Offshore wind farms: portfolio is being further expanded

HOCHTIEF is firmly established in key segments of the fast-growing offshore wind energy market. For example, we design, build and lay the required concrete and steel parts anchored directly to the sea floor. Moreover, our company performs soil analyses, and installs and maintains wind turbines. The Thor jack-up platform developed by HOCHTIEF is currently at work constructing the Bard I offshore wind farm in the North Sea. The project entails erecting some 80 wind turbines with the special-purpose platform. In summer 2012, we also start work on the Global Tech I project. This involves anchoring 80 bases each weighing 950 metric tons to the sea floor at a depth of 40 meters and then assembling a 150-meter-tall, five-megawatt wind turbine on each base.

Developing and operating new types of ships

The Global Tech I project will be the first deployment for a special-purpose vessel conceptualized, designed, developed and implemented in a joint venture between HOCHTIEF and the world's leading heavy-lift cargo carrier, Beluga. The vessel makes for safer and more efficient assembly along with various process improvements. Our experts are also planning the logistics and simulating the assembly process by computer. Furthermore HOCHTIEF Solutions is developing another special-purpose vessel to commission, service and maintain wind turbines. This further adds to our portfolio for optimizing the economic life cycle of offshore wind farms. The vessel will have a special transfer system to ensure that personnel and materials reach wind turbines and transformer stations in safety even in very rough seas.

Further information:
www.hochtief-solutions.com

Planning software for airports

A software tool developed by HOCHTIEF to compute passenger terminal capacities proved its effectiveness in 2010. The tool was used to simulate passenger flows at Budapest Airport, modeling necessary dismantling and alteration work on security points and revealing the resulting future impacts on passenger traffic. The tool incorporates know-how from several HOCHTIEF companies. It will also be used in other planning processes that involve optimizing any form of traffic flow, such as for major relocations and construction site logistics.

"Sustainable Airports"–concept for sustainable airports

"Sustainable airports" is a market strategy for environmentally friendly consulting services developed by our subsidiary HOCHTIEF Concessions along with other divisions. One of the four cornerstones of this consulting service involves inspecting and evaluating existing airports for potential energy savings and making suggestions for improvement. Moreover, the company also prepares environmental impact studies and develops waste management concepts for airports.

Further information:
Sustainable product from HOCHTIEF AirPort
Broschure Sustainable Airports (German only)

HOCHTIEF's own product developments for clients

HOCHTIEF Consult's engineered products line includes innovations developed by our experts and made available to outside clients. These highly specialized products and services feature an exceptionally advanced level of engineering. In 2010, we further improved our tried and trusted Lithoscope 90 concrete cover thickness meter. This accurately determines the location and size of rebars even at considerable depths and so provides key information about concrete cover thickness. 2011 we offers the technically improved Lithoscope 90 to outside customers.

blueFM – CO₂ reduction in building operation

CO₂ emissions from buildings and facilities can be cut by up to 20 percent in the next five years. In pursuit of this ecological and economic goal HOCHTIEF Facility Management will be developing sustainability concepts for clients with its new "blueFM" quality seal. The integrated approach – which will be a fixed element of every facility management contract in future – was presented for the first time in February 2011. The employees of HOCHTIEF Facility Management recognize optimization potential in ongoing building operations and present the corresponding proposals to clients, showing how a significant reduction of energy costs and carbon dioxide emissions can be achieved. There is certainly plenty of potential: This primarily involves technical systems control and the mechanical elements used such as filters, pumps or engines. Apart from that, blueFM focuses on the entire life-cycle of buildings. Accordingly, sustainability begins during project development, is continued during construction or conversion, and is then consistently implemented during operation.

Research shows how sustainability features affect real estate market values

What sustainability features are office buildings expected to have as a matter of course, and what will users pay extra for today and in the future? Detailed answers are now provided for the first time in a study commissioned by HOCHTIEF from the Chair of Construction Process Management and Real Estate Development at the Technical University of Munich. The findings enable us to become better than ever at identifying customer needs and tailoring solutions to individual requirements.

Transparently designing life cycle costs–a holistic approach

HOCHTIEF's success strategy includes providing services that span the entire infrastructure project, real estate and facility life cycle. In line with this strategy, HOCHTIEF has launched an innovation project to measure total cost of ownership. Laying the foundations for this long-term project, an expert network pools expertise on the subject from across the Group.

Building information models come of age

November 2010 marked the end of the European InPro research project in which we were one of 17 consortium partners. The objective of the research project was to develop methods for improving the use of building information models in the early design phase. HOCHTIEF's primary involvement related to methods for model-based scheduling and model-based facility management. Even before the project was finished, project outcomes were incorporated in our operational projects.

Planning agency for sustainable construction

The team of students from Darmstadt Technical University we sponsored won the US Department of Energy's 2009 Solar Decathlon. For the German institution, it was the second win in a row at the US competition, where participants must build a self-sufficient, marketable building. The "surPLUShome" met the strict requirements by including, among other things, highly insulated exterior walls covered in photovoltaic cells. In the summer months, the heat is reduced by a cooling ceiling. We provided the successful team with technical and financial support, and the resulting innovative ideas will benefit our residential construction segment.

Because of the successful cooperation during the Solar Decathlon, project members of Darmstadt Technical University and HOCHTIEF joined together and founded the planning company "ina Planungsgesellschaft" at the end February 2011. Apart from providing consulting and planning services, the new planning company will also realize its own development and construction projects on the subject of sustainable construction.

