Occupational Safety in General

In accordance with Article 8 of the Verordnung über die Verhütung von Unfällen und Berufskrankheiten, VUV (Ordinance on the Prevention of Accidents and Occupational Diseases), employers can only assign tasks that involve special hazards to employees who are appropriately trained. In addition, employers must arrange for an employee to be supervised if the employee is performing hazardous tasks alone. The basic principle is that working alone is not permissible if the work can lead to an injury that requires the immediate assistance of a second person. This applies in particular in the following cases (the list is not exhaustive):

Work where constant supervision by a second person is mandatory (regardless of the time of day):

• Work on live electrical installations
  
• Work involving running bodies of water
  
• Work in thermotechnical installations, tall chimneys and connecting ducts
  
• Work in containers and confined spaces
  
• Work in shafts, pipelines, pits and sewers
  
• When entering and working in silos
  
• Work in underground mining structures, in rock strata containing natural gas
  
• Work with radiation sources outside irradiation areas
  
• Work with compressed air and respiratory protection
  
• Deconstruction or demolition work
  
• Rope access work
  
• Work with rope protection (fall arrest system)
  
• Forestry work with special hazards, e.g., work with chainsaws, work in steep terrain, logging, climbing trees
  
• Work on train tracks
  
• Work on electrical towers
  

Work that may only be carried out within eyeshot and earshot of other people (regardless of the time of day):

• Work on technical systems in special operation, e.g., installing, rectifying faults, maintenance work
• Work in usually inaccessible and unsecured hazard areas
• Work with a risk of being caught by rotating parts and tools
  
• Work with chemicals or laboratory glassware
  
• Climbing higher than 3 m
  

Requirements for persons working alone: they must be

• Mentally and intellectually suited to working alone (danger awareness!)
  
• Physically suited to working alone
  
• Of age

At ETH Zurich, there is the possibility of coming into contact with hazards at various study and work spaces. Since it cannot always be assumed that a second person is within eyeshot or earshot outside normal working hours, the requirements for working alone must be complied with accordingly. This means that without the presence of another person or a suitable alarm system, none of the work which has a higher risk potential and which is prohibited according to the above list may be carried out on principle. Routine work where the exact procedure is known or work processes involving hazardous substances or equipment where personal injury is prevented by appropriate technical or structural measures may be carried out alone. The corresponding guidelines must therefore be specified in writing, either in general or specific to the study or work space. To assess the need for monitoring persons working alone and to determine the appropriate monitoring system, please contact

The supply of narcotics in Switzerland is regulated by the Narcotics Act (BetmG) and the Narcotics Control Ordinance (BetmKV). Institutions involved in scientific research may be granted a licence by the relevant cantonal authority to cultivate, acquire, store and use narcotics to the extent required for their own needs. Within ETH Zurich, a separate licence is required for each organisational unit (research group, platform, etc.). The organisational units shall appoint a person in charge of the controlled substances and entrust him/her with the following tasks:

• Ordering
• Internal organisation
  
• Storage
  
• Issuance
  
• Control

Compliance with these legal provisions is essential for the organisational units of ETH Zurich that want to obtain narcotics. Both those who already work with narcotics and those who are new to it are required to appoint a person in charge and obtain the necessary licence. A licence for scientific institutions is generally valid for 5 years and costs CHF 250. These costs are borne by the respective organisational unit. For logical reasons, the respective executive of the organisational unit is usually appointed as the person in charge, as this is the person who bears the responsibility.