Hesse Scaffold Inspections and New BAuA Rules Target Germany’s Top Workplace Hazard: Slips, Trips, and Falls

Roughly three-quarters of all workplace accidents in Germany stem from mechanical hazards, with moving machine parts and sharp surfaces accounting for half of those incidents. Now, the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA) has released updated sections of its risk-assessment handbook, aiming to cut the toll. The new guidance, published on June 5, places special emphasis on the largest single category within mechanical dangers: falls, slips, and stumbles.

Just days before the BAuA’s announcement, authorities in Hesse announced a concentrated inspection campaign. From June 8 to 12, the regional government presidencies in Gießen, Darmstadt, and Kassel will conduct enhanced checks on construction scaffolding. The sweep is part of the Joint German Occupational Safety and Health Strategy (GDA) action week. The move reflects a grim statistic: between 2009 and 2023, falls from height caused 31 percent of all severe or fatal workplace injuries. Previous checks turned up troubling results — only 21 percent of construction sites fully met scaffolding safety requirements.

The BAuA’s new material details how employers can assess and mitigate these risks. Section 1.5 specifically addresses falls, slips, and trips, which together make up about a quarter of all accidents. It fleshes out the requirements of the Technical Rule for Workplaces (ASR A1.5). For evaluating floor slip resistance, the agency recommends using slip-resistance classes ranging from R 9 to R 13, plus displacement spaces V 4 to V 10. For existing floors, a tribometer conforming to DIN EN 16165 should be used; a coefficient of friction of at least 0.45 µ is deemed sufficient.

For UK employers responsible for similar risk assessments, documenting hazards systematically is just as critical. A free toolkit provides 41 ready-to-use templates and checklists covering fall protection, manual handling, fire safety, and more. It simplifies compliance with the latest UK regulations and helps prevent accidents before they happen. Download the free Risk Assessment Toolkit

Meanwhile, emerging technologies are drawing fresh safety scrutiny. On June 4, the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology and Automation (IPA) unveiled a benchmark test for humanoid robots. Trials with models such as the Unitree G1 EDU-4 revealed that while gait stability is high, collision forces frequently exceed the pain-threshold values defined in ISO TS 15066. The robots also often lack physical emergency-stop buttons. A dedicated safety standard, ISO 25785-1, is not expected until May 2028.

In a separate development, Deutsche Bahn will test special protective helmets for security staff in Berlin from June through December, responding to a rise in assaults. On the cybersecurity front, the IEC 62443 standards family is gaining importance as a tool for firms to comply with the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA), which will impose binding security requirements on connected products from the end of 2027. A practical guide to workplace regulations published in the spring analyzes recent court rulings and the application of technical rules, offering companies greater legal certainty when designing safe work environments.

en | boerse | 69494502 |