Further information:
Solar Decathlon 2009: HOCHTIEF supports winning team

Program to promote research on adaptive and smart bridges

In Germany there are currently almost 40,000 bridges over federal highways. Because of rising traffic volumes in recent years and an increased gross weight of trucks on German roads, the existing bridges which mainly consist of steel or prestressed concrete, no longer fulfill today's requirements. The German Federal Government is funding the research required to address this problem with its "Adaptive and Intelligent Bridges of the Future". HOCHTIEF is participating in the research program with an inter-disciplinary team from its subsidiaries HOCHTIEF Solutions, Flatiron and HOCHTIEF PPP Solutions. To prevent a demolition and complete new construction of bridges requiring restoration and repair in the future, HOCHTIEF is working on a framework system of ultra high performance concrete, which enables existing bridge structures to be subsequently flexibly adapted to changed requirements. Thanks to supplementary elements that can subsequently be incorporated into bridge structures this is intended to enable bridges to be retrofitted to suit traffic, and hence achieve an increased load bearing capacity or to add noise protection panels.

DNGB quality certificate co-developed

The German Sustainable Building Council, an organization of which we are a founding member, began awarding German Certification for Sustainable Buildings in January 2009. We reviewed the efficacy in practice of such certification criteria as environmental, economic, socio-cultural and functional quality in an in-house innovation project, thereby actively participating in the development of the certification. In the subsequent pilot phase, our "smarthouse" office complex in Munich was one of the first projects to receive the gold preliminary certification from the German Sustainable Building Council. At the same time, we added to HOCHTIEF's consulting expertise in green building across the Group. By the end of 2010 a total of eleven buildings constructed by HOCHTIEF in Germany have gained German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB) precertification or certification.

Further information:
Green Building Germany
German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB)

Research cooperation on interaction models for automated tunnel construction

In 2009 the joint research project "TUNCONSTRUCT" promoted by the European Union was successfully completed. In this project HOCHTIEF developed a control software for shield driving and materials for the tunnel lining. In order to conduct other research and development work HOCHTIEF networked with scientific partners and participated in the University Bochum's comprehensive special field of research on interaction models for automated tunnel construction. HOCHTIEF is a member of the advisory council for this field of research. Furthermore, HOCHTIEF envisages a project that is looking into ways of optimizing tunnel driving and developing an automatic control circuit.

Research activities in inHaus2–model house for intelligent building solutions

With its innovation key subject iBuild, HOCHTIEF is strengthening its position in the strongly expanding "Intelligent Building" segment. The company's focus of activity in this field is on the research project inHaus2: It is a partnership platform for testing innovative ideas for smart building systems. In December 2010 the cooperation with the Frauenhofer Institute was extended by a further four years. In 2010, HOCHTIEF launched a new project to try out a high-efficiency energy monitoring system. The innovation makes it possible to keep a timely watch on system operation and use predefined performance indicators to spot faults and potential for fine-tuning. The aim is to ensure efficient building operation at all times.

Further information:
HOCHTIEF's involvement in inHaus2
www.inhaus-zentrum.de

Easier maintenance with RFID*

Technical components fitted with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags enable users to seamlessly collect information from manufacturing and installation all the way to servicing. For example, when a project is handed over after the construction phase, a facility management service provider can use an RFID reader to collect data about all building components and their condition, and automatically print out an inspection report with images. Using the saved information, it is also possible to quickly clear up warranty claims and carry out repairs in the event of damage to the building. Technical equipment which is fitted with RFID chips can be maintained more efficiently and more transparently for the client. HOCHTIEF has developed an appropriate system and tested it inHaus2. In 2011 the mobile order processing system of the service technicians in the facility management division (handyman) is to be expanded by incorporating an RFID component.

*Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic waves to automatically identify and locate objects. Data can be stored on RFID chips and read out again by special reading devices.

Transparent idea management gets results

We are building the future–with our ideas today! With this motto which makes allusion to the Corporate Vision HOCHTIEF, a leading international construction services provider, has decided to revise its old procedure for submitting suggestions, and replace it with a new, transparent and unbureaucratic ideas management system. A new intranet platform, the "Ideas Room" was implemented in March 2008. Employees can submit their ideas via the Ideas Room–the main element of the HOCHTIEF ideas management system. The person submitting the idea decides when he posts it whether it should be made visible to all intranet users or not. Public ideas can be read and commented on by all employees. This gives rise to open discussions which often lead to the further development of ideas. A network consisting of category mentors, Ideas Committees and idea mentors takes care of evaluating and implementing ideas. By creating a subscription all HOCHTIEF employees with intranet access can keep themselves informed on specific new ideas and discussion postings by e-mail. Alongside submission bonuses which are awarded if ideas fulfill certain criteria, the Top Ten ideas chosen in a given year also receive a prize.

At HOCHTIEF we deliberately gave the term "idea" a very broad definition, so that we have three types of idea:

• Suggestion for improvement
  A suggestion as to how an existing, operations-related situation can be improved to the benefit of our clients, the company and the employees.
• Best Practice idea
  A solution that has already been implemented or approved for implementation that could also be of interest to other employees. Best Practice ideas are disseminated at HOCHTIEF by being posted in the Ideas Room (and, where appropriate, through other implementation measures). This is very important for our company because, owing to our project business, employees are highly decentralized.
• New business idea
  A suggestion as to how, building on its existing strengths, HOCHTIEF can open up new, innovative areas of business.

This new tool has already proved its value. In 2010 we received 567 ideas – 160 more than the year before.