When erecting or demolishing part of a building or carrying out maintenance work at a permanent place of business such as a factory, school, shop or hospital, the construction project becomes a construction site at the permanent place of business.

It is essential to coordinate the work environment management for the staff at the permanent place of business with the management in the construction project. This coordination ensures that the various operations do not create work environment risks for one another. The same principle applies to building and civil engineering work at locations such as railway yards, power plants or harbours.

Excavation

Excavation includes activities such as digging and rock blasting for building foundations, as well as rock blasting for tunnels or excavated chambers intended for power plants or sewage treatment facilities, etcetera.

Ground work

Ground work includes foundation reinforcement tasks such as piling, terracing, spreading base course, surfacing and the installation of underground pipes, etcetera.

Civil engineering work

Civil engineering work refers to, for example, construction of

• roads, streets, squares and airfields
• bridges, harbours, hydropower plants, wind turbines and solar parks
• golf courses, playgrounds and parks
• underground pipes for water and sewage
• networks for electricity, telecommunications and data transmission, including overhead power lines and mobile phone masts.

Additionally, the following activities are also classified as construction work:

• roadworks and rail work, including paving and railroad track installation
• diving work during bridge construction.

Building work

Building work often encompasses carpentry, concrete work and masonry for buildings or structures along with any additional tasks needed for these. Other types of work may also fall within this category.

Assembly and disassembly of prefabricated elements

Prefabricated elements refer to larger structural units, such as those used for buildings or bridges, which are assembled on-site. They may also include larger units of prefabricated concrete form elements that are hoisted into position or disassembled using a crane.

The work of manufacturing the parts in a factory is not counted as building or civil engineering work. However, there are work environment rules for the design of the parts in the regulations on design and building work environment coordination – basic obligations (AFS 2023:3), in chapter 7 about the producer of prefabricated buildings or structures.

The installation of interior fittings involves the construction or installation of fixed furnishings such as kitchen cabinets, wardrobes or shop and reception counters.

The installation of equipment includes work on systems and devices essential for the functioning of a building or structure, ensuring it can accommodate the people who will use it once completed. Examples include installing

• heating and ventilation systems
• lighting and electricity systems
• water and sewerage systems

The installation of solar panels is also considered as building and civil engineering work.

For information regarding work on a factory's process equipment, please refer to the section titled ”Examples of what does not count as building or civil engineering work.”

Alteration

Altering a building or structure can involve rebuilding, extending, or any action that changes aspects such as the layout, facade or construction of the building. The replacement of furnishings and materials beyond standard maintenance is also classified as alteration.

Renovation

Renovating a building entails restoring or modernising it to a condition that is technically equivalent to that of a new building. Renovation can apply to an entire building or just a portion of it.

Disassembly and demolition

Disassembly or demolition refers to the process of removing parts of a building or structure, or the entire building or structure. It also includes the demolition of a section of a building that is necessary to facilitate the dismantling of part of a factory's process equipment.

Repair and ongoing or periodic maintenance are considered forms of building and civil engineering work. These activities typically involve some intervention in the building or facility, such as

• roof repair
• replacement of plumbing
• replacement of electrical systems.

Repainting a building, in whole or in part, along with the cleaning required prior to painting, is also included in this category.

Maintenance may further encompass the following tasks related to roads:

• scraping of gravel roads
• repair of asphalt surfaces
• repair of road barriers
• replacement of light fittings, posts or signs.

It is important to note that drafting documents that describe maintenance work is also classified as design.

The operation of a building or a structure is not normally counted as building or civil engineering work. For more information, please refer to the section titled ”Examples of what does not count as building or civil engineering work.”

Drainage

Drainage involves measures taken to divert water from land or from a building or structure. This can include drainage layers of gravel installed beneath and around a building or a road, pipes designed to carry water away from such a layers, and drainage channels positioned behind sprayed concrete in tunnels or similar applications.

Decontamination

Decontamination activities that are classified as building and civil engineering work include, for example:

• asbestos removal prior to rebuilding or demolition
• decontamination of contaminated soil in preparation for construction
• decontamination of soil after demolition.

Rock blasting in quarries and rock blasting to extract minerals in mines are not considered building or civil engineering work. However, if you are constructing a new main level within a mine, that blasting activity is classified as construction work.

Assembling, maintaining or disassembling a factory's process equipment or work equipment is not classified as building or civil engineering work. Similarly, installations for electricity, water, and other utilities associated with that equipment do not fall under this category.

On the other hand, more typical construction work, that needs to be carried out for the process equipment, is counted as building and civil engineering work; for example

• excavation
• refilling
• concrete work for foundations
• work on pipe supports
• pipe bridges and support for cable racks.

New construction, reconstruction or modifications to a factory building are classified as building and civil engineering work. This includes the demolition of pipes associated with the building, such as pipes used for ventilation, water and sewage.

The operation of a building or a structure is not considered as building or civil engineering work. Determining the distinction between operational work and maintenance can sometimes be challenging.

On the other hand, work that is typically classified as operational must be considered building or civil engineering work when conducted as part of, or in connection with, such work. For example, changing light bulbs in a building under construction or performing cleaning and window cleaning tasks in conjunction with the completion of a building or structure falls under this category.

It is important to note that the concept of "operation" can have different interpretations in other regulations. For instance, in regulations concerning the construction and operation of roads, the term "operation" may also encompass maintenance and repair work, such as grading and paving gravel roads and renewing surfaces.