2017/0167/FIN
EC/EFTA
FI Finlande
  • B20 - Sécurité
2017-07-31
2017-05-05

Safe operation and maintenance of a building

Ministry of the Environment Decree on the operational safety of buildings

The Ministry of the Environment Decree on the operational safety of buildings would replace the provisions regarding operational safety of a building in the current Ministry of the Environment Decree on the operational safety of buildings (National Building Code of Finland, Section F2, 2001). The new decree would, in terms of its content, be largely based on the aforementioned decree and on the guidelines issued alongside it. The concepts used in the decree were revised in order to correspond to terminology in the Land Use and Building Act (132/1999).

The aim is to clarify the requirements set for the operational safety of buildings, thus creating the prerequisites for standardisation of action taken by authorities and the predictability of such action. In addition, the decree will make more specific the requirements set for the safe operation of a building as regards repair and alteration work. At the same time, certain specifications of the regulations have been fine-tuned in relation to the regulations to be issued on accessibility and fire safety, taking into account the aspect of deregulation.

The content of the proposed decree is based mainly on the current regulatory controls, i.e. the regulations and guidelines of the Ministry of the Environment Decree on the operational safety of buildings (F2, 2001). The proposed decree contains a body of rules regarding the operational safety of a building and its maintenance, and also its curtilage area.

The main content of the decree proposed for replacement has not been changed, apart from regulations relating to stairs, barriers and handrails and requirements for exposed glass structures. Otherwise, only a number of fine-tunings and minor additions have been made to the regulatory controls.