Risk assessment under the German ArbSchG and stage release under DGUV Vorschrift 17 § 15: what is checked before an event and which proofs belong to it.
The stage is up, the trusses are hung, the lighting is focused, and the sound check is about to start. What must have happened by then? At a professionally planned corporate event, two things. The risk assessment was prepared before the set-up; on site it is reviewed and adapted if conditions differ. And once the set-up is complete, the performance area (Szenenfläche) is inspected and released; only then do rehearsals and the event begin. This article explains both terms, the proofs behind them and what you as organiser contribute. It is practical guidance, not legal advice; binding are the German Occupational Safety and Health Act (Arbeitsschutzgesetz, ArbSchG), DGUV Vorschrift 17 and the requirements of venue operator and authority.
The risk assessment comes from the Occupational Safety and Health Act: it is the basis on which the employer fulfils the duty to take the necessary safety measures, check their effectiveness regularly and adapt them to changing conditions, so that hazards to life and health are avoided as far as possible and remaining hazards kept as low as possible. It protects first the crew doing the set-up and, through its measures, everyone in the room later.
The stage release comes from DGUV Vorschrift 17 "Veranstaltungs- und Produktionsstätten für szenische Darstellung" (venues and production sites for performances). It applies to the stage and performance area of venues, meaning premises indoors or outdoors with stages or performance areas (Szenenflächen) including their installations and equipment; cinemas without a performance area, showmen and circuses are not covered. Its § 15 governs management and supervision: only stage and studio professionals may be entrusted with them, responsibility must be defined before guest performances or use by third parties, and performances, recordings and rehearsals may only begin after the supervisor has released the performance areas.
According to the handbook of the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA), the risk assessment comprises eight steps: preparing, identifying hazards, assessing them, defining measures, implementing them, checking their effectiveness, documenting the results and updating the assessment. Triggers include the initial assessment, changes such as new equipment or workplaces, accidents and near misses, and deriving the type, scope and intervals of equipment inspections. For a technology provider every new venue brings new working conditions. The basic risk assessment is therefore reviewed for each project and supplemented with the particular hazards of the site.
What it typically contains is shown by the sample risk assessments of the stage and studio sector. They are based on accident analysis and serve as guidance for getting started; however, they must always be adapted to the conditions on site. For events with an audience they name, among other things:
Then there is the organisation itself: define functions and authority per production, name an overall responsible person, delegate responsibility in writing, draw up an organisation chart including external companies, have an event manager appointed in assembly venues, and schedule checks, walk-throughs and acceptances.
At photon the risk assessment is prepared per project. If the project exists in Rentman, it can be pre-filled with project data such as name and venue; the times of set-up, event and dismantling are taken over where the Rentman planning provides them. Every hazard is rated on a risk matrix of probability and severity, first without and then with the defined protective measures, so it becomes visible how far a measure reduces the risk. Every hazard needs at least one measure, its implementation date and a responsible person; without these the document cannot be completed. Templates exist for recurring event types; each completed version is stored unalterably and can be exported as a PDF. For adjustments it serves as the template for a new version. The matrix makes it traceable why a measure was taken.
The release is the moment when the supervising professional releases the performance area for rehearsals, recordings and performances once the set-up is complete. The order is therefore: set-up, release, rehearsals, event. After dismantling, too, the area may only be entered without restriction once it has been released. The supervisor is usually the stage and studio professional entrusted with management and supervision; where the hazard potential is low, another suitable person with authority to give instructions may supervise. The person responsible for event technology (Verantwortlicher für Veranstaltungstechnik), by contrast, is a role under assembly venue law: in North Rhine-Westphalia, on large stages or performance areas over 200 m² and in multi-purpose halls with more than 5,000 visitor places, set-up and dismantling must be managed and supervised by such a person. The VBG organisational aid for the release under DGUV Vorschrift 17 § 15 describes what it involves: the performance area is released after checking the installations and the proofs. Checked for safe condition are floors and traffic routes, technical installations and equipment, set pieces and decorations, and effect systems. Available must be: the risk assessment, operating, assembly, conversion and dismantling instructions, operating procedures, an overview of the materials used and their fire behaviour, the inspection of the electrical installation and equipment under DGUV Vorschrift 3, the inspection of the mechanical installations and, where applicable, strength and/or stability proofs. Date and person of the briefing of all participants are recorded too; the release is recommended as a written record with place, date and signature.
