Fine response by clients and consultants

Roughly one out of every two developers and one out of every three consultants were issued with stipulations on account of insufficient allowance for work environment conditions at the planning stage. In other words, they had not done what the Work Environment Act requires them to do for the avoidance of risks in the work environment during the construction phase and when the building is completed and in use.

During the week-long drive the Work Environment Authority examined fulfilment of their work environment responsibilities by the people commissioning and planning construction and civil engineering works. Municipalities and companies with large-scale building development operations were visited, as were architect firms, structural engineering firms and construction consultants carrying out planning on the developers’ behalf. Altogether 1,150 inspection visits were paid to roughly equal numbers of clients and consultants. Upwards of 800 stipulations were issued.

This time, then, the Authority was checking, not the discharge by these agencies of their responsibility for the work environment of their own personnel, but the consideration shown by them, in their capacities in the construction process, for the work environment of others at construction sites and of those destined to work in or on the completed buildings.

Speaking on Friday at the Work Environment Parliament in Stockholm, Director-General Kenth Pettersson said that the campaign had “sounded a warning. Our visits and our comprehensive information measures have been welcomed. Those concerned have addressed the issues themselves and had prepared themselves for our visits. Neither developers nor consultants are ignorant of the great importance of systematic planning.

“If all the implications for the work environment are thought over from the beginning, before the construction site is established, this will facilitate good and safe working conditions both during the construction phase and for all the occupational categories who will afterwards be concerned with running and maintaining the completed building or making deliveries to it. During the planning phase it also has to be considered whether the facilities to be constructed are suitable for the activity they are intended for. This includes everything from indoor climate, headroom and lighting conditions to spaces, for example, in serviced accommodation and senior housing enabling caring staff to do their work without risk of injury.”