Safety is at the heart of what you do: meet SCL at Safety&Health@Work
Rules, work instructions and risk assessments provide guidance. However, it is the day-to-day decisions that reveal just how safely and healthily an organisation operates. Does the team discuss a risk before work begins? Can anyone halt the work without the schedule taking precedence? And do colleagues speak up if something doesn’t feel safe? On Wednesday 7 and Thursday 8 […]
Safety only becomes apparent when under pressure
An organisation may have its risk assessment, procedures and personal protective equipment in order and still experience recurring incidents. In such cases, the problem rarely lies in yet another form. It is about what people do when the schedule runs over or someone spots an unsafe situation. Hanneke Jansen, safety culture expert at Kader and SCL Knowledge Partner at NEN, uses the […]
“Don’t talk about standards in the workplace – talk about getting home safely”
At the technical division of the Amsterdam transport company GVB, around 700 employees work on the tracks and rolling stock every day. The ambition to make the working environment safer had been around for some time, but how do you translate that from the boardroom into practice out in the field? SHEQ Manager Michael Bawuah opted for the Safety Culture Ladder (SCL) […]
Knowledge partners bring real-world experience back to the Safety Culture Ladder
How can we strengthen organisations’ safety culture whilst continuing to improve the Safety Culture Ladder? This question lies at the heart of the SCL Knowledge Partners platform. On 24 June, the knowledge partners met under the guidance of Keetie de Boer-Polderman from I.K. Boost, one of our knowledge partners. Together, they clarified the platform’s purpose, […]
NEN asks GCVB for clarification regarding communication on VCA-MAX within ‘Safety in Tendering’
NEN has requested that the Governance Code for Safety in Construction (GCVB) amend and further clarify its communication regarding the acceptance of VCA-MAX as supplementary evidence within Safety in Tendering (ViA). The current communication may give the impression that VCA-MAX is substantively equivalent to step 3 of the Safety Culture Ladder (SCL), whereas a […]
What we do when no one is watching. Fatal incidents bring the issue into sharp focus
The construction sector has been grappling with persistent safety risks for some time now. This year, too, people have lost their lives whilst working on construction sites, including during demolition work in Utrecht and during the construction of a logistics complex in Lelystad. Such incidents demonstrate why safety is not merely a matter of rules, instructions and supervision. That […]
More accurate measurements through simplicity: The new SAQ SCL 2.0 is now available
The Safety Culture Ladder (SCL) does not measure what you promise on paper, but what your staff actually do and experience in practice. To gain an even clearer picture of this behaviour and the underlying attitudes, NEN is launching a thoroughly updated version of the Self-Assessment Questionnaire in the SCL web tool: the SAQ SCL 2.0. In practice, it turned out that […]
NEN revokes Cetradex Certificatie B.V.’s licence
NEN has decided to revoke the licence agreement with Cetradex Certificatie B.V. for the performance of certification activities under the Safety Culture Ladder (SCL) scheme, with effect from 4 June 2026. The SCL Committee of Experts unanimously endorses this decision. An investigation by NEN has revealed serious and structural shortcomings that undermine the reliability and integrity […]
Making safety culture measurable: “Stop talking theory, start the conversation on the building site”
The deadline of 1 July 2026 for the Construction Safety Governance Code (ViA) is fast approaching. For many organisations, this means a mandatory transition to at least Level 3 of the SCL. Putting theory into practice – and specifically filling in the mandatory ‘behavioural objectives’ in the web tool – often causes some hesitation. […]
The route to Step 3 for small businesses
The route to Step 3 for small companies From 1 July, Step 3 of Safety Culture Ladder (SCL) will be a hard requirement for many tenders in construction and engineering. You keep this process manageable by taking control and not making it bigger than necessary. We often hear that [...]