With 2,300 employees, Itzehoe Hospital is the largest employer in the Steinburg district between Hamburg and Kiel. From January 2018 to April 2019, Max Bögl built a steel composite multi-storey car park with 687 parking spaces on an area of two football pitches for the clinic with its more than 600 fully inpatient beds. During the 16-month project period, the group of companies installed an impressive 515 tons of steel system components - which is roughly the weight of an Airbus A380 - as well as 900 precast concrete ceiling slabs. The building skills were in the hands of Lena Hagelauer, project manager for multi-storey car parks at Max Bögl.

What does your daily work as a project manager at Max Bögl look like?

The main task is to control and monitor deadlines, costs and quality. The coordination with the client as well as with the own planning department, the own plants and the subcontractors is also part of my daily tasks. With the "Parkhausystem Bögl" we work with small teams, so that you sometimes have to take over tasks from the site manager or foreman. You often switch between the construction site and the office. Boredom is a thing of the past.

What do you like most about your job? And what are the challenges?

The work is very varied and challenging every day. It is not always easy to bring together the interests of our group of companies, subcontractors and customers to their full satisfaction. However, you don't just sit at your desk, but have contact with very different people - with the result that you always have to adjust to your counterpart and find the right key. Communication on the construction site is very different from communication with the client, for example. You also have the opportunity to help shape the project and see a tangible result at the end of the project.

Are you confronted with prejudices from time to time in a profession that is more dominated by men? If so, how do you cope with these situations?

I haven't actually experienced any serious reservations yet. One or the other may think his part, but this is not openly addressed. When I introduce myself as a project manager, most people are well aware that it is wiser to treat me appropriately. I think a woman even has some advantages because many men are more reserved and cooperative. If there is a stupid saying, the answer usually follows on its heels. I see it with humor.

Your last project was the multi-storey car park in the "Parkhaussystem Bögl" for the hospital in Itzehoe. What did you remember?

In the communication with the client and in our weekly construction meetings, we have maintained a positive atmosphere in spite of not always agreeing opinions. Thus the problem solution could stand in the foreground.

Were there any special features in this project that you had to cope with? If so, how did you master them?

We had to deal with difficult ground conditions and water in the ground. For a long time, both of these issues occupied us in structural and TGA planning. Here a close exchange between the planning department, the execution, the soil expert, the authorities and the client was necessary in order to arrive at a final solution. The very small construction site also posed great challenges for logistics and the coordination of the various trades. During assembly, our building construction crane had to stand on a track inside the subsequent multi-storey car park, which in turn made earthworks and subsequent construction work more difficult. The deliveries of the steel structure and the finished parts were only possible through good coordination with our logistics department and the special commitment of our assembly foreman. A further special feature was the façade, which was initially planned as a wooden lamella façade, but due to the lack of compatibility with fire protection was then designed with aluminium lamellas. The result is impressive. The façade made of ground and anodised aluminium lamellas, which are arranged in an undulating manner, is impressive due to its liveliness.

Thank you very much for the interesting insights and good luck with your next project.