Industrial and logistics construction in Germany: owner's representation, project management and site supervision
For companies that have to build in Germany without an in-house construction department. Our civil engineers represent you towards designers, general contractor and authorities, control schedule, cost and change orders and check execution until the building goes into operation.
Schneider Theißing supports industrial and commercial construction on the owner side: production and manufacturing buildings, steel and precast halls, logistics and warehouse buildings, workshops and business parks, and lab and pharma buildings in the construction and coordination role. We provide owner's representation, project management under AHO Heft Nr. 9, general contractor procurement, site supervision, acceptance and progress reports in Frankfurt Rhine-Main, on the Bergstraße and in Rhine-Neckar, including expansions during operation. GMP qualification and cleanroom classification remain with the specialists responsible for them.
Why industrial construction is more than a large hall
In industrial construction the production process defines the building, whether a manufacturing hall, workshop, assembly hall or plant extension: machine foundations, crane runways, media supply, ventilation, exhaust air and fire safety depend on the process. The contractor does not know the process, the equipment supplier does not know the building. In between stands the owner who has to bring both together, often during running production and with limited own capacity.
We take on this role for the company: we clarify requirements with production and management, check specifications and bids against the process requirements, supervise execution, coordinate the interface with the equipment suppliers and control schedule, cost and change orders up to acceptance.
Our civil engineers have supported hall construction, building construction, new build and refurbishment as well as logistics and data center projects. For data center campuses and hyperscale programmes see data center construction management.
Discuss an industrial project
Owners in industrial and commercial construction
Companies without a construction department
Management decides, we prepare: requirements programme, procurement model, bid comparison, decision papers and a monthly report on cost, schedule and risks. The project runs without being managed on the side from production.
International manufacturers
A new plant or extension in Germany, managed from headquarters abroad. We are the owner’s engineering presence on site, work in German with contractors and authorities and report in English.
Developers and investors
Logistics and commercial buildings are built to a fixed lease start. We supervise quality and schedule from the owner’s perspective, separate acceptance from tenant handover and review assets before acquisition or forward deal.
Lenders
For financing by construction progress we deliver progress reports with site inspection, completion per trade, reconciliation with the drawdown and the risks that drive the further course. See lender monitoring.
Which industrial and commercial buildings we support
Machine foundations, crane runways, media routes, clear heights, delivery and expansion reserves. Requirements come from the process and are translated into loads, tolerances and interfaces before the award.
Structure, erection sequence, connections, tolerances, corrosion protection, roof and wall cladding, for owners who order a hall on a turnkey basis.
Floor slab and flatness for racking, doors and docks, sprinklers, roof, external areas and the schedule up to lease start.
Construction and coordination role: shell, fit-out, surfaces, tightness and interfaces with ventilation and process engineering. We keep the documentation so that the specialists can use it for qualification.
Several users on one site: divisibility, fire compartments, tenant fit-out, access, parking and the line between base build and user requests.
Extension, additional storey or conversion while production continues: phasing plan with production and logistics, protection against dust, noise and vibration, traffic routing and releases per section.
An industrial project from the owner’s perspective
Each phase contains a decision that is hard to change later. We prepare it and record who delivers what by when.
Requirements and site
Requirements programme from the process: areas, loads, media, clear height, crane, delivery, expansion reserve. With the designers we clarify the zoning plan and the permit route. If the installation is listed in Annex 1 of the 4th BImSchV, it needs a permit under the Federal Immission Control Act, which includes the building permit (section 13 BImSchG). That defines documents and schedule.
Design and permit
Fire safety concept under the industrial building guideline, requirements from the Workplace Ordinance (ArbStättV) and the technical rules for workplaces, energy concept, cost framework under DIN 276 and master schedule.
Procurement
Choice between general contractor (Generalunternehmer), turnkey contractor without own construction works (Generalübernehmer) and separate trade packages. Check the specification, make bids comparable, fix contract schedule, penalties and acceptance criteria such as floor flatness or roof tightness.
Execution
Site supervision with hold points: foundations, floor slab before concreting, structure before the roof, roof waterproofing before closing up. Change orders, cost and schedule monthly, interface list with the equipment suppliers.
Acceptance and start-up
Pre-inspection, formal acceptance, evidence for safety installations such as fire alarm, smoke extraction and sprinklers where state law requires inspections. Handover to operation and maintenance with complete documentation.
Warranty
Defect follow-up, list of deadlines and inspection before warranty periods expire, so that claims do not lapse.
Interfaces where industrial projects lose money
| Interface | Typical risk | What we fix |
|---|---|---|
| Building and equipment | Foundations, openings, loads or connections do not match the machine delivered | Interface list with responsible party and date; supplier releases the foundation drawings before concreting |
| Floor slab and racking or vehicles | Flatness, joints or load capacity are not sufficient for racking and forklift operation | Load assumptions, flatness requirement and joint layout before award; measurement before acceptance |
| Structure and roof | No load reserve for photovoltaics, ventilation units or a later crane runway | Load reserves in the requirements programme and in the structural design |
| Fire safety and services | Fire stopping, smoke extraction or sprinklers are not executed as the concept requires | Check against the approved fire safety concept; hold points before closing up |
| Construction and running operation | Dust, vibration, closed traffic routes, risks for employees | Phasing plan, coordination of employers under section 8 ArbSchG, coordination under the Construction Site Ordinance |
| General contractor and user | Tenant or user requests become change orders during execution | Clear separation between base build and user fit-out in building description and schedule |
Rules that shape industrial buildings in Germany
We are not legal advisers and do not prepare fire safety concepts. We make sure these requirements are on the table early in the project and implemented on site.
- Industrial building guideline (Industriebaurichtlinie): in Hesse the model guideline in the version of May 2019 applies as Annex HE 13 of the Hessian administrative regulation on technical building rules; in Baden-Württemberg the Industriebau-Richtlinie in the version of November 2025. It governs fire compartments, escape routes, smoke extraction and firefighting water.
- Immission control: for installations under Annex 1 of the 4th BImSchV the authority decides within seven months in the formal procedure and within three months in the simplified procedure, counted from complete documents (section 10 (6a) BImSchG).
- Workplaces: daylight and visual contact to the outside (Annex no. 3.4 ArbStättV), room temperature under ASR A3.5, traffic routes and loading ramps under Annex no. 1.8 and 1.10 ArbStättV.
- State building codes: each federal state has its own building code (in Hesse the Hessische Bauordnung), which governs permits, special buildings and the inspection of safety installations.
Primary sources: BImSchG, 4th BImSchV, ArbSchG and ArbStättV on gesetze-im-internet.de; technical building rules of the federal states. German guides: Industriebaurichtlinie, Halle bauen, Industrieboden abnehmen.
Pharma and lab buildings: our role on the construction side
Production conversions, brownfield extensions, equipment conversions, lab buildings, cleanroom areas and plant infrastructure share one feature: the construction site is not the owner’s main business, and operations continue. We provide site supervision, quality assurance and owner’s representation on the construction side and coordinate the interfaces with equipment, process design and qualification.
In a previous role, the managing directors supported the construction of a production plant for a pharmaceutical manufacturer on the Bergstraße in site supervision and quality assurance; the case study on our case studies page (German) is marked accordingly. We do not act as GMP or validation specialists. Qualification (DQ, IQ, OQ) and cleanroom classification remain with the specialists responsible. Our contribution is building quality, schedule and cost control and the documentation these specialists need. For English-speaking project teams see also QA/QC management.
Frequently asked questions
Build your industrial project with your own control function
Tell us the project stage, the contract model and the scope you need. You receive an engineering view and a written proposal.