Innovations in Safety Culture Ladder products.

Effective June 1, 2025, NEN, schema manager of the Safety Culture Ladder, is launching updated products within the Safety Culture Ladder. These enhancements make the Safety Culture Ladder more accessible to smaller organizations.

 ASA (Approved Self Assessment) becomes SA ( Self Assessment).

The existing ASA becomes the updated Self Assessment (SA). With SA, an external audit is no longer required. This product offers a low-threshold way to get acquainted with the safety culture ladder via a more user-friendly web tool, including a GAP analysis, behavioral objectives and an official self-declaration.

As of July 2, 2025, certification for the ASA is no longer possible; from that date, audits will only be conducted on the basis of tenders already in progress or signed.

Issued declarations will remain valid for the term for which they were issued.

Does your declaration expire before January 1, 2026? If so, your statement will be given an extended validity date until January 1, 2026 under the goodwill scheme. NEN will adjust this itself in the register.

  • Replaces ASA
  • No more external audit
  • Starting Safety Culture Ladder on your own via the SCL web tool
  • Period of validity in the NEN register is 1 year with option for another year. Thereafter transfer to another SCL product.
  • Employ or hire internal auditor who has completed NEN training

SCL Light for smaller organizations

A special track has been developed for smaller organizations with 5 to 50 employees (including hired staff). This pathway focuses on the practical applicability of the Safety Culture Ladder and encourages behavioral change. It emphasizes the real impact of safety and health culture and offers a mix of internal audits, self-declaration and clear behavioral goals.

Organizations that demonstrate in the second year of their audit cycle that they have achieved the set behavioral goals and made improvements in attitudes and behaviors are no longer required to undergo an external audit in the third year. To qualify for this product, the organization must have or employ an internal auditor who has attended the NEN training course "Internal Safety Awareness Testing with the Safety Culture Ladder."

As of July 2, 2025, certification against the SCL Light is possible for small organizations. Issued statements remain valid for the term for which they were issued. We recommend that you stick with your current contract. Do you prefer to switch in the interim? Then a certification audit belonging to year 1 of the cycle will be performed.

  • 5 to 50 employees
  • External audit in year 3 expires in case of demonstrable improvement (This does not require that the organization has reached a higher step. However, it is necessary that effective changed behavior is observable (the auditor assesses whether the behavioral objective(s) set by the organization in year 1 have been achieved).
  • Formulate 1 to a maximum of 3 SMART goals and include them in self-declaration
  • Employ or hire internal auditor who has completed NEN training.

Customized SCL Light for larger organizations

The SCL Light for larger organizations is also being revamped. The focus shifts to the demonstrable impact of safety and health efforts rather than just completing documents. Organizations must formulate behavioral objectives in terms of attitude and behavior, which are later assessed by an auditor. The Web tool helps you through every step of this process, ensuring a smooth transition to the new way of working.

As of July 2, 2025, it is also possible for larger organizations to certify against the updated SCL Light. Issued statements will remain valid for the term for which they were issued. We recommend that you keep your current contract. Do you prefer to switch in the meantime? Then a certification audit belonging to year 1 of the cycle will be performed.

  • More than 50 employees
  • Formulate 1 to a maximum of 3 SMART goals and include them in self-declaration
  • No more action plan in years 2 and 3
  • Not possible to have audit replaced in year 3
  • Employ or hire internal auditor who has completed NEN training

Important dates at a glance:

  • As of July 2, 2025, you can use the updated products.
  •  Until Dec. 31, 2025, it is still possible to get audited for ASA, but only for existing and signed bids.
  • As of January 1, 2026, ASA will expire as a product. There will then no longer be any possibility to certify on this product. This means that no new certification cycle can be started.

Learn more

Do you have any questions or would you like more information about the Safety Culture Ladder? Please contact us at +31 (0)88 244 01 00 or send an e-mail to Monique van Moppes at This email address is being protected from spambots. JavaScript must be enabled to view it..

If you would like to keep this information, you can download it as a PDF here.

Dd

D