Safety Culture Ladder self-assessment (SAQ): how to complete the questionnaire
The self-assessment for the Safety Culture Ladder (Veiligheidsladder) is officially called the SAQ (Self Assessment Questionnaire). It is an online questionnaire that shows where your organisation currently stands on the levels of the ladder. You do not receive a certificate or an official level, but you do get a first picture of your safety culture. The SAQ is the first step in the step-by-step plan and forms the basis for the Approved Self Assessment (ASA).
The administrator, NEN (Netherlands Standardization Institute) , describes the SAQ as a self-assessment you complete before you contact a certification body. The questionnaire is available in the SCL web tool . More about the products is on the official SCL website . Below, you can read how to approach the questionnaire, what you fill in, and how to use the results.
What the SAQ is and is not
The SAQ is a thermometer. It measures where you stand, not whether you are good enough for a contract.
| What it is | What it is not |
|---|---|
| A baseline measurement per theme | A certificate |
| A picture of strong and weak themes | An official level |
| A basis for your gap analysis | Proof for ViA or a tender |
| Completed via the web tool | An audit by an external party |
For all SCL products except the ASA, the SAQ is a fixed step before the audit. With SCL Original and SCL, you may also use your own questionnaire. Ask your certification body whether the SAQ itself costs anything. An ASA or gap analysis by a certification body does cost money; see costs and timeline.
The 20 questions, and why there are two groups
The SAQ 2.0 consists of 20 questions. They are divided across the five themes of SCL 2.0: policy and leadership, knowledge and skills, primary and secondary processes, cooperation with external parties, and learning and improving. For each sub-theme there is one question for management and one question for operational staff.
This is the most important point that people miss. The questions for the shop floor are written at a simple language level (B1). They are meant to show whether management and the engineer have the same picture. A large difference between the two answers is often more valuable than a high score on the management questions alone.
Example: the “leadership” theme
- Question for management: how often do you discuss safety in a meeting, and what happens to the agreements?
- Question for the shop floor: if you find something unsafe, do you dare to report it to your line manager?
An example of a gap you might see: the board answers that safety is on the agenda every week. The fitters answer that they usually find a solution themselves, because nobody asks them. That gap is your first improvement point.
Step by step: completing the SAQ
Choose who completes it
Choose a responsible person per organisation or per site. That person makes sure both managers and operational staff receive the questions. Without the shop floor, the SAQ only tells half the story.
Put together the team
Include at least one director or line manager and a cross-section of the shop floor. At a company with 10 employees, that could mean everyone takes part. With 40 employees, choose a representative group.
Build trust
Employees answer more honestly when they know their name is not linked to their answer. Explain what happens with the results. A SAQ that only the board reads and then disappears in a drawer does not produce honest answers.
Complete the web tool
Open the SCL web tool . Fill in the management questions and the shop floor questions. Take your time with each question, and choose the answer that is closest to daily practice, not what is written on paper.
Read the results with the right question in mind
First look at the difference between management and the shop floor per theme. Only then look at the overall picture. A high outcome with large differences is less strong than a middling outcome where everyone sees the same thing.
Many companies complete the SAQ with the board only, and then call the result their “level”. That is not the level. The certification body determines the level during an audit, based on interviews and observations on the shop floor.
A worked example (fictional): the results of a construction company
A construction company with 25 employees completes the SAQ. Management scores the theme “learning and improving” high: there are evaluations after every project, and the agreements are kept in a system. The shop floor scores that theme low: they do not know what happens to their reports.
The company records three actions in the gap analysis:
| Theme | Difference between management and shop floor | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Learning and improving | Large: evaluations exist, but do not connect | Give brief feedback to the crew after every evaluation |
| Cooperation with external parties | Small: both score average | Revisit maintenance agreements with subcontractors |
| Knowledge and skills | Management high, shop floor low | Let the fitters themselves lead the toolbox talks |
You use a table like this as a starting point for the gap analysis. The SAQ tells you where to look. The gap analysis tells you what you are going to do.
Common mistakes with the SAQ
Having one person complete the questionnaire. That measures the picture of one person, not of the organisation.
Smoothing over honest answers. A SAQ that scores everything high helps nobody. You will pay for the audit later, and the auditor will see the same gap.
Using the result as a certificate. An SAQ result is not proof for a tender. See the ViA requirement for which instruments do count.
Doing nothing with the result. A baseline measurement without follow-up is half a year wasted. Plan a follow-up moment with the team.
What you do after the SAQ
The SAQ is the start of the process. After that come the steps in the step-by-step plan: you choose a certification route, carry out a gap analysis, make improvements and have an audit. The levels show which objective fits your company.
If you want to know whether your SAQ result is sufficient for your goal, read the frequently asked questions first. They explain what a self-assessment does and does not mean.
More about the Safety Culture Ladder
- What is the Safety Culture Ladder?: the hub with all topics
- Certification routes: SAQ, ASA, SCL Light and the rest
- Gap analysis: what you do after the baseline measurement
- SCL 2.0: which version of the questions you are using now