Qualified person for inspections under TRBS 1203 in Germany: requirements, duties and appointment

What is a qualified person for inspections?

A person qualified to carry out inspections (zur Prüfung befähigte Person) – qualified person for short – is someone who has the knowledge required to inspect work equipment through vocational training, professional experience and recent professional activity. This is how Section 2 (6) of the Ordinance on Industrial Safety and Health (BetrSichV) defines the term. Qualified persons inspect ladders, racking, cranes, lifting accessories or mobile elevating work platforms, for example – before first use, at regular intervals and after modifications or exceptional events (Section 14 BetrSichV).

There is no state-regulated qualification called “qualified person”. The qualification always applies to a specific inspection task: someone allowed to inspect ladders is not automatically qualified for cranes or electrical installations. The specific requirements are described in the Technical Rule for Operational Safety TRBS 1203 “Persons qualified to carry out inspections” (Zur Prüfung befähigte Personen), March 2019 edition.

Requirements under TRBS 1203

Three elements must come together. The employer must ensure that the qualification is appropriate to the difficulty and complexity of the inspection task.

• Vocational training

  What TRBS 1203 requirescompleted technical vocational training relevant to the inspection task, or another suitable technical qualification; a technical degree also counts

  Exampleindustrial plant or automotive mechatronics technician for equipment with hydraulics

• Professional experience

  What TRBS 1203 requirespractical experience with comparable work equipment over an appropriate period – including installation, function, typical damage and the events that trigger inspections

  Exampleexperienced maintenance staff of a forklift manufacturer for industrial trucks

• Recent professional activity

  What TRBS 1203 requireswork in the field of the inspection, carrying out or taking part in several inspections a year and appropriate further training

  Exampleregular own inspections plus training or exchange of experience

In addition, the qualified person must be able to identify, assess and document deviations from the target condition, assess the hazards arising from use of the equipment, know the inspections set out in the risk assessment and apply suitable inspection methods. After a longer break from inspection work, they may need to gain inspection experience again and update their knowledge.

Additional requirements by inspection field

For certain work equipment, TRBS 1203 sets additional requirements; for installations subject to monitoring and for cranes, BetrSichV itself does so:

• Electrical hazards: electrical vocational training and at least one year of practical experience in installing, assembling or maintaining equipment with electrical components; knowledge must be updated regularly (TRBS 1203 Section 3.1).
• Hydraulic components, for example on mobile elevating work platforms or presses: technical vocational training and at least one year of experience with comparable equipment (Section 3.2).
• Personnel carriers lifted by cranes: metalworking vocational training and at least one year of relevant experience (Section 3.3).
• Cranes: for many crane types, inspections before first use and after modifications requiring inspection are carried out by inspection experts (Prüfsachverständige) – with an engineering education or comparable knowledge and at least three years of experience with cranes (Annex 3 Section 1 BetrSichV, TRBS 1203 Section 4.1).
• Pressure installations and installations in explosion hazard areas: special requirements follow directly from Annex 2 Sections 3 and 4 BetrSichV.

Selection and appointment by the employer

The employer determines and specifies which requirements the qualified person must meet for an inspection (Section 3 (6) BetrSichV) – ideally in the risk assessment (Gefährdungsbeurteilung), together with the type, scope and intervals of inspections. The ordinance does not prescribe a particular form of appointment. A written appointment, however, creates clarity and serves as evidence.

1. 1

   Define inspection tasks

   Which equipment is inspected, on what occasion, to what scope and with which test equipment? This follows from the risk assessment, manufacturer's instructions and the rules.

2. 2

   Set requirements

   For each inspection task, specify the training, experience and further training needed – based on TRBS 1203 and the DGUV rules and information for the equipment concerned.

3. 3

   Select and qualify the person

   Check vocational qualifications, experience and courses. If anything is missing, provide targeted training – for example from the manufacturer, an inspection organisation or the employers' liability insurance association (Berufsgenossenschaft).

4. 4

   Appoint in writing

   Record the equipment, scope of inspection, powers – for example to take defective equipment out of use – and freedom from technical instructions during inspections.

5. 5

   Keep the qualification up to date

   Plan regular inspection practice and further training and file the evidence so the qualification can be proven at any time.

