Improve work safety responsibility
system- the role of governement at
different levels.
Presentation of the Situation in
Germany.
Peter Roedel
WORKSHOP ON WORK SAFETY RESPONSIBILITY SYSTEMS
WITHIN OSH INSPECTION SYSTEMS
15 – 16 APRIL, 2014, BEIJING
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OSH-Authorities at different
levels – German Situation
Contents of my presentation
1. Legal frames and States Authorities
working on OSH
2. State Authorities and Institutions working
on OSH - in detail
3. Private Authorities working on OSH
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1. Legal Frames
German Constitutional Law is the foundation of all other
German laws and rules concerning OSH.
Article 2 is quoted as saying:....Everybody has the right
to life and physical integrity.
To realise this article in daily life and to make it precise, we
have the “Work protection Law”.
It defines
• the obligations of the employer,
• the rights and the obligations of the workers,
• the tasks and competences of the counties, and
• the cooperation between States Authorities and the
Accident Insurance Associations (AIAs).
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1. Legal Frames
1.1 State's OSH-System
← EU Guidelines + Directives
1.1.1 The German Republic‘s national law-giving activities
and its 16 provinces with laws, regulations, authorisation of
accident prevention-regulations.
1.1.2 Controlling the respect of laws and regulations by State
authorities for work safety
1.2 Non-State's OSH-System
1.2.1 Autonomous law system on work safety from Accident
Insurance Associations
1.2.2 Law setting and decision of work safety regulations from
the Accident Insurance Institutions.
1.2.3 Controlling the respect of laws and regulations by
technical supervisors of the Accident Insurance Institutions.
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1. Legal Frames
1.3 State's Authorities working on OSH
- in general1.3.1
Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs
 Legal framework (Arbeitsschutzgesetz, Gefahrsstoffverordnung,
Biostoffverordnung)
 11 fundamental laws and regulations
1.3.2
OSH-Ministries of 16 Counties.
 Responsible for respect of OSH-laws and regulations. Thus need
for local administrations, District Council, so-called
“Regierungspräsident” and States Authority for OSH, so called
“StAfA”
1.3.3
Local adminsitrations “District Council”
 General and special OSH-regulations in operating- permits,
“States Authority for OSH”
 control the respect of laws, regulations and operating
prescriptions,
 policepower.
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2. State's Authorities working OSH
- in detail2.1. Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (FMoLaSA)
•
•
Target: Ensuring and improving OSH
Functional assistance concerning technical and social work
safety and occupational medecine from additional institutes
e.g. Federal Institute for OSH (BAuA).
OSH is organised in the FMoLaSA as follows:
FMoLaSA Dept.III → Labour Law, Work Safety
Division IIIb
work safety
Division IIIb1 work protection law, occupational medicine, prevention
Division IIIb2 principal questions of work safety, supervision of
Federal Institute for OSH
Divison IIIb3 hazardous substances, safety with chemicals, bio- and
genetic technology
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2. State's Authorities working on OSH
- in detail 2.1. Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs
(FMoLaSA)
Division IIIb3 Plant- and process-safety
Division IIIb4 Working environments, physical
impacts, Coordination of OSHcommissions
Division IIIb5 Product safety
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2. State‘s Authorities working on OSH
– in detail2.2 District Council (Bez.-Regierung)
Organisation of OSH:
Department 54: Technical work safety
Department 56: Work safety in the plants
District Council‘s OSH-tasks and activities concerning Work safety and
and labour protection:
• Work safety on building sites and during forest operations
• Hazardous materials
• Arrangement of working environments/minimum requirements
concerning illumination, ventilation, temperature, transport routes
including escape- and emergency-ways
• Protection of labour time
• Work safety on building sites including announcement to the District
Council, coordination of activities during planning and realisation,
planning OSH measures
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2. State‘s Authorities working on OSH
– in detail2.2 District Council (Bez.-Regierung)
District Council‘s scope of OSH-work:
→ Assistance with OSH-questions e.g.:
Risk assessment, safety-instructions, delegation of responsibilities
of competent officers, appointment of plant safety-inspectors and
plant physician,installation of work safety commission.
→ Plant safety assistance with regard to working materials.
The employer has to procure all working materials – from ball pen
to rotary kiln. Working materials must be safe. Therefore risk
analyses have to be performed and the scale and frequency of
examinations should be defined.
→ Anonymous examination and evaluation of accidents in order to
prevent such accidents in the future - communication of results.
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2. State‘s Authorities dealing with
OSH
2.2 District Council (Bez.-Regierung)
•
•
•
•
Youth work safety
Maternity protection
Safety of transport on the roads
Authorisations for building, modification and
operation of “dangerous” plants e.g. fuel
stations, steam-boilers, elevators, pressure
vessels, components of cement- and lime
plants....
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2. State‘s Authorities working on OSH
– in detail 2.3 State Authority for work safety (StAfA)
The organisation of the State Authority for works safety has been
changed over the years in the 16 counties of the Federal Republic of
Germany, resulting in different ways and forms of organsation.
What is to be noticed ?
• The “StAfA” is independent from the organisations in the different
counties, it is the county's organisation for controlling and
consulting in terms of OSH.
