Work environment - E4 Stockholm Bypass

We work based on Vision Zero with the aim that no one will be injured, die in an accident or suffer from illness related to work.

Responsibility for the work environment

The responsibility for the work environment in construction and excavation work is shared by several different parties who collaborate to create a good and safe work environment.

The Swedish Transport Administration is the coordinating general contractor in the E4 Stockholm Bypass project. We order the work to be carried out by contractors and thus have an overall responsibility for work environment issues for the duration of the project. This responsibility entails, among other things, that we must identify, assess and manage risks starting from the planning phase of the project in order to highlight work environment risk at the earliest possible stage and thereby them.

During the actual construction phase, the responsibility primarily consists of monitoring and following up on the work carried out by the contractors so that the work environment is satisfactory for everyone working on the project.

All employers always have their own work environment responsibility. This applies to all contractors, construction consultants, subcontractors and other parties contributing to the project. The responsibility for the work environment entails, among other things, that all risks must be identified, assessed and mitigated within a party's relevant area of activity and suitable systems and routines for this work must be established.

Risk management

Implementation of construction and excavation work for the E4 Stockholm Bypass project involves numerous work environment risks. The work is carried out in different locations in which multiple work components progress simultaneously and with different contractors, subcontractors and workers in varying numbers. In order to manage these risks, a work environment plan must be drawn up and include safety rules, an inventory of risks and the special measures needed to prevent accidents and risk to the health.

An important part of the preventive work environment work is to plan and coordinate various work components temporally and spatially in order to avoid risks when the work stages are to be implemented. The Swedish Transport Administration appoints a construction work environment coordinator for the planning phase (BAS-P) and a construction work environment coordinator for the implementation phase (BAS-U).

The contractor who is awarded a contract is appointed BAS-U and can assume the task of organising, coordinating and managing safety activities on the specific construction site.

BAS-U follows the established work environment plan and is responsible for ensuring that it is current and always up-to-date and that everyone who works on the work site follows the work environment plan and learns and follows the applicable rules and routines.

Follow-up for a safe workplace

The Swedish Transport Administration works actively to monitor and follow up on the environmental work of the various contracts. The Swedish Transport Administration's construction supervisor follows up on the contractor's self-monitoring within environmental work by, among other things, participating in the contractor's inspection rounds, wherein shortcomings are identified and rectified. The basis of safe implementation is the contractor's planning of the work stage. When incidents and accidents occur, it is important to learn lessons from them. The project's work environment specialists also participate in the work.

Work environment requirements and regulations

The Swedish Work Environment Act and Work Environment Regulations stipulate extensive requirements on the work environment that are applicable for the Swedish Transport Administration and the E4 Stockholm Bypass project work carried out by our contractors. We rely on these laws to a major extent and have the right to require that our suppliers comply with them.

We have also developed our own requirements in some areas. An example of this is the requirement that our contractors musts conduct systematic work environment work in accordance with OHSAS 18001 or equivalent standards. We also require that all employees of our contractors receive fundamental introductory training in work environments. In tunnel work, for example, part of the requirements is based on experience relating to the work with Citybanan and Norra Länken.