30 22 Projects / URBAN RENEWAL STRABAG Units / LEAN INTRODUCTION A new downtown Focusing on process for a metropolis optimisation The Magazine of STRABAG SE No. 01 2014 teams 10 Cover Story / HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT Competing for the best employees STRA_01_14_teams_final_eng_r12.indd 1 28.04.14 17:14 02 Contents www.strabag.com 06 News / WOMEN STRABAG as 18 “employeress” People at STRABAG / OUR PRIVATE SIDE “If you can dream it, you can do it” Projects / BUILDING SERVICES ENGINEERING A clean job 34 26 STRABAG Units /CONSTRUCTIVE COOPERATION Partnership working as a model for the future STRA_01_14_teams_final_eng_r12.indd 2 28.04.14 17:14 Contents teams. No. 01 / 2014 03 News Projects 05 KunstFORUM 30 URBAN RENEWAL ARTbreak – A lunch break A new downtown for a metropolis with art at the STRABAG House 32 BUILDING CONSTRUCTION 06 WOMEN POLAND/ZENTRALE TECHNIK STRABAG as “employeress” A bridge that sets new standards 06 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT 34 BUILDING SERVICES ENGINEERING (BSE) connect – The internal A clean job communications platform 36 OLYMPIC VILLAGE IN SOCHI 07 ELEPHANT PARK Our contribution to athletic success Under a leafy canopy 37 SCHOOL IN MILOVICE 08 ANNIVERSARY New life in old walls “Mister SKB” Günter Lorenz celebrates 50 years on the job 38 O1NE Club A night club as a new landmark 09 ENCORD for Yas Island Our network for a competitive tomorrow 40 HOMESTAKE PROJECT Long overdue: Dam repair to European standards Cover Story 42 STAFF EXCHANGE ZÜBLIN – GILBANE People at STRABAG / OUR PRIVATE SIDE 10 HUMAN RESOURCE Development Transatlantic knowledge exchange Competing for the best employees Specials People at STRABAG 44 THE FAVOURITE PLACES 18 OUR PRIVATE SIDE OF STRABAG EMPLOYEES “If you can dream it, you can do it” Prague: My city 46 ACUPRESSURE TECHNIQUES STRABAG Units Successful self-healing – Doing something good for yourself 22 LEAN INTRODUCTION Focusing on process optimisation 24 STAFF ANALYSIS Research question: How much time do we need to get the job done? 26 CONSTRUCTIVE COOPERATION Partnership working as a model for the future 28 TRANSPORT SERVICES AND LOGISTICS (TSL) Our mission: In the right place at the right time 44 29 QUALITY OPTIMISATION Co-Qualify: In-house coaching for client satisfaction and success Specials / THE FAVOURITE PLACES OF STRABAG EMPLOYEES Prague: My city STRA_01_14_teams_final_eng_r12.indd 3 28.04.14 17:14 04 Foreword www.strabag.com Dear Colleagues, Employees and Friends, As a leading European-based technology group for construction services, what we actually sell are process services by bringing together people, materials and machines at the right place and at the right time in order to execute even the most complex construction projects – on schedule, of the highest quality and at the best price. Our success rises and falls with how well the many different people work together as teams. This is reflected in our motto: “TEAMS WORK.” – our clear commitment to you, the more than 73,000 people within the group. I would therefore like to take this opportunity to thank you for the good working relationship. To acknowledge the important role played by the people within the group, we felt that “inform” was no longer suited as a title for our employee magazine. And so you now hold in your hands the first issue of our new employee magazine, “teams.” Appropriately, this issue provides an insight into our human resource development headed by Günter Senoner. The department’s 132 employees are at work every day on different aspects of staff development, offering qualified support throughout the group. You can find out more on page 10. Thomas Birtel CEO of STRABAG SE After the earnings drop of the year 2012, which had been impacted by noteworthy non-recurring items, we were able to again report significantly improved earnings in 2013. Our broad diversification is proving to still be the best form of crisis insurance. We will therefore continue to give strategic priority to selectively diversifying our business activities, maintaining our financial strength and having an end-to-end risk management system. Our most important asset, however, is and will remain the quality of our teams: Teamwork – on a small or large scale; internally or externally; across brands, countries and organisational boundaries – makes possible what cannot be done alone. This principle also forms the basis for our innovations. This year marked the first time that the members of ENCORD met at the STRABAG House in Vienna to discuss the future of the European construction industry (see p. 9). As I – and my colleagues on the management board – see innovation as a key strategic element, we must all work together to systematically make progress with this topic within our company. Your Thomas Birtel STRA_01_14_teams_final_eng_r12.indd 4 28.04.14 17:15 News teams. No. 01 / 2014 05 Kunstforum ARTbreak – A lunch break with art at the