Occupational safety across several sites and floors

With several sites, the thresholds of occupational safety count for the company as a whole, but implementation happens per site and floor. First aiders, first aid kits, escape and rescue plans, training and risk assessment must exist where the employees work. A central number on paper does not replace a helper on the floor.

The basics are in the main article Occupational safety in the office. This article shows how the duties spread across several sites, buildings and floors, where planning is central and where local, and how management delegates responsibility so that it reaches the site. The thresholds from 250 employees are covered in Occupational safety from 250 employees.

What applies centrally and what per site?

Centrally, the employee thresholds count: under section 22 SGB VII and section 11 ASiG the company or establishment is the reference. Per site apply all duties tied to space, route and presence: risk assessment, plans, first aiders, first aid kits, fire wardens and training. Both levels complement each other, neither replaces the other.

The table shows why multi-site companies have gaps more often than single-site ones: almost every duty has a local side. One responsible person at head office cannot fulfil them alone. A quick overview of which duties apply at your headcount is given by the duties quick check.

How many first aiders and fire wardens does each site need?

First aiders and fire wardens are calculated per site, not for the company as a whole. Under section 26 DGUV Regulation 1, in administrative and trading businesses 5 percent of the insured persons present must be trained as first aiders when more than 20 are present; with 2 to 20 present one first aider is enough. For fire wardens ASR A2.2 names 5 percent of employees as a guideline.

A first aider is a person with first aid training who helps immediately in an emergency and alerts the emergency services. A fire warden is a person who fights an incipient fire with an extinguisher and supports evacuation. Both groups must be reachable at all operating times, even when holidays, illness and part-time work take individuals out.

A worked example with three sites and 265 employees shows what matters:

Berlin: 5 percent of 140 present gives 7 first aiders, 5 percent of 180 employees gives 9 fire wardens. Hamburg: 5 percent of 50 is 2.5, rounded up to 3. Cologne: with 20 present one first aider is enough, with 25 employees the result is 1.25, rounded up to 2 fire wardens.

Notably the total almost matches the central calculation: 5 percent of 210 present is 10.5, also 11. So the point is less the total than the distribution. A company that trains all 11 first aiders at the Berlin head office has nobody in Cologne. Your own calculation is provided by the first aider calculator and the fire warden calculator. The derivation is in Number of first aiders and fire wardens.

What changes with several floors in the same building?

With several floors, reachability decides. The number of helpers follows the people present in the building, their distribution follows the storeys: each floor should have at least one first aider and one fire warden so that nobody has to cover a whole storey in an emergency. This is a practical recommendation, not a statutory scale.

A simple check for floors:

• First aid material: ASR A4.3 requires first aid kit and material to be quickly reachable and marked. In multi-storey offices one kit per floor has proved its worth. The first aid kit calculator gives the minimum by employees.
• First aider notice: Names, kit locations and emergency numbers belong visibly on a notice on each floor. A template is provided by the first aid notice.
• Escape and rescue plan: Annex 2.3 paragraph 2 ArbStättV requires a plan when location, extent and use require it. In multi-storey buildings that is almost always so, and the plan applies per storey. What it must contain is shown in Escape and rescue plan in the office.
• Lifts and accessibility: Lifts are not an escape route in a fire. Where employees with reduced mobility work on upper floors, plan help on the floor.

If several companies share a building, section 8 ArbSchG applies: employers whose employees work at the same workplace must coordinate their measures. Assembly point, alarm and escape routes are agreed with the other tenants and the landlord. For service providers in the building see Contractor coordination in the office.

How many safety officers do several sites need?

Under 250 employees without special hazard, section 22 (1) sentence 4 SGB VII allows a single safety officer, even with several sites. From 250 employees the employer determines the number by the five criteria of section 20 DGUV Regulation 1, including spatial proximity. With separate buildings that usually means one person per building.

One person per site is voluntary under 250 employees but sensible: someone in Berlin does not notice that an escape route is blocked in Hamburg. How the five criteria are applied is shown in Number of safety officers; the safety officer calculator gives a guideline by sites and shifts.

How do you delegate duties to the sites?

Delegation of duties means the employer transfers occupational safety tasks under section 13 (2) ArbSchG to reliable and competent persons. Under section 13 DGUV Regulation 1 this is done in writing and the appointed person signs. With several sites each site manager becomes the local person responsible.

A sound delegation for one site contains four details:

• Person and site: who takes the task and for which building or floors.
• Tasks: for example training, inspection, defect reports, keeping the first aider list.
• Powers and means: decision authority, budget, access to the occupational safety specialist and company doctor.
• Supervision: when and how the site manager reports to management.

Management remains responsible for selection and supervision. What that means in case of liability is covered in Management liability in occupational safety. If there is a works council, co-determination under section 87 (1) no. 7 BetrVG applies: agree appointments and health protection rules early.

How do committees and support hold several sites together?

Under section 11 ASiG the occupational safety committee meets in establishments with more than 20 employees at least once a quarter. With several sites a central committee fed by prior reports from the sites has proved its worth. The occupational safety specialist plans inspections so that every site is covered regularly.

The pattern in practice: each site has a fixed contact, an inspection rhythm and a point for reporting defects. The committee reviews the reports, the sites' risk assessments and open measures every quarter. How a committee works is in Occupational safety committee: from when mandatory?. Whether one committee suffices for several sites or several make sense, clarify with your Berufsgenossenschaft if in doubt. How hours arise is shown in Calculating hours under DGUV Regulation 2, your own figure comes from the hours calculator.

How to organise occupational safety across several sites

Organisation works in six steps that begin centrally and end locally. Documented cleanly once, it grows by one row for each new site.

1. Record sites and floors: per site buildings, floors, employees, people present at the same time and tenant structure.
2. Separate central and local duties: check thresholds for the company, plan first aiders, first aid kits, plans and training per site.
3. Name a responsible person per site: delegate tasks under section 13 ArbSchG in writing and define supervision.
4. Distribute helpers and equipment: appoint first aiders and fire wardens per site and floor, place first aid kits and notices reachably.
5. Align committees and inspections: plan the safety committee, safety officers and inspection rhythm so that every site is covered.
6. Review yearly and after changes: after a move, acquisition, refurbishment or new tenant structure reset numbers and responsibilities.

Which mistakes are most common with several sites?

The most common mistake is central organisation without local implementation: the first aider list lies at head office, at the second site nobody knows it. Equally common are duties delegated only verbally and documentation kept in separate folders per site.

Typical gaps:

• First aiders only at the main site: small sites with 10 or 20 people have none because the total is right.
• Risk assessment only for the main site: the assessment applies per workplace, other buildings have other routes, stairs and fire compartments.
• Outdated plans after refurbishment: the plan on the wall still shows the old room layout. Risk assessment is described in Risk assessment in the office.
• Scattered evidence: in an inspection by the Berufsgenossenschaft the overview is missing. What counts as audit-proof is shown in Five features of audit-proof documentation.

Safety Club takes over this organisation for office and administration businesses: an occupational safety specialist on site with fixed hours and the documentation of all sites in the customer portal. How getting started works is shown in the process in four steps, an initial consultation can be booked directly.

This article is a general orientation and does not replace individual legal advice. The current versions of the cited regulations and the interpretation of your competent Berufsgenossenschaft are decisive.