Whoever operates a plant or is responsible for a project carries duties under the German Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Industrial Safety Ordinance, immission control law and permit conditions – personally. SAFETEE makes these duties transparent, organises their delegation and delivers the evidence that counts when it matters.
Operator liability is the responsibility of the operator of a plant or business for the safety of employees, third parties and the environment. Under German law it follows from the Occupational Safety and Health Act (§ 3 ArbSchG basic duties), the Industrial Safety Ordinance (BetrSichV: risk assessment, inspections), immission control law (§ 5 BImSchG operator duties) and permit conditions. Duties can be delegated to suitable persons (§ 13 ArbSchG, § 13 DGUV Regulation 1) – the duty to select, equip and monitor the organisation stays with the operator.
Which duties apply to your plant – from statute, ordinance, technical rules and your permit? We compile the duty register for your site.
Delegation of duties in writing, with area of responsibility, powers and means – to persons who are professionally and personally suitable. Without this form the delegation is open to challenge.
Risk assessments, inspection intervals, instructions, operating instructions, emergency plans: we create the documents and the chain of evidence that counts with authorities, insurers and in court.
So that you meet your operator liability in projects and for existing plants, we advise you on all areas – from the legal position to the finished operating instruction.
We inform you about the legal requirements of the Industrial Safety Ordinance (BetrSichV) and the Occupational Safety and Health Act (ArbSchG) and show ways to implement them – tailored to your plants and organisation.
We support you in planning and meeting the occupational health and safety requirements arising from permit procedures – immission control, building permit, major-accident law.
We prepare risk assessments, hazard analyses, operating instructions and emergency plans and determine inspection intervals – as part of your management system, not as a binder on a shelf.
Without written delegation including powers, responsibility stays with the operator – and the manager acts without a mandate.
Plant changed, assessment not. The risk assessment is a living document, not a one-off project.
Installations requiring monitoring, work equipment, electrical systems: whoever does not know when what must be inspected operates uninspected.
The permit sits in the archive, nobody remembers the conditions. It shows at the next inspection – or after the accident.
Operator duties do not end at the gate: whoever lets contractors work must coordinate and brief them.
Delegating does not mean forgetting. Without spot checks and reports there is no evidence that the organisation works.
We review your operator organisation, close gaps and deliver the documents – for new plants in projects and for ongoing operation.
Plants, permits, existing delegations, documents: where do you stand, what is missing?
All operator duties of your site with legal source, responsible person, deadline and evidence.
Written delegations of duties, risk assessments, operating instructions, emergency plans, inspection calendar.
Annual review, spot checks, report to management – the evidence that the organisation is alive.
Operator duties affect management personally: under civil law (§ 823, § 618 BGB), regulatory law (§ 130 OWiG breach of supervisory duty, fines under ArbSchG and BetrSichV) and criminal law where organisational fault leads to injury or death. A working, documented organisation is the best protection – not the liability policy.
We advise on safety engineering and organisation. Legal advice in individual cases is provided by lawyers – with whom we cooperate on request, for instance when wording delegations or after an event.
The main German sources – as orientation, not an exhaustive list:
Which duties apply specifically depends on plant, industry and permit. The duty register makes them visible – for your site, not in the abstract.
Advice on operator liability complements our Safety Consulting. These building blocks interlock:
Safety culture, organisation and leadership – consulting for companies that want to go beyond compliance.
Occupational safety specialist for your company – basic and company-specific support.
HSE manager on site for new plants, conversions and major projects.
Operator liability is the legal responsibility of the operator of a plant or business for the safety of employees, third parties and the environment. It comprises civil liability (damages), regulatory responsibility (fines, orders) and criminal responsibility in case of organisational fault. In Germany it rests on the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Industrial Safety Ordinance, immission control law, accident prevention regulations and permit conditions.
Yes – § 13 (2) ArbSchG and § 13 DGUV Regulation 1 allow the written delegation of duties to reliable and competent persons. What cannot be delegated is the duty to select suitable persons, to equip them with powers and means and to monitor their work. Whoever only delegates without monitoring remains liable for organisational fault.
The delegated duties with area of responsibility (plant, area, site), the necessary powers (right to instruct, budget, shutdown), the means provided, deputy arrangements and reporting duties – in writing, signed by both sides, and only to persons who are professionally and personally suitable. We provide templates that fit your organisation.
Risk assessment for work equipment and workplaces, safe provision and regular inspection of installations (BetrSichV), instruction of employees, operating instructions, emergency organisation, coordination of contractors, compliance with permit conditions and – for installations requiring a permit – the operator duties under § 5 BImSchG. The duty register lists them for your site with legal source, responsible person and evidence.
Yes. Managing directors and board members are addressees of operator duties as legal representatives (§ 9 OWiG, § 14 StGB). Breach of supervisory duty can lead to fines under § 130 OWiG; accidents with organisational fault can lead to criminal investigations against the responsible persons personally. A documented, working operator organisation is the most effective protection.
That depends on the number and type of plants, sites and the state of your documentation. Inventory and duty register for one site are usually completed within a few weeks; documents and annual reviews are priced as modules. After a first conversation you receive a quote with clear service modules.
Plant, site, permit situation: with three details we estimate the effort for inventory and duty register and get back to you within one working day.
