The City of Amsterdam has been building a strong safety culture within its Engineering Office since 2017. Now the city is inviting other municipalities to share knowledge. "Nine times out of 10, an accident lies with choices we made as clients," says Annemieke Bantema, safety coordinator.
The Engineering Office of the City of Amsterdam realises all projects in public space: car parks, roads, bridges, quay walls. Mega-operations where safety is not optional. Since 2017, the city has therefore been working on a structured safety culture, with since 2024 the Safety Culture Ladder (SCL) as a compass.
From separate to central
In 2017, security expert Bantema was given an open assignment: see what could be done better. What she found was fragmented work. "Safety was being worked on, but separately at project level. There was no helicopter view from one central location within the Engineering Office."
She developed into a spider in the web, drawing lines together and seeking joint solutions. The first year, she wrote an annual plan for one team. A three-year plan for the whole office (2019-2022) followed later, and the current plan runs until 2026.
SCL as a prioritisation tool
Amsterdam uses the SCL not only to certify, but mainly as a tool to set priorities. "We first looked at what we wanted ourselves. Then we grabbed the safety ladder: how should we prioritise this? You can't do step four if you haven't done three yet."
A baseline measurement followed in 2024 which showed they were on step two. Now Amsterdam can demand Step 2 from contractors from early 2026. "Before you demand something from someone else, you have to do it yourself," said Bantema. The ambition is certification at Step 3 by 2026.
Storytelling makes impact
Raising awareness requires more than imposing rules. "You must not just reprimand people, but immediately give the explanation with it. Show why something is important."
Amsterdam therefore works with concrete stories, such as that of Lars van Rode, at the national Consciously Safe Day 2024, who lost his lower leg in a workplace accident. "He tells what it did to him, but especially to the company, colleagues and family. And with the person who caused it, because he didn't do it on purpose and is just as much a victim."
Together with KPE Group, training provider for the construction, infrastructure and real estate industry, the engineering firm developed a training course that 1,000 of its 1,300 employees have now attended. Reactions have been positive. "You notice that everyone is working on it, although sometimes they don't even realise it themselves," he says.
Client on the line
The key insight? "It's not just about safety culture. It improves the overall culture, awareness and behaviour of colleagues."
Bantema especially emphasises the responsibility of clients. "People say: it's the contractor's accident. Nine times out of 10 bullshit. If we had set this up differently, if we had made different choices, this accident would not have happened."
Concrete measures Amsterdam is therefore taking: better control of plans, less pressure on planning and time, not cutting back on safety. And, for example, installing fences instead of traffic controllers. "People are not walking barriers. How important is that worker's life at the contractor?"
G4 working together
Amsterdam pulls together with Rotterdam, Utrecht, The Hague, Rijkswaterstaat and Rijks Vastgoed. These six clients share knowledge and tackle issues together. For instance, they jointly wrote requirements for safety coordinators and set up a joint training course in 2026.
"Amsterdam has the biggest team," acknowledges Bantema. Since 2017, it has built a stable team of eight people. Other municipalities are also working on it, but have had more changes and work with smaller teams.
The call
The safety culture within Dutch municipalities is still in its infancy. Many smaller municipalities probably do not employ safety experts for policy work, even though the responsibility is there. "Who then picks it up? You are still a principal, still responsible. I think it is not between the ears of a lot of municipal principals what their responsibility is."
Hence this appeal. "Have you as a municipality not yet figured out what to do about security and the SCL? Get in touch," says Bantema. "We can tell you a lot, but we also want to hear what you are up against. We too can learn from that. It's not that we are the biggest and best, absolutely not. But consciously working on it."
The G4 wants to share pieces and is working on opportunities for joint meetings.
Contact
For more information, contact Annemieke Bantema, safety coordinator Ingenieursbureau Gemeente Amsterdam: A.Bantema@amsterdam.nl