Interview:

How did you come to work in your current position at HPA and what have been your most important projects during this time?

Well, employment in a certain job, or for a special project, is not even possible in my division at HPA. I applied and initially came into the pool of engineers, from which then the head and the individual functions were filled for certain projects. I simply had luck when I started at HPA, and also later on, and got great colleagues and supervisors. 
First, I was allotted to a very interesting field and was taken on board extremely well. I made lots of connections that I still profit from today. I’ve been in the same division all these years at HPA, yet it has changed names several times over the years. Essentially, I have supported two projects: the first was the expansion of the Burchard quay at the CTB with the new construction of berths 3 and 4 for large container ships, in other words a huge quay wall construction site. The position as project head was entrusted to me by my supervisor at the time, Peter Marquard. I was very surprised to have this chance, and today I’m still thankful for it. After the completion of the berths at the Burchard quay, Dr Olaf Bergen got me started on the project I am working on today, the new Kattwyk railway bridge. Initially, Ulla Roßgotterer deployed me as her deputy and later promoted me to her partner, meaning I now work as the overall technical project head. 

What does a typical day in your working life look like?

There isn’t really a typical day. It is continually flexible and develops based on the situation. Usually, it starts at 8 in the morning much differently than planned the day before. This is due to the fact that as the head of the project, I always have to adapt to what is happening at the site. After all, the job is about keeping the construction site running and avoiding everything coming to a standstill. But basically, my tasks include lots of technical fine-tuning, of course. On top of this, I lead contractual negotiations with the construction companies and naturally have to report to the management team. 

Which skills are especially required in addition to your expertise as an engineer?

The gauging of opportunities and risks, above all, as I often have to take or gather decisions quickly to ensure the project advances and nothing is delayed.  

You are currently heading the mammoth project of the new Kattwyk railway bridge together with your colleague Ulla Roßgotterer. What do you find appealing about this project?

On the one hand, the high complexity of the project, of course, which requires an extremely high degree of flexibility. It is not a standard project, as we have never had anything comparable of this kind and size before. Which is why we have to develop many things ourselves and cannot fall back on existing structures. On the other hand, the appeal is in the fact that we are many, both external and internal, contributing to the project. And the most important thing is our huge team, which functions simply perfectly and makes it a lot of fun. 

The bridge is already considered a “structure of the century” and is being erected using the caisson method known from tunnel construction. Can you briefly explain for laymen what is special about this compared to traditional bridge building?

Due to the exceptional location directly neighbouring the existing Kattwyk bridge, and in combination with the existing subsoil, we chose to use this construction method. A moving bridge is actually nothing more than a huge machine. Which is why we have to prevent any movements or settling during construction which could lead to damages to the structure. 
Basically, we are building two eleven-story skyscrapers, but the other way around, into the Elbe. First, we build the cellar and hang it onto a construction pit. Then we pour a concrete ground floor and let it down into the ground a bit. This is followed by the first floor, which is also let down into the ground a bit, until the structure reaches the bed of the Elbe and remains there steadily on the bed. Afterwards, the next construction phase begins, whereby we have to develop the ground below the Elbe. The construction method, in other words the concrete pouring and the letting down, continues as before, until the entire structure has been erected. The removal of the ground below the structure takes place by hand. To achieve this, a chamber is created below the structure and air overpressure is created to keep it from filling up with water so the workers can do their job with dry feet. This means we build both river bridge piers from top to bottom, instead of the traditional way from bottom to top, as this results in less settling. This method actually comes from tunnel construction, where the same thing takes place in a horizontal way. The Elbtunnel was constructed in the same way. We are building quasi two tunnels with the new Kattwyk railway bridge, which are simply vertical and squared instead of horizontal and cylindrical. 

Your team is quite large, with about 55 colleagues. The project consists of several thousand individual plans and is essentially being carried out by eleven companies. How do you manage the logistics of all this?

Although we are in the middle of the port and in an industrial area, without any really public transport connection and without a canteen nearby, everyone enjoys working on the site in a kind of construction camp. This only works out with a super well-oiled team with members who trust one another and who not only identify with the structure, but also with the goals. Moreover, we do not have a bottleneck principle, where everything has to go through a project head level, but rather a very flat hierarchy. In this way, each has their own area and space for taking their own decisions.

To this day, everything has run according to plan with this project. Which decisive milestones have you achieved in the past months and what are the ones to come?

In the previous months, we have achieved two key milestones. First, at the start of the year, we erected the two river bridge piers at their final depth. They are now 30 metres below sea level. Second, we erected the steel pylons in June/July. They rise 80 metres above sea level. This means we have erected a structure that is about 110 metres high. All in all, just under 90 per cent of the bridge is completed. The next big milestone will be in December, when we float in the centre piece, in other words the lifting component, which is made of about 2,000 tons of steel. Then the bridge will be basically completed, and the only thing left to do will be to lay the cabling, perform the test operations and, finally, reconnect the existing tracks from the old to the new bridge.

Winter is on its way. How dependent is the further success of the project’s progress on the weather conditions?

In the last few years, we have been very dependent on the weather, as the water level is decisive for a water-based construction site and there is always the danger of a flood with every storm in the North Sea. Now we are also working at great heights, where strong winds can cause problems.

Do you get nervous in critical moments or do you remain cool in every situation?

I actually remain quite cool. I personally always say: we are not performing open-heart surgery here. Kneejerk reactions don’t bring us any further, and decisions taken in haste usually lead to nothing good. It also has a bit to do with my career; the engineer is normally relaxed. 

The old Kattwyk bridge, with the current amount of traffic remaining unchanged, would not have been any good in the near future. How much will the traffic go down when the railway uses the new bridge? 

Quite a lot. If you can imagine a train weighing 6,000 tons, with steel running on steel, and a lorry just 40 tons with rubber tyres, then you know what kind of strain every train puts on a bridge. 

Do you already know what you will be working on at HPA after this project?

No, I haven’t any idea! I hope that I can continue to work in some way with the topics lean management and alliance contracts. These really interest mean. 

What are those?

Lean management is a new, modern method of project management which is playing a huge and new role in the construction industry. It is about simplifying and streamlining processes. I think this is a very successful tool. Alliance contracts are a new form of contract for major cooperations. It ensures that big and complex construction projects with many stakeholders are handled without any conflicts as far as possible. We hope that this form of contract is so successful that we can continue to work with it.

In your function as project head, you most likely don’t always have standard working hours. How does your family cope with your workload?

The people in my private life generally have a flexible lifestyle like myself, which is why this job fits me so well. The flexible working hours do indeed mean that I often have to work longer in the evenings or also on the weekends, but then you have time off at times when others have to work. For me, it’s merely important that I am grounded by time spent together and consistently plan my time off. 

What is your personal way to become grounded after a stressful day?

Clearly coming home, going for a walk with my wife and our dog or going for a jog, talking at our leisure and, in all cases, absolutely no mobile phone or emails. 

Do you like to spend your free time at the port, and what is your favourite spot there?

My favourite spot is naturally the Kattwyk bridge (laughing). But to be honest, I do not spend my free time at the port, as it is a purely industrial area. If I’d have to say where I like to spend my time in the port, then it would be in HafenCity. It has turned out very well and is close to the port, but actually has nothing to do with the port itself. 

Thank you for the interview.