Safety Culture Ladder certifications for first units of Witteveen+Bos

On 25 April 2018, the first five product-market combinations (PMCs) of engineering and consultancy firm Witteveen+Bos obtained a level-3 Safety Culture Ladder certification. The aim is to obtain this certification for more parts of the company in the future, and to climb further up the ladder.

Stephan van der Biezen received the certificate on behalf of Witteveen+Bos during a celebratory event at the Deventer office. It was presented to him by Leonie Hoendervangers, Commercial Certification Officer of NCI, a so-called ‘Ladder-Certifying Body’ NCI hands out these certificates on behalf of NEN, the organisation managing the Safety Culture Ladder.

Safety Culture Ladder certification indicates that the certified business units pay specific attention to safety, in order to reduce the number of incidents both in the company itself and on project locations. In a company certified at Level 3 the most important safety rules have been identified. NEN explains it as follows: ‘The company adopts a vulnerable approach and assumes responsibility. Involvement in safety and compliance with rules and laws is mainly the task of (senior) management. Attention is given to health and safety, which is valued.’

Witteveen+Bos’s first certified business units are the PMCs of Wastewater, Industry and Energy, Smart Infra Systems, Civil Structures for Railways, and Asset Management. Stephan van der Biezen, Director of Witteveen+Bos: ‘We think safety is an important aspect of our operations. In addition, we have noticed that clients increasingly expect us to be certified. We wholeheartedly support the incentive this gives to our industry, and the Safety Culture Ladder is a great tool for this. The certification of these PMCs is an important step for us, therefore. We are now working to double the number of certified PMCs in 2019. In the future, too, we will give safety the extra attention it requires for us to stay up-to-date.’