After a successful debut at Nordbygg 2024, the Safety Park will return to the 2026 edition to inspire, educate and engage in dialogue.
April 15, 2025
But already now, the Safety Park wants to highlight some of the safety issues you should keep in mind if you want to help move the construction industry in a safer direction.
The Safety Park is operated by Byggföretagen (The Swedish Construction Federation) and serves as a training and testing environment where the industry can discuss safety. Through realistic scenarios and practical exercises, participants experience risks and learn how to work safely in different situations. The goal is to create a stronger safety culture and reduce accidents on construction sites.
At Nordbygg 2024, parts of the Safety Park were brought indoors to Stockholmsmässan, where a dedicated training and test environment was created. In 2026, the Safety Park will return in a new format.
“In 2024, there was a lot of interest in fall protection and noise-related risks, and visitors clearly wanted to deepen their knowledge of health and safety. Next time, we’ll further sharpen the trainings,” says Björne Karlsson, previous Director of the Safety Park.
New regulations from January 1, 2025 are reshaping safety thinking
Safety is an ever-relevant topic, and on January 1, 2025, new regulations from the Swedish Work Environment Authority came into force. These aim to clarify roles and responsibilities for developers, designers, and construction health and safety coordinators – with a focus on preventing risks already in the planning phase.
This means, among other things:
– Health and safety must be integrated from the start of planning and design.
– Developers will carry more responsibility for following up on the implementation of safety measures.
– Coordination requirements between actors on site are now more clearly defined.
Björne emphasizes that no matter your role in the building process, you can help meet these requirements:
“As an industry, we’re not quite there yet. Take vibration injuries, for example. We talk a lot about minimizing exposure to vibrating tools, but we should already be finding design solutions that reduce the need for those tools in the first place. Safety is about the entire chain – not just the construction site.”
Talk more about work environment – not just safety
After many years with the Safety Park, Björne also sees the need to shift the narrative around safety in the industry. In order to attract new talent and increase the sector’s appeal, we need to highlight the positives:
“We often talk about risks, accidents, and macho culture. But we also need to showcase the skilled and dedicated people who do a great job every day. The construction sector is about so much more than negative headlines. A more positive image will attract new, competent professionals.”
He also stresses that a good work environment isn’t just about avoiding accidents – it’s about creating a place where people want to work.
“Safety and harmony go hand in hand. A workplace where people feel good and treat each other with respect is also a safer one,” Björne concludes.
