AWAH: What is it?
AWAH—what is it? New friends frequently ask me this question.
I explained that AWAH is a brand, a company, a totem of air conditioning workers,
and a banner of unity for workers working at heights, in addition to being a WeChat group.
1. I am an air conditioning worker
In 2003, which was the year of the SARS pandemic,
I learned how to install air conditioning at the largest home appliance store in Dongguan.
Since then, what has accompanied my 11-year career has been a chest belt and a cotton rope -
which are also the most commonly used safety equipment for Chinese air conditioning workers.
I had been working for 11 years and I was very safe.
One day in June 2014, when I was repairing the outdoor unit of the air conditioning on the 11th floor,
I was hit by a blind window falling from above.
In an instant, I fell to the 9th floor and was bounced back to the 10th floor...
At that time, my life experiences flashed through my mind like slides...
Miraculously, I was not injured! I knew that if I kept doing this,
I would eventually fall and die. Over the past decade, over 30 workers from the same group had lost one person,
one became a vegetable, and injured disabled 5-6 people.
This is also the current situation of Chinese air conditioning workers,
and there has been no significant change until today in 2024.
2. Enlightenment of Rope Technique
After the accident, I tried to find a safe solution. In that era, short videos had not yet emerged, and watching videos was still on Youku. In July 2014, while searching for "Ascender", I found some introductory teaching videos on Single Rope Technique from the Chongqing Cave Exploration Team. I thought it was very suitable for installing air conditioning, so I flipped through posts on the popular 8264 outdoor BBS at the time to learn the Single Rope Technique. It was these that brought me to the door of rope technique.
3. AWAH WeChat group
In 2016, our "Report To Master 5" WeChat group split up. Some colleagues who were willing to learn how to use the rope technique joined my WeChat group. I thought at that time: that China does not lack craftsmen, but there is a lack of innovative artisans. Coincidentally, we did work at heights, so I gave a name to our WeChat group - "Artisans Working At Heights".
At that time, group members were very obsessed with the rope technique. Our group of workers may be the earliest among Chinese air conditioning workers to use the Double Rope Technique. At that time, we were causing trouble everywhere, and we felt that the other air conditioning workers were all risking their lives and not making progress. This group of people was the most powerful. People who joined the AWAH WeChat group would be kicked out if they didn't make progress in three months, so there were sixty or seventy people in the group.
4. Team development and growth
In our WeChat group, we can discuss accidents at heights, which are warnings to our colleagues. Because of this, some rope technique enthusiasts, coaches, and safety management experts who provide insurance for workers working at heights have also joined the AWAH WeChat group. In the atmosphere of each shining and heating, a good learning atmosphere and business ecology have been formed, and the team is also growing stronger. In the past few years of COVID-19, the AWAH has developed from a group of only dozens of people to several groups of four or five hundred people.
5. Start commercial operations
One person's power is limited, a group of people can make us go further.
- In 2022, we registered our company under the name of "Artisans Working At Heights" and also applied for a registered trademark.
- In 2023, we released the AWAH Z2 - Multi-functional Pulley, which is a lifting device working with rope and driven by an electric drill. The resounding name "Z2" has not only been sought after by domestic air conditioning workers, but has also been popular in Taiwan, as well as countries such as Thailand, the United States, Norway, France, and Russia.
- In 2024, we are developing a new generation of electric lift and descent device - knight-errant, which will solve the difficulties and pain points of workers working at heights and cargo lifting with the image of a hero who helps the needy.
6. Future development direction
AWAH is the initial abbreviation of Artisans Working At Heights. In fact, the original meaning of Artisan is a craftsman with unique skills, more inclined towards artists. That is to say, we are not only satisfied with becoming craftsmen, but rather artists working at heights...
February 19, 2024
Zhang Feng, Dongguan, China