Gefahrübergang

Gefahrübergang is a concept used in safety engineering and risk assessment to describe the transfer of hazard potential from a source to a target through interfaces, sequences of events, or energy and information flows. It focuses on how a danger can move from where it originates to where harm could occur.

Through a Gefahrübergang, a hazard does not act by itself; it requires a pathway or condition that allows exposure or impact on a person, equipment, or environment. Identifying potential Gefahrübergänge helps determine where protective measures are needed at boundaries between subsystems, processes, or roles.

Typical mechanisms include physical energy transfer (pressure, heat, chemicals), energy storage (residual spring force, capacitors), process piping or leakage paths, and information or control signals that bypass safety systems. Examples: a leaking valve allowing flammable vapour to reach personnel; residual energy in a de-energized machine presenting a sudden hazard; software faults causing unsafe machine operation for the operator.

In practice, mapping Gefahrübergänge supports risk reduction by locating critical interfaces and implementing barriers, interlocks, procedural controls, and training. The term is common in German-language safety literature, though its usage varies and it is not always distinguished as a formal standard term.

See also: Gefährdungsbeurteilung, Risikomanagement, Hazard analysis.