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News from the German Social Accident Insurance JUNE 2019
RECOMMENDED
What does a fla-
mingo have to do
with listening …
PAGE 4
TOP STORY
From blackboard to tablet
Working safely and healthily with
digital media – the new Digital Pact
helps foster well-rounded schools
Faster Internet and new tablet computers in
the classroom are being made possible by the
School Digital Pact adopted by the Federal and
State Governments. The German social acci-
dent insurance institutions welcome the pro-
gramme. However, they point out that issues
related to safety and health must also be taken
into consideration when using digital media.
This concerns areas such as ergonomics, men-
tal health and media literacy.
Photo: contrastwerkstatt – stock.adobe.com
Whether smartboard, tablet or smartphone – the
School Digital Pact opens up new educational
opportunities for schools. When teachers think
about how to use new devices in the classroom,
they should also think about safety and health is-
sues. This is the recommendation of experts from
the German social accident insurance institutions
responsible for the education sector. ‘Healthy
learning means better learning’, said Professor Expertise in working with VDUs – the German Social Accident Insurance provides
Joachim Breuer, Director General of the DGUV. recommendations for the safe and healthy use of digital media in schools.
‘When students talk to their teachers about the
right way and the wrong way to use digital media,
it’s not only their learning that benefits. These risks posed by digital media. In order to avoid dig- STICHWORT
considerations also prepare them for a world of ital sensory overload, teaching should consist of a Advice
work in which health literacy plays an increasing- healthy mix. Longer learning phases with digital
ly important role.’ media should alternate with other forms of learn- The German social acci-
Examples of specific recommendations can be ing, as well as rest breaks and exercise. Overall, dent insurance institu-
found in ergonomics: if digital media are used in time spent learning with digital media should not tions advise education-
teaching, they must meet the basic requirements exceed one third of the teaching day. ‘In order for al institutions on safe-
for VDU workstations. Displays should be at least schoolchildren to learn to interact safely and re- ty and health issues, in-
10 inches large, and at least 15 inches or larger for sponsibly with digital media, schools should de- cluding the use of digital
longer reading or text input. Smartphones are un- velop a digital media concept’, recommends Pro- media. A ‘School Sec-
suitable for longer periods of reading or entering fessor Breuer. Safe and healthy use of digital toral Rule’ and addition-
text. For this reason, smartphones should not be media is best achieved when everyone – teachers, al information are cur-
used for more than five minutes at a time. pupils and parents – think about it together, right rently being worked on
As well as ergonomics, the focus is also on men- from the very start. in conjunction with the
tal health. Teachers have a key part to play here. Standing Conference of
In addition to technical and pedagogical exper- Web: www.dguv.de > Webcode dp1316499 the Ministers of Educa-
tise, they also need to understand and manage the (German only) tion and Cultural Affairs.
EDITORIAL INTERVIEW
‘Be flexible and
Photo: DGUV
break new ground’
Professor Joachim Breuer has been Director General of the DGUV since 2002.
He will step down from this position on 1st July 2019. However, he will continue
his commitment to social protection in his roles as Professor at the University of
Lübeck and as President of the International Social Security Association (ISSA).
A thirst for change DGUV Kompakt spoke with Professor Breuer about global developments and rela-
tionships, about changes needed and established principles.
Dear Reader,
Professor Breuer, let us start with a very no occupational safety and health regula-
Technological developments continue current issue: Given the developments tions. I believe that this is one of the major
to drive economic change. Transforma- in digitalisation and new forms of work, risks to social security systems which have
tion is taking place at different speeds. policymakers are discussing the social arisen as a result of economic upheavals.
What interests me here is: How security of the self-employed. This is This applies equally to all branches of so-
does successful change management also an issue for social accident insur- cial security, whether it be accident insur-
work around the world? Who starts ance. Is it time to get to the point? ance, pension insurance, or health and
where, why and how? There were some long-term care insurance.
fascinating answers to these ques- The German Social Accident Insurance
tions at the 12th China Symposium of didn’t raise the issue, neither did I. It is sim- Following the tragedy at Rana Plaza, the
the German-Chinese Society of Med- ply the result of economic developments. In German Social Accident Insurance, in co-
icine. The theme of the symposium other countries, there has already been a re- operation with the German government,
was German-Chinese cooperation in action and insurance cover has either been helped with the establishment of an ac-
the healthcare sector. One thing is cer- extended to the self-employed or it had al- cident insurance system in Bangladesh.
tain: China’s top medical care current- ready existed. In Germany, when it comes Can you tell us what your verdict is?
ly offers far better service, diagnostics, to insurance cover for new, non-standard
therapy and care. Germany must be employment relationships, we are certain- This may sound surprising to some, but I
careful not to fall behind. ly not pioneers, but rather the ones who think we’ve made a lot of progress. A coun-
Given the dynamic nature of this are still thinking hard about it. That’s what try like Bangladesh cannot be measured
development, resignation is not an op- you have to do, especially if we are talking against the same standards as Germany.
