CLEVER IDEAS FROM BILFINGER BERGER

BILFINGER BERGER IS A COMPANY DRIVEN BY ENGINEERS. IN EVERY CORNER OF THE COMPANY, RESEARCH IS CARRIED OUT, IDEAS ARE DEVELOPED AND INNOVATIONS ARE TESTED.

FROM CRIME SCENE TO CREATURE COMFORTS
Forensic experts have long enjoyed the benefits of 360-degree cameras with which they can record a complete crime scene and analyze the tiniest details. The data are regarded as immune to manipulation. bauperformance, a Bilfinger Berger Group company, also uses one of these spherical cameras to document buildings and prepare inspection reports. However, those who benefit most are potential real estate customers. Instead of reams of documents, all they need to know is on disk. As they tour the building from their desktops, they can also view all of the operating instructions and maintenance protocols for the systems that they see.

BRIDGES BUILT OF WASTE
Building railway bridges out of plastic waste is unusual, to say the least. But Centennial, a US subsidiary of Bilfinger Berger, was commissioned to do just that in Fort Eustis, Virginia. From foundations to railroad ties, the two bridges are composed of recycled plastic bottles, car tires and industrial plastics. “The material is comparatively cheap and the maintenance costs are virtually nil,” says Mike Halvorson of Centennial. And best of all, over 150 tons of waste and almost 500 tons of greenhouse gases are locked into the bridges.
www.axionintl.com
www.cce-inc.com

BLAST WELDING
“A blast is an attempt to destroy something” according to Wikipedia. But that isn’t always true. Steinmüller Africa ignites explosive charges to fuse components together, such as the pipe and the die plate in a heat exchanger. The charge ignited in the end of the pipe creates a shock wave that expands the component and presses it against the outer sleeve. Steinmüller is a Bilfinger Berger Group company based in South Africa.
www.bbps.bilfinger.com

MATH SUPPORTS ECONOMICS
How to ensure that components interact efficiently over a maximum period of time is something that taxes not just engineers, but mathematicians too. At a power station there are endless ways in which to lay pipes and combine bends, pressures, wall thicknesses and materials. And buildings are no different: even the slightest change has an impact on the whole structure. Econometricians at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg are now working with Bilfinger Berger to develop a mathematical model that will make it easier to arrive at the perfect solution. The project is scheduled for completion in three years.

STREET VIEW—LITERALLY
Google Street View cars have cameras on their roofs. Those used by Bilfinger Berger Infrastructure Services, on the other hand, have cameras under the rear. Two high-speed cameras record damage to the road. Then special software categorizes the damage by type and urgency, calculates the optimum repair time based on traffic volumes and the needs of local residents, and comes up with a neat and tidy maintenance program—not just for now, but for the years ahead. So those responsible for the roads can plan ahead for the long term, instead of patrolling the streets with buckets of tar and asphalt after every winter.

BOBBING APPLES
At the Knill cider press near Lake Constance, the apples travel by water rather than conveyor belt. This protects the fruit on the way to pressing. Leaves and twigs are intercepted by a revolving screen, so they don’t end up in the juice. The technology was developed by Passavant- Geiger. The subsidiary of Bilfinger Berger usually earns its money with very different filters and presses—for treating industrial sludge and sewage.
www.passavant-geiger.de