Inspection at set intervals during operation. Type, scope and interval follow from the risk assessment and, for certain assets, from maximum intervals set in law.
A periodic inspection takes place at set intervals during operation. Under § 14(2) BetrSichV, the employer must have work equipment that is exposed to damaging influences inspected periodically by a person competent to carry out inspections, at the intervals set in the risk assessment. For installations subject to monitoring, § 16 applies with the requirements in Annex 2. Elevators have a main inspection by an approved inspection body at an interval of no more than two years, and an intermediate inspection halfway in between. Other rules add inspection duties, for example accident prevention rules such as DGUV Regulation 3 for electrical installations and equipment and DGUV Regulation 68 for industrial trucks.
For calculating intervals, § 14(5) has fixed rules, which apply to work equipment under Annex 2 Sections 2 to 4 and Annex 3. The due date is stated by month and year. The next interval starts at the due date of the last inspection. If the inspection is done earlier, it starts with the month and year of the actual inspection. For intervals longer than two years, that applies only if the inspection is done more than two months before the due date. An inspection counts as on time if it is done no later than two months after the due date. If the installation was out of service on the due date, it may go back into operation only after the inspection.
There are also event-driven inspections: after modifications that require an inspection, and after extraordinary events such as accidents, long periods of non-use or natural events (§ 14(3)). If an inspection shows that equipment cannot be operated safely until the next inspection, the interval has to be redetermined (§ 14(2)). For cost, scheduling is the biggest lever. Bundling appointments saves travel and downtime, but you may not exceed the intervals of the individual assets. The result of each inspection has to be recorded (§ 14(7)).
What matters
- Keep a list per asset with the type of inspection, interval, inspecting body and due month.
- Observe the maximum intervals in Annex 2 and the intervals from the risk assessment.
- Schedule appointments so the deadline holds even if one slips, and do not rely on the two-month tolerance.
- After an accident, conversion or long shutdown, check whether an extraordinary inspection is due.
Suppose a plant shuts down a production line for an extended period and an inspection falls due during that time. The operator notes that the line may not start up again until the inspection has been done, and schedules it before the restart. At the same time, he checks whether the shutdown was long enough to also trigger an extraordinary inspection.
In the original wording
“The employer must have work equipment that is exposed to damaging influences that can endanger employees inspected periodically by a person competent to carry out inspections.”
Unofficial translation
“A periodic inspection is deemed to have been carried out on time if it was carried out no later than two months after the due date.”
Unofficial translation
Related regulations
In vi
- Inspection reports & defects: Every defect becomes a ticket with a deadline
- Deadlines & calendar: Every inspection, every maintenance, every cancellation has a date