tion. That’s why we need one thing about getting down to the point. I believe After the accident, a compensation fund
first and foremost: a desire for change. that we are doing quite well, but the same was set up there for the first time. After five
However, this is not possible without principle applies here too: economic devel- years, you cannot expect there to be a ful-
goals. The BG clinics of the German so- opment happens fast and we can’t address ly functioning system in such a large coun-
cial accident insurance system want to this with slow answers. try. We have made enormous progress in
become Number 1 in Germany when it raising awareness locally, in creating the
comes to digitalisation. That’s a bold As President of the ISSA, you also have very first small structures. This is sowing
statement and sends a clear message an overview of the global situation. How the seeds for further developments – and
for the direction of digital healthcare. are other countries and social security our work is still ongoing!
I would like to say one more thing branches affected by this issue?
on my own behalf. After 17 years as Di- Looking back at Germany, one of the is-
rector General of the DGUV, I am at- All social security branches around the sues you have raised is the reform of the
tracted by the thirst for change too. world are affected by these new forms of occupational disease legislation. Where
I am stepping down from office and work. But in different ways. We first have do we stand today?
am looking forward to becoming in- to acknowledge that the majority of the
creasingly involved internationally in world’s people have no social protection 10 years ago, we started discussing what
healthy and safe work in the future. In at all, or only rudimentary one. For these could be changed in occupational disease
a world that is becoming increasingly economies, new forms of work are a further legislation. At first, there was no internal
globalised, my goal is to work togeth- development of what is called the informal consensus, but in the end we reached agree-
er to develop sustainable solutions that sector. It is simply growing. If new forms of ment and a White Paper was published in
transcend national borders. work are not integrated into social protec- 2016. After that, of course, there was a great
tion, then we run the risk of large sections expectation that this would now be trans-
of the economy suddenly being relocated posed verbatim into national law. I believe
to an area where, once again, there are no that the political will to do something is still
tax regulations, no social protection and there. However, understandably, I also be-
Professor Joachim Breuer
Director General of the DGUV
PAGE 2 DGUV KOMPAKT | JUNE 2019
TOPIC
Use of stand-up
E-scooters
On 17 May 2019, the German Bun-
desrat approved the Federal Gov-
ernment’s ordinance governing the
use of mini electric vehicles with a
number of amendments. An impor-
tant change to the original version:
E-scooters are not allowed to be driv-
en on footpaths. The German Social
Accident Insurance had also voiced
its support for this restriction.
New forms of mobility always require a
balance to be struck between encour-
aging innovation and road safety. The
Bundesrat has made it very clear that
new forms of mobility must not be in-
troduced at the expense of road safety
and ‘Vision Zero’.
Now that the regulation has been
Photo: DGUV
approved, the way has been cleared for
the use of electric scooters with a maxi-
mum speed of up to 20 km/h; however,
Thirst for change: After 17 years at the helm of the DGUV as Director General, Professor not on footpaths. These should remain
Breuer is looking for new challenges. In future, he wants to become more involved in healthy a safe and secure space. This applies in
and safe workplaces at international level.
particular to vulnerable road users such
as children, the elderly and people with
disabilities. The German Social Acci-
‘We must do what we dent Insurance therefore warmly wel-
lieve that there are still unanswered ques- comes the fact that e-scooters may not
have done for over 135 years:
tions. I am firmly convinced that in this leg- be used on pavements. This is because
islative period we will see a draft law that be flexible and break new even 12 km/h, as originally proposed,
will adopt the content of our White Paper. ground, even if this means would have meant doubling the max-
The greatest risk I see in the moment is the shattering some ‘sacred imum speed permitted on footpaths.
duration of the current legislative period. traditions’’ This would have significantly reduced
reaction times in dangerous situations
Professor Joachim Breuer
After 17 years at the helm of Germany’s and increased the risk of accidents.
social accident insurance system, how A minimum age of 14 years has been
much does it need to change? Which set for using an e-scooter. The German
principles does it have to remain true to? is statutory accident insurance in the tra- Social Accident Insurance had advo-
ditional sense. In all other areas of shap- cated that persons under the age of 15
The basic principle that everything that ing these basic principles, we must do should not drive electric scooters up
has to do with work and results from work what we have done for over 135 years: be to 20 km/h. Around 100,000 accidents
is completely covered under one roof, at flexible and break new ground, even if this occur every year on the way to school,
all stages, is one of the core principles that means shattering some ‘sacred traditions’, the costs of which are borne by the ac-
we have in social accident insurance. This whether these are new forms of benefits, cident insurance institutions. Many of
also includes self-governance. This guar- new groups of insured persons or new ap- these accidents are minor, but the sta-
antee, despite all government regulation, proaches to prevention. As long as this fits tistics show that this changes with in-
gives a certain detachment from the state; into the core areas mentioned, I’m not wor- creasing motorisation. From the point
that is, a sense of responsibility towards ried about social accident insurance. I be- of view of the German Social Accident
the people who are in this system. This lieve that, over the coming years and dec- Insurance, it would also have been de-
is more than just ‘stakeholder representa- ades, we have an enormous opportunity sirable to have mandatory training in
tion’; it is really about ‘stakeholder respon- to demonstrate that social accident insur- the form of a moped driving licence.
