© JL Photographie auf PexelsRevision of the Betriebssicherheitsverordnung and the New Überwachungsbedürftigen-Anlagenverordnung under test
The planned renaming of the Industrial Safety Regulation to the “Work Equipment Use Regulation” as well as the introduction of the new Ordinance on Installations Requiring Monitoring (ÜAnlV) are intended to provide greater clarity—but could have exactly the opposite effect due to some contradictory terms and new regulations. It is important to avoid complications.
The Federal Ministry of Labor (BMAS) intends to align the Occupational Safety Regulation (BetrSichV) with the relevant EU directives and rename it the “Regulation on the Use of Work Equipment” (AMBV). As part of the amendment, changes to terminology are also planned—for example, “use” instead of “application.” However, these linguistic adjustments could cause unnecessary confusion in workplace practice.
Despite earlier assurances, the current draft provides for new bureaucratic regulations regarding documentation requirements, which the BDI firmly rejects. From the perspective of plant operators, however, it is a positive development that the previous licensing requirements under Section 18 of the Occupational Safety Regulation (BetrSichV) for certain plants are to be eliminated and replaced in the future by an inspection prior to commissioning.
To ensure that the regulation remains understandable and applicable in practical operations, numerous revisions are still needed in further deliberations—particularly to avoid additional requirements and further competitive disadvantages.
New Regulations for Installations Requiring Monitoring Raise Questions
The existing regulations will be transferred in the future to the new Regulation on Equipment Requiring Monitoring (ÜAnlV), which is part of the Act on Equipment Requiring Monitoring (ÜAnlG). As part of this reorganization, a change in terminology from “person qualified to conduct inspections” to “suitable inspection person” is planned. However, this change carries a significant risk of confusion, as the concurrently applicable Work Equipment Use Regulation is to continue using the previous term.
Although the existing inspection requirements for facilities from the current Industrial Safety Ordinance are to be adopted largely unchanged, from a practical perspective it would be desirable to establish more flexible and practical regulations in several areas to better meet the diverse needs of facility operators.
According to the BMAS’s current schedule, the draft versions of the two ordinances are expected by the end of 2026, followed by deliberations in the expert committees so that they can be adopted in the first half of 2027.
Herbert Bender
