Stuttgart 21, the new underground main station, sollte rund drei Milliarden Euro kosten und schon 2019 in Betrieb gehen. It was supposed to cost about three billion euros and open in 2019. In June 2026 representatives of Deutsche Bahn told the Bundestag transport committee that it would open at the end of 2031. The latest cost estimate is about 11.3 billion euros. The financing contract of 2009 had committed the project partners only up to a little over 4.5 billion euros. A court ruled that the railway must bear the extra costs alone.
engineering
Change Management by Design
Since 2005 the V-Modell XT has been the standard process model of the German federal government for developing and buying IT systems. Its core has only four modules that every project must use: project management, quality assurance, configuration management, and Problem- und Änderungsmanagement, problem and change management. A project that leaves out any of the four does not comply with the model.
State IT Contracts
German federal authorities buy IT under the EVB-IT, standard contract terms published by the Federal Interior Ministry. They are binding for federal authorities. The EVB-IT system contract provides a Funktionsprüfung, a function test, before acceptance. Unless agreed otherwise, it lasts 30 days. Defects fall into three named classes. A betriebsverhindernder Mangel prevents operation. A betriebsbehindernder Mangel hinders operation. A leichter Mangel is a minor defect. Requests for changes are handled under their own clause.
The Construction Diary
On a German building site, the site manager or supervising architect keeps a Bautagebuch, a construction diary. It records each day’s workers and machines, deliveries, weather, obstructions, inspections and defects found, and when and how they were put right. A building trade publisher calls it eine Hauptleistungspflicht des Bauleiters bzw. überwachenden Architekten, one of the main duties of the site manager or supervising architect. Its value lies in later disputes. Gaps in the record can as a rule not be filled in afterwards.
How Crooked a Wall May Be
The German standard DIN 18202, Toleranzen im Hochbau, sets how far walls, floors and ceilings may depart from the plan. It measures the gap under a straightedge at set distances. A homebuilders’ guide gives the table. For a finished wall, the gap may be 5 millimeters over one meter and 10 millimeters over four meters. Erst wenn die in der DIN 18202 festgelegten Toleranzen überschritten werden, liegt ein Mangel vor. Only when these tolerances are exceeded is there a defect. If the contract says nothing else, the DIN values are the minimum the builder must meet.
The Frigate Sent Back
In December 2017 the German Navy refused to accept a new frigate, the Baden-Württemberg, after delivery. It was the first time the navy had ever done this. The ship had unresolved hardware and software integration problems.
The frigate had originally been scheduled for 2014–15. It entered service on 17 June 2019. The contracts for the four ships of its class were worth 2.27 billion euros.
Safety Before Economy
The Association of German Engineers, the VDI, publishes ethical principles for the profession. In the 2021 edition, engineers act responsibly with regard to the possible consequences of their work. They follow a ranking. The public good comes before private interests. Sufficient safety comes before economy and mere function.
If a moral conflict at work cannot be resolved within the job, engineers should seek support from institutions. Then the principles name a last resort. Notfalls ist als letzter Ausweg die Herstellung von Öffentlichkeit oder sogar die Verweigerung weiterer Mitarbeit in Betracht zu ziehen. If necessary, as a last resort, an engineer should consider going public, or even refusing to continue the work.
The GTI Nobody Ordered
In March 1973, a Volkswagen test engineer wrote an internal memo proposing a sporty version of the new Golf. Development chief Ernst Fiala turned it down. Volkswagen’s own history quotes him: “It’s far too expensive, you’re all mad.” A small group of engineers went on anyway. Officially, their prototype was a test platform for the chassis.
In May 1975, the team showed the car to VW’s chief executive Toni Schmücker, who approved it. The Golf GTI was shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 1975 and went on sale in 1976. According to Volkswagen, dealers sold ten times the planned number in the first year.
Every Hose Has Its Owner
In Germany’s volunteer and professional fire brigades, a squad works under service regulation FwDV 3. Die Mannschaft einer Gruppe gliedert sich in group leader, machinist, messenger, attack team, water team and hose team. Each has its own tasks. The attack team nimmt in der Regel das erste einzusetzende Strahlrohr vor, as a rule takes up the first nozzle. The water team stellt die Wasserversorgung vom Löschfahrzeug zum Verteiler und zwischen Löschfahrzeug und Wasserentnahmestelle her, sets up the water supply from the engine to the distributor and between the engine and the water source. Before anyone leaves the vehicle, everyone knows whose hose it is.
No Future for the G36
The G36 assault rifle by Heckler & Koch was the Bundeswehr’s standard rifle. In 2015 a report commissioned by the Defense Ministry found that its accuracy dropped sharply when it overheated or faced large swings in temperature. On April 22, 2015, Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen told the budget committee of the Bundestag: Dieses G36, wie es heute konstruiert ist, hat keine Zukunft mehr bei der Bundeswehr. This G36, as it is designed today, has no future in the Bundeswehr. On September 2, 2016, the Regional Court of Koblenz ruled for Heckler & Koch. The Bundeswehr’s warranty claims had no sufficient legal basis. The court expressly did not decide whether the rifle shoots accurately enough.