Ensuring compliance with DGUV V3 at trade fairs and events for event managers

DGUV Regulation 3 on the necessity of testing electrical systems and equipment was published back in 1979. Essentially, this regulation obliges the employer to maintain and test all electrical systems and equipment (in his possession) and to keep the test certificate available. 

 (1) The employer shall ensure that electrical systems and equipment are only installed, modified and maintained by a qualified electrician or under the direction and supervision of a qualified electrician in accordance with the electrotechnical regulations. The employer shall also ensure that the electrical systems and equipment are operated in accordance with the electrotechnical regulations. 

Click here for the complete DGUV Regulation 3: DGUV-Regulation-3.pdf 

Most employees are at most familiar with this regulation from the test stickers that we see on all electrical appliances in the company.  

But what does this mean for the area of responsibility of event managers? 

For event managers, however, this regulation poses a difficult challenge:  

• After all, nowhere else is it so common for electrical equipment to be hired and owned equipment to be used at the same time.    

• The question now is, who is responsible for testing this electrical equipment? 

The decisive factor here is the question of whose property these devices are in: 

• Hired equipment: If electrical equipment such as lights are rented from the event service provider (e.g. stand builder), these are on the one hand directly owned by the event service provider. On the other hand, the event service provider leases this electrical equipment commercially. The event service provider is therefore fully responsible for its use within the framework of the statutory standards and therefore also for regular testing and proof of testing.

• Own devices: If electrical equipment owned by the company itself is made available to the event service provider for a trade fair or event, the service provider is, on the one hand, only in indirect possession of this electrical equipment. On the other hand, the service provider is responsible for the commercial transport of these goods and, if necessary, the ‘installation’, but not for ensuring that these electrical appliances are tested. This means that the responsibility for testing lies exclusively with the owner and therefore ultimately with the responsible employee, the event manager.  

While this topic was often neglected in the past due to a lack of inspections, numerous trade fair companies and organisers have significantly increased the intensity of inspections in recent years. As a basis for these audits, the trade fair organisers have also explicitly set out these requirements in information sheets: 

Example of electrical installation at the Munich Trade Fair Centre:  Basic exhibitor service forms

Since 2022, it has been the order of the day for trade fair companies or organisers to have the test certificates for all electrical equipment on the exhibition stand checked by authorised experts before the trade fair opens. The honourable motive of accident prevention is certainly to be praised at this point. However, if the inspection is accompanied by the offer of an overpriced on-site inspection as an alternative to blocking the exhibition stand, this should be viewed rather critically.  

Whatever the case, it is the event manager's responsibility to avoid the risks of overpriced examination fees or a possible closure of the exhibition stand and the associated damage to the company's image.  

For this reason, we have created two modules in the ExpoCloud event management resource solution that support the event manager in implementing the requirements of DGUV V3.   

The DGUV V3 modules for event managers

The following modules are available to event managers in the ExpoCloud event management resource solution:

Module: DGUV V3 analysis 

• Here you can see all stored ‘electrical items’, the quantity and the status of the test certificate at a glance.  

• With the quick filter ‘DGUV test due’, the software can also filter directly on the items whose test certificate has expired. (According to DGVU V3, the inspection must be carried out annually). 

• Of course, ExpoCloud can also output the list directly as an Excel file for further analyses or to share the overview with colleagues.  

• This gives the event manager a direct overview of the status of compliance with DGUV V3 standards for stored material.

 

Module: Commission DGUV V3 inspection 

The ‘DGUV inspection’ module was also developed to digitalise and simplify the inspection process. The user admin can activate this module for every user in the organisation via the ‘DGUV inspection’ app release. If you need support with this, your customer advisor will be happy to help you.  

Once the module has been activated, it will appear in the Shop area and can be called up with a single click:  

• Using the ‘DGUV inspection due’ filter, you can now filter all items whose DGUV V3 inspection certificate is not available or has expired.  

• After selecting individual or all items, you can add them to the shopping basket for inspection using the ‘Checkout button’.  

• On the checkout page, information such as reference, cost centre or PO number can now be added and the inspection of the stored electrical equipment can be ordered using the ‘Submit’ button.    

The new ExpoCloud modules for DGUV V3 thus enable event managers to analyse the test status of all stored electrical equipment and/or update the test certificate with just a few clicks. 

Further information: 

• Instructions Expocloud module DGUV V3 analysis:  DGUV administration
• Expocloud module DGUV V3 inspection instructions: DGUV inspection
• General article on DGUV V3: DGUV testing for event and trade fair participants
• DGVU Regulation 3: DGUV Regulation 3
• Information sheet from Messe München: Basic exhibitor service form