KANBrief 1/09
The public-sector accident insurers stand to benefi t considerably from becoming members of the VFA, the Association for the Promotion of Occupational Safety in Europe. KAN has already been involved in certain standards projects which concerned the public sector. Only with the extension of its scope of activity, however, is it now able to address standards projects in the key areas of education and the voluntary fire services.
The Commission for Occupational Health and Safety and Standardization (KAN) has already provided support to the standardization experts from the public-sector accident insurers in specific cases in the past. This was possible when the standards concerned were also relevant to the private sector.
This support for example enabled the relevant European standard to be amended very quickly following a serious accident in which an ICE (InterCityExpress) train fell from a rollingstock lifting platform. A similarly swift response occurred during the standardization of emergency safety showers in laboratories. Under the provisions of the European standard, the quantity of water to be made available in German laboratories would have doubled, without any increase in safety being achieved as a result. The systems for water supply and disposal in many laboratories in schools and universities would have had to have been rebuilt. A compromise enabled this situation to be avoided.
KAN also provided support in the standardization of forestry machinery, sterilizers in hospitals, garden shredders, and waste-collection vehicles.
Broader support by KAN to be possible in future
The standardization activity of the public-sector accident insurers is however focused upon areas in which KAN has been unable to participate in the past. With the extension of KAN‘s scope, this will change: it may now also provide support in these key areas.
Committee of experts for fire services and emergency services
Whereas until recently, the provisions governing the equipment of fire services and of schools and nursery-schools tended to be standardized at national level, recent standards have been developed almost exclusively at European level. This means that the cost of participation in the process is greater, and the procedures to be followed more complex.
The system of voluntary fire services, with its very comprehensive scope of activity, is almost unique to Germany. In some countries, the fire services only fight fires, and do not for example provide assistance at accidents. The requirements placed upon their vehicles and their equipment, including their personal protective equipment, therefore differ. It can easily be appreciated that conflicts will arise as a result, and that the interests of the accident insurance institutions responsible for the voluntary fire services will require a strong lobby in standardization activity. With such a heterogeneous range of interests at European level, KAN‘s support will be essential in the future.
Committee of experts for education
In the area of education, too, an increasing shift of standardization activity to the European level can be observed. The focus in this case lies upon the standardization of sports grounds, sporting equipment and protective sports clothing, and also upon multi-sports equipment, climbing facilities, or static training equipment which is also increasingly being employed in schools. Since among accidents in the education sector, accidents in sports lessons are particularly frequent, participation in standardization in this area is correspondingly important.
At the end of 2008, the public-sector accident insurance institutions were active on 80 standards committees. Support by KAN for the work of the committees of experts would take the form of consultancy for members of standards committees, the preparation of comments for submission to standards committees, and if necessary attendance at comments resolution meetings. Support would also include the creation of expert committees to deal with specific issues, and if appropriate the bringing about of a block vote by the stakeholders represented in KAN. Beyond this, KAN is also able to support the standardization work of the labour inspectors by international dissemination of the KAN media and by active participation in EUROSHNET, the European occupational safety and health network, and is consequently able to improve their prospects for success on the European and international standards committees.
Thomas Kolbinger
thomas.kolbinger@dguv.de