APV stands for arbejdspladsvurdering, the workplace assessment. It is the company's standard tool for finding, assessing and solving working environment problems. The rules are in § 15 a of the Working Environment Act ("lov om arbejdsmiljø") and §§ 2-3 of the executive order on systematic working environment work (BEK no. 608 of 29 June 2026).
Who must carry out an APV?
The employer must carry out an APV as soon as the company has at least one employee. It must cover all employees (§ 2(6)).
The employer chooses the method
The employer chooses how the APV is carried out. There must, however, be a written procedure, and the method must contain four elements (§ 2(2)):
- A risk assessment of the working environment problems, based on a survey of working environment conditions.
- Inclusion of sickness absence: can conditions in the working environment help cause it?
- A written action plan for problems that cannot be solved right away.
- Implementation of the plan and follow-up on whether the solutions work.
When must the APV be redone?
- When there are changes in the work, working methods or work processes that may affect the working environment.
- In addition, working conditions must be surveyed at least every three years (§ 2(3)).
The action plan
A good action plan describes for each problem (§ 2(2), no. 3):
- its nature, seriousness, extent and cause
- when and how it is to be solved
- who is responsible
The plan must be kept in the company and be available to managers, supervisors, other employees and the Working Environment Authority (Arbejdstilsynet).
Your role in the working environment organisation
The employer must make sure that the working environment organisation takes part in the whole process: planning, implementation, follow-up and updating (§ 3). This is documented by the organisation countersigning the action plan. In companies without a working environment organisation, the employees take part in a corresponding way.
As a working environment representative or supervisor you can, for example:
- walk round your area and talk to colleagues about what bothers them
- gather information on accidents, near misses and sickness absence
- make sure problems are described so concretely that someone can act on them
- follow up on whether a solution has really helped
External help
If the employer does not have the necessary insight, the employer must obtain external expert assistance (§ 3(3)). Responsibility for the APV being carried out and the requirements being met still lies with the employer.
An everyday example
In a warehouse, several people complain of back pain. The working environment group walks round, talks to colleagues and finds that the heaviest goods are on the top shelves. The problem is written in the action plan with a date, a person responsible and a solution: heavy goods are moved down to waist height, and a pallet truck is bought. Three months later, the group checks whether the complaints have stopped. This is how an APV should work: concrete, with responsibility and with follow-up.
Typical mistakes
- The APV is done once and put in a drawer.
- The action plan says "will be solved soon" with no date or person responsible.
- Nobody checks afterwards whether the solution works.
- The working environment organisation only hears about the result when it is finished.