Occupational health and safety, fire safety, first aid

The safety engineers and the in-house physician advise the Rectorate and other members of the university who are responsible for occupational health and safety tasks as part of their management responsibilities. They work together with management staff to develop solutions that improve occupational safety and protect the health of staff. The aim is to provide all employees with healthy, pollution-free and ergonomically designed workplaces.

Their main advisory areas include:

• Ensuring structural and organizational fire safety
• Establishing safe, humane workplaces
• Provision of safe facilities and equipment
• Provision of adequate personal protective clothing
• Ergonomic design of workplaces
• Design of workplaces and work processes that are as free as possible from hazardous/biological substances
• Provision of documents, templates, etc. to ensure that occupational safety is organized in conformity with the legal regulations

Mental stress in the workplace

For some time now, the issue of mental stress has become an increasing part of advisory services at the University of Konstanz. It is a (mandatory) element of a comprehensive approach to the working environment of our staff. Contact the AGU team for in-person consultations at the university or documents such as templates for risk assessment, templates for operating instructions, instructional materials, etc. You can find all the information and materials on the AGU websites.

Contact and information:
Wolfgang Hellstern
Lead safety engineer
+49 7531 88-3033
arbeitssicherheit@uni-konstanz.de

Dr Birgit Martens
in-house physician
+49 7531 88-2668
betriebsarzt@uni-konstanz.de

For staff members of the University of Konstanz who are exposed to certain types of pollution, strains or specific substances, occupational health care is a prerequisite for employment. Others, e.g. staff working on computers, have access to optional preventive measures (e.g. with regard to spectacles for screen work). Both mandatory and elective preventative measures must be documented in a risk assessment by the employee's respective superiors. Supervisors must also inform Human Resources accordingly about which staff are involved. Preventative occupational health measures are carried out by the in-house physician at the university’s expense.

Make an appointment for your preventative occupational health measures:

Renate Steckenreiter
Assistant to the in-house physician
+49 7531 88-3191
assistenz-betriebsarzt@uni-konstanz.de

Please give your family name, given name, date of birth, job title, staff ID number, telephone number, university unit and starting date of employment.

In case of fire

• Activate the fire alarm or
• If you cannot find a fire alarm: Dial emergency number 0-112 and in all cases immediately
• Dial the university's internal emergency call centre 2222

In case of an accident

• Immediately inform the internal emergency call centre under 2222
• If there are severe injuries, you should immediately dial 0-112.
• However, once you have done this, please make sure to also inform the university's emergency services by calling -2222.

What to say on the phone:

• What is the exact location?
• Who is calling?
• What has happened?
• How many people are hurt?
• What sort of injuries/illness/unconsciousness?
• Stay on the line and wait for further questions!

First responders

In the event of minor injuries, please inform the closest first responder from the respective work area. They are responsible for providing first aid and, in case of life-threatening injuries, for providing emergency care until the ambulance arrives.

Emergency equipment

Emergency equipment such as in-house phones, first-aid kits, stretchers, woollen blankets, emergency blankets, fire extinguishers, fire blankets, etc. are generally located near the lifts and staircases.

The fire safety regulations provide rules of conduct for fire prevention and in the event of a fire, fire safety. All university members are obligated to read and comply with the fire safety regulations.

The fire safety regulations are available from the fire safety team or on the fire safety website. Please also see the information sheet "What to do in case of fire",

To prevent the release of fibres from wall elements, especially from older partition walls, it is essential that you refrain from mechanical activities such as drilling, nailing, sawing, etc. on all walls, as well as from taping/affixing anything on or covering walls that are protected by fibreglass wallpaper or paint.

By doing so, you can make an effective contribution to protecting yourself. Unavoidable work on such walls must only be carried out by authorized persons in compliance with protective measures.

Anyone who sets up, modifies or operates workplaces must observe the applicable occupational health and safety regulations. Those responsible are required to perform a risk assessment. Information and assessment forms can be found on the occupational safety homepage. Furthermore, each staff member is required to comply with the applicable occupational health, safety and environmental protection regulations when performing their duties.