The Safety Culture Ladder is intended to ensure a safe corporate culture and is made up of several rungs. Following the first audit, Modis was placed on rung 3 of this ladder. Given that most companies start at rung 1, this is a certification to be proud of. It shows that Modis is taking a safe working environment seriously. "We are determined to retain these certifications."

The Health, Safety and Environment Checklist for Contractors, better known as VCA, is intended to guarantee safety at building sites. The VCA certificate is part of a programme which is used for the structural and objective auditing and certification of the SHE (VGM) systems of service companies such as Modis. The certificate demonstrates that the company fulfils all safety requirements and is familiar with all relevant legislation and regulations.

By contrast, the Safety Culture Ladder measures behaviour. Given that changes need time, Modis is extremely content with the start it has made. "Achieving rung 3 on the Safety Culture Ladder is confirmation for Modis Engineering that our colleagues are aware of the importance of a safe working environment. Together with our partners we will continue to take additional steps towards safe working. The idea is that we will be audited every year. So now we will study how we can continue to improve in this area," explains Modis Enter Manager, Gerald Hofste.

"We have observed employee safety awareness rising now that we have achieved rung 3. Lots of good ideas have been proposed to make our work more enjoyable and safer. Colleagues now feel confident to address any unsafe behaviour they see and these comments are also positively received. The safety culture has become second nature at Modis."