Munich, October 1, 2026. Extensive construction work prepared BMW's main plant in Munich for the production ofthe electric vehicles of the future. This process was supported by the consulting company Drees & Sommer SE, which specializes in construction, real estate, and infrastructure. Together with the BMW Group and PORR AG, the company’s interdisciplinary project management, construction management, and BIM management team adopted a cooperative and clearly structured approach to coordinating the project.
"Industrial projects like this require precise coordination between all parties involved under intense pressure," says Simon Rogalski, Associate Partner at Drees & Sommer. Due to the tight schedule, every week counted: "We started the demolition work in April 2023. Less than three and a half years later, the first vehicles are rolling off the production line," says the expert.
Partnering as a success factor
Early, structured, and closely coordinated collaboration among all stakeholders laid the foundation for the project’s success and on-schedule completion. Shortly after the start of the project, a 'Partnering General Contractor' was sought and commissioned. The BMW Group, the Austrian construction company PORR AG, and Drees & Sommer SE collaborated from the outset with clear roles, coordinated processes, and a shared understanding of the project goals. Maximilian Lammel, Senior Team Leader at Drees & Sommer, sums up the approach: "Those who take responsibility communicate differently." Close coordination reduced overlaps, facilitated decision-making, and ensured transparency throughout the project.
For Maximilian Lammel, the fact that a transformation of this magnitude could be implemented on schedule while the plant remained operational reflects the cooperative and professional project work: “The close cooperation between the parties involved created a transparent and solution-oriented working environment that promoted mutual understanding and a shared focus on project success.”
Achieving the goal efficiently through lean principles
The cooperation was underpinned by the principles of lean management – a method originating in the automotive industry. In vehicle production, every move meshes precisely with the next, while the configuration and timing of each vehicle leaving the assembly line are specified down to the second. If the carefully timed process comes to a standstill, those responsible intervene immediately, look for the cause, and fix it.
The situation is different on ordinary construction sites – here, errors are often only noticed late and, in the worst case, can bring the entire operation to a standstill. "With the Lean Construction Management method we have developed, we are transferring the principle from the automotive industry to the construction site," says Maximilian Lammel.
Precisely because Drees & Sommer oversaw the construction work on the existing building, it was imperative that planning and execution processes were set up as efficiently and in as much detail as possible. This included defining exactly which employees, machines, and materials were required at each location and at what time. Every single step was coordinated in such a way that ongoing production could continue uninterrupted, trades did not interfere with each other, and there were no idle times.
The construction starts in the model
But such a tight time frame cannot be maintained by smooth execution of the construction work alone; at least as important is the digital model behind it. "We don't want any unpleasant surprises on the construction site, which is why we plan virtually in advance," says Simon Rogalski.
In practical terms, this means creating a digital twin of each building before ground is broken, bringing all relevant data together in one central location. "In this model, our planners record, for example, the geometry of the new halls, which materials are used, what they cost, and their sound insulation and fire protection properties," explains Rogalski.
Although this level of detailed analysis initially requires more preparatory work, it pays off throughout the entire project. Since all those involved in planning and construction have access to the same digital foundation, the individual pieces of information are available directly. If individual designs come into conflict, this is reflected directly in the digital model, instead of only on the construction site, where such collisions would cause expensive delays.