Safety starts from the top down

Guidance in process to certification

Since 2022, Safety Culture Ladder certification has been mandatory for construction tenders. This assessment method is used to measure safety awareness and action in companies. KAM Consultants helps companies achieve certification. One way it does this is by offering training and tools through the HSE-Tools platform.

The purpose of the Safety Culture Ladder is to reduce the number of unsafe situations and increase Safety Awareness. Certification Specialist Ralph de Brouwer said, "The initiative came from the major builders and semi-governmental organizations. They set this in motion and started demanding this of themselves and all companies in the chain. Achieving this certification is not something you do in a month. With other certification you might succeed, but the Safety Culture Ladder culture is about people. Awareness is a process." 

During this process, KAM Consultant offers more, more intensive and longer guidance. According to De Brouwer, everyone in a company must be committed to this certification. "It is important that people see the value of this certification because the culture around safety needs to change. Many companies in the construction industry have a KAM or HSE department. In classic cases, management says to them: we think this is important, you have to arrange this certification. This is not the case with the Safety Culture Ladder; it is the direct managers who have to tell the story. They have to state what the company stands for and reward good behavior. They really have to get in front of the group on the crate to get the rest of the company on board." 

KAM Consultants guides the entire process. "We make an analysis of the company and map out how things stand in the various departments. Which subjects deserve more attention? In recent years we have developed training courses that focus primarily on the manager. We want to create awareness and give our clients insight into human behavior through observation. The participants can get to work on this right away." To certify companies, an audit involves talking to people from all levels of the company.

As an example of the process toward certification, De Brouwer cites a company from Rotterdam. "There we first came in to the KAM department, which was expected to get the certification done. As time went on, we did several sessions, including with management, and introduced safety campaigns. Those campaigns focused on one safety issue per quarter, with accompanying instructions and posters. From then on you noticed a certain enthusiasm, it became a kind of competition in which everyone wanted to participate. What you really need, though, are a few boosters who are positive about it."

To facilitate the route to certification, KAM Consultants offers knowledge and experience. However, the company also offers several tools. Such as apps that allow practically every element of the Safety Culture Ladder to be completed efficiently. These include workplace inspections, audits, accident reporting and Last Minute Risk Analysis. "So far, no customer has failed to pass the certification in one go, the scores are far above average. The average is between 80 and 85% with outliers to 95 to 100%."