Coordinating Committee on Industrial Safety (KOBS)

The Coordinating Committee on Industrial Safety (KOBS) is a committee set up by the accident insurance institutions’ central associations. It consists of representatives of the "BGs" (institutions responsible for statutory accident insurance and prevention) for the industry and trade sectors, the agricultural BGs and the statutory accident insurance institutions for the public sector. The committee’s primary task is to provide a common platform for the interests of the accident insurance institutions with regard to plant and industrial safety, particularly in dealings with the government’s "Ausschuss für Betriebssicherheit" (Committee on Industrial Safety). It also stipulates which expert committees ⁄ groups should be involved in the drafting of a Technical Rule relating to the "Betriebssicherheitsverordnung" (Ordinance on Industrial Safety) within the framework of what is known as the "cooperation model" and which expert committee ⁄ group should be in charge. KOBS also specifies the general standpoint to be adopted by representatives of the accident insurance institutions in their work on the subcommittees of the "Betriebssicherheitsausschuss" (Industrial Safety Committee), as well as deciding (in consultation with the prevention managers’ conferences) which of the accident insurance institutions’ employees are appointed to those subcommittees. KOBS and the Coordinating Board (KOOG) of the government’ s "Ausschuss für Betriebssicherheit" are involved in a process of ongoing consultation to prevent duplicate regulations and contradictions in the body of technical rules pertaining to the Ordinance on Industrial Safety. KOBS is based at the "Hauptverband der gewerblichen Berufsgenossenschaften" (German Federation of Institutions for Statutory Accident Insurance and Prevention, HVBG). Supervision: Dr. Wolfgang Damberg Berufsgenossenschaft Metall Süd Management: Dr. Bernd Schürmann BG-Zentrale für Sicherheit und Gesundheit (BGZ) des HVBG Tel.: +49 (0)2241 231 1360 Fax: +49 (0)2241 934 93423 60 E-Mail