A Brief History of DGUV Test

The first testing and certification bodies of the Berufsgenossenschaft expert committees started work in 1965, and the first "Occupational Safety Assessment Certificate" was issued by the "Expert Committee for the Construction Sector" on 16 February 1965 for a special type of roofing ladder.

But Berufsgenossenschaft testing bodies were already active even before 1965. For instance, the Berufsgenossenschaft for the foodstuffs industry was issuing "Test certificates for accident-proof machines" back in the 1930s.

Timeline

• 1965: The first testing bodies of the Berufsgenossenschaft expert committees start work. Testing is conducted free of charge.
• 1969: The German "Act on Technical Work Equipment" comes into force.
• 1977: The BG mark is dropped when the GS mark is introduced as the German safety mark.
• 1979: The "Act on Technical Work Equipment" is expanded to create the German "Equipment Safety Act", in which the GS mark is embedded. There are 26 Berufsgenossenschaft testing and certification bodies and they issue a total of 1,781 certificates.
• 1984: The BG mark is reintroduced for non-ready-to-use work equipment.
• 1989: The Personal Protective Equipment Directive and the Machinery Directive are adopted.
  A total of 2,720 certificates are issued in 1989, including 2,349 GS certificates.
• 1 January 1993: European Single Market officially comes into being.
  BG-PRÜFZERT, an alliance composed of the Berufsgenossenschaft testing and certification bodies, is founded as a response to the European requirements for testing and certification bodies.
• 1994: Fees become payable for all BG-PRÜFZERT testing and certification services with effect from the beginning of the year.
• 1 January 1995 marks the end of the transitional period for most of the products which fall within the scope of the Machinery Directive.
  23% fewer GS certificates are issued than in the previous year; the number of EC type-examination certificates increases by 113%.
• 1997: The existing licences for the testing and certification bodies expire on 31 December 1996: eight Berufsgenossenschaft bodies do not renew their accreditation.
  The new version of the Rules of Procedure for Testing and Certification makes it possible to award the BG-PRÜFZERT mark as an alternative to the GS mark.
• 1999: The testing and certification body of the Berufsgenossenschaft for the maritime industries becomes BG-PRÜFZERT's 19th member.
• 2002: The GS mark celebrates its 25th anniversary.
  With a share of 38%, GS certificates still make up the lion's share of certificates issued by BG-PRÜFZERT.
• 2003: BG-PRÜFZERT celebrates its tenth anniversary. The Berufsgenossenschafts' expert committees have amassed over 38 years of experience in testing and certification; in total, 87,394 certificates were issued between 1965 and 2003.
• 2007: The Federation of the Berugsgenossenschaften (HVBG) merges with the Federation of the statutory accident insurance for the public sector (BUK) and becomes DGUV: German Social Accident Insurance