn from their experience firsthand.
At the Fourth Station Company's work site, they watched officers and soldiers check off items one by one against their process cards and operate in strict accordance with regulations — a rigorous and standardized workflow. Seeing that the method genuinely worked, Section Chief Chen thought to himself: "Isn't it just a matter of breaking down the procedure and ticking boxes? We can do that too."
Upon returning to his unit, he immediately arranged for everyone to replicate the operating cards following the Fourth Station Company's model. Key personnel worked from professional regulations and training materials to break down and refine the operating procedures for fuel receipt and dispatch, vehicle maintenance, and other specialties one by one, then sorted and compiled them into a thick set of operating cards.
Looking at these procedure-complete operating cards, Section Chief Chen was quite satisfied and immediately decided to distribute them to each squad and team and roll out "card-reading" operations across the board.
However, problems began surfacing one after another in less than half a month. Young soldiers found too many cards with no clear focus — the more they flipped through, the more confused they became, wasting time. Veteran soldiers found the system too cumbersome and felt they could get the job done just as well by relying on experience. Most unexpectedly of all, the effort officers and soldiers spent learning and adapting to this work method actually disrupted the operational tempo, and the error rate went up rather than down.
The same "card-reading" operations that everyone in the Fourth Station Company praised as a "great aid" had become a "burden" in his own section. Where exactly was the problem? Section Chief Chen promptly convened a dedicated professional discussion session and organized key personnel to investigate and identify the issues.
Why didn't "someone else's experience" work? After analysis, the group concluded that the Fourth Station Company primarily handled fixed-equipment support, with one equipment type corresponding to one fixed set of procedures — making card-reading operations highly compatible. Their own fuel transport posts, by contrast, involved varied working conditions and multiple scenarios with interleaved and parallel procedures. Simply copying a fixed template wholesale could not fit actual operational needs. What appeared to be a faithful reproduction was in fact a superficial imitation (照猫画虎) that went through the motions; the genuine risk points and the essence of the operations were never captured.
Having identified the root cause, they applied the right remedy. They discarded the crude approach of "copying and replicating" (照搬复刻) and optimized and upgraded the card content by grounding the effort in the realities of their own posts: they conducted a comprehensive review of error cases and safety hazards across the section over the past two years, combined the hands-on experience of veteran key personnel with the learning and memory pain points of new soldiers, compared and sorted through operating procedures from both directions, and precisely identified the critical steps most prone to error and omission. At the same time, they streamlined redundant steps and used red ink to mark sensitive risk points, making the card content focused, prominent, and easy to understand at a glance.
The revised operating cards were compact and practical, and genuinely became a capable aid for the section's officers and soldiers in their work. Staff Sergeant First Class Meng Zhan has worked the fuel post for more than ten years; now, before each operation, he quickly cross-checks the key risk items against the card and has averted operational hazards on multiple occasions. Private Cao Xun had just been assigned to the vehicle repair mechanic post; relying on the operating cards, he rapidly mastered the job skills, successfully began working independently, and performed his duties with zero errors.
Today, watching the soldiers work in an orderly, rigorous, and meticulous manner at the work site, Section Chief Chen reflects with deep feeling: "When learning from advanced experience, you must learn not only the 'form' (形) but also the 'soul' (魂). Only then can good experience truly be converted into combat effectiveness (战斗力)."