SOG or DELTA certificate, what are the differences?
When choosing a safety training course in the petrochemical industry, the SOG certificate (SSSV Training Guide) is something to consider. Some clients require that an expert entering their premises has positively completed a safety training course with SOG certificate. At DELTA Safety Training it is possible to opt for a course with SOG certification or a course with our own DELTA certification. There are differences between the DELTA and SOG certifications, particularly for the Manhole Guard and Gas Measuring courses. We will zoom in on the differences.
Terms explained
SOG, VCA Infra, SSVV... The world of certifications has a wide range of terms. Before we delve into the differences between the certifications, it's good to get clarity on the definitions.
SOG (SSVV Training Guide): SOG training courses are training courses developed by the SSVV (Foundation for Safety Cooperation). These courses are called SOG courses and can be found in the SSVV Training Guide.
SSVV: The SSVV Cooperation for Safety Foundation is a cooperation between several (branch) organisations. A working group of experts from the industry determines the examination requirements for safety training courses such as the Buitenwacht (security guard) course or the Gasmeten (gas meter) course. The foundation is the developer of the SOG/SSVV system. The purpose of the SSVV is to promote safe working. For this purpose, the foundation has developed the SSVV Training Guide.
VCA Infra: (VCA stands for Safety, Health and Environment Checklist for Contractors) an agency that, by order of the SSVV, supervises the quality of recognised trainers (such as DELTA Safety Training). VCA Infra also manages the contacts with the examination centres hired by the accredited trainers. The exams for all SOG-certified training courses and the VCA training course are made by the VCA exam bank. This exam bank is part of VCA Infra.
CDR: The Central Diploma Register; if a candidate has passed a SOG training course, the diploma is entered in this register. Clients can check in the CDR whether the employees of their contractors have the correct certificate. This digital register replaces the traditional hardcopy certificate, which used to be a major source of fraud. On the CDR website, you can look up the validity of certificates.
SOG certificate needed or not?
As an expert, is it better to follow a DELTA-certified training course or an SOG-certified training course? At DELTA Safety Training we are often asked this question. The answer is: it depends on the principal for whom you work. Some clients in the petrochemical industry require you to follow a SOG-certified training course. If you're not working in the petrochemical industry but in logistics, for example, or if you don't have to work on the site of another client who requires SOG but on your own site, you can choose to follow a DELTA-certified training course.
Emphasis on practical experience
In a DELTA-certified training course, the focus is on teaching skills. Practice-oriented training and examination are part of this.
In some SOG-certified courses the entire practical exam is taken digitally. This is the case, for instance, in the training courses gas meter and manhole guard. The candidate receives a case (computer model) and must indicate on the computer which calculation was performed correctly.
For some candidates it can be nice to emphasize practical skills and to test them on that, but you only have that luxury when you work on your own site or not in the petrochemical industry. Fortunately a SOG-certified training course will also suffice and in both cases the competencies developed in the training course will be tested.
Difference in exams between SOG- and DELTA-certified training courses
Whereas the training courses do not differ much in terms of content, there are differences in the manner of examination between SOG-certified training courses and DELTA-certified training courses. In the SOG-certified training course, the emphasis is mainly on working towards the examination moment. The theory exam is done on the computer and the exam questions are taken from a database of thousands of questions.
A DELTA certified training course takes a written exam. The questions during this exam are focused on the knowledge of the subject to be learned. Many participants in a DELTA-certified training course mention this difference in the examination in their feedback.
Another important difference lies in the peak moment. In a DELTA-certified training course, you pass if you perform well throughout the training days. Candidates are constantly assessed. Naturally, they have to pass the exam, but the other efforts and competences shown throughout the training course are also included in the assessment.
In the SOG certified training courses, the emphasis is on the examination moment. This can be an advantage, because one experiences less pressure during the training itself, but also a disadvantage if it happens that one exam moment does not quite work out.
More differences with a DELTA-certified training course
- There is a clear difference in costs between the SOG certificate and the DELTA certificate. The cost of a DELTA certificate is lower because you do not need to hire an examination agency and you do not have to pay any contributions to SOG/SSVV. The exact price differences can be found on the individual training pages on our website.
- For DELTA Safety Training it is paramount that competent specialists are trained who have had the opportunity to practise in practice and who have demonstrated that they have mastered the actions, such as carrying out a proper gas measurement or moving the forklift truck. There is therefore less emphasis on the examination.
More information about DELTA Safety Training and SOG
View the DELTA and SOG training offerings. Would you like an obligation-free consultation about a suitable training course? Or are you curious about which certificates are important in your work? Then contact us for a tailor-made training advice without any obligation by filling in the form below.