STAMAG
A major installation site is like a precisely choreographed dance. With planning and coordination, the individuals work together to deliver a successful outcome. Success is defined in quality, timing, and budget, but also – most importantly – safety. As a major installation at the malt producer STAMAG (Stadlauer Malzfabrik GesmbH) in Vienna, Austria, shows, success goes hand in hand with safety.
Janet Anderson, November 2024
STAMAG’s malting plant in Vienna operates 24/7 to produce the highest quality products for its customers in Austria and across Europe. Malting is an energy-intensive business, so the company keeps its plant up to date to ensure efficiency. In 2022, the company embarked on a major update of the plant. Two years later, the project was complete, on time and on budget, and most importantly without a single accident.
This is an impressive achievement considering its complexity, with Bühler and contractors from 15 companies working together for 2 years, during which the Bühler team alone contributed 75,000 working hours. There were over 100 fitters on site during the busiest period. By the end, the welders had completed 8.5 kilometers of welding seams. Four cranes worked in parallel in a tight space and the work often had to be carried out at different heights. On top of that, the plant continued to operate throughout. Bühler was responsible for the overall project management and coordination from beginning to end.
The project was completely planned out in advance, including every part and delivery, and the whole construction site.
Dr. Achim Hanninger,
Technical Director at STAMAG
As in any installation, planning is everything. Long before anyone arrived on site to start work, the project team had defined the material flows and assembly routes, walkways and driveways, then selected locations to position the trucks and cranes. This ensured that materials arrived at the assembly site without crossings or collisions.
“The project was completely planned out in advance, including every part and delivery, and the whole construction site,” says Dr. Achim Hanninger, Technical Director at STAMAG. “All the workers knew what they had to do from the first day of installation. We had specific contact people at Bühler for planning and organizing the construction site. They were available to us whenever we had questions, requests, or suggestions.” Rules also had to be agreed. “We know that the building companies have more experience with their trades than we do, so we ask them to submit their safety rules to us and their rules apply alongside ours. If we think there might be safety gaps, we specify stricter rules,” says Hanninger.
In addition, a local external safety expert was brought in by Bühler to assist in creating comprehensive risk analyses. Only when the site met the requirements of the “site readiness” protocol could work begin. This ensures that the conditions are in place for a safe start to work.
Once the work began, it took a high level of coordination to maintain the strict organizational division between traffic lanes and storage areas, and to ensure that waste and raw materials were stored correctly. “The key to success on the construction site is coordination so that the individual trades can carry out their work side by side without getting in each other’s way or creating dangerous situations,” says Joachim Mayer, Project Director, Project Execution at Bühler. “We have to ensure that all the workers – our own and those hired by the customer – are integrated into the system and coordinated.”
This was the task of Bühler Site Manager Volker Dworniczak. Every day he coordinated with the other companies. “We held daily discussions to identify and eliminate risk points. We looked at the hot spots and agreed on possible solutions so that we could complete the day without any accidents. The entire site was inspected weekly,” he says.
For Hanninger, this process was managed very well. “We allocated each company their own areas or time slots where they could carry out their work. This was accepted and adhered to by everyone. Where there were conflicts, we found solutions quickly,” he says. “We had a very collegial way of dealing with each other.”
In addition to planning and coordination, another key element is safety awareness. This must be communicated and cultivated daily because the installation site is changing all the time. Keeping a high level of awareness for safety over a long project requires constant vigilance. “As a site manager, you walk round the construction site several times a day keeping your eyes open,” says Dworniczak. “Any defect or violation of the regulations must be remedied immediately. This includes ensuring all workers have the correct personal protective equipment.”
Exchange with the customer is also key. “In large projects, it is important that the customer, the other companies, and their safety officers establish, cultivate, and control the culture of applied occupational safety,” says Dworniczak. “For STAMAG, this task was a priority from the start and remained the focus throughout the execution period.”
“This is not the achievement of a single person but the result of good teamwork, starting with planning and then execution,” says Mayer. Leadership and management are also critical factors. But it is the corporate culture that plays one of the biggest roles.
“We can learn so much from each other. It is important to have a speak-up culture where everyone feels responsible for Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS), not just the experts,” explains Sandie Lancashire-Arn, Global Head of EHS Management at Bühler. “The challenges at installation sites are often complex. The best solutions are generated together. That was the success in this project.”
As well as keeping accidents to zero, the Bühler team were able to finish their part of the project earlier than planned, so that the new plant was completed almost on schedule. “Considering that the construction and planning period together took 3 years, we managed very well,” says Hanninger. “We were very pleased with the collaboration.”
The challenges at installation sites are often complex. The best solutions are generated together. That was the success in this project with STAMAG.
Sandie Lancashire-Arn,
Global Head of EHS Management at Bühler
Who: STAMAG
When: Founded in 1884.
Where: Vienna, Austria
What: STAMAG produces top-quality brewing malt and baking ingredients.
Customers: The company supplies customers in Austria and abroad.
Bühler: The STAMAG project involved the Installation of a new malting plant consisting of a steeping house with a washing screw, six cylindroconical steeps, and two towers each with three germination kiln units.
Gupfenstrasse 5
Uzwil
9240
Switzerland
