During construction

During the construction work, responsible persons must be designated for different areas of the site:

The responsible site manager is responsible for ensuring that the construction work is carried out in accordance with the plans and good building practice. As a detached house builder, you must ensure that the responsible site manager devotes sufficient time to your site. Always invite them to the site when necessary and for matters related to the inspection documents. The various stages of the site work must be well documented.

Safety coordinator: The task of the safety coordinator is to ensure that occupational safety is considered during the design and preparation phases, and to ensure that safety plans for the implementation phase have been drawn up for the site. The safety coordinator must cooperate with the main contractor in planning for safety and in the execution of the construction work.

Request an occupational safety risk assessment for the construction project from your safety coordinator.

Person responsible for site moisture management. In detached house projects, the responsible site manager or a separate moisture management coordinator often acts as the person responsible for site moisture management. You can also agree with the prefabricated house supplier that their representative will act as the person responsible for moisture management during the installation of the house package.

Supervisor: The supervisor’s role is not based on the Building Act and is therefore not mandatory. The supervisor is a person hired by the person engaging in the project to monitor the performance and quality of the construction work on their behalf. The supervisor should not be confused with the building supervision authority. You can, for example, link the payment instalments of your project to the inspections carried out by the supervisor.

Commencing construction work

Construction work always begins with a kick-off meeting or a commencement notice. The responsibility for convening the kick-off meeting lies with the person engaging in the construction project. The person engaging in the construction project, the responsible site manager, the principal designer, and the local building inspector always participate in the kick-off meeting. If the project requires it, other responsible persons may also be invited to the meeting.

Ensure that the duty of care of the person engaging in the construction project is maintained throughout the construction period.

At the start of construction, according to the work stages:

• Start filling in the operating and maintenance instructions together with the responsible site manager right from the beginning of construction.
• Ensure that the responsible site manager starts filling in the construction work inspection document in the Lupapiste service.
• If required by the permit, ensure together with the site manager that the inspection documents for the construction work and HPAC work are completed, and arrange for any final inspection of the HPAC work.
• Order the marking of the building or buildings’ location from the city’s surveying office. If this is not mentioned in the permit conditions, then only a location inspection is ordered once the foundations are completed.
• Ask the specialist designers to add the special plans (e.g. structural, foundation, HVAC, and water and sewage plans) to Lupapiste if this has not already been done in earlier stages.

Arrange the necessary utility connection agreements in good time:

• Electricity connection
• Water and sewage connection
• Cable network connection
• District heating connection

If you need to build or excavate outside the plot, apply for the necessary permits or obtain the neighbour’s consent. Ask your responsible site manager to inspect the neighbouring property before and after the construction work carried out from there.

Construction work must be carried out in accordance with the plan attachments of the building permit. During construction, changes sometimes occur that deviate from the original. If the changes are more than minor, you will need a dynamic permit for them. Ask the principal designer to assess the nature of the changes and compile them in Lupapiste. After this, apply for a dynamic permit for them. Even for minor changes that do not require a dynamic permit, updated plans must be added to Lupapiste. You can discuss the need for a dynamic permit with your local building inspector.

Inspections included in the construction project

The building permit specifies the mandatory inspections. Together with the responsible site manager, ensure that the inspections specified in the building permit are carried out at the required work stage. You can book inspections directly through the building supervision’s electronic booking system. If electrical installations are carried out, the electrical contractor must perform an electrical inspection and provide an inspection report.

Once the building is constructed, the necessary inspections have been held, and the requirements are met, you can request a partial final inspection (commissioning inspection). A partial final inspection is not mandatory; it is only held if you wish to take the building into use before the actual final inspection. At least the person engaging in the construction project, the responsible site manager, and the building inspector must participate in the commissioning inspection. In addition, the necessary material, such as inspection reports and the inspection document, must be prepared for it. Commissioning does not usually require the yard to be fully completed. You can move into a residential building after a successful commissioning inspection. A partial final inspection is not sufficient for the completion of the construction project, and the person engaging in the construction project must ensure that the construction work is completed within the validity period of the building permit. Before the final inspection, ensure that the yard and any deficiencies noted in the commissioning inspection are completed.