Lean organization for the PTB

Supported by the evaluation commission, welcomed by the Board of Consultants, approved by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Labour: by the turn of the year 2003/2004, the PTB's organizational structure will get a new face. The former departments and laboratories will be replaced by newly arranged departments. Within the departments, the divisions may establish working groups of different size and duration or assign scientific tasks of particularly high value to outstanding scientists who will act as "senior scientists". As the basic organization, the "Section" will remain responsible for infrastructural tasks.

The reform is aimed at achieving three essential objectives:

• We want to improve our control and information channels by reducing the hierarchy levels.
• We want to ensure our efficiency by an increase in organizational flexibility on the working level and a relief of the working groups from administrative supervision tasks.
• We want to improve the management capabilities of the superiors by concentrating the administrative supervision tasks on fewer superiors, by systematically preparing them for their management tasks and providing training measures for them.

In the former PTB structure with 34 departments and 100 laboratories and projects (each with approx. 12 members), the disciplinary responsibility was borne by approx. 170 heads. In the new structure with up to 55 departments (each with approx. 22 members), only 80 heads of organizational units will bear disciplinary responsibility.

The consequences of the legally prescribed reduction of staff have been taken into account in the layout of the new departments. Despite this reduction of staff, we have succeeded in realizing the new focal areas of work which have been recommended by the evaluators in such a way that they are reflected in the new organization plan.