Further duties stand behind the release: floors and structures must carry the static and dynamic loads of their intended use and remain stable during set-up and dismantling; mechanical installations may only be operated as intended and never overloaded; all participants must be instructed in accident prevention before rehearsals begin. Safety-related and mechanical installations are inspected by an expert (Sachverständiger) before first commissioning. This is not required if they are delivered ready for operation with a type examination or EC declaration of conformity. Recurring inspections take place at least every four years by an expert (Sachverständiger) and at least once a year by a competent person (Sachkundiger). The results go into the inspection log. If identified defects give rise to concerns about operation, the installation is taken out of service until the defects are remedied.
As organiser you carry your own responsibility for the safety-relevant processes of your event. The venue operator remains responsible for safety in the venue, even if they transfer duties to you in writing. This results in three tasks. First, clarity on responsibility: operator and organiser define their areas of responsibility and name the responsible persons to each other. Responsibility for management and supervision must be defined before use by third parties. Second, documents in both directions: the operator informs you about the venue's conditions; its usage and safety rules and the inspection records of the permanently installed technology belong on the table early. In return, the operator receives the necessary proofs of the production. Third, your participants: speakers, artists and agencies are instructed before rehearsals on the hazards and measures from the risk assessment; the instruction is recorded at the release. Make sure they are on site in time for it. Guests are informed about smoking bans, emergency exits, emergency behaviour and contact persons.
At photon the risk assessment is part of every event service and every set-up and dismantling with our stage technology. The release is given by the supervising professional. Who we are is under about us; send venue, programme and schedule via the event enquiry and we plan safety in from the start.
Safety at a corporate event is not a feeling but a procedure: assess hazards before the set-up, define and implement measures, inspect the performance area after the set-up and release it before rehearsals. Every step is documented along the way. Knowing these steps lets you ask your technology provider about them. This article is practical guidance, not legal advice; binding are the Occupational Safety and Health Act, DGUV Vorschrift 17 and the requirements of operator and authority.
The instrument of the Occupational Safety and Health Act with which the employer identifies and assesses hazards, defines measures, checks their effectiveness and documents the result; for new workplaces or equipment it is carried out again and adapted.
Under DGUV Vorschrift 17 § 15, performances, recordings and rehearsals may only begin after the supervisor has released the performance area. The release follows the completion of the set-up and comes before the first rehearsal. Beforehand the professional checks floors, installations, set pieces, effects and the proofs.
To the stage and performance area of venues, meaning premises indoors or outdoors with stages or performance areas for performances; not to cinemas without a performance area, showmen and circuses.
Risk assessment, operating and assembly instructions, operating procedures, a materials overview with fire behaviour, the inspection of the electrical installation and equipment under DGUV Vorschrift 3, the inspection of mechanical installations and, where applicable, strength and/or stability proofs.
Under DGUV Vorschrift 17 the supervisor gives the release. This is usually the stage and studio professional entrusted with management and supervision; where the hazard potential is low, another suitable person with authority to give instructions may supervise. In assembly venues, state law also governs who is responsible depending on the size of the performance area and the hall (North Rhine-Westphalia: SBauVO § 40); on performance areas over 200 m² or in multi-purpose halls with more than 5,000 visitor places, set-up and dismantling must be managed and supervised by a person responsible for event technology.
Typically on a risk matrix of probability and severity, rated without and with protective measures; the matrix is not mandatory. The necessary measures are defined for every hazard; the BAuA handbook recommends recording dates and responsible persons as well.
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Christian Fino BeyerManaging Director · Master Technician for Event Technology
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