10 years' success in the Middle Kingdom - Sick

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In force since 1 May 2004 SICK insight 2/2004 GPSG – Germany’s new device and product safety legislation Standards 25 Device and product safety legislation (GPSG) clears up uncertainties Germany’s new Geräte- und Produktsicherheitsgesetz (GPSG) device and product safety legislation came into force on 1 May 2004. It combines the safety legislation for products, that was previously contained in the Gerätesicherheitsgesetz (device safety legislation) and the Produktsicherheitsgesetz (product safety legislation), and simultaneously incorporates the EU’s Product Safety Directive 2001/95/EG in national law. >> The new GPSG is “umbrella” legislation incorporating the EU Low Voltage Directive, the EU Machine Directive and the EU ATEX Directive, among others; it is also a catch-all regulation in case special regulations, such as building legislation or laws on electromagnetic compatibility, fail to cover individual points. Important changes The most obvious change affects the term “device” that has been replaced by the generic term “product” which distinguishes between “technical equipment” and “consumer products”. Further modifications affect, among other things, its range of applicability (which now also includes used devices or exhibits); the introduction of traceability for all consumer products; self-accusation; and CE-designation. Regarding “technical equipment”, the new approach in §4 Clause 1 of the GPSG has created an evidentiary privilege for manufacturers over the authorities increasing security for products that have been manufactured in compliance with a harmonised standard. insightLINK Further details on the GPSG are available at: www.gpsg.info or on the home page of the Federal Ministry for Economics and Employment: www.bmwa.bund.de or www.bmwi.de. In force since 1 May 2004: Germany’s device and product safety legislation Information on the GPSG (device and product safety legislation) What is the GPSG? Germany’s new Geräte- und Produktsicherheitsgesetz (GPSG) device and product safety legislation combines the Gerätesicherheitsgesetz (device safety legislation) and the Produktsicherheitsgesetz (product safety legislation), discards oft-criticised multiple regulation, and implements the EU Product Safety Directive of 2001 in national law. Business, authorities and, above all, consumers should profit from the new arrangement. The justification for the legal text states that: “In the context of deregulation and de-bureaucratisation, the new GPSG is intended to create comprehensive legislation guaranteeing health and safety regarding the marketing of technical products.” Much has been included from the old laws, some central aspects are new. EU legislation: EU Product Safety Directive 2001/95/EG National law until 30 April 2004: National law since 1 May 2004: Requirement: implementation in national law Device safety legislation (GSG) Product safety legislation (PSG) Device and product safety legislation (GPSG)
26 Interview In conversation with Dr. Werner Jansen, Manager of the BGFE’s Prevention Department (Training) A visit to the Trade Association for Precision Mechanics and Electrical Engineering “Safety at work involves technology, knowledge and the right attitude” Whether switches or safety fencing, light curtains or laser scanners – components alone do not make machines safer. Specialist knowledge and the right attitude towards safety are just as important. Getting this interrelationship across is one of the tasks of the Berufsgenossenschaft der Feinmechanik und Elektrotechnik (BGFE), the German Trade Association for Precision Mechanics and Electrical Engineering. SICK insight spoke with Dr. Werner Jansen, Manager of the BGFE’s Prevention Department (Training). Dr. Werner Jansen (left) spoke to Dirk S. Heyden from SICK insight SICK insight: What are the tasks of the BGFE? Dr. Jansen: The Trade Associations have been around since 1885, when Bismarck’s social legislation was introduced. Trade Associations have been part of the social network since then, though with some special aspects that still apply today. Thus companies that are considered to be in the precision mechanics and electronics sectors automatically become members of the BGFE when they are founded. And they pay 100% of the contribution, not 50% as is the case for national pension or unemployment insurance, for example. The BGFE uses this money to carry out its tasks: compensation payments in cases of industrial illnesses and accidents at work; medical, professional and social rehabilitation; accident prevention in companies in the form of inspections by technical supervisory staff; providing safety advice on plants in operation and new product developments; as well as the implementation of comprehensive preventive measures. The BGFE is now responsible for almost 100,000 member firms with about 2.2 million insured personnel. SICK insight: Training is a fundamental part of your preventative work. Who are your courses intended for? Dr. Jansen: A short historical excursion would help answer this question. People were already thinking about prevention in the 20s. But they were given a decisive boost in the late 50s and early 60s when strong economic growth unfortunately led to a sharp increase in accidents at work. And the safety at work legislation introduced in 1974 created an enormous need for training. The BGFE soon recognised that safety was more than just technology. Sensors and barriers alone do not make machines safe – what’s needed is a lively belief in safety in the form of attitude, behaviour, organisation and leadership. This is why the Safety at Work Centre here at the “Berghof” in Bad Münstereifel, which was opened in 1962, was deliberately set up as a training centre – at that time the first of its type in Germany. The express aim of this organisation was not merely to pass on technical knowledge, but to highlight and propagate safety-oriented behaviour and safer organisation. These ideas are best put over in the factories, by training multipliers throughout the hierarchy to create safety specialists who are also prepared to make use of this material and take responsibility. And it is precisely these people for whom the courses are intended: persons on a variety of levels with a range of different functions who are capable of raising safety levels in the factory. SICK insight: With about 100,000 member firms you must have quite a lot to do … Dr. Jansen: Without doubt. BGFE training centres – in other words, the Berghof and the other meeting places and academies in Linowsee, Dresden and Oberaichen near Stuttgart – organise about 1,000 seminars, workshops and such like every year, attended by approximately 16,000 participants. Last year we welcomed our 250,000th participant to the Berghof. Though it must be noted that it is mainly the larger companies that send employees to the BGFE, while participants from the 85,000 small and medium-sized companies are clearly under-represented. This may have something to do with the amount of work that potential participants face, though it is certainly not because of the costs involved: the seminars are free-of-charge and in- SICK insight 2/2004
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