Guide

Workplace Inspection: Process, Duties, Report

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During a workplace inspection, occupational safety experts walk through the company, look at the workplaces and record defects. This guide explains which German regulations the inspection is based on, who takes part, how it works and what goes into the report.

What is a workplace inspection?

A workplace inspection (Betriebsbegehung) is a walk through the workplaces to check whether occupational safety works in everyday practice. The participants look at workstations, traffic routes, machines and storage areas, talk to employees and note what is not in order.

The Occupational Safety Act (ASiG) obliges the company doctor and the occupational safety specialist to inspect the workplaces at regular intervals (Section 3(1) sentence 2 no. 3(a) and Section 6 sentence 2 no. 3(a) ASiG). In practice it is also called a safety inspection, occupational safety inspection or workstation inspection.

The employer is responsible for occupational safety (Section 3 ArbSchG). The company doctor and the occupational safety specialist support the employer (Section 3(1) sentence 1 and Section 6 sentence 1 ASiG). These regulations govern the inspection:

  • Occupational Safety Act (ASiG)

    the company doctor and the occupational safety specialist must inspect the workplaces at regular intervals and report any defects found to the employer or to the person otherwise responsible for occupational safety and accident prevention (Section 3(1) sentence 2 no. 3(a) and Section 6 sentence 2 no. 3(a) ASiG).

  • Occupational Health and Safety Act (ArbSchG)

    the employer assesses the hazards (Section 5 ArbSchG), checks the effectiveness of the measures and adapts them where necessary (Section 3(1) ArbSchG). The employer must document the result, the measures and the result of the review (Section 6(1) ArbSchG).

  • Workplaces Ordinance (ArbStättV)

    defects found in the workplace must be remedied without delay (Section 4(1) ArbStättV).

  • DGUV Regulation 1

    this accident prevention regulation takes up the basic duties and the risk assessment (Sections 2 and 3 DGUV Regulation 1).

  • DGUV Regulation 2

    it governs the scope and content of the support provided by the company doctor and the occupational safety specialist.

Who takes part in the workplace inspection?

  • Occupational safety specialist and company doctor

    for both, the inspection is a statutory task (Section 3(1) sentence 2 no. 3(a) and Section 6 sentence 2 no. 3(a) ASiG). They work together with the works council (Section 9(1) ASiG).

  • Employer or responsible manager

    they receive the report on the defects and the proposed measures (Section 3(1) sentence 2 no. 3(a) and Section 6 sentence 2 no. 3(a) ASiG).

  • Works council

    the employer is obliged to involve the works council in all inspections and questions related to occupational safety or accident prevention and in accident investigations (Section 89(2) BetrVG). The works council receives the minutes of these inspections (Section 89(5) BetrVG). The law does not say explicitly whether an internal company inspection counts as such an inspection. If in doubt, clarify this with your works council or your accident insurance institution.

  • Safety representatives

    companies with regularly 50 or more employees must appoint them, smaller companies with 21 or more employees if there is a particular hazard (Section 22(1) SGB VII). They make sure that protective devices and personal protective equipment are in place and used (Section 22(2) SGB VII). In practice they often join the inspection in their area.

How often is a workplace inspection required?

The law does not set a fixed interval. The ASiG requires inspections at regular intervals (Section 3(1) sentence 2 no. 3(a) and Section 6 sentence 2 no. 3(a) ASiG).

Your company decides how often to inspect. In practice the intervals follow the risk assessment: the higher the hazard and the more often processes change, the shorter the intervals. If the operational conditions change, the risk assessment must be reviewed (Section 3(2) DGUV Regulation 1). In practice, an additional inspection is useful then, for example after a conversion, after new machines are put into operation or after an accident.

How a workplace inspection works

The regulations do not prescribe a fixed procedure. The following four steps are a recommendation from practice; sources are given where a regulation or a set of rules says something about it.

  1. Preparation

    • Set the area and date and invite the participants. For the involvement of the works council, see the section on participants.
    • Review the risk assessment and the report of the last inspection: which measures are still open?
    • Prepare a checklist for the area, for example derived from the risk assessment or the Technical Rules for Workplaces (ASR).

  2. Inspection

    • Walk through the area systematically: workstations, traffic and escape routes, machines, storage, first aid and fire protection equipment.
    • Ask employees how they work and where problems arise. ASR V3 names observing, measuring and asking as ways to check the effectiveness of measures (ASR V3 no. 5.6).
    • Record defects on the spot, with location, a short description and a photo.
    • If there is an immediate serious danger that cannot be eliminated at once, the employer ensures that the employees at risk interrupt their work (Section 4(1) ArbStättV).

