Prevention committees

The term "prevention committee" refers to expert committees, committees for specific fields and coordinating committees. Prevention committees are concerned with both cross-industry and industry-specific fields of occupational safety and health and are coordinated by the BGZ (BG Central Office for Safety and Health) at the HVBG (German Federation of Institutions for Statutory Accident Insurance and Prevention). The prevention committees are managed by the designated "BGs" (institutions responsible for statutory accident insurance and prevention) or by the BGZ.

The prevention committees set up by the BGZ comprise

29 expert committees,
the Prevention Principles Committee,
the Occupational Medicine Committee,
the Initial and Further Training Committee,
the Coordinating Committee on Workplaces,
the Coordinating Committee on Industrial Safety,
the Coordinating Committee on Biological Agents and
the Coordinating Committee on Hazardous Substances at the Workplace.

In particular, prevention committees have the following tasks:

advising

enterprises in collaboration with the relevant BG,
BGs,
governmental bodies (e.g. ministries and authorities) and
manufacturers (designers and planners) and operators

on all issues concerning occupational safety and health;
developing the BG rules and regulations;
testing and certifying products and quality management systems; and
representing the BGs? interests in bodies outside the Berufsgenossenschaft framework (e.g. in standardisation).

Prevention committees can be composed of the following members:

prevention experts from the BGs, other accident insurance institutions and the BGZ,
experts for special subjects,
representatives of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and of Germany’s federal states,
manufacturers and operators and
representatives of the social partners.

Prevention committees can be subdivided as follows – see also BGI 900, "Präventionsausschüsse – Einteilung und Arbeitsgebiete" ("Prevention committees – Categories and areas of activity"), PDF file: 1,012 KB (only available in German):cross-industry prevention committees, which deal with topics of relevance to all economic sectors and industries, i.e.:

the Occupational Medicine Committee (AAMED),
the Initial and Further Training Committee (AAW),
the Expert Committee on First Aid (FA EH),
the Expert Committee on OSH Organisation (FA ORG),
the Expert Committee on Personal Protective Equipment (FA PSA),
the Expert Committee on Safety Marks (FA SIKE) and
the Expert Committee on Exposure, Effects and Work-Related Health Hazards (FA WIRK);

industry-specific expert committees, which deal with topics which are generally only of relevance to one industry or a limited number of industries; and
coordinating committees, which promote the common interests of the accident insurance institutions in the given field, particularly in dealings with the relevant governmental committee. The coordinating committees specify which expert committees or groups (as they are called at the BUK (Central Federation of Public-Sector Accident Insurers)) have to be involved as part of the joint preparation of technical rules by the government and the BGs, and which expert committee/group should be in charge of the preparation process.

The tasks and function of the BG prevention committees are described in the BG Framework Document entitled "Präventionsausschüsse des Hauptverbandes der gewerblichen Berufsgenossenschaften – HVBG" ("HVBG prevention committees") (PDF file, 116 KB, only available in German).