FairCompany
University of Cooperative Education
Support during master thesis
From Rostock to Hanoi
Supervision of master theses
Content with the result
Supervising master theses is an important contribution to promoting young professionals. Philipp Köntges successfully completed his master thesis with the support of DB AG and Inros Lackner. Today he is permanently employed in the field of construction site and project management.
Mr. Köntges, you wrote your master thesis with Inros Lackner. What was the topic?
My task was to elaborate a „methodology“ that would help project managers with DB AG to elaborate and realise contract award procedures in a resources-saving manner. Inros Lackner in Hamburg, Beuth University of Applied Sciences in Berlin and Deutsche Bahn AG were partners to this master thesis. For example, I had to scrutinize the following aspects of the current award procedure:
Can the number of procurements still be handled in a reasonable way? Are all services completely and without rivalry covered by the procurements and is the project manager the right position to control them? How would tasks have to be subdivided in order to optimise project business and how can the number of procurements be substantially reduced? The title of my thesis is: “Stocktaking of service relations between DB Station & Service AG and partners, and development of an approach towards optimisation of project business in the regional department “Nord”.
Who was your supervisor and how has cooperation influenced the elaboration of your master thesis?
Dipl.-Wirtsch.-Ing. Michael Beckmann and Dipl. Ing. Hanno Wiese actively supported me with their broad project management experience. On the part of DB Dr. Rühl, head of building and facility management, and his project managers gave me their support. They stood, after all, in the centre of my research. This far-reaching supervision opened ways and opportunities for me, which are not available to every student in such a way. I am very content with the result of my master thesis.
Can you consider the main results in three to five sentences?
It became obvious that handling procurements requires a lot of time. Contracts for larger investments need proportionally less effort than minor contracts, but placement must be carried out in the same accurate and careful way as for the “big” procurements. The different suggested solutions are dedicated to the reduction of procurements and the related efforts, for example the optimisation of calculated division of labour, assignment of further specialised service providers and an optimised procedure for contract placement. All developed methodological approaches must clearly show whether and to what degree – compared to the existing procedures – they have an effect (efficacy).