What is the Veiligheidsladder (SCL)?
The Veiligheidsladder (Safety Culture Ladder, SCL) is a yardstick for safety culture and behaviour in an organisation. It does not show that your paperwork is in order, but how safety truly lives, from the board to the shop floor. The ladder has 5 levels. The higher the level, the stronger the safety culture.
NEN manages the Veiligheidsladder, since 1 July 2016. The official source is safetycultureladder.com . It is neither a law nor an ISO standard, but clients in construction and infrastructure make it de facto mandatory through tenders. From 1 July 2026, many clients require at least level 3.
| Feature | The Veiligheidsladder in brief |
|---|---|
| Official name | Safety Culture Ladder (SCL) |
| What does it measure? | Safety culture and behaviour, not a management system |
| Result | A level from 1 to 5, not a pass/fail certificate |
| Legally required? | No, but in practice through ViA tenders |
| Manager | NEN (since 2016, originally from ProRail) |
| Current edition | SCL 2.0 (applies since 1 January 2024) |
| Validity | 3 years, with an annual audit |
What makes the Veiligheidsladder different
Most safety certifications look at your system. Do you have procedures? Are the certificates valid? Are incidents recorded? The Veiligheidsladder looks one layer deeper: do people actually do it, and why?
An example makes it concrete. Two companies both have a procedure for working at height. Company A follows it because the boss would get angry otherwise. Company B follows it because everyone thinks it is normal to speak up to each other. On paper they are equal. On the ladder, company B ranks higher.
That is why an auditor talks to people on the shop floor and looks at how work is really done. Read more about behaviour and culture and about the audit process.
The Veiligheidsladder does not issue a pass/fail certificate like VCA. You receive a level between 1 and 5. Certification is possible from level 2 up to and including level 4.
The 5 levels in brief
The Veiligheidsladder runs from an organisation that does nothing with safety (level 1) to one where safety is in its DNA (level 5). Most clients ask for level 3. That is the point where systems are in place and people take safety seriously.
| Level | Name | Attitude in one sentence |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pathological | ”What you don’t know can’t hurt you.” |
| 2 | Reactive | ”We only act after an accident.” |
| 3 | Calculative | ”We have systems and follow the rules.” |
| 4 | Proactive | ”We actively look for risks and speak up to each other.” |
| 5 | Progressive | ”Safety is as important as time, money and quality.” |
A full explanation per level, with examples of how a company at each level sounds, is on the page the 5 levels.
Who is the Veiligheidsladder for?
The Veiligheidsladder is mainly a requirement in construction, infrastructure, energy, rail and installation technology. Do you work for ProRail , Rijkswaterstaat (Dutch national road and water authority), TenneT, a province or a water board (waterschap)? Then there is a good chance you need to demonstrate a certain level.
The requirement rarely comes from the company itself. Usually a client asks for it through a tender. Since the Governance Code Veiligheid in de Bouw (Dutch construction safety governance code) and the guidance Veiligheid in Aanbestedingen (ViA, safety in tenders), level 3 has become the standard for contracts of €100,000 or more.
On this page
Below you will find all topics about the Veiligheidsladder. Each page answers one question: what are the levels, which type suits your company, what does it cost, and how does the audit work? Use the cards to navigate quickly.
Veiligheidsladder, VCA or ISO 45001?
These three are often confused. Briefly put: VCA is a checklist (do you have your affairs in order?), ISO 45001 is an occupational health and safety management system (do you have a system?), and the Veiligheidsladder measures culture (is it really alive?).
Many infrastructure companies have both VCA and the Veiligheidsladder. VCA because it is a basic requirement, the Veiligheidsladder because large clients ask for it. The comparison with VCA explains how they complement each other.
Sources
- Safety Culture Ladder (NEN) (official scheme manager)
- NEN - Veiligheidsladder / Safety Culture Ladder
- Governance Code Veiligheid in de Bouw (ViA agreements)
- ProRail - Veiligheidsladder for suppliers