sibility’. In addition, we will not abandon ance is highly flexible and is therefore in a
these core responsibilities as long as there good position for the future. Web: www.dguv.de > Webcode dp1316614
(German only)
DGUV KOMPAKT | JUNE 2019 PAGE 3
RECOMMENDED
Building a skyscraper on sand? Not a good
IMPORTANT DATES
What does a idea. A head planner experiences this first
hand in the new social media clip released
flamingo have to as part of the kommmitmensch prevention
campaign run by the DGUV and the Ger-
31 August 2019
5th Occupational Medicine Day
do with listening? man social accident insurance intuitions. HANOVER
He doesn’t listen to his work colleagues – www.dgaum.de/termine
with fatal consequences. The planned of-
fice tower, graceful as a flamingo, collaps- 18-21 September 2019
es, fortunately only as a model. The video REHACARE – International Trade
makes it clear how important participation Fair for Rehabilitation and Care
is in companies. Involving employees in DÜSSELDORF
decision-making promotes a culture of pre- www.rehacare.de
vention and a holistic approach. ‘Listen
carefully to one other. This is particularly 23-26 September 2019
important for safety-related issues within 10th International Conference on the
the company’, says Gregor Doepke, Head Prevention of Accidents at Work
of Communications at the German Social VIENNA
Photo: DGUV
Accident Insurance. This is the message www.wos2019.net
behind the ‘Flamingo’ video clip by film-
maker Isa Prahl, who is also responsible
The ‘Flamingo’ video is designed to get people NUMBER OF THE MONTH
for the other videos in the campaign.
thinking and encourage them to listen better
17.5 million
– one of the goals of the kommmitmensch
prevention campaign. Web: www.kommmitmensch.de
… children, adolescents and young
NEWS IN BRIEF
adults were covered on their way to
Integrating artificial school or in their educational institu-
tion by Germany’s social accident in-
intelligence into work surance in 2017.
Quelle: www.dguv.de > Webcode 33345
processes
Photo: Laurent – stock.adobe.com
Artificial intelligence in companies isn’t LEGAL INFORMATION
science fiction anymore, it’s reality. But Published by: Deutsche Gesetzliche
what effects do artificial intelligence and Unfallversicherung (DGUV), Dr Joachim Breuer
(Director General). The DGUV is the umbrella
4.0 technologies have on areas such as
association of the German Social Accident
work organisation, the working climate or Insurance Institutions for the public sector and
occupational safety and health? How can for trade and industry.
artificial intelligence be used to improve Artificial intelligence is changing the world of Publishing committee:
work. This calls for new ways of thinking and Dr Renate Colella (Chair), Udo Diel, Dominique
the design of work? In order to identify the
new strategies for safety and health. Dressler, Professor Dr med Axel Ekkernkamp,
potentials and risks of Work 4.0 processes, Markus Hofmann, Gabriele Pappai,
the Federal Ministry of Education and Re- Dr Udo Schöpf, Karl-Sebastian Schulte
search (BMBF) has launched a collabora- artificial intelligence in the areas of strat- Editorship: Gregor Doepke, Kathrin Baltscheit,
DGUV, Glinkastr. 40, 10117 Berlin
tive project called ‘Prevention 4.0’. Prac- egy, corporate management and culture,
Editorial team: Kathrin Baltscheit, Diana Grupp,
tical implementation tools have now been work organisation, and safety and health. Claudia Kleist, Anne Schattmann
made available. They are particularly bene- They also address fundamental topics such Translation: Peter Love
ficial to small and medium-sized enterpris- as ethical questions and the interaction be- Layout: Christoph Schmid,
www.christophschmid.com
es in terms of information and inspiration tween humans and intelligent software.
Publisher: Quadriga Media Berlin GmbH,
on how to make Work 4.0 productive and Werderscher Markt 13, 10117 Berlin
healthy. In specific terms, they deal with Web: www.praeventive-arbeit40.de Printing: DCM Druckcenter Meckenheim
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER
Entries open!
Entries for the kommmitmensch @DGUVKompakt
Film & Media Festival for A+A 2019 can News live from the editorial team:
be submitted until 30 July. The focus is www.twitter.com/DGUVKompakt
on safety and health at work and road
safety. You find further information at:
Contact
Photo: CWH
Web: www.kommmitmensch-festival.de
(German only) KOMPAKT@DGUV.DE
WWW.DGUV.DE/KOMPAKT
DGUV KOMPAKT | JUNE 2019
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