Skip to Content
Safety Culture LadderNEN and the safety culture ladder

NEN Veiligheidsladder: is it an NEN standard and who manages it?

The Veiligheidsladder (Safety Culture Ladder, SCL) has been managed by NEN, the Nederlands Normalisatie-instituut (Netherlands Standardisation Institute), since 1 July 2016. It is a certification scheme with a standard text, but not a standard with a fixed number such as ISO 45001 or NEN 7510. You find the official text on the NEN page for the Veiligheidsladder . The product information and the SAQ are on safetycultureladder.com .

That distinction sounds small, but it determines what you look up, what your client asks for, and which text applies. Below, you can read what NEN publishes, how that comes back in your route, and how to recognise the official sources.

What NEN manages

NEN does not manage the Veiligheidsladder as a management system like ISO 9001. It manages it as a scheme with two documents:

DocumentWhat it isFor whom
Safety Culture Ladder 2.0 standard text (Normtekst)The content of the ladder: the levels, the themes and what you need to demonstrateAnyone who wants to understand the requirements
Safety Culture Ladder 2.0 certification scheme (Certificatieschema)The rules for certification bodies: how an audit runs and how a level is determinedCertification bodies and anyone who wants to know how the audit works

The certification scheme sets out the rules the certification body follows. The standard text describes the content.

Why it is not an NEN standard with a number

Standards such as ISO 45001 or NEN 7510 carry a number on the cover, and an organisation can say “I am certified to NEN 7510”. The Veiligheidsladder works differently. NEN’s source page does not mention a standard number. So it is better to say “I have level 3 of the Veiligheidsladder” than “I am certified according to NEN”.

This has a practical consequence for your quote and your website. Use the name Safety Culture Ladder or Veiligheidsladder, with the level included. Making up a number is wrong.

Many people search for “NEN veiligheidsladder” and think a NEN number exists. It does not. Use the official name and the levels. A number from a search result or an old brochure may not be correct.

How the manager comes back in your route

NEN is not the company that carries out your audit. That is done by a certification body (CI). NEN sets the rules the CI follows.

A fictional example: a company with 30 employees wants to apply for SCL 2.0. The director does three things:

Read the standard text

They read the SCL 2.0 standard text to understand the five themes. That is the reference framework for the SAQ and the gap analysis.

Request quotes from certification bodies

They request quotes from three bodies and ask which NEN certification scheme each one uses. That way they know they work with the same rules as the other parties.

Ask how validity is monitored

The NEN page states that the certification body checks the validity of the register entry every year. They ask how this works at that body and what term applies.

The exact procedure depends on the body and the product you choose.

Common mistakes

Searching for an NEN standard and finding nothing. Search for “Safety Culture Ladder 2.0” or “Veiligheidsladder certification scheme”. That gives you the right documents.

Using old documents. SCL 2016 documents are not the same as SCL 2.0. Always check the version. See SCL 2.0 for what has changed.

Treating the web tool as the standard. The web tool for the SAQ belongs to the self-assessment. The requirements themselves are in the standard text and the certification scheme.

Assuming that ISO 45001 is the same as the ladder. It is a different system. See Veiligheidsladder vs. VCA for the difference from system certificates.

How to recognise the official source

A good source has one of these features:

  • It comes from NEN, safetycultureladder.com or the certification body itself.
  • It names the version SCL 2.0 and a date.
  • It describes the levels and themes as they appear in the standard text.

Check a source that gives a number without a clear origin with NEN before you rely on it.

What does this mean for your tender?

Clients usually ask for a level, not a NEN number. So put the level, the product and the version in your bid, for example “SCL Light statement level 3, SCL 2.0”. That is exactly what the assessor looks for. For more on the requirements per client, see the Veiligheidsladder for construction and infrastructure.

Where do you find the official documents?

There are three places you need. Always start at the source, not at a summary from a consultancy.

  1. The NEN page. It states who manages the ladder and which documents NEN publishes for SCL 2.0. Link: NEN on the Veiligheidsladder .
  2. The official SCL site. There you find the products, the step-by-step plan and the SAQ. Link: safetycultureladder.com .
  3. The certification body. It translates the requirements into your route and determines the planning, the costs and the audit scope.

Check the version of every document. If it says “SCL 2016” or “SCL 1.0”, it is an old document. New routes apply SCL 2.0.

Common misunderstandings about the name

Some people use “veiligheidscultuurladder”, “safety ladder” or “scl” interchangeably. In your quotes and documents, use the official name: Safety Culture Ladder, with the Dutch name Veiligheidsladder. That way clients find you and recognise the scheme.

People sometimes think of “SCL” as a single product. It is an abbreviation for the scheme, and several products exist under that name: SCL Original, SCL and SCL Light. So always say which product you mean. See certification types for the difference.

More about the Veiligheidsladder

SCL 2.0: what has changedFrequently asked questions