Each chimney-sweep district in Germany has its bevollmächtigter Bezirksschornsteinfeger, the chimney sweep appointed for that district. Since 2013 owners may hire any chimney sweep for routine work such as measuring, sweeping and cleaning. Some tasks stayed with the district sweep alone. He carries out the Feuerstättenschau, the inspection of all fireplaces and heating systems in a building. The law requires it twice during his appointment, no sooner than three years and as a rule no later than five years after the last one. He also checks newly installed heating systems. Owners who miss the deadlines in his written notice risk a fine of up to 5,000 euros.
Two Kinds of Supervision
German administration separates two kinds of supervision. Dienstaufsicht covers an authority’s structure, internal order, general management and personnel. Fachaufsicht covers whether the authority carries out its tasks lawfully and appropriately. In North Rhine-Westphalia they can lie with different ministries. The Interior Ministry has Dienstaufsicht over the regional government offices. This does not touch the powers of the other ministries in their own fields. Instructions on the substance of a task come through Fachaufsicht.
Each Specialist Owns a Field
A patient in a German hospital is owed treatment at the standard of a specialist. The Civil Code requires treatment according to the generally recognized professional standards. In 1993 the Federal Court of Justice ruled on a doctor in training to become an anesthetist. If he does not yet have enough experience of a particular risk, he may not conduct the anesthesia without the direct supervision of a specialist, at least during that phase of the operation. The patient, the court said, has a right to medical care that meets the standard of a specialist.
In 1999 the same court described how the operating doctor and the anesthetist share an operation. Each must deal with the dangers that arise in his own area. Each may trust that the colleague from the other field does his work with due care, and there is no duty to watch each other. This holds only for dangers that belong to one field alone. Where the risk comes from the combination of the two fields, the doctors must coordinate their measures.
The Specialist Site Manager
On a German building site, the Bauleiter, the site manager, must make sure that the work meets the requirements of public law. The building code of North Rhine-Westphalia adds a rule for the limits of his knowledge. If he lacks the necessary expertise and experience in particular areas, suitable specialist site managers must be brought in. These Fachbauleiter then take his place for those areas.
Officers the Law Requires
German law gives many risks a named owner inside the company. A 2022 overview by the Bavarian State Office for the Environment lists 18 kinds of Betriebsbeauftragte, company officers, from waste officers to animal welfare officers. A company needs a data protection officer when, as a rule, at least 20 people regularly work with the automated processing of personal data. The threshold was raised from 10 to 20 in 2019. A company with 50 or more employees must appoint safety officers. Some officers have a direct line upward. If the officer for emissions control cannot agree with the plant manager on a matter of particular importance, he may present his proposals or concerns directly to the management. If the management rejects them, it must inform him fully of its reasons.
BMW’s Expert Career
In November 2019 the BMW Group introduced an expert career across the whole company. Its board member for human resources, Ilka Horstmeier, called it “einen gleichwertigen Karriereweg zur klassischen Führungslaufbahn”, a career path of equal value to the classic management career. Both paths are of equal value and open to movement between them, the company said. The expert career is not limited to selected departments or qualifications. Siemens had introduced expert careers in 2006.
The Vaccination Committee Answers a Minister-President
Germany’s Standing Committee on Vaccination, the STIKO, was set up in 1972. It is a volunteer group of experts. In July 2021 Bavaria’s Minister-President Markus Söder pushed for a faster general COVID-19 vaccination recommendation for children from 12. He contrasted the volunteer committee with the “professionals” of the European Medicines Agency. The STIKO answered publicly that the statements of Söder and other politicians were “ungewöhnlich und müssen korrigiert werden”, unusual and in need of correction. It works, it said, independently of the opinions and wishes of politicians and the pharmaceutical industry. On 16 August 2021 the committee recommended vaccination for everyone from 12. It named a careful evaluation of new scientific data as the reason.
The Specialist Superior
The Bundeswehr’s regulation on military superiors dates from 1956. One of the kinds of superior it defines is the Fachvorgesetzter, the specialist superior. A soldier whose position makes him head of a specialist service has the authority to give orders to the soldiers in that service, on duty and for the purposes of that service. His authority covers only those specialist purposes.
Leave the Wiring to the Electrician
In Germany, work on the electrical installation of a home may be done only by the grid operator or by an installation company entered in a grid operator’s register. Maintenance is the exception. A consumer guide on t-online explains what this means at home. Lamps may be hung up and taken down, but connecting them should be left to professionals. The electrical trades association says the same holds for work that seems simple, such as replacing a socket. A person who does it anyway must expect that the insurance will not pay after damage.
The Team Doctor Who Resigned
Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt was the team doctor of FC Bayern Munich for almost four decades. In April 2015 Bayern lost the first leg of a Champions League quarter-final 1–3 in Porto. Afterwards the medical department was blamed as mainly responsible for the defeat. Müller-Wohlfahrt and his colleagues resigned, saying the relationship of trust had been lastingly damaged. He later recalled the accusation that he was to blame for the defeat. “Das ist doch absurd!” That is absurd. “Das konnte ich nicht akzeptieren.” I could not accept that. He returned to the club later and left for good in 2020.