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Setting the Pace at the Construction Site

Builders increasingly rely on modular buildings because they can create new rooms quickly and easily. And Pitthan Elektrotechnik is turbocharging the construction process: By using WINSTA® from WAGO, they can prepare the electrical installations so they are ready to install.

Modern building solutions are modular and consist of individual room units that are assembled into smart structures on site in a short amount of time – either temporary or permanent structures. “Traditional solid timber construction designed for permanent use is becoming less desirable for building owners and investors,” reports Bundesverband Bausysteme e.V., the German federal construction association. Flexible properties represent the next major trend, as well as proof that digital living and work environments have gained a foothold in the construction industry.

While the concept of container architecture may not seem very appealing at first glance, in reality, the buildings present very attractive architectural lines. “With most of these buildings, you simply can’t tell they are constructed from containers,” says Christoph Schlate, CEO of Pitthan GmbH.

Modern Building Solutions – Here’s How WAGO Supports You:

  • WINSTA® allows pluggable electrical installation in buildings.

  • Ready-made components make on-site insulation faster

  • Color coding reduces the risk of wiring errors.

Modular Construction Saves Time

The advantages of standardized room modules, which are later combined to form buildings in an orthogonal grid, appear primarily in the enormous time savings during construction. According to Schlate’s experience, a mere six months is the average time from the start of construction to the handing over of the keys. This speed allows construction managers to react more quickly to changing requirements on the space. In addition, this shortens the pre-financing periods, because the building can be used earlier in terms of refinancing.

We used to have more time, so NYM cables were laid everywhere.

Hans Gerhardus, Project Manager at Pitthan GmbH

Time also plays crucial role in this specific segment of the construction industry, which also places correspondingly high demands on project managers. Therefore, experts in wiring installation, automation and building engineering at Pitthan, located in Kirchen-Wehbach in Rhineland-Palatinate, invest a lot of energy into preparation, so they can work more quickly on installation at the building site. “We used to have more time, so NYM cables were laid everywhere. There were also more master electricians on the construction site then,” explains Hans Gerhardus, the project manager. He has worked at Pitthan for more than 30 years and has experienced the trend towards modular construction up close. “We simply no longer have the people for conventional wiring.”

Well Prepared with WINSTA®

By using WINSTA® from WAGO, the 100 employees in planning and manufacturing at Pitthan Elektrotechnik have the chance to prepare the wiring installations in a ready-to-mount state prior to delivery at the construction site. All that remains is to plug everything in on site – as in the Luxembourg project. The European Commission’s office building, completed in 2016, was the first project where Pitthan used the WINSTA® Pluggable Connection System. The building consists of 447 container modules over three floors and currently provides a useable space of 10,500 square meters.

During the design phase, Pitthan worked together with WAGO to determine the necessary types of cables, cable runs, distributor box variants and color coding. “The base quantities could be easily standardized with WINSTA®,” says Gerhardus. When rooms follow grids with a fixed definition – an essential characteristic of container architecture – then the pre-assembled installations can be easily duplicated. In addition, this design reduces the risk of mismating, which can lead to problems on projects with short time frames – especially when tight construction schedules involve the threat of contractual penalties. “One time, we had five clamping faults. But that was before the WINSTA® system,” says Gerhardus.

This “almost zero defect precision” in Luxembourg is also due to the fact that the electricians only had to connect one feed point per office block by hand. After that, WINSTA® took over, and everything was pluggable – from the lights to the power outlets. “Our goal is very clear: to prepare the wiring in advance to the point where the work on site mostly just amounted to plugging everything in,” emphasizes Schlate. Hager provided the cable ducts for the project, which were cut to the axial dimensions of the container and pre-assembled with the WINSTA® system.

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Electrical installations can be easily pre-assembled using the WINSTA® Pluggable Connection System from WAGO.

Our goal is very clear: to prepare the wiring in advance to the point where the work on site mostly just amounts to plugging everything in.

Christoph Schlate, Managing Director of Pitthan GmbH

The Trades Edge Closer Together

WINSTA® also opens up new possibilities for other skilled trades, in addition to electricians. In collaboration with the electricians, interior fitters can install ceiling elements, with the pre-cabled recessed lighting, thus becoming valuable system partners in the construction chain. Since no one trade has to wait for another, this saves time all around. Electricians aren’t needed until the WINSTA® T-Distribution Connector next to a light needs to be connected to the main electrical line. Schlate: “This is a completely new way of thinking.”

He and Pitthan co-founder Michael Pitthan are constantly searching for new system partners for precisely this reason. “It is becoming more and more important to think modularly.” Pitthan Elektrotechnik keeps in regular contact with its suppliers. Schlate is convinced that it is important for manufacturers to provide suitable plug-in connections. Factory-installed solutions are in demand, particularly in project work. With connection technology suited for WINSTA®, this extends to the lights.

If you can create options to save time during lighting wiring, you can provide technology with a real added value.

Christoph Schlate, Managing Director of Pitthan GmbH

“We want to bring the manufacturers on board,” says Gerhardus. The current prevailing practice is for companies like Pitthan to expend a lot of effort on intricate adjustments to standard components in order to connect the lighting connectors to the plug-in system. “A pluggable light doesn’t initially pay off by itself. However, plug-in capability matters during installation, because we can work many times faster,” emphasizes Schlate. Solutions that already function well in floor boxes and sockets in cable ducts need to be incorporated into lighting as well. “If you can create options to save time during lighting wiring, you can provide technology with a real added value.” These types of solutions provide attractive choices in project work for companies like Pitthan Elektrotechnik.

Text: Jörg Gruner | WAGO

Photo: Thorsten Sienk

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