„Zerna Planen und Prüfen“ has been renamed „ZPP“
The tradition-steeped Bochum engineering company Zerna Planen und Prüfen renamed itself at the start of 2016 as part of a long-term business strategy and is now known as ZPP Ingenieure GmbH. The group is based at nine locations with almost 200 specialists – involved in international markets, mainly in top-calibre projects such as the current BIM (Building Information Modelling) projects for the Deutsche Bahn or the Emscher conversion. The fortunes of ZPP Ingenieure GmbH are guided by Dr.-Ing. Ludger Speier, Dr.-Ing. Dieter Lehnen, Dipl.-Ing. Joachim Meyer and Dr.-Ing. Ingo Spohr.
Expertise called for in major BIM Projects
According to ZPP it relies consistently on interdisciplinary work – which has increasingly involved computerized support over the past 30 years. Thus the company sets one main focus on planning BIM projects. For example, ZPP is greatly involved in the Deutsche Bahn’s current BIM pilot project, revamping Hanover Central Station.
The Emscher Interceptor sewage project illustrates what completely networked activities are capable of. The monitoring programme devised largely by ZPP enables direct access in real time from office desk to the level of individual components in the case of a 10 km long sewer section produced with segments.
Owing to the increasing demand for BIM projects, ZPP has made the appropriate provisions: apart from experienced BIM engineers engaged in ongoing projects, a working group of BIM specialists is involved with superordinated tasks and further developments of digitally networked processes. Furthermore, CEO Dipl.-Ing. Joachim Meyer and ZPP team leader Dr.-Ing. Felix Nagel were appointed to the VDI’s (Association of German Engineers’) standards committee in January.
Research Projects being tackled
The engineers’ know-how with regard to materials and technology is currently called for in numerous research and development projects on behalf of ministries, universities or private enterprises – including tunnelling, pipe jacking technology or devising novel connecting techniques for precast concrete parts. For instance, ZPP contributed its experiences relating to highly acid-resistant concretes to produce long-lasting reinforced concrete structures, which also resist strong chemical attacks for building the Emscher Interceptor.