• They have to control the respectation of the state‘s OSH-laws and
regulations and have sovereign functions.
• They are consulted in all aspects of OSH by employers and
employees.
• They assure the quality of safety-management-systems by
coordinating all OSH activities in a county.
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3. Private Institutions working on
OSH
3.1 Accident Insurance Associations (AIAs)
History and some characteristics

Prescribed by law since 1881 but private character
•
•
•
•
•
Financed completely by the employers
Administrated 50:50 by employers and workers
OSH-rules and -directives from AIAs to be approved by state‘s
authority before coming into effect
Working on OSH and occupational disease-prevention
Obliged to pay for:
healing process after accident at work, if necessary
disability-pension, and in worst case a
widows pension.
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3. Private Institutions working on
OSH
3.1 Accident Insurance Associations (AIAs)
History and some characteristics
In contrast to any other insurance there is no need for a court decision
before the insurance pays compensation. Memo: In some European
countries the wife of a violated worker has to bring the employer to
trial and to win the case before receiving compensation for violations or
a handicap and for the loss of family-income after an accident at work.
This regulation also applies in cases of occupational ailments (e.g. loss of
arm, leg, inability to work....) and the death of a worker.
However, in each significant case, the Accident Insurance Associations
(AIAs) will check in detail that all regulation laws and accident-preventionrules have been respected to prevent the accident. Unless they subrogate
against the employee and/or his representative/s.
AIAs consequently advocate a high standard of OSH training for workers
and employees.
•
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3. Private Institutions working on
OSH
3.1 Accident Insurance Associations (AIAs)
Examples for training
This training includes e.g. (on different levels)
•
General and special risks (Napos Welt, En) Lists and texts of many
kinds of rules and regulations
•
Safety first (En.)
•
Good practice in non-coal mining industries and production of
building material
•
Risk analysis in general
•
Risk analysis in the natural stone industry
•
Information on special risks e.g. operation of conveyor belts
•
Organisation/realisation of Safety Management System
•
Special health issues e.g. “Health for workers” or “Health for your
back”
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3. Private Institutions working on
OSH
3.1 Accident Insurance Associations (AIAs)
Competences
•
•
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Free, unrestricted access to any plant without announcement
Obliged to invite a member of the works council for the plant‘s visit
and to write minutes of the plant's visit, for the AIAs, the employer
and the workers council
Obliged to advise the employer and the staff in case of difficult
questions, e.g. risk assessment
Authorized to fine, by means of surcharge, employers as well as
workers in case of important violation of safety rules and
regulations. (Does not happen often)
Receive accident reports (obligation after 3 days of absence) and
controll its plausibility, if necessary, in the plant and together with
works council
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3. Private Institutions working on
OSH
3.1 Accident Insurance Associations (AIAs)
Competences
•
Carry out investigations of serious accidents. Thus the supervisor
can also work for the State Attorney to determine the source of the
accident. Important questions:
•
Was the worker adequately trained and suited to the work?
Did he behave according to the rules and regulations? Did he
use the correct personal protective equipment (ppe)? Was he
provided with the correct information from his foreman to do
a safe job? Has the employer fullfilled all his obligations to
assure safety at work? Such as:
•
Training the workers,
•
Maintenance of machinery and condition check
•
Risk analysis
•
Organisation of liabilities.
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3. Private Institutions working on
OSH
3.1 Accident Insurance Associations (AIAs)
Competences
•
It is the employer‘s obligation to guarantee safety at
work and the employees are obliged to follow the
instructions concerning safety at work.
Important issue: The supervisor has No liability for
accidents where rules and regulations have not been
respected!
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3. Private Institutions working on
OSH
3.1 Accident Insurance Associations (AIAs)
Obligations of the employer
It is the general obligation of the employer to raise awareness of
OSH to the workers. The necessary information must be
available in the plant. That is why the employer has to appoint a
safety officer and an occupational physician as assistants.
Depending on the number of workers in his plant the employer
has to prove the attendence of these specialistes, e.g. Plant with
100 workers,
• high risk → 250 hours/year
• medium risk → 150 hours/year
• low risk → 50 hours/year.
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3. Private Institutions working on
OSH
3.1 Accident Insurance Associations (AIAs)
Obligations of the employer
Other general obligations of the employer:
• Definition of responsilities, accident prevention, risk analysis
incl. its documentation, consultation of management and
workers, management and workers contact and information,
contact and information of authorities, realisation of
protection measures according to risk-analyses, support
services in special cases.
For smaller plants/companies, the employer training is
performed by the AIAs.
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3. Private Institutions working on
OSH
3.1 Accident Insurance Associations (AIAs)
Blasting
Because of the high risks involved when handling and firing
explosives, very intensive and effective training for the
concerned workers is inevitable. For this reason:
• the State‘s Authority controls your reliability, and
• the AIA for building material production will instruct you
and issue your permit. After a couple of years your
knowledge will be verified
• In the event of failing the re-examination you will no
longer be permitted to handle explosives, blasting fuses
or detonators.
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THANK YOU FOR YOUR
ATTENTION!
谢谢您的关注!
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