Freedom from instructions and inspection records

When carrying out the prescribed inspections, the qualified person is not subject to technical instructions from the employer and must not be disadvantaged because of their inspection work (Section 14 (6) BetrSichV). This protects the result: whether a crane or ladder may continue to be used is decided on technical grounds – not by time pressure in production.

The employer must have the result of every inspection recorded and keep it at least until the next inspection – for cranes, for the entire period of use (Annex 3 Section 1 No. 3.3 BetrSichV); electronic records are permitted. The record must at least state (Section 14 (7) BetrSichV):

• the type of inspection, for example recurring inspection or inspection after repair
• the scope of inspection
• the result of the inspection
• the qualified person's name and signature – an electronic signature for documents transmitted only electronically

Distinction: competent person, qualified electrician and approved body

• Person qualified to carry out inspections (zur Prüfung befähigte Person)

  Where it appearsBetrSichV, TRBS 1203

  What it meansinspects work equipment under Section 14 BetrSichV, qualified for a specific inspection task

• Competent person (Sachkundiger)

  Where it appearsolder accident prevention regulations such as DGUV Regulation 52 “Cranes”, ASR A1.7 “Doors and gates”

  What it meansolder term with similar content; DGUV Rule 109-017 refers to “persons qualified to carry out inspections – previously competent persons”

• Expert, inspection expert (Sachverständiger, Prüfsachverständiger)

  Where it appearsDGUV Regulation 52, Annex 3 BetrSichV

  What it meansinspector with a special qualification; under BetrSichV, inspection experts are qualified persons with additional requirements who inspect cranes before first use, for example

• Qualified electrician (Elektrofachkraft)

  Where it appearsDGUV Regulation 3, TRBS 1203 Section 3.1

  What it meansinspects electrical installations and equipment or directs and supervises these inspections

• Approved inspection body (zugelassene Überwachungsstelle, ZÜS)

  Where it appearsSections 15 and 16, Annex 2 BetrSichV

  What it meansinspection organisations such as TÜV or DEKRA for installations subject to monitoring: lifts, pressure installations, installations in explosion hazard areas

For installations subject to monitoring, many inspections are reserved for approved bodies. Where Annex 2 BetrSichV provides for it, qualified persons may also inspect – as well as after modifications that affect neither the design nor the mode of operation of the installation (Section 15 (3) BetrSichV).

Own employees or external inspection service?

Qualified persons can be your own employees or external persons and companies. In both cases, the employer remains responsible for ensuring sufficient qualification (TRBS 1203 Section 2.1).

• Suitable for

  Internalmany similar items with manageable inspection effort, such as ladders, racking, lifting accessories

  Externalcomplex equipment and special inspections, such as crack testing of chains or force measurements on gates

• Advantages

  Internalshort distances, flexible dates, knowledge of the site

  Externalspecialist knowledge, test equipment and experience from many companies

• Effort

  Internaltraining, further training, test equipment and inspection time

  Externalcontract costs, scheduling, obtaining evidence

• Watch out for

  Internalenough inspection practice per year, freedom from instructions during inspections

  Externalproof of qualification for exactly this inspection task, complete inspection reports

Checklist: qualified persons in your company

• All work equipment and inspection tasks requiring inspection are recorded
• Requirements for the qualified person are specified for each inspection task
• Proof of qualification is available for internal and external inspectors
• Internal qualified persons are appointed in writing, powers are defined
• Managers know that inspectors are free from technical instructions during inspections
• Further training and regular inspection practice are planned
• Inspection records state type, scope, result, name and signature
• Defects found are tracked with an owner and a deadline

Free templates for this guide

As PDF and Excel, free – to use in your own company.

• Testing duties

  Work equipment inspection register template (Excel) with inspection intervals

  ExcelFree download
• Testing duties

  Forklift annual inspection report template (PDF) for industrial trucks

  PDFFree download
• Testing duties

  Crane inspection report template (PDF & Excel) with register for lifting accessories

  PDF + ExcelFree download
• Testing duties

  Power-operated door and gate inspection report template (PDF) under ASR A1.7

  PDFFree download

Frequently asked questions