  3. Documentation

    After the inspection, the inspection report is written. The occupational safety specialist and the company doctor report the defects to the employer and propose measures to remedy them (Section 3(1) sentence 2 no. 3(a) and Section 6 sentence 2 no. 3(a) ASiG). What belongs in the report is described in the next section.

  4. Follow-up

    Each measure gets a responsible person and a date; the GDA guideline on risk assessment and documentation lists both as content of the documentation. At the next inspection you check whether the measure has been implemented and is effective (Section 3(1) ArbSchG). More on this in the section on follow-up.

What belongs in the inspection report?

There is no formal requirement for the inspection report. If it is also meant to document the risk assessment, it must contain the result of the assessment, the measures defined and the result of their review (Section 6(1) ArbSchG, Section 3(3) DGUV Regulation 1). In practice, this includes the date, area and participants, each defect with a photo, the measure with responsible person and deadline, and the status of the open items from the last inspection. The structure field by field and a free template as a Word file and PDF are in our guide to the inspection report template.

Following up on defects

The employer must check whether the measures are effective and adapt them where necessary (Section 3(1) ArbSchG). A defect is therefore only resolved once the measure has been implemented and is effective.

  1. Choose measures by priority: tackle hazards at the source, use personal protective equipment only as a secondary measure (Section 4 no. 2 and no. 5 ArbSchG). The order is: substitution before technical, technical before organisational, organisational before personal measures.
  2. Remedy defects in the workplace without delay (Section 4(1) ArbStättV).
  3. Monitor deadlines and check at the next inspection whether open measures have been implemented and are effective (Section 3(1) ArbSchG). The occupational safety specialist and the company doctor work towards the measures being implemented (Section 3(1) sentence 2 no. 3(a) and Section 6 sentence 2 no. 3(a) ASiG).
  4. If the employer rejects a proposal by the occupational safety specialist or the company doctor, the employer must give reasons in writing. The works council receives a copy (Section 8(3) ASiG).
  5. Update the risk assessment if the inspection reveals new hazards (Section 3(1) ArbSchG, Section 3(2) DGUV Regulation 1).

Frequently asked questions about workplace inspections

Who has to carry out a workplace inspection?

The Occupational Safety Act assigns inspecting the workplaces to the occupational safety specialist and the company doctor (Section 3(1) sentence 2 no. 3(a) and Section 6 sentence 2 no. 3(a) ASiG). The employer remains responsible for occupational safety (Section 3 ArbSchG).

How often must a workplace inspection take place?

The law does not set a fixed interval. It requires inspections at regular intervals (Section 3(1) sentence 2 no. 3(a) and Section 6 sentence 2 no. 3(a) ASiG). The company sets the intervals itself; in practice they follow the hazards.

Does the works council have to take part in the inspection?

Section 89 BetrVG does not set out a duty for the works council to attend. The duty lies with the employer: it must involve the works council or the members it appoints in all inspections related to occupational safety or accident prevention and hand over the minutes to it (Section 89(2) and (5) BetrVG). The law does not say explicitly whether an internal company inspection is covered. If in doubt, clarify this with your works council or your accident insurance institution.

Is an inspection report mandatory?

There is no formal requirement for the inspection report. What is required is the documentation of the risk assessment with the result, the measures defined and the result of the review (Section 6(1) ArbSchG). An inspection report with this information is a good basis for it.

What is the difference between a workplace inspection and a risk assessment?

The risk assessment identifies the hazards and defines the measures (Section 5 ArbSchG). The employer must check whether the measures are effective and adapt them where necessary (Section 3(1) ArbSchG). In practice, the inspection is one way to do this: it shows on site whether measures have been implemented and are effective, and uncovers new defects.

What happens if defects are found during the inspection?

The occupational safety specialist or the company doctor reports them to the employer and proposes measures (Section 3(1) sentence 2 no. 3(a) and Section 6 sentence 2 no. 3(a) ASiG). Defects in the workplace must be remedied without delay (Section 4(1) ArbStättV).

Who pays for the measures?

The employer. Costs of measures under the Occupational Health and Safety Act must not be passed on to employees (Section 3(3) ArbSchG).

Documenting workplace inspections digitally

With paper and Excel lists, follow-up becomes tedious: the photos are in another folder, and you copy open items into the next report by hand.

With Begehung.pro you record findings on site in the app, with photo, measure, responsible person and deadline, even without a network connection. The report is generated from the inspection. Open findings reappear at the next inspection. You use your own checklists at every inspection.

See what this looks like for occupational safety specialists on the page Software for occupational safety.

Sources

DGUV Regulations 1 and 2 are linked here as DGUV model texts. The version of your accident insurance institution is binding.

This guide is general information and not legal advice.

Document your next workplace inspection digitally.

In 30 minutes we show you Begehung.pro using your own inspection routine. You decide whether it fits your day-to-day work.

  • Data in Germany
  • DPA per Art. 28 GDPR