A new version of the Dutch generic gate instruction, called GPI 8, is now live and is reshaping how workers prepare for building sites in the Netherlands (Europe).
Key Takeaways
In short
The Generieke Poortinstructie, or GPI, is a single online gate instruction that many construction and installation companies in the Netherlands (Europe) use to prepare workers before they enter a site.
GPI 8, launched in November 2025, brings new films, new questions and clearer examples, including a powerful incident story about an electrician named Klaas.
The new version gives more space to social safety, so people feel free to speak up, ask questions and work together across language and cultural differences.
After the test, a simple AI safety summary now shows what went well and what needs more attention, turning the score into easy feedback.
On 29 January 2026, the Industrial Safety Congress at DeFabrique in Utrecht, Netherlands (Europe) will gather safety professionals to talk about behaviour, learning and the role of gate instructions like the GPI.
Story & Details
One shared start for many sites
Construction work is busy and sometimes risky. Trucks come and go, cranes move heavy loads and many different companies work side by side. To keep this world safer and more clear, large construction and installation firms that follow the Governance Code Safety in Construction use one shared start: the Generieke Poortinstructie, or GPI.
The GPI is an online safety lesson and test. Workers, contractors and some visitors take it before they step onto certain building sites in the Netherlands (Europe). The lesson covers basic risks, simple rules and expected behaviour. After a short test, a person who passes gets a digital certificate that is valid for one year and gives access to all locations that work with the GPI.
Behind the GPI stands a Dutch foundation called eX:plain and its online platform Explainsafe. Together they design the content, keep it up to date and run the system so that people can log in, follow the lesson and show their certificate at the site gate.
A new version called GPI 8
In November 2025, a fresh version went live: GPI 8. Almost every part has been touched. There are new films, new voice-overs and completely renewed test questions. Even workers who take the GPI every year now see and hear new things.
The new edition opens with a short and sharp story. Klaas, an electrician, once grabbed a live cable by mistake. A quick-thinking colleague helped to save his life, but Klaas still carries lasting marks on his body. The film is not loud or sensational. It shows, in a calm way, how fast a normal workday can turn into an emergency and how one careful action by another person can make the difference.
Work with trucks, yards and tight spaces
Further into GPI 8, twenty-eight new practice videos show daily work on and around building sites. Two areas stand out. One group of videos looks at loading and unloading trucks. Viewers see how to secure loads, stay out of danger zones, keep eye contact between driver and ground worker and avoid stress on narrow plots.
Another group of videos focuses on working in confined spaces. These are places such as tanks, pits and crawl spaces, where air can be bad and escape routes are small. The films show simple but important checks: looking at access routes, keeping a rescue plan ready and knowing who is watching from outside.
By using short scenes and clear language, the videos help even new workers to recognise risks they may face on their own jobs.
People, language and social safety
GPI 8 also steps into a softer, but just as important area: social safety. A new practice part invites workers to think about how they talk to one another. It shows simple scenes where someone has a doubt and needs to say so, or where two people speak different first languages and still need to agree on a safe plan.
The message is clear. Safety is not only about helmets, vests and signs. It is also about having the courage to say, “Stop, this does not feel safe,” and about listening when a colleague says that. The instruction encourages site teams to give each other space, to ask open questions and to make sure no one feels small or silly for raising a concern.
A small Dutch word corner
GPI is a Dutch system, so a tiny language stop is helpful. The Dutch word “poort” means “gate” in English and points to the entry point of a site. The word “veilig” means “safe”. Together they sit at the heart of the phrase “Generieke Poortinstructie”: a generic gate instruction, meant to make safe work a daily habit.
A quiet digital coach after the test
Once a person passes the GPI test, the story does not end with a simple “pass” mark. GPI 8 now offers a short AI safety summary. This is a small text made by an artificial intelligence system that looks at the answers from the test.
The summary explains which topics went well and which topics need a bit more care. It turns a dry result into a quick talk on paper: strong points, weak points and one or two ideas to remember when the person starts work on site. The system uses only the test answers, not extra personal data, and gives workers a chance to learn from their own patterns.
More jobs in clear view
The GPI is not only for one type of worker. It covers many roles in and around construction. In GPI 8, drivers and traffic controllers move closer to the centre of the stage.
Drivers bring heavy loads into tight city streets or along busy roads. Traffic controllers guide them through and stand close to other road users. Their choices shape both safety and the flow of the day. By showing their work clearly in films and questions, the GPI underlines that they are key players, not side characters.
From online lessons to a live congress
Safety does not live online only. On 29 January 2026, a one-day event called the Industrial Safety Congress will take place at DeFabrique, an old factory turned event space in Utrecht, Netherlands (Europe). The day runs from morning to late afternoon and is meant for people who carry responsibility for safety in industry and on large sites.
