The non-profit Operating Company Ltd must be extremely efficient and highly professional

The bridges are an urban neighbourhood in which 35,000 people live and/or work - that is already the size of a small town. To ensure that the bridges can be operated efficiently and smoothly, the staff of the Operating Company Ltd. must consist of above-average trained specialists who can manage external companies, freelancers and tenants and guarantee practical quality control. In addition, only a close organisational integration of Operating Company Ltd. and external personnel can ensure that the necessary flow of information for cooperation with science and research and the transfer of know-how to other cities or companies is guaranteed.

As the Operating Company Ltd. largely outsources operational activities, it manages with a staff of around 400 permanent employees

Efficiency is ensured in the organisation of Betreibergesellschaft gGmbH through small management spans and simultaneously hierarchy-free work processes, so that managers can also work directly with employees at lower levels on certain topics as required. Equally important is cross-divisional cooperation, for which there are defined processes and structures so that employees can work together across divisions even without the involvement of their managers (e.g. in a regular monthly meeting between employees from Stadtgrün and those from the waste disposal division, etc.).

The Operating Company Ltd. has around 18,500 flats and 3,500 commercial units to manage, plus 1 million metres of2 green space. If you compare this with ABG Holding, which manages around 55,000 residential and 2,000 commercial units as well as 2 million metres of2 open space with around 800 employees, the 400 employees estimated for the Frankfurter Brücken Operating Company Ltd. gGmbH are of a reasonable size.

The outsourcing philosophy of Betreibergesellschaft gGmbH stipulates that permanent employees of the Operating Company Ltd. not only have a quality control function for all outsourced work, but are also involved in operations

Whether it's the operation of the infinity pool or the maintenance of the bridge groves - it may have to be outsourced to a large extent, but in principle, an employee of the Operating Company Ltd. should work with every external company so that the non-profit principles that are pursued in life on and around the bridges can not only be adhered to, but also further developed and, above all, passed on to other cities and municipalities as tried and tested concepts.

This also means that the employees of the Operating Company Ltd. must all have above-average qualifications so that they can not only successfully outsource work and control quality, but also so that they can influence the performance of the contractors on site. Furthermore, this is the only way to ensure an optimal flow of information between the Operating Company Ltd. and the companies providing or leasing the services - or freelancers.

If green roofs or roofs fitted with solar PVT are repaired, a roofer from the Operating Company Ltd. is also involved. If canopy pruning is carried out on the treetop paths along the bridge, this is done by an external company, but a construction foreman from the Operating Company Ltd. is also involved. Perhaps not for every roof and every tree - but often enough that the external companies always have a "colleague" contact person at the Operating Company Ltd.. In this way, the Operating Company Ltd.'s staff can be small without compromising the quality of the bridge operation.

The largest blocks of work that are outsourced to external companies are

Garden and tree care
Cleaning public spaces on the bridges (paths, street rubbish bins, toilets, lifts, etc.)
Repairs to buildings and bridges

The areas with the largest pools of freelancers are

Operator kiosks
Travelling companion in the autonomous public bridge passenger transport system

Operators are mainly awarded swimming pools, theatre stages, cinemas etc. on the bridges.

An advisory board, half of which is made up of heads of office and the other half of citizens, ensures permanent citizen participation and consideration of the city's needs in the operation of Frankfurt's bridges

The citizens for the advisory board are selected in a similar way to American juries, i.e. randomly and only with the criterion that they must have had their first place of residence in Frankfurt for at least 5 years. In contrast to being appointed to a jury, however, acceptance of the honorary post is voluntary, with the choice of being appointed for 3, 6 or 12 months.

The advisory board meets once a month, receives the management's report and primarily has an advisory function. This is intended to ensure permanent public participation in the operation, further development and improvement of Frankfurt's bridges.

The Operating Company Ltd. has around 400 permanent employees and outsources labour-intensive tasks to external companies and freelancers

Efficiency is ensured in the organisation of the Operating Company Ltd. through flat hierarchies and cross-divisional cooperation.

The company manages 18,500 flats, 3,500 commercial units and 1 million square metres of green space. Despite outsourcing, internal employees are involved in operational activities to ensure quality and a non-profit orientation in the execution of tasks.

In addition, the operational involvement of the employees of the Operating Company Ltd. in all activities relating to the operation of the bridge guarantees that non-profit and innovative concepts are not only further developed on site, but that all experience and findings are also incorporated into research collaborations with scientific institutes, industries or other cities and municipalities.

The orientation towards the needs of the city of Frankfurt is ensured by an advisory board made up of citizens and office managers.