Safety Culture Ladder step 2

Oct 11, 2023

The Safety Culture Ladder: all about step 2

The Safety Culture Ladder was created to increase safety awareness in companies and consists of five steps. The greater a company’s safety awareness, the higher it is on the ladder. At step 1, there is little to no safety awareness; at step 5, safety has been fully integrated into all a company’s business processes. Different requirements and criteria apply for each step and the same applies for the way in which criteria are valued and what auditors pay attention to. In this blog, we will look at step 2 of the Safety Culture Ladder. What does step 2 of the Safety Culture Ladder entail? Is compliance with step 2 of the Safety Culture Ladder mandatory? And how can you arrange certification against it? We will also give examples of the requirements and criteria that auditors bear in mind during the certification process.  

What does step 2 of the Safety Culture Ladder entail?

On the official Safety Culture Ladder website, step 2 is defined as 'Reactive - Any change in behaviour is ad-hoc and temporary'. Companies on this step of the Safety Culture Ladder only make changes when accidents happen. Hence the term 'reactive'. At step 2, an accident could also encourage a company to take a critical look at its approach to safety. In principle, certification against step 2 indicates an ambition to progress to a higher step. Otherwise, any changes made will just be temporary.

How does step 2 certification work?

You decide which step of the Safety Culture Ladder you want your company to be certified against. You also decide which of the four variants you are interested in: 

SCL Original (certificate issued)
SCL (certificate issued)
SCL Light (statement issued)
Approved Self Assessment (document issued)

You can complete an online questionnaire (SAQ) to self-evaluate safety culture in your company and help you decide which step you want to choose. You will then be ready to engage a certification body (CB) to do an audit and certify your company. Auditors make a number of observing project visits and conduct interviews with management and employees, based on the relevant requirements and criteria. Some examples follow below.

Is compliance with step 2 of the Safety Culture Ladder mandatory?

If your company participates in tenders in the construction industry, it will be expected to demonstrate compliance with the requirements and criteria of step 2 of the Safety Culture Ladder. This sector agreement has been in effect since 1 January 2022. As of 1 January 2025, it will also become mandatory to comply with the requirements and criteria of step 3. This is defined as 'Calculating - Safety rules are considered important' and is a clear step forward from step 2.

Companies in other sectors are not required to gain certification against a step on the Safety Culture Ladder. But, if you want to show that your company takes safety seriously, it is advisable to arrange certification against the Safety Culture Ladder. Whether your company is big or small and whether you are active in the service sector or industry, safety is always important.

Requirements and criteria per step

Leadership and involvement

Company aspect: employee involvement 
Requirement (example): (operational) employees report risks. 
Criterion (example): (operational) employees report detected risks after applying a risk assessment shortly before commencement of their work.

Policy and strategy

Organisation and contractors

Workplace and procedures

Deviations and communication

Audits and statistics

DEKRA for certification against Safety Culture Ladder step 2

If you are looking for a certification body to certify you against step 2 - or one of the other four steps - of the Safety Culture Ladder, look no further than DEKRA. Our experts will be happy to help you arrange everything. Together, we make business and industry demonstrably safer. 