In particular, the BGZ’s coordination, development and directing tasks involve the following:
- providing a common platform for the interests of the "BGs" (institutions responsible for statutory accident insurance and prevention) in the field of prevention and representing those interests in dealings with governmental and other institutions responsible for occupational safety and health (OSH);
- managing the BGs’ prevention managers’ conference;
- dealing with current, cross-industry prevention issues, e.g. activities for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), mature workers, OSH management, quality in prevention, prevention of work-related health hazards and road safety;
- coordinating and supporting 34 prevention committees, incorporating some 3,200 OSH experts on all of the relevant topics, e.g. occupational medicine, plant and industrial safety, first aid and rescue operations;
- developing BG rules and regulations and quality-assuring them; cooperation with governmental committees;
- fostering international cooperation with, for example, the European Commission Advisory Committee, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work and, in prevention matters, the "European Forum of Insurances against Accidents at Work and Occupational Diseases";
- promoting occupational medical care;
- coordinating the BGs’ preventive occupational health screenings;
- working with other bodies in the area of workplace health promotion, e.g. project-based collaboration with statutory health insurance providers;
- designing initial and further training programmes for safety specialists and other target groups at the workplace;
- specifying the initial and further training to be undergone by inspectors; managing the Technical Inspectors’ Examination Board;
- testing and certifying technical work equipment and quality management systems (through BG-PRÜFZERT – the BGs’ network of testing and certification bodies);
- BG prevention campaigns dealing with issues such as slipping, tripping and falling and skin protection; and
- expert information on health and safety at work; print media: "BG-Prävention Aktuell", a BGZ information bulletin published every quarter; editorial responsibility for the field of prevention in the "Die BG" journal, the discussion forum of the HVBG (German Federation of Institutions for Statutory Accident Insurance and Prevention) for the BGs; internet platform of the BG prevention network.
