Every business is obliged to undergo an inspection at regular intervals in accordance with §82b of the Industrial Code. In addition to compliance with the conditions stipulated in the decision, compliance with all regulations issued under the Trade Regulation Act and the approved condition of the operating facility must also be checked.
Operational review
according to §82b - GewO (trade regulations)
Unfortunately, often only a "§82b-Light" inspection takes place, in which not only compliance with the conditions of the notices is checked.
The inspection must ensure that an operating system is also approved on the basis of the condition in question. This is the only way to ensure legal certainty. In the case of an operating facility that does not have the statutory permits, the problem is that it must not only comply with the state of the art at the time, but also with the protection of local residents at the time of the permit.
Excerpt from the law: (as of 09/2018)
§82b
(1 ) The holder of an approved installation shall periodically inspect it or have it inspected to ensure that it complies with the notice of approval and the other provisions of industrial law applicable to the installation; if necessary, the inspection shall also cover whether the installation is subject to section 8a concerning the control of major-accident hazards and shall also include the provisions to be applied pursuant to section 356b. Unless otherwise specified in the notice of approval or in the other provisions mentioned, the intervals for periodic inspections shall be six years for installations covered by section 359b and five years for other approved installations. An inspection certificate shall be issued for each periodic inspection, which shall be accompanied by complete documentation of the inspection, indicating in particular the scope and content of the inspection; this documentation shall form a necessary part of the inspection certificate.
(2 ) The periodic inspections pursuant to para. 1 shall be carried out by
to carry out the examination. Persons are considered suitable and competent if they have the necessary technical knowledge and experience for the respective examination according to their educational background and previous activities and also offer the guarantee that the examination work will be carried out conscientiously.
(3 ) Unless otherwise stipulated in the notice of approval or in the other provisions of commercial law applicable to the installation, the inspection certificate shall be kept by the owner of the installation for inspection by the authority at any time until the next inspection certificate is available in the installation; the owner shall submit the inspection certificate to the authority upon request within a reasonable period of time to be determined by the authority.
(4 ) If deficiencies or deviations from the consensus condition are identified during the inspection, the inspection certificate shall contain corresponding proposals, including appropriate deadlines, for remedying the deficiencies or eliminating the deviations. In this case, the owner of the installation shall immediately submit a copy of this inspection certificate and a description of the measures taken and to be taken to the competent authority.
(5 ) Defects or deviations reported in accordance with para. 4 for which the inspection certificate contains proposals for remedying the defects or eliminating the deviations from the consensual state within a reasonable period of time shall not constitute administrative offenses within the meaning of § 366 para. 1 no. 3 or pursuant to § 367 no. 25, provided that the requirements for a measure pursuant to § 360 para. 4 are not met and the remedy or elimination is proven to the authority within the reasonable period of time.
(6 ) The owner of an operating facility shall also fulfill his obligation pursuant to para. 1 if
Paragraphs 3 to 5 shall apply mutatis mutandis.
The self-commitment results in the fact that the authority now assumes that the operating facility complies with the regulations. In the event of an inspection, there is now a risk that the plant will be closed.
It is important that compliance with the individual ordinances issued on the basis of the Industrial Code (VbF,...) is also ensured. This results in a comprehensive company inspection, which is equivalent to an AUDIT. This is the only way to ensure legal certainty for the company. In the event of damage, it can thus be proven that the conditions of the relevant regulations have also been complied with.
There is also the problem under insurance law that the insurance company will not pay out in the event of a claim. This can occur, for example, due to non-compliance with fire protection regulations.
Please call us if you have any questions.