Loads above people under DGUV Information 215-313: half the rated capacity, secondary safeties, approved rigging points and proofs organisers can ask for.
You are planning a corporate party, a trade fair stand or a concert, and lights, speakers or an LED wall are to hang from trusses above your guests? Then "loads above people" (Lasten über Personen) applies: anything suspended above people must stay safe even if a component fails or an assembly error occurs. This article explains what DGUV Information 215-313 requires and which proofs you can expect from your event technology provider. It is practical guidance, not legal advice; binding are laws, ordinances and accident prevention regulations, the conditions of your permit and the venue operator's requirements.
DGUV Information 215-313 "Lasten über Personen" defines the safety level for work in which loads are held above people and explicitly covers events, concerts, open-air shows, trade fairs and exhibitions. The core idea: such equipment must be selected and operated so that the load is held safely for the entire period of use; whoever uses or inspects it must be qualified, as defined in the employer's risk assessment. The whole load path is considered, from the building interface to the load; every item must be identifiable by manufacturer, type, load capacity and year of manufacture.
The first principle is intrinsic safety by doubling the working coefficient: a sling or lifting accessory with a stated working load limit (WLL) may carry no more than half that value above people. If the manufacturer has proven the capacity for loads above people, for example for quick links to DIN 56927, the manufacturer's figure applies. Table 1 of the DGUV Information lists the coefficients without and with people under the load: steel wire ropes, steel-core round slings and shackles to DIN EN 13889 at 5 and 10, synthetic-fibre round slings at 7 and 14 and only with an additional secondary safety. For moving loads, at least 20 per cent is added for dynamic forces as a guideline value.
The second is single-fault safety through safety elements, "safeties", which catch assembly errors. Lights, speakers and decorations mounted with spigots, sleeves or C-hooks need a secondary safety; it must not allow any drop, at most 20 cm for devices aimed after mounting, because in tests a 20 cm drop produced forces of up to 50 times the falling load.
Trusses are lattice girders for mounting lights, speakers and similar equipment. The halving rule does not apply to them: trusses are generally designed not on the principle of double rated load but to the Eurocodes; the manufacturer's structural proofs or type tests must exist for every element, the selection must rule out any overload, and sensibly the capacity is not used to the maximum. The exception covers the truss itself. Special suspensions, for example for speakers or trusses, may only carry half the manufacturer's figure unless they are proven for loads above people; slings on the truss follow the rule above. Selection, use and inspection are described in the IGVW standard SQP1.
Under the IGVW standard SQP1 the manufacturer documents, for every truss type, the permissible uniformly distributed load and the point loads at mid-span, third and quarter points, plus a verified structural analysis. Selection depends on static system, span, dead weight plus payload, wind and load distribution; structures outside the user information need additional structural proofs, and only the manufacturer's connectors may be used. Slings should sit as close as possible to the lattice nodes, because rigging between them creates local bending, which can reduce the load capacity. On standards: SQP1 (2010) still cites DIN 4113, which is withdrawn; today Eurocode 9 (DIN EN 1999-1-1) and, for trusses, DIN EN 17115 apply.
Rigging points are the interface with the building. Loads may only be attached if the operator can prove their rated capacity, including per load direction; only approved points may be used, and their capacity must never be exceeded during set-up, operation or dismantling. SQP1 says the same from the building's side: the operator is responsible for the design, load capacity and condition of the hanging points and for the floor load capacity, and provides documentation such as a load capacity plan. Under DGUV Information 215-313, inspecting the building structure is also the building operator's responsibility. So the venue answers "How much do the ceiling points hold?"; the provider works with those figures, allows for dead weight, dynamic forces and additional loads during set-up and dismantling, and stays below them.
