Bilfinger Berger establishes commission of experts
March 08, 2010
March 8, 2010
Bilfinger Berger establishes commission of experts
At a press conference, Bilfinger Berger provided information on the current situation at underground rail projects in Cologne and Düsseldorf and the measures the Company has taken.
"As a result of recent events, the spotlight has shifted to the quality of our work", explained Executive Board Chairman Herbert Bodner. He noted that Bilfinger Berger has a proven quality management system, the high quality of which has been confirmed by an independent expert. The cases in Cologne and Düsseldorf have shown, however, that errors can occur in the implementation – namely in the on-site quality control. "I assure you that we are doing everything in our power to uncover and eliminate possible weaknesses in the application of these controls", emphasized Herbert Bodner. To this end, the Executive Board has established a commission under the leadership of independent expert Prof. Dr. Claus Jürgen Diederichs. A second commission of experts under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Jürgen Schnell is analyzing ongoing foundation engineering measures and finished projects with load-bearing structures built using similar technologies. "We are talking about a precautionary measure at a manageable number of projects and you can be certain: we will be checking them carefully" emphasized the Chief Executive. Prof. Hans Helmut Schetter, who is the Executive Board member responsible for technology, among other things, will be responsible for both commissions.
The question of what led to the collapse of Cologne's municipal archives last year cannot, according to Herbert Bodner, be answered clearly as yet. Research into the underlying causes will take months, if not years. “The joint venture has a great interest in solving this situation as quickly as possible and is doing everything it can to move the investigations forward“, he said.
Herbert Bodner strongly objected to the fact that some of those involved are already publicly placing blame, although the facts of the case are still unclear. "This is highly defamatory and irresponsible. I believe there is an urgent need in the current situation for all involved to display a sense of responsibility and discretion. We owe it to the citizens of Cologne, in particular", he warned.
Bilfinger Berger has made a name for itself through the high-quality work it delivers not only in Germany, but around the world. The misconduct of individual employees has, in recent weeks, damaged the reputation of the Group. "We are in the process of thoroughly reviewing our quality management. Regardless of the results, we will be taking steps to ensure that, in the future, our quality assurance is once again beyond reproach", explained the Chief Executive.
