Glossary · Existing plants and retrofit
Ordinance on Industrial Safety and Health (BetrSichV)
Also known as: BetrSichV, German Industrial Safety Ordinance
German: Betriebssicherheitsverordnung
The German Ordinance on Industrial Safety and Health (Betriebssicherheitsverordnung, BetrSichV) sets the employer's duties for providing and using work equipment, including machinery and installations requiring monitoring: risk assessment, protective measures, inspections and maintenance throughout the period of use.
- Compliance
- German source term
In one sentence
The BetrSichV sets German employers' duties for using work equipment: risk assessment, protective measures, inspections and keeping equipment safe.
Example
A plant operator in Germany buys a CE-marked press; the Machinery Regulation governed its design, while the BetrSichV governs how the operator assesses, inspects and uses it every day.
Explained in context
Context cards connect this term with others to answer one question. Also in British English and German.
- Betriebsanweisung: one German word, many operator documentsWhat is a Betriebsanweisung, and how does it differ from the manufacturer’s operating manual?UKDeutsch
- BetrSichV or GefStoffV: which ordinance carries the duty?Does the duty to keep the explosion protection document current come from the BetrSichV or the GefStoffV?UKDeutsch
- Grandfathering covers the design, never the fileDoes grandfathering protect an existing plant and its documentation?UKDeutsch
- Retrofit and substantial modification under the Machinery RegulationWhen does a retrofit make the operator the manufacturer of a machine?UKDeutsch
How it applies
- Operation: § 3 requires a risk assessment before work equipment is used and its regular review (§ 3(7)); § 4 sets the principles for protective measures; § 5 the requirements for the work equipment provided. Technical Rules for Operational Safety (TRBS) concretize the ordinance and carry a presumption effect under § 4(3); Recommendations (EmpfBS) do not.
- Existing plants: The ordinance knows no general grandfathering. How older equipment is kept safe by the current state of the art is explained in EmpfBS 1114 — see adaptation to the state of the art.
- Retrofit: Changes to work equipment are part of the operator's risk assessment. When a change is a substantial modification, product law applies on top: the person who makes it becomes the manufacturer of the modified machinery.
- Citations: The ordinance was recast in 2015. In the version of 2002 the design requirements for work equipment were in § 7; today they are in § 5.
BetrSichV vs. GefStoffV
The BetrSichV covers the use of work equipment. Hazards from hazardous substances, including explosive atmospheres, are assessed under the Ordinance on Hazardous Substances (GefStoffV), which also requires the explosion protection document. The two meet in practice — Ex equipment is work equipment, and its inspections follow the BetrSichV — but attributing a duty to the wrong ordinance is a common mistake in audits and discussions.
BetrSichV vs. the Machinery Regulation
The Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 addresses manufacturers placing machinery on the market; the BetrSichV addresses employers using it. Compliance with one does not discharge the other.