🔌 Who is the electrical specialist answerable to? – 5 facts that every company needs to know about roles, duties and specialist knowledge!
What you really need to know about responsibility, authority to issue instructions and the maintenance of professional competence
In electrical engineering companies, there is often uncertainty as to who is actually authorized to instruct the electrical specialist (ES) – and which legal framework conditions apply. The answer is provided by
1️⃣ The electrical specialist is bound by professional instructions
The ES must not work “at will”. They are always technically subordinate to a chief
2️⃣ Disciplinary and technical subordination are not identical
In disciplinary terms, the ES may report to the CTO or a production manager, for example. However, the CRES has sole technical responsibility – for all matters relating to electrical safety and technical assessment. This prevents dangerous misjudgements by non-electrical engineers.
3️⃣ Without CRES, the contractor is liable
If no CRES is appointed, the full electrotechnical responsibility lies with the contractor himself. In the event of accidents, this can have fatal legal consequences – from recourse claims to criminal prosecution.
4️⃣ The “electrical specialist” status is not permanently valid
Specialist knowledge is tied to the state of the art. Anyone who does not regularly pursue further training loses this status – even with training and professional experience. Specialist knowledge must be maintained, not just acquired once.
5️⃣ In-house training is also possible – but must be documented
Not all training has to be external. In-house training measures are also permissible – as long as they are documented in a technically correct and comprehensible manner.
🎓 Conclusion:
The role of the electrical specialist is clearly regulated – but often misunderstood. Companies that value legally compliant operation should clearly clarify the technical subordination, regularly update the technical expertise and clearly assign responsibilities.
Our free(REALLY free, even WITHOUT having to provide an email address!) paper “5 things you need to be clear about before you qualify and deploy your employees for electrical work.” is available here (click).
If you would like to know more about the different roles, in particular those of the EiP, ESfdt, ESfdt and especially those of the CRES and their interaction, I recommend our publications, for example the audio book “Die Verantwortliche Elektrofachkraft: CRES-Struktur und Betriebliche Elektrosicherheit für Unternehmer, Fach- und Führungskräfte”. Information and sources of supply can be found on the usual audiobook portals and on the homepage tcs-engineering.de
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