If you want to build bridges, you don't have to stand on the construction site. Max von Wedel builds bridges between industries, disciplines and technologies, and sometimes thinks outside the box. In the process, the 30-year-old trainee noticed exoskeletons - robotic suits that support the body's movements like an exoskeleton and, for example, prevent poor posture or make it easier to lift heavy loads. "Ideal for improving working conditions in strenuous and monotonous activities," he explains.
His idea of systematically testing these aids and using them on construction sites won him the HOCHTIEF Ideas Competition. Now it's time to put them into practice. This calls for perseverance on the part of everyone involved: "You need the motivation to want to help shape the company's success on your own initiative, and the willingness to fail with your idea. I have noticed that you can find practically unlimited support and recognition if you only want it. Entrepreneurship is valued, encouraged, but also demanded by HOCHTIEF."
You need the motivation to want to help shape the company's success on your own initiative.“
The inspiration for using the aids came from the automotive industry: "How can exoskeletons, which are already commonplace there, be established in the construction industry?" The potential, he said, is enormous - "exoskeletons can be used to facilitate manual, handicraft activities such as overhead work. This fits in with our high standards in the area of health and occupational safety, and also helps to make workplaces more attractive overall." He added that this is also becoming increasingly important in view of the shortage of skilled workers: "The construction industry is innovative and on its way to becoming a highly modern, digitized industry. I got to know and love it because of its many facets. From then on, it was my dream to work for HOCHTIEF. Today I am proud to be able to say 'we can build anything'. I want to share this experience and can only recommend trying out the construction industry as a potential employer."
Implementing something new is always a question of acceptance.“
Sentences that sound like they come from an old hand. Yet the trainee project manager is just starting his career and sees himself as a man of numbers: "I love making processes measurable.” He completed a commercial apprenticeship and studied business administration in parallel to his first years of practical experience. He is currently responsible for implementing a new payment system for our company in the Czech Republic and is proud to have been able to take on such a project as a trainee. In his spare time, he is in the final phase of his master's degree in "Sustainability, Economic and Management". But Max von Wedel is also a dog lover, a rider - he made it to the top ten in the German eventing championships - and a passionate horse breeder. He has learned a lot about coordination and body control from his four-legged friends; knowledge that he can now apply to his exoskeleton concept, as well as his experience: "Implementing something new is always a question of acceptance. That's why I'm very happy about the consistently positive response so far."
