The party starting the construction project must ensure that the building is designed and built in accordance with building regulations and decrees and the permit granted. To ensure this, the party starting the construction project must have access to qualified, personnel meeting the eligibility requirements
According to the permit decision, a responsible site supervisor must be appointed for the project, and if necessary, also a specialist supervisor(s).
The site supervisor and the specialist site supervisor must, together with the party initiating the project, ensure that the construction work is carried out in accordance with the granted permit, construction regulations and standards, and good building practices. The party initiating the project is responsible for appointing the necessary persons in charge.
Declaring the site supervisor
The site supervisor must be declared to the building control authority before any construction or preparatory work, such as excavation, quarrying, piling or felling of trees, is started. In the case of renovation and alteration work on a building, the notification regarding the site supervisor must be submitted before any structures or building parts are demolished or constructed.
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Declaring a specialist supervisor
The specialist supervisor must be appointed for the project in accordance with the permit decision. However, Building Control Services may decide during the construction work, if necessary, that a specialist supervisor is needed for the project. The specialist supervisor must be declared to the building control authority before any construction work in the special field in question.
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Any construction work requiring a building permit must have a site supervisor in charge of the construction work. If a construction project requiring a building permit does not involve construction work, e.g. a change in the intended use of a building without carrying out any construction work, a site supervisor is not required. A site supervisor must be appointed for the project in accordance with the permit decision.
The site supervisor is responsible for the overall construction work and its quality, and for ensuring that the work is carried out in accordance with the building permit, the plans, relevant building regulations and good building practice. The site supervisor must be present during all worksite inspections.
Additionally, the site supervisor must ensure that:
- all measures to avoid the risks and negative impacts of construction work are taken before and during the work;
- the necessary surveys on the risky phases and negative impacts of the construction project have been carried out;
- the approved master drawings, the necessary special plans and other documents are available at the construction site;
- an up-to-date construction work inspection document is available at the construction site;
- the construction project has a specialised supervisor, as required by the complexity of the work, who carries out tasks assigned to them;
- all necessary measures are taken during the construction work to remedy any issues or defects found;
- all inspections and measures are carried out in the appropriate work phase;
- the necessary inspections by the authorities are requested and the persons to be present during the inspection are appointed well in advance with the inspection engineer of the project.
In addition to a site supervisor, any construction work requiring a building permit must have supervisors in charge of the construction of water and sewerage installations and the ventilation system of the building, if the complexity of the construction of the installations so requires. These specialist supervisor(s) must be appointed for the project in accordance with the permit decision. However, Building Control Services may decide during the construction work, if necessary, that a specialist supervisor is needed for the project.
The specialist supervisor leads the construction work in their specific area, ensuring that the work is carried out in accordance with the regulations and requirements related to their specialty, the granted permit, and good building practices. The supervisor must be present during inspections related to their area of responsibility.
The level of difficulty of a site supervisor’s duties in a construction project is determined based on the intended use of the building and its facilities, building conservation, the size of the building, the construction physics and health characteristics of the building, loads and fire loads, the planning methods, the complexity of load-bearing structures, environmental and site-related requirements, the construction conditions and the methods used to carry out the work, and the carbon neutrality of the work.
The difficulty categories are:
- minor
- ordinary
- demanding
- very demanding
- exceptionally demanding.
The party undertaking the construction project is responsible for verifying the validity of the construction products used and documenting it in the construction work inspection document.
The validity of a construction product means that the product, by virtue of its characteristics, can be used for the intended application and meets the technical requirements set for the application by authorities.
Supervision by the developer
The developer can apply for the right to supervise the entire or partial construction process itself if the building is not a residential building. Supervision will be carried out in accordance with the approved supervision plan. When approving the supervision plan, Building Control decides where no regulatory supervision is required.
The building supervision authority can revoke the permit for project management supervision if it is later found that the conditions for project management supervision are not met. It is important to note that project management supervision does not limit the authority of the building supervision authority, and a final inspection by the building supervision authority must be conducted in the construction project.
Expert inspection
Upon application, Building Control may allow the author of the construction plan or account or another sufficiently skilled person employed by the party starting the construction project to inspect that the construction work conforms with the plan. All inspections carried out must be recorded in the construction work inspection document.
External inspection
When processing the application for a permit or during construction, the building control authority may require a statement from an expert independent of the construction project indicating that the planned solution or construction meets the requirements imposed on it by law. The statement of an independent expert may also be required if the construction involves the use of planning and construction methods or products that have a significant impact on the safety, healthiness or long-term durability of the building and the effectiveness of which has not been ascertained in general or through prior experience. The party undertaking the construction project will be responsible for the costs arising from this.