Operators and organisers often ask the provider for a written statement before a truss is hung above an audience. It describes the planned execution as at the planning stage. A structural stability proof comes from a structural engineer, not from a letter, and the operator's inspections and approvals still apply. It should cover:
DGUV Vorschrift 17 is legally binding as the accident prevention regulation. It covers the stage and performance area of venues with stages or performance areas (Szenenflächen), indoors or outdoors, which includes events, concerts, open-air shows and trade fairs with a performance area. Its inspections concern safety-related and mechanical installations such as electric chain hoists: at least every four years by an expert (Sachverständiger) authorised by the accident insurance institution and at least yearly by a competent person (Sachkundiger), recorded in an inspection log. Trusses and slings are not machines and are not subject to this four-yearly inspection.
Before every use an instructed person inspects the equipment visually. At regular intervals an appointed person, such as a competent person (Sachkundiger), checks for damage, wear, function and legible marking. The employer sets the intervals in the risk assessment: the DGUV Information provides for at least yearly, for trusses an inspection every 12 months has proven itself, and exceptional events may call for additional inspections. Equipment with safety-relevant defects is withdrawn from use. Truss sections with deformation, cracks or elongated holes must not be installed. After assembly the person responsible for management and supervision releases the structure, ideally with a written handover to the venue operator. In North Rhine-Westphalia, for performance areas over 200 m² or multi-purpose halls with more than 5,000 visitor places, a person responsible for event technology appointed by the operator also directs set-up and dismantling and checks the work through an acceptance inspection. Wind-sensitive loads such as LED walls also need data on wind speed, hanging height and bracing.
photon rents single-tube trusses (Global Truss F31, Litecraft LT31, HOFKON 290-1 truss pipes) and four-chord trusses of the Prolyte H30V, Prolyte H40R and Litecraft LT34 HD3 systems; two- and three-chord trusses are not in stock. Each type's capacity is in the manufacturer's load table; span and load are settled per project. For dry hire see the truss category of our shop, with installation by our crew under stage technology hire; the rigging guide shows how stage, rigging and trusses work together, more under set-up and dismantling and stage technology. Send floor plan, rigging point plan and loads via the event enquiry, and we will plan the load path from the ceiling to the fixture.
"Loads above people" is not an obstacle but a clear procedure: half capacity for slings and lifting accessories not proven for loads above people, manufacturer proofs for trusses, rigging points approved by the venue, visual inspection before every use and a documented release. Legally binding are the Ordinance on Industrial Safety and Health (Betriebssicherheitsverordnung), the Workplaces Ordinance (Arbeitsstättenverordnung), DGUV Vorschrift 17 where it applies, in North Rhine-Westphalia, for places of assembly, the Special Buildings Ordinance (Sonderbauverordnung), the conditions of your permit and your venue operator's requirements. DGUV Information 215-313 and IGVW SQP1 give guidance and recommendations on how to meet these duties in practice. This article is practical guidance, not legal advice.
Anything held above people must stay safe for the entire period of use, even after an assembly error or a component failure. DGUV Information 215-313 requires intrinsically safe equipment with a doubled working coefficient plus safeties against single faults.
No. Above people, a sling or lifting accessory may carry no more than half its stated working load limit (WLL). If the manufacturer has proven the capacity for loads above people, that figure applies. Synthetic-fibre round slings also need a metallic secondary safety.
No. Trusses are designed to Eurocode and used according to the manufacturer's structural proofs or type tests; they must not be overloaded. Suspensions and slings on the truss follow the rules for slings and lifting accessories.
The building operator, who proves the rated capacity and approves the points; the provider uses only approved points and never exceeds their capacity.
A description of the planned execution covering rigging points, loads, truss system with manufacturer proofs, slings, qualification and inspection records. A structural stability proof comes from a structural engineer, not from this description, and the operator's inspection still applies.
Visually before every use and at regular intervals by an appointed person such as a competent person. The employer sets the interval in the risk assessment; the guidance is at least yearly. The four-yearly inspection by an authorised expert (Sachverständiger) under DGUV Vorschrift 17 concerns mechanical installations such as electric chain hoists, not trusses and slings.
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Christian Fino BeyerManaging Director · Master Technician for Event Technology
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