A building puts you in a place – building technology puts you in a state of mind
DB Schenker delivers more things to more places than ever before. That means deliveries make more impact than ever before. On the environment, on traffic, on cities. The people at the DB Schenker head office in Essen, Germany work to find solutions to these challenges. Building management systems from Siemens help to create an environment where the people are in a state of mind to deliver what’s most important: solutions.DB Schenker: This building creates space for ideas
For DB Schenker, Germany’s largest logistics company, getting things from A to B is the easy part. With more deliveries to more people, more often than ever before, today the logistics business has an enormous impact. On traffic. On cities. On the environment.
You require a lot to be innovative. You need spaces that enable you to get in touch and exchange views. An environment that creates openness and familiarity. This building provides these conditions.Andrea Dorothea Schoen, Senior Manager Carbon Controlling and Consulting, DB Schenker AG
Creating an atmosphere of ideas and productivity
Ideas are what innovation is made of. But innovation needs certain conditions. You need to feel secure, comfortable and protected to innovate. At the DB Schenker head office the building management platform Desigo CC creates these conditions.
New thinking and new ideas – powered by building automation
To provide optimal working conditions for each employee, DB Schenker’s head office boasts an impressive degree of digitalization and building automation: The building management platform Desigo CC encompasses 560 room operator units, a fire alarm system with 1,500 fire detectors, an access control system with 40 readers, an intrusion detection system, a video surveillance system and DALI lighting control. All of which can be centrally controlled from two redundant operating screens.
To save energy, additional light sensors on the roof make sure the blinds are optimally adjusted depending on the angle of the sun and cloud cover. While, of course, any user can also adjust the blinds independently, for example, if they need to darken the room for a presentation. Facility management is especially happy with the new transparency the building management platform Desigo CC offers, as before its introduction it was virtually impossible to even get a status report from a room without personally going there. Previously DB Schenker could only take care of the janitor service. All the other areas had to be outsourced to specialist companies because there was no in-house expertise, and controlling the various functions would have required a lot of personnel.
Sustainability made comfortable
The building’s sustainability concept has earned it LEED silver certification. Each room is equipped with at least one room operator unit, and the larger ones have several. These units have inbuilt sensors, so when staff use them to control the temperature and lighting they can see by a glowing green or red leaf whether their settings are environmentally friendly. To make full use of the new functionality, every staff member was given a welcome booklet when they moved in – showing not only the quickest way to the cafeteria, but also how to use the room automation system sensibly and sustainably. After one more year, DB Schenker will benefit even more, having gathered experience that allows them to fine-tune the system and unlock its full potential in terms of lowering energy consumption.
