BERLIN BRANDENBURG INTERNATIONAL (BER): PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A CONCRETE SUPPLY CHAIN FOR THE AIRPORT CONSTRUCTION SITE

Background: With the decision to extend the airport Berlin-Schönefeld to the new airport Berlin Brandenburg International (BER) in 2006, a construction of superlatives has emerged. One of the biggest challenges was the supply of around 2.5 million cubic meters of high quality concrete that had to be produced for the construction of the airport.
Due to the scale of this enterprise as well as its environment, the logistic solution of raw material supply has to be found.      

Method: The planning of the concrete supply chain for the airport construction site BER had to be carried out with two major goals: the stability of the supply chain to assure that the demands of the construction site are met and delays are prevented, as well as assurance of the high quality standards of the concrete production and to avoid an alkali silica reaction and the resulting unavoidable disaggregation of the concrete. External effects, such as the carbon dioxide emission and the effect of the supply chain on adjoining residents were key factors that had to be integrated in a holistic supply chain concept.  The principle underlying method is an analysis of limiting conditions for two approaches: a centralized supply chain with on-site concrete factory and upstream transport of raw materials versus a decentralized supply chain with off-site factories and downstream transport of ready-mixed concrete.

Results: The analysis of constraints and the effects on key requirements of the concrete supply chain for the BER airport construction site lead to the installation of the most modern concrete plant in Europe. The benefits of a centralized supply chain are significant. On one hand, the high quality standards can be met with the on-site mixture of the concrete and centralized quality assurance, on the other hand, the majority of the supply traffic for the construction site was moved from the road to train-bound logistics, meeting the emission requirements of the planning permission for the airport.

Conclusions: Every logistical supply chain has its own individual requirements and constraints. This approach shows how a centralized supply chain could be installed that meets all the individual constraints of this construction site. The key components of the concept are the on-site concrete plant, the delivery of raw materi al by train, a centralized quality assurance and a specific contract structure with the operator of the concrete plant.