Lighting Systems Competent Person
Assesses workplace and emergency lighting: illuminance and glare measurement, maintenance factors, and periodic inspection against ASR A3.4 and DIN EN 12464-1, coordinated with the DGUV Vorschrift 3 testing regime.
ASR A3.4 · DIN EN 12464-1 · DGUV Vorschrift 3
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What does a Lighting Systems Competent Person do?
A Lighting Systems Competent Person, the German Sachkundiger role for lighting installations, assesses and inspects workplace and emergency lighting so that staff can see their work safely and escape routes stay usable. The work is anchored in the workplace lighting rule ASR A3.4, which gives the minimum illuminance levels for the Arbeitsstättenverordnung (German Workplaces Ordinance), and in DIN EN 12464-1, which sets the lighting requirements for indoor work places including illuminance, uniformity, and glare limits. The electrical safety of the installation is checked within the DGUV Vorschrift 3 testing regime for electrical equipment.
In practice the assessment starts from the visual task. The competent person delimits the task area, measures illuminance there, evaluates glare and uniformity against DIN EN 12464-1, and checks the maintenance factor so the lighting holds its level over its service life, not only when new. For safety lighting they measure illuminance and uniformity at the place of the visual task against ASR A3.4: at least 15 lux, a ratio of maximum to minimum illuminance below 10 to 1, reached within 0.5 seconds after the general lighting fails. Every finding leads to an action: cleaning, relamping, or redesign.
The role connects two regimes. The lighting levels and ergonomics come from ASR A3.4 and DIN EN 12464-1, while the electrical installation behind the luminaires, its insulation, protective measures, and emergency-power supply, falls under the periodic inspection of electrical systems coordinated with DGUV Vorschrift 3. That electrical inspection is carried out by a qualified electrician (Elektrofachkraft) or under their direction and supervision, not by the lighting competent person. The functional test of the change-over and the emergency-power supply sits on the same side: under ASR A3.4 the employer has it carried out, with scope and interval from the risk assessment and the manufacturer's data. Where one person holds both jobs, both qualifications should be evidenced separately, because they rest on different technical knowledge.
The competent person documents each measurement, the values found against the targets, and the corrective actions, providing the employer with the evidence that the workplace lighting meets the Arbeitsstättenverordnung. Inspections keep surfacing the same gaps: an installer invoice on file but no measurement record, a reading taken in the middle of the room instead of at the task area, no re-measurement after a hall was re-partitioned, and no deputy named for holiday or sickness.
Core duties of the Lighting Competent Person
- Measure illuminance at task areas against ASR A3.4 and DIN EN 12464-1.
- Assess glare (UGR) and illuminance uniformity per DIN EN 12464-1.
- Check the maintenance factor so the lighting holds its level over its service life.
- Measure illuminance and uniformity of the safety lighting at the place of the visual task.
- Coordinate the electrical inspection of luminaires, circuits, and emergency-power supply with DGUV Vorschrift 3.
- Plan cleaning, relamping, and redesign based on measured findings.
- Derive and propose inspection intervals from the employer's risk assessment.
- Verify lighting for special areas such as outdoor workplaces and traffic routes.
- Document measurements, target values, and corrective actions.
- Advise the employer on lighting upgrades and energy-efficient solutions.
When is a lighting competent person required?
The Arbeitsstättenverordnung requires workplaces to have lighting suited to the visual task and to provide safety lighting where the failure of the general lighting would create a hazard. The concrete levels and the assessment method are set out in ASR A3.4 for workplaces and in DIN EN 12464-1 for indoor work places. To verify compliance, the employer needs a competent person with the knowledge and the measuring equipment to assess illuminance, glare, uniformity, and the maintenance factor, and to measure the safety lighting.
There is no single statutory certificate for a lighting competent person; the requirement is sufficient technical knowledge of the lighting rules and standards and the ability to measure and evaluate correctly. The electrical inspection of the installation must be carried out by a qualified electrician (Elektrofachkraft), or under their direction and supervision, within the DGUV Vorschrift 3 regime, at intervals the employer derives from the risk assessment. The functional test of the safety lighting sits on that side as well: under ASR A3.4 the employer has it carried out, and the maintenance, testing, and documentation duties follow from the risk assessment and the manufacturer's data. Inspection and measurement should be repeated periodically, after changes to the workplace or the lighting, and whenever the maintenance factor or complaints suggest the level has dropped. The measurement records, the comparison with the ASR A3.4 and DIN EN 12464-1 targets, and the functional test results form the documentation the supervisory authority expects.
- Workplace lighting required by the Arbeitsstättenverordnung
- Minimum illuminance levels of ASR A3.4 and DIN EN 12464-1
- Safety and escape-route lighting where failure creates a hazard
- Electrical inspection within the DGUV Vorschrift 3 regime
- Changes to the workplace, lighting, or visual task
Where lighting assessment applies
- Offices and administration
- Manufacturing and assembly halls
- Warehouses and logistics
- Healthcare and laboratories
- Retail and showrooms
- Education and public buildings
- Underground car parks and tunnels
- Outdoor workplaces and yards
How CIVAC supports the Lighting Competent Person role
CIVAC runs the lighting inspection as a scheduled task, not as a note in one person's calendar. Role task templates cover the illuminance measurement at the task area, the assessment of glare and uniformity against ASR A3.4 and DIN EN 12464-1, the check on the maintenance factor and the emergency lighting test, each with a field for target value and measured value. Reminders run before the next re-measurement and before the electrical inspection coordinated with DGUV Vorschrift 3.
Every finding is carried as a corrective task with an owner and a deadline, and stays visibly open until cleaning, relamping or a redesign is evidenced. The documentation keeps measurement records and emergency lighting results in one place, and the append-only audit trail shows who changed what and when. Training is recorded per person with proof, and role administration holds the deputy for holiday and sickness. An employer who cannot staff the role internally can have an external competent person appointed through CIVAC, at 49 euros per role per month. The data is held in the EU.
Frequently asked questions
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