Site Safety Rules for Swedish Trades: A Practical Guide

Site safety in Sweden isn't paperwork for its own sake – it's the difference between everyone going home in one piece and you facing a serious accident, a shut-down jobsite and a fine. Construction is one of the most accident-prone industries in the country, and falls from height, crush injuries and electrical accidents top the statistics year after year. This guide walks through what the law actually requires, who carries responsibility, and gives you a concrete checklist you can put to work tomorrow.

What the law requires: the Work Environment Act and AFS

The foundation is the Work Environment Act (Arbetsmiljölagen, AML), which states that work must be planned and carried out so that no one becomes ill or injured. It is made concrete by the Swedish Work Environment Authority's regulations (Arbetsmiljöverkets föreskrifter, AFS). Since 1 January 2025 a completely reworked regulatory structure applies – the old regulations have been consolidated into fewer combined booklets. For construction, the central regulation is now AFS 2023:3 on design and construction work environment coordination, which replaced the old AFS 1999:3.

The key thing to grasp is that responsibility begins long before the first day on site. Risks designed into a project – cramped excavations, poor access, heavy lifts – follow it all the way to handover. Always check the current rules directly with Arbetsmiljöverket, since regulations and amounts change.

Who carries responsibility? Client, BAS-P and BAS-U

Formal responsibility for the work environment on a construction project sits with the client (byggherre) – the party commissioning the work. The client must appoint two coordinators:

• BAS-P (work environment coordinator for planning and design) – coordinates safety during the design phase, so risks are engineered out before they reach the site.
• BAS-U (work environment coordinator for execution) – takes over when construction starts, ensures the work environment plan is followed, coordinates the various contractors on site, and keeps the plan current.

As a subcontractor you also always retain your own employer responsibility for your own staff. The client appointing a BAS-U does not remove your duty to ensure your installers have the right protection, training and equipment. Responsibility can be delegated through a written agreement, but the client must make sure whoever takes it on actually has the competence and resources.

The work environment plan and advance notification

Two documents are central, and both carry fines if missing.

A work environment plan (arbetsmiljöplan) must exist before the site is established if the project is subject to advance notification or if any "particularly hazardous" work is to be performed. Examples include a risk of falling two metres or more, work near live electricity with danger to life, work with certain chemical or biological substances, demolition of heavy structural parts, and work in excavations. The plan must set out site rules, how the specific risks are managed, and who is responsible for what. If a plan is missing, the fine under current rules is on the order of SEK 50,000 for notification-required projects and around SEK 10,000 for smaller ones – verify current amounts with Arbetsmiljöverket.

An advance notification (förhandsanmälan) must be sent by the client to Arbetsmiljöverket when the work is expected to last longer than 30 working days and more than 20 people work simultaneously at any point, or when the total number of person-days is expected to exceed 500. A copy must be posted visibly on site. Failing to notify currently carries a fine of SEK 5,000.

The most common risks in the field

The statistics are clear about where things go wrong. Prioritise these:

• Falls from height – the single most common cause of death on site. Scaffolding must be erected by a competent person and inspected; use guardrails, fall arrest and the right access equipment.
• Electricity – always follow de-energised procedures, never work on live parts unless qualified, and verify the rules with Elsäkerhetsverket.
• Dust and chemicals – silica dust, asbestos and isocyanates require specific controls, measurement and sometimes medical checks.
• Heavy lifting and ergonomics – plan in lifting aids; musculoskeletal injuries are the leading cause of long-term sick leave in the trade.
• Lone working and traffic – have routines for raising the alarm and for barriers against passing traffic.

A practical jobsite checklist

Use this as a daily and weekly minimum:

• Is there a current work environment plan on site – and is the advance notification submitted and visible?
• Is a BAS-U appointed and reachable, and does everyone know who it is?
• Are scaffolds, ladders and lifting equipment inspected and tagged?
• Does everyone have the right PPE – hard hat, safety boots, eye and ear protection, fall protection where needed?
• Are first aid, eye wash and fire extinguishers in place – and does everyone know where?
• Are hazardous tasks (hot work, excavation, electrical) briefed before they start with a toolbox talk?
• Are safety inspections done regularly and deviations documented?
• Are near-misses and accidents reported – serious incidents must be reported to Arbetsmiljöverket without delay?

This isn't a one-off exercise. The risk picture shifts every time a new task begins or a new contractor arrives. That's exactly why field documentation matters – a safety inspection, a self-check, or a photographed near-miss that actually gets saved and acted on.

With FieldApp, your installers can fill in self-checks, checklists and protocols straight from their phone on site – even with no signal – with photos and timestamps saved automatically. That makes safety rounds and deviations traceable without extra paperwork back at the office. No chasing loose notes, and you have evidence that routines are actually followed.

Build safety into the everyday

The best safety work is barely visible – it lives in how you plan the job, how you induct new staff, and how you talk about risk before a task starts. Legal requirements are the floor, not the ceiling. A firm that takes safety seriously gets fewer stoppages, lower sick leave, and a reputation that keeps the best tradespeople on the team.

Want your checklists, self-checks and documentation in order without binders? See how FieldApp works and try it free for 14 days.