Step 3 of the Safety Culture Ladder
The Safety Culture Ladder: what does step 3 entail?
No-one would disagree that companies should always prioritise safety and that prevention is always better than cure. But how do you identify the level of safety awareness in your company? The answer is the Safety Culture Ladder. It consists of five steps: step 1 represents the lowest level of safety awareness and step 5 the highest. If you meet the requirements for step 5, safety has been fully integrated into all your business processes. In this blog, we will zoom in on step 3 of the Safety Culture Ladder. What does step 3 entail? Is compliance with step 3 mandatory? How can you arrange for your company to be certified against step 3? We will also give examples of the requirements and criteria that auditors bear in mind during the certification process.
What does steps 3 of the Safety Culture Ladder entail?
Step 3 of the Safety Culture Ladder is defined as ‘Calculating - Safety rules are considered important'. If your company is in compliance with this step, it will have determined which safety rules are important. Companies that comply with step 3 take responsibility but are also driven by self-interest. ‘What’s in it for me?’. Involvement in safety and compliance with rules and laws is mainly the task of (senior) management. The steps below step 3 have little to no involvement in the ‘safety’ theme.
Is it mandatory to comply with step 3 of the Safety Culture Ladder?
At the moment, it is not mandatory for any company to comply with step 3 of the
Safety Culture Ladder.
However, this will change on 1 January 2025, when companies that participate in tenders in the construction industry will be required to demonstrate their compliance with step 3. It has already been mandatory for these companies to comply with the requirements of step 2 since 1 January 2022. It will not be mandatory for other companies to comply with step 3 or any of the other steps on the Safety Culture Ladder. Naturally, it is always advisable to take safety seriously because everyone in your company stands to benefit if you do.
How does step 3 certification work?
If you decide to have your company certified against step 3 of the Safety Culture Ladder, you will be able to choose between two variants. A certificate is issued for each of them:
- SCL Original
- SCL
There are another two variants to choose from, but you will not be issued with a certificate for either of them. You will receive a statement or document for the following two variants:
- SCL Light
- Approved Self Assessment
You can use the SAQ online questionnaire to gain an idea of the current situation in your company. The results of this self-assessment will help identify your current situation and also which step is the best for you to aim for. Once you have made this decision, you will be ready to choose a certification body (CB) to conduct an audit - DEKRA, for example. During this audit, a number of observing project visits and interviews will take place with employees and management. If successful, you will receive a certificate for the step of your choice. Your company will then be recertified after one year. What this involves will depend on the variant you choose.
Examples of requirements and criteria
Each step - including step 3 - of the Safety Culture Ladder is subject to requirements derived from six company aspects. The standard gives an example of a requirement and criterion for each company aspect.
DEKRA for certification against step 3 of the Safety Culture Ladder
If you would like to arrange to have your company certified against step 3 of the Safety Culture Ladder, look no further than DEKRA. Our experienced auditors will be happy to help you show how seriously you take safety. You may even progress to steps 4 and 5 in the future.
4 Results
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