Within eight days in March, the Danish Working Environment Authority issued four immediate orders to contractors on the Femern construction project at Rødbyhavn. All orders are directed at different units under Femern Link Contractors (FLC), which is responsible for the main contract of the tunnel construction.
The orders concern missing railings, inadequate fall protection, and welding work without mandatory training or protection against harmful fumes. Despite the nature of the case, the client Femern A/S states that the number of accidents on the project is generally low in relation to the scale and complexity of the construction.
Fall from platform
One of the orders was issued on 10 March and stems from a specific work accident. Here, an employee fell 2.45 metres from a work platform after leaning against a loosely placed crowd barrier, which toppled over. According to the Danish Working Environment Authority, the company had removed permanent railings on the platform, and no other effective collective protection against falling had been established.
Here are the four immediate orders
6 March 2025 FLC Portals Group I/S - Welding without § 17 course and without training certificate.
6 March 2025 FLC Portals Group I/S - Welding work without process extraction, employees exposed to harmful smoke.
10 March 2025 FLC Tunnel Group North I/S - Employee fell 2.45 metres from platform without adequate railing.
14 March 2025 FLC Portals Group I/S - Missing railing at stair landing on common access route, risk of falling.
“If an employee during work moves or stays near an edge that is not sufficiently secured against the danger of falling, there is a risk of falling with a significant danger of serious injury,” writes the Danish Working Environment Authority in the decision and orders the company to immediately establish safe, collective measures such as railings or nets.
Welding without training
During an inspection on 6 March, the Danish Working Environment Authority found that two employees at FLC Portals Group I/S were welding in black steel without having completed the required § 17 course. The authority states in its decision that the work is therefore “not carried out in accordance with the Working Environment Act” and points out that welding work may only be performed by persons with documented training.
One of the immediate orders therefore requires the company to ensure that welding is only performed by persons with the necessary course and certificate - something that according to the regulation must be documented and available upon request.
Harmful fumes
During the same inspection, welding was also observed where no form of process extraction was set up - and no employees were wearing respiratory protection. According to the inspection, the welding fumes could be seen from 50 meters away and drifted towards areas where other employees were working.
“The employees had their faces in close proximity to the place where the welding was taking place,” writes the Danish Working Environment Authority and assesses that the work “is not planned, organised and carried out in a fully health-safe manner”.
The immediate order requires the company to establish process extraction that can effectively remove the harmful - and potentially carcinogenic - welding fumes.
Missing Handrail at Shared Staircase
The fourth order was issued on 14 March and concerns a temporary staircase on the construction site's western embankment at segment 21. Here, the inspection found that there was a lack of handrail on the landing at the top of the staircase, which was used by employees from at least two companies. Falling from this location would result in a fall of five metres down a slope with a 45-degree incline.
The Labour Inspectorate concludes that the access route was not fully safe and writes that there was "a significant risk of sustaining serious personal injury such as major lacerations or open/closed fractures."
The company was therefore ordered to establish proper fall protection without delay.
Few Accidents
Femern A/S confirms in a written comment that they are aware of the Labour Inspectorate's orders:
- Femern A/S is aware of the mentioned orders and the follow-up actions the contractor is undertaking in this regard. As the client, we work closely with the contractors on the project on measures that can enhance safety, and we have ongoing dialogue with authorities and labour market parties about the working environment.
Despite the four cases, the Femern construction continues to be characterised by a low accident rate compared to other large construction projects. This applies both when measured by the number of workplace accidents and the number of absence days in relation to working hours.
