Every Canzler project is driven by the experience of countless of our colleagues – to the benefit of our clients.
Mathias Behrens, German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB) auditor, the "MacGyver" of the office and a former volleyball and football player, is an authorized signatory and head of CANZLER's Dresden office; he works as quality manager for the entire company.
I like reading, most of all books that help me broaden my horizons outside engineering, or the main German dailies. My favourite is the technology section in the Frankfuter Allgemeine – it really grabs you – and once I've got the paper in my hands I tend to read the rest, too. Curiosity and a thirst for knowledge are what motivate me.
In 1994, "reading" the Yellow Pages (for digital natives: something like Google in book-form) took me to CANZLER in Dresden: There was nothing suitable under "A" in the "Yellow Pages" I had a day's trial with the entry under "B" and under "C" for CANZLER I was warmly welcomed by Sylvia Priebe, and stayed! Dresden is a great place – I love the city and our office here is brilliant. And that obviously goes for my colleagues too. In our working atmosphere I like the diversity of challenges and creative opportunities, not to mention the independence, trust, and solidarity in a disparate, very varied, and efficient team.
We actually need this special working atmosphere, as at CANZLER the projects are challenging, for example the construction of the new European Central Bank headquarters in Frankfurt/Main: The project scope and configuration were uniquely complex, impossible, as it were – but we got everything done all the same ! I was deputy project leader, planning project leader for the mechanical trades, and planner of the ventilation technology. On top of which I was responsible for consulting all over the place. There were lots of occasions when the right decision was urgently needed and mistakes would have had a considerable effect.
Nowadays I run the office in Dresden, am responsible for project management and realization, and mentor for several employees. I am also responsible for quality assurance in the mechanical trades. I am involved in the development of processes in the growing company.
"For me there is quality and value in every detail of the planning."
In my capacity as quality manager I try to make certain this is enshrined in our planning principles. Here, and not just here, my practical training as a specialist construction worker comes in useful. Planning is first and foremost about putting acquired, theoretical knowledge into practice in operations. Otherwise, to paraphrase Wolfgang Mocker, you "pay a lot of money for a very high price" in planning. I have learned a lot from the projects and can now channel those insights into our quality management and new projects. As such, every CANZLER projects draws on the experience of very many staff members – all to the benefit of our clients.
About
Mathias Behrens is a German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB) auditor, "MacGyver" of the office and a former volleyball and football player. At Canzler the graduate engineer specializing in building services is head of the Dresden office, an authorized signatory, project leader, and quality manager.