Solitary work is the exercise of an activity by a single unsupervised person.
Protection when performing an unsupervised activity by a single person is influenced and controlled by a number of laws and rules in Germany.

We will refer to the most important of the laws and rules here.

Lone workers law

The Occupational Health and Safety Act is a law on the implementation of occupational safety and health measures to improve the safety and health protection of german employees at work (Arbeitsschutzgesetz - ArbSchG).

The labor protection law...

  • serves to ensure and improve the safety and health protection of employees at work through occupational safety measures.
  • obliges the employer to determine which occupational health and safety measures are necessary by assessing the risk to employees of their work.
  • expects the employer to take the measures necessary for first aid, fire fighting and evacuation of the employees in accordance with the type of workplace and the activities as well as the number of employees. He must take the presence of other people into account.
  • He is also responsible for ensuring that, in an emergency, the necessary connections to external agencies, in particular in the areas of first aid, emergency medical care, rescue and fire fighting, are established. However, it also stipulates that the employees, together with the company doctor and the occupational safety specialist, support the employer in ensuring the safety and health protection of the employees at work and in fulfilling their obligations in accordance with official requirements.

These are just a few selected items from the german ArbSchG.
(Sourcee: ArbSchG)

 

Workplaces regulation

The Workplace Ordinance (ArbStättV) serves to ensure the safety and health of employees when setting up and operating workplaces.

 

For example, this regulation describes ...

  • in "§ 3 Risk Assessment"
    • which the employer must determine whether the employees are or may be exposed to hazards when setting up and operating workplaces.
    • that the employer must ensure that the risk assessment is carried out professionally, and ...
      • the risk assessment must be documented before starting the work.
  • in "§ 4 Special requirements for the operation of workplaces"
    • The employer must maintain the safety devices ... and have them checked for their functionality at regular intervals.

(Source: ArbStättV)

Industrial safety regulation

The Industrial Safety Ordinance (BetrSichV) is an ordinance on safety and health protection when using work equipment.

This regulation also shows ...

  • in "§ 3 Risk Assessment"
    • immediately in its paragraph (1) that "the employer must assess the hazards arising before using work equipment (risk assessment) and derive necessary and suitable protective measures from it. The presence of a CE marking on the work equipment releases not from the obligation to carry out a risk assessment ... "
    • Furthermore, paragraph (8) of the same paragraph stipulates that" The employer must document the result of his risk assessment before using the work equipment for the first time. ... "
  • in" § 4 basic obligations of the employer "
    • in paragraph (2) that the" risk assessment shows that hazards due to technical protective measures according to the state of the art can not or only insufficiently be avoided, the employer must take appropriate organizational and personal protective measures. Technical protective measures Vorr nec before organizational, these in turn take precedence over personal protective measures.
      • This is the first time that technical protective measures have been mentioned. Protective measures of first choice in this case are Lone-Worker-Systems (LWS), as we would be happy to offer you here.
    • If it emerges from the risk assessment that hazards cannot be avoided or can only be avoided to a sufficient degree by technical protective measures according to the state of the art, the employer must take suitable organizational and personal protective measures. Technical protective measures have priority over organizational protective measures, which in turn have priority over personal protective measures.

(Source: BetrSichV)