STRABAG House Every 1st and 3rd (plus 5th) Wednesday of the month, STRABAG employees interested in the arts meet at 12 o’clock sharp to take an “art break” together. Austria. A beautiful woman lies facing us on a mirrored surface. Her eyes are focused on a piece of broken mirror she holds in her hands. The exotic beauty in the image is called Nadège, is the work of Austrian artist Martin Schnur and was at the centre of the first ART- break – the new art education concept for all employees at the STRABAG House in Vienna. DISCOVERING AND UNDERSTANDING ART TOGETHER “Nadège #3” by Martin Schnur The purpose of ARTbreak is to get people interested in art and to provide a brief insight into what’s going on Better understanding the works that we pass by every art-wise in the halls and foyers of the Vienna STRABAG day, talking about them and debating their issues and House and the STRABAG Artlounge on the top floor. impact with co-workers – that is the basic idea behind The colossal sculptures by Bruno Gironcoli, the exhibits ARTbreak. The critical engagement with the art collection by the STRABAG Artaward winners in the Artlounge, in the STRABAG Kunstforum in brief, 10-minute guided the artist-in-residence studio, and the many works of art tours also reinforces the internal communication and on the walls of the STRABAG House – they all form the enriches the workday immensely. focus of ARTbreak. A large portion of the 2,500 works in the STRABAG art collection are housed at STRABAG’s Vienna headquarters. Artbreak! 1st, 3rd (and 5th) Wednesday of the month Tanja Skorepa and Julia Schuster guide employees interested in the arts through the STRABAG House and explain the thoughts and motives behind the artworks. CONTACTS: Tanja Skorepa and Julia Schuster, STRABAG Kunstforum STRA_01_14_teams_final_eng_r12.indd 5 28.04.14 17:15 06 News www.strabag.com WOMEN STRABAG as “employeress” Equal opportunities for men and women – made visible through our company language. International. “STRABAG as employeress…” Okay, that gender-neutral. This means that, from now on, we will does sound strange. But the point here is to highlight a always write out the masculine and the feminine form or change happening within the company – with the aim of use a gender-neutral alternative – in order to acknowledge shedding some outdated habits: for simplicity’s sake, it both sexes equally and e.g. to address both in our job has often been easier to simply use the masculine gender vacancies. This is especially important in languages, such when referring to both men and women. But simpler is as German, that make a gender distinction in nouns: while not always better. In keeping with our ambitions to recruit “employees”, “colleagues” and “experts” include both more women to the company, the management board men and women in English, gender neutrality in German has decided that all official company language should be will now require writing “Mitarbeiterinnen und Mitarbeiter”, “Kolleginnen und Kollegen”, “Expertinnen und Experten”. To acknowledge both Since last year, we have been working hard on increasing sexes equally, we are now using gender-neutral the visibility of women within the group. But acknowledg- language. ing women is not just a matter of fairness. We are com- mitted to giving women the same opportunities as their male colleagues. An ambitious objective – and mindfulness of language is just one step in the right direction. CONTACT: Diana Klein, Corporate Communications KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT connect – The internal communications platform Got a problem but no solution at hand? With the new platform, this should be a thing of the past. International. A new tool has been available since March to help us deal with our daily challenges more easily and more quickly. In the future, the internal communications platform “connect” is to become STRABAG’s knowledge pool. If you have a specific question, you can contact the right “expert” directly or simply keep informed and up-to-date in your field and specialty area. The communi- cations platform was created through the cooperation of several colleagues and will continue to grow through mutual exchange. The platform does not limit you to your own organisational entity but allows you to exchange information and your experience across organisations and countries. You, too, can make your contribution by For questions about “connect”, please contact Marc Pühringer, reporting your experiences and answering questions to Karin Wögerer or Elisabeth Deinhofer (from left to right). help colleagues deal with an everyday challenge. CONTACT: Marc Pühringer, Central Technical Division, Knowledge Management STRA_01_14_teams_final_eng_r12.indd 6 28.04.14 17:15 News teams. No. 01 / 2014 07 ELEPHANT PARK Under a leafy canopy The elephants at the Zurich Zoo needed a new home – one that was as natural as possible. A clear case for Timber Construction. Switzerland.