Ohutusnõue

Ohutusnõue is an Estonian term meaning a safety requirement. It refers to a specification, criterion, or constraint designed to ensure safety for people, property, the environment, or the operation of a system, product, or process. The word combines ohutus (safety) and nõue (requirement). Ohutusnõue can be functional, describing what a design must do to be safe, or performance-based, describing the level or outcome of safety that must be achieved.

In practice, ohutusnõuded arise from risk assessment, hazard analysis, and from national or international standards and regulatory frameworks. They are articulated in design specifications, technical documentation, manuals, and procurement contracts. Compliance with ohutusnõuded is typically verified through analysis, testing, inspections, and certification processes. They guide activities across industries such as manufacturing, construction, transportation, healthcare, and information technology.

Practitioners identify which ohutusnõuded apply to a given context, embed them into design and operational practices, and demonstrate conformity to regulators, customers, or certification bodies. Failure to meet these requirements can create safety risks, regulatory penalties, or loss of market access.

Examples of ohutusnõued include electrical safety requirements to prevent shock, structural or guardrail standards to protect workers, and fail-safe behavior in software systems to avoid hazardous states. In general, ohutusnõue serves as a foundational concept in safety engineering, risk management, and compliance processes.

See also: ohutus, ohutusstandard, riskihindamine, vastavus, standard.