Safety

 

Safety first

Our people and the people we work with to realize a project want to be able to do their work safely. And when the workday is over, they want to return home healthy and safe. For HTC International, the safety of employees, subcontractors, and clients therefore comes before everything else. This applies even when there is enormous pressure on a project due to schedules, deadlines, or budgets. This is our way of distinguishing ourselves in the safe realization of assignments. For us, safety must never be neglected or treated as an afterthought. That is why we have structurally embedded safety awareness into our organization. In this way, we strive for zero accidents.

How we work on safety

1. Safety has always been an important theme for HTC International. That is why we are VCA* certified as a company. In addition, all our technicians and project managers, as well as our office staff—from work planners to those responsible for HR—hold a VCA certificate. Such a VCA certificate guarantees that employees can ensure not only their own safety but also that of our partners.
2. Because we at HTC want to further improve safety and safe behavior on construction sites, our people and the people we work with on a site always hold a GPI certificate (Generic Gate Instruction). Together, we create a higher level of safety awareness and more clarity for employees regarding what is expected of them when it comes to safety on the construction site.
3. Our technicians all hold an aerial work platform certificate. Not mandatory in the Netherlands, but a matter of course for us.
4. Safety Day. At HTC International, we believe that safety starts with awareness. That is why we pay annual attention to Safety Day. This is a moment to reflect together on safe working practices, discuss risks, and further increase safety awareness. In this way, we continue to build a work environment where safety, responsibility, and cooperation are standard practice.

Safety Ladder for that extra step

Because we at HTC International want to go the extra mile when it comes to safety, we do not stop at the aforementioned points and certifications. We want safety to be truly ingrained in everyone’s mindset. Not just at the time of a screening, but every single day. We do this by working according to the Safety Ladder, also known as the Safety Culture Ladder (SCL). This is an instrument that allows an independent auditor to measure our safety awareness. The goal is conscious safe working. The higher the safety awareness in an organization, the higher the assigned ladder level.

Currently, HTC International is at level 2 (out of 5) of the safety ladder. Our ambition is to reach level 3.

We also expect the parties (freelancers and subcontractors) we work with on projects to take the same steps on the safety ladder as we do. We believe that only together can we make construction safer.