How well and reliably a partner for industrial assembly implements occupational health and safety is an important criterion for companies when working with industrial installation providers. The SCC procedure is an official indicator of this.

Legislation leaves nothing to chance when it comes to occupational health and safety on installation sites. There are countless regulations on the subject in Germany: the occupational health and safety act (ArbSchG), the workplace regulation (ArbStättV), the industrial safety regulation (BetrSichV), the construction site regulations (BaustellV) and the rules for occupational health and safety on construction sites (RAB) – to name just the most important. It is therefore essential for both clients and their service providers to ensure that all health and safety requirements are met when installing a machine or system.

But how can companies ensure that their installation partner is well-positioned in terms of safety management? This is where SCC procedures come in. It stands for Safety Certificate Contractors and is used to certify an occupational health and safety management system. The certification considers numerous requirements for (occupational) safety as well as health and environmental protection. This is why some also refer to it as an SHE management system.

SCC procedure provides safety

The term ‘contractors’ refers to companies that provide certain services or works for a client. These include safety-related tasks such as maintenance work on production facilities, construction projects in general and the construction or adaption of facilities. A client can therefore rest assured: When you entrust an SCC-certified company with a project on also buy a high level of safety for plants or projects – and thus maintaining own quality standards at a high level, among other things.

As a specialist in international industrial assembly, SCHOLPP holds the important SCC certificate for its field of activity, officially confirming the high level of effort the company puts into safety. ‘Normally, employees are instructed in an occupational safety topic once a year,’ says Hartmut Kleinfeldt, Safety Engineer at SCHOLPP. ‘With us, however, they are trained on a safety topic every month and have to take SHE exams.’ These certified employees are then responsible for ensuring that all accident prevention regulations are strictly adhered to on site.

From safety goggles to communication

The safety areas that a service provider’s assembly team must cover relate to personal protective equipment (PPE), the use of work equipment from tools to cranes and the communication of all relevant information to everyone involved. ‘The aspect of communication is often underestimated,’ says Hartmut Kleinfeldt from his many years of experience. ‘Together with the risk assessment, it is crucial to ensure that everyone knows what the situation on site looks like, what they have to do and not do and what roles the others have to play.’

What does the transport route for a machine look like? Are there any obstacles on this route? What tools do we use and how are they handled? Do the machines have to be disconnected? Which cables need to be dismantled? How will the machine behave when first lifting? These and many other questions need to be clearly communicated. Hartmut Kleinfeldt also has an important practical advice for his customers: ‘A good installation service provider must always have a risk assessment and safety briefing with them, confirmed in writing. Otherwise, a surprise visit from the authorities can be very unpleasant and, in the worst case, the construction site may even have to be closed.’

The SCC certificate was originally created in the Netherlands for the petrochemical industry. The aim was to demonstrably sensitise employees in chemical plants to occupational health and safety. The principle was so well thought out and sensible that it soon established itself as a fundamental benchmark for occupational health and safety measures in other industries. Read our article on safety management at SCHOLPP to find out how SCHOLPP implements the high requirements for its own SCC-certified safety management.