German Ordinance on Industrial Safety and Health (Betriebssicherheitsverordnung)

The ordinance applies to the use of work equipment. That means tools, devices, machines and installations used at work, plus installations requiring monitoring. Use covers any activity with the equipment, from mounting and operating to maintaining, modifying and inspecting it (§ 2(2)).

The employer is responsible. Anyone who uses an installation requiring monitoring for commercial or business purposes is treated the same way, even without being an employer. Installations requiring monitoring are the elevators, the installations in explosive atmospheres and the pressure installations listed in Annex 2, plus installations that require a permit under § 18. Annex 3 adds inspection rules for further equipment such as cranes and liquefied gas installations.

A CE marking does not change this. Even for newly purchased equipment, the employer must complete a risk assessment before use (§ 3(1)). If you hire a service company for maintenance or inspection, the duty stays with the operator. Under § 10(2), you must choose suitable contractors with comparable qualifications. If you run an installation at a third party's site, settle in the contract who tracks the inspection intervals, because under § 2(3) the duties fall on whoever uses the installation.

Where the ordinance itself names no interval, the employer sets the type, scope and intervals of inspections in the risk assessment (§ 3(6)). The intervals must be chosen so that the equipment can be used safely until the next inspection. The basis is the information the employer must obtain under § 3(4), including operating instructions and findings from accidents. Only competent persons may carry out the assessment. If you lack the expertise in house, you must get expert advice (§ 3(3)).

The result goes into the documentation, which must exist before first use (§ 3(8)). It states the type and scope of inspections, the intervals of recurring inspections and the result of the check on protective measures. The assessment must be reviewed regularly and updated without delay when working conditions change, new findings from accidents arrive or protective measures prove ineffective (§ 3(7)). If no change is needed, note the review with its date in the documentation.

If an inspection shows that a piece of equipment cannot be operated safely until the next scheduled inspection, the interval must be reset (§ 14(2)). For installations requiring monitoring, the inspector determines whether the interval was set correctly. In a dispute, the authority decides (§ 16(2)). You may never exceed the maximum intervals in the annexes.

The ordinance knows two kinds of inspectors. Under § 2(6), a person qualified to inspect has the necessary knowledge through vocational training, professional experience and recent work in the field. The annexes add requirements for certain installations. For pressure installations, Annex 2 Section 4 No. 3 requires, for example, relevant technical training, knowledge of the rules, at least one year of experience and ongoing training. A qualified person can be part of your own company but must be free of technical instructions during the inspection. The employer may not disadvantage them because of their inspection work (§ 14(6)).

The second role is the approved inspection body, or ZÜS. It performs the inspections of installations requiring monitoring before commissioning, after changes that require inspection and at recurring intervals, unless Annex 2 expressly provides for a qualified person for that installation (§ 15(3), § 16(4)). Company inspection bodies may only be approved as a ZÜS for inspections in explosion protection and on pressure installations (Annex 2 Section 1 No. 2).

The employer sets the requirements the commissioned inspectors must meet (§ 3(6)). For external inspectors, ask for proof of qualifications and keep it in the installation file.

For equipment without a requirement, the intervals from your risk assessment apply. The annexes set fixed maximums. A ZÜS inspects elevators at least every two years, with an intermediate inspection halfway between (Annex 2 Section 2 No. 4.1 and 4.3). Installations in explosive atmospheres need an explosion safety inspection at least every six years, devices and protective systems at least every three years, and ventilation and gas detection systems every year (Section 3 No. 5). For pressure installations, the interval for the whole installation may not exceed ten years, and Table 1 applies to the components: steam boilers 1, 3 and 9 years for external inspection, internal inspection and strength test, pressure vessels 2, 5 and 10 years. Under Annex 3, a qualified person inspects cranes at least once a year, and some also need an expert inspection every four years of operation.

Due dates are counted by month and year. For the installations in Annex 2 Sections 2 to 4 and Annex 3, an inspection still counts as on time if it takes place within two months after the due date (§ 14(5)). If an inspection happens earlier, the new interval starts with that month. For intervals longer than two years, that applies only if the inspection is more than two months early. If an installation is shut down on its due date, it may only restart after the inspection.

For work equipment under § 14, the record must show at least the type of inspection, its scope, the result, and the name and signature of the qualified person. For documents sent only electronically, an electronic signature replaces the signature. Keep the record at least until the next inspection (§ 14(7)). If equipment is used at changing locations, proof of the last inspection must be available on site. For cranes, a different rule applies: records are kept for the entire service life (Annex 3 Section 1 No. 3.3).

The list is longer for installations requiring monitoring. The ZÜS certificate or the record must contain at least nine items, including the installation identification, inspection date, inspection basis, suitability and function of the technical measures, the result and the intervals for the next inspections (§ 17(1)). It stays at the operating site for the entire service life and must be shown to the authority on request. An elevator car must also carry a sticker showing the month, year and inspecting body (§ 17(2)).

Keep inspection reports in a separate file for each installation. Without a documented inspection, equipment subject to inspection may not be used under § 4(4). vi reads inspection reports and transfers date, inspector, result and next due date per installation.

After modifications that require inspection, a person qualified to inspect must check the equipment before its next use (§ 14(3)). For installations requiring monitoring, § 15 requires inspection before restart, usually by a ZÜS. A qualified person is enough if Annex 2 provides for it or if the change does not affect design and mode of operation.

Under § 2(9), any measure that affects the safety of the equipment requires inspection, and that includes repair work. The employer must therefore assess every modification and, at the same time, decide whether it takes on manufacturer duties under other law, for example the Product Safety Act (§ 10(5)). Ask that question before the modification, not after the invoice arrives.

An extraordinary inspection before further use is needed when an exceptional event may have impaired safety. The law names accidents, longer periods of non-use and natural events. For installations requiring monitoring, the authority can order such an inspection, especially after damage, and the operator must arrange it without delay (§ 19(5)). Accidents with deaths or serious injuries, and damage where components or safety devices failed, must be reported to the authority without delay (§ 19(1)). The authority may also shorten the intervals in the annexes in individual cases (§ 19(6)).

Equipment subject to inspection may only be used if the inspections have been carried out and documented (§ 4(4)). Anyone who fails to ensure this commits an administrative offense (§ 22). For installations requiring monitoring, the Act on Installations Requiring Monitoring adds to this. The operator must correct defects found in an inspection within a reasonable period, at the latest within one year (§ 7(3) ÜAnlG). If an installation has defects that endanger employees or others, it may not be operated (§ 8 ÜAnlG). If the ZÜS finds a dangerous defect, it notifies the authority without delay and tells the operator that the installation may only run again after a follow-up inspection (§ 10(1) ÜAnlG). For a safety-relevant defect, the ZÜS sets a deadline for the follow-up inspection and reports to the authority if it is not commissioned (§ 10(2) and (3) ÜAnlG).

Fines are graded. Violations of the risk assessment, inspection and documentation rules for general work equipment cost up to 5,000 euros under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (§ 25(2) ArbSchG). A missed inspection of an installation requiring monitoring, or operating despite the operating ban, can cost up to 100,000 euros (§ 32(2) ÜAnlG). Anyone who commits such a violation intentionally and thereby endangers life or health is liable to criminal prosecution (§ 23).