The theme for the 2026 edition is trusted automation. Sessions explore how smart systems, robots and sensors can help, and where human workers must still keep “a finger on the button”. Among the speakers is Explainsafe, which brings a session on how good learning design and clear gate instructions can save time at the site entrance and at the same time reduce incidents.
With this mix of online training and live debate, the Dutch safety world shows that rules, stories, data and shared experience all have a place in the same picture.
Conclusions
Safety as a shared habit
GPI 8 shows a sector that is learning step by step. A uniform gate instruction gives everyone the same start. New films and examples keep that start close to real life, from busy truck yards to small spaces under floors.
By telling the story of Klaas and by putting drivers, traffic controllers and many other workers on screen, the instruction reminds readers that safety is not abstract. It lives in the bodies, voices and choices of real people.
From test result to daily work
The focus on social safety and on the AI safety summary points in the same direction. Safety is not something that sits on a certificate. It is something that grows in simple acts: asking a question, refusing a shortcut, sharing a doubt.
The coming Industrial Safety Congress in January 2026 adds a live meeting place to that movement. There, people who design rules and those who work under them can talk face to face. Together, they can turn gate instructions like the GPI into what they are meant to be: not just a test at the start of the day, but a gentle push towards safer habits, every day.
Selected References
Key links
[1] GPI – official home page on the Explainsafe platform, with access to the generic gate instruction for the construction sector in the Netherlands (Europe).
https://gpi.explainsafe.nl/nl/home
[2] GPI – instructions page on Explainsafe, explaining that the GPI is for everyone in the construction sector, that people can choose practice topics and that the certificate is valid for one year.
https://gpi.explainsafe.nl/nl/instructions
[3] GPI – general information from Explainsafe, describing what the GPI is, how it relates to VCA and how it supports companies that follow the Governance Code Safety in Construction.
https://gpi.explainsafe.nl/nl/faq/165
[4] GPI – article from eX:plain about the GPI as an online safety training, the role of Explainsafe and the need for clear, shared rules on building sites.
https://www.explain.nl/gpi-veiligheid-explainsafe/
[5] Explainsafe – main site of the online gate and safety instruction platform used by the construction and industry sectors, including the GPI.
https://www.explainsafe.nl/
[6] Industrial Safety Congress – event information from Heliview Conferences & Training for the 2026 edition at DeFabrique in Utrecht, Netherlands (Europe), including date, location and theme.
https://heliview.com/industriele-veiligheid/
[7] Industrial Safety Congress – programme page with the date 29 January 2026, the venue DeFabrique in Utrecht, Netherlands (Europe) and the daytime schedule.
https://heliview.com/industriele-veiligheid/programma/
[8] Dutch labour inspectorate – short YouTube video from the official channel of the inspectorate explaining its role in promoting fair, healthy and safe work.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-WgQgjT-Lw
Appendix
Short glossary
AI safety summary
A short and simple text, made by an artificial intelligence system after the GPI test, that tells a worker which topics went well and which topics need more care, based only on the answers given in the test.
DeFabrique
A former factory building in Utrecht, Netherlands (Europe), now used as a large event and congress venue, including for the Industrial Safety Congress in January 2026.
Dutch word poort
A Dutch word that means “gate” in English. In the term “Generieke Poortinstructie”, it points to the gate of a site, where a worker must show the GPI certificate before entering.
Explainsafe
An online platform run by the foundation eX:plain that offers gate and safety instructions, including the GPI, mainly for the construction and industry sectors in the Netherlands (Europe).
GPI (Generieke Poortinstructie)
A generic gate instruction used by many construction and installation companies in the Netherlands (Europe). It is an online lesson and test that workers complete once a year to show they know and understand key safety rules before entering a site.
Governance Code Safety in Construction
An agreement between large construction and installation companies and several public bodies in the Netherlands (Europe). It sets shared goals and tools to improve safety, one of which is the use of the GPI as a single, common gate instruction.
Industrial Safety Congress
A one-day professional event at DeFabrique in Utrecht, Netherlands (Europe), where safety experts and managers meet to talk about risks, technology and culture in factories, plants and large sites. The 2026 edition takes place on 29 January 2026.
Social safety
The feeling at work that it is safe to speak, ask questions and report risks without being laughed at or punished, and that colleagues and leaders listen with respect, even across language and cultural differences.
VCA
A safety, health and environment certificate used in the Netherlands (Europe) and some other countries. It shows that a worker has basic knowledge about safe work. The GPI is an extra, specific gate instruction for certain sites and does not replace VCA.
My Diary - Leonardo Cardillo 