DEKRA Audit Netherlands

Measure how high safety awareness is in your organization with the DEKRA Safety Culture Ladder

DEKRA Audit Netherlands

Measure how high safety awareness is in your organization with the DEKRA Safety Culture Ladder

DEKRA Audit Netherlands

Measure how high safety awareness is in your organization with the DEKRA Safety Culture Ladder

DEKRA Audit Netherlands

Measure how high safety awareness is in your organization with the DEKRA Safety Culture Ladder

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Safety Culture Ladder certification

Create a safe working environment with the Safety Culture Ladder certification

Is your organization’s work environment safe? Do your employees consciously do the right thing? And are you paying attention to safety risks in your company? Gain an insight into the role safety plays in your organization with the Safety Culture Ladder. Become certified by DEKRA. Our auditors have years of expertise with the Safety Culture Ladder, letting you protect yourself and your company.

Safety awareness and employees’ safe conduct plays a crucial role in occupational safety. The Safety Culture Ladder lets you measure the safety awareness of your own employees, contractors or suppliers. The result lets you target safety awareness and behaviour improvement, reducing the risks of accidents and staff absenteeism. And you can do targeted business with organizations that are also safety-conscious. Meanwhile your organization becomes an attractive partner.

Benefits of the Safety Culture Ladder certification

You demonstrate good employment practices.
You reduce the risk of employees dropping out through accidents or (long-term) illness.
You show your suppliers, customers and other stakeholders that you work safely.
You often create an advantage in tenders.

The different steps of the Safety Culture Ladder

The Safety Culture Ladder is managed by NEN, the Royal Netherlands Standardization Institute. The Safety Culture Ladder lets you protect the health and well-being of your employees. Your organization shows that it really pays attention to safety. The Safety Culture Ladder features five steps:

Step 5 of the Safety Culture Ladder: Progressive
Safety is integrated fully into all business processes.
Step 4 of the Safety Culture Ladder: Proactive
Safety is a high priority and is improved continuously.
Step 3 of the Safety Culture Ladder: Calculating
Safety rules are considered important.
Step 2 of the Safety Culture Ladder: Reactive
Safety is not a priority and only plays a role when something goes wrong.
Step 1 of the Safety Culture Ladder: Pathological
Safety is not on the organization’s agenda.

Organizations can progress from the Safety Culture Ladder step 1 to 5 and determine the step of the Safety Culture Ladder at which they want to start. So they decide how high to set the bar. The more safely a company operates, the higher its position on the Safety Culture Ladder. And the higher the position on the Safety Culture Ladder, the higher the advantage in tenders.

Download Safety Culture Ladder whitepaper

This toolkit explains exactly what the SCL entails, describes the different routes to certification, and provides insight into what preparations your organization can make.

What certifications are within the Safety Culture Ladder?

Certification against the Safety Culture Ladder Original involves a 100% audit every year. An organization receives the SCL Original certificate when it completes the audit successfully. The certificate shows which step has been achieved.

Certification against the Safety Culture Ladder also involves a 100% audit in the first year. The organization receives the Safety Culture Ladder certificate when it completes the audit successfully. The organization receives a follow-up 40% audit in year 2 and year 3. The certificate shows which step was achieved.

With the SCL Light we begin with a 40% audit in the first year. A check on the action plan takes place in year 2 and year 3. SCL Light entitles you to a statement, not a certificate. This statement specifies a ‘step indication’.

Is the Safety Culture Ladder mandatory?

In the construction industry, working with the Safety Culture Ladder step 2 is mandatory since Jan. 1, 2022, for companies that have signed the Governance Code of Safety in Construction (GCVB). This is understandable because construction has high safety risks. Yet the Safety Culture Ladder is designed to be applicable to any organization. With a Safety Culture Ladder audit, any organization can get serious about safety.

Currently, it is not mandatory for any company to meet step 3 of the Safety Culture Ladder. As of July 1, 2026, this will change for companies that have signed the Governance Code Safety in Construction (GCVB). Then these companies, which compete for tenders in construction, must be able to demonstrate that they comply with the third step of the Safety Culture Ladder. Other companies do not have to comply with Safety Culture Ladder step 3 or any other step. DEKRA will be happy to assist you with safety Safety Culture Ladder step 3 certification. Contact one of our experts.

Certification against the Safety Culture Ladder

Safety Culture Ladder certification is of particular interest to high-risk industries. But ideally all organizations where safety is paramount would do well to certify. If you’re a partner of an organization that works with the Safety Culture Ladder? Then it’s essential that the Safety Culture Ladder is applied throughout the chain, including you. Certification to the Safety Culture Ladder lets you show that your company is ready for any collaboration.

Development of the Safety Culture Ladder

Safety Culture Ladder for all organizations

Dutch rail network infrastructure organization ProRail developed the Safety Culture Ladder for working safely on the tracks. The Safety Culture Ladder also proved relevant to other organizations. NEN, the Royal Netherlands Standardization Institute, thus adopted this standard from 1 July 2016: the NEN Safety Culture Ladder.

Safety Culture Ladder spreads internationally

After many audits by DEKRA in the Netherlands, the first processes have now been completed in Germany. There is also considerable interest from Scandinavia and the United Kingdom. DEKRA Netherlands is the driving force in the international spread of the Safety Culture Ladder.

SAQ Compact permitted for all SCL products

Use of the SAQ Compact (a compact questionnaire) is now permitted when certifying against all Safety Culture Ladder products. This was decided by the Board of Stakeholders (BoS). An SCL Light statement formerly required the use of the SAQ Extended.

DEKRA’s expertise

DEKRA is your global partner for a safe world. DEKRA’s auditors have extensive knowledge and experience with the Safety Culture Ladder. Our experts perform audits in the Dutch and German markets, for both large organizations and SMEs. Always having a single point of contact at DEKRA makes things easy for you. You can also contact us for other audits. Want to know more about our Safety Culture Ladder certification process? Feel free to ask one of our experts.