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SSVV, the organization behind VCA, has developed a new, supplementary module based on signals from the market: the VCA Behavior Module. Together with the existing VCA certification, this module forms the renewed VCA-MAX concept. Whereas traditional VCA focuses primarily on technical and organizational safety, the Behavior Module adds a third dimension: people and their behavior.
“With the Behavior Module, SSVV supports organizations in making safe behavior and safety culture visible, measurable, and implementable,” begins Laurens Seinhorst of Aboma. “Almost all questions have been explored in depth, so that the preconditions for stimulating behavior and culture are also explicitly addressed. Safety is thus no longer just monitored, but also experienced and embedded in the organization.”
According to Seinhorst, traditional VCA often focuses on ‘ticking off’ minimum requirements in terms of technology and organization, with only question 4.2 relating to the awareness program. “With VCA-MAX, this is woven throughout the entire VCA. It requires companies to make a more conscious choice to be intrinsically involved in safety,” he says. “The in-depth questions within the Behavior Module invite you to look beyond procedures and forms. More emphasis is placed on leadership, commitment, communication, and exemplary behavior. This creates a structure that helps organizations develop a sustainable safety culture. At Aboma, we assist companies with their VCA certification and therefore also with VCA-MAX.”
VCA-MAX is intended for companies that already have VCA certification and want to take an extra step toward behavioral and cultural development. “The Behavior Module can be integrated into the regular VCA audit cycle. This allows the system to fit seamlessly into the existing structure, while offering additional tools for growth and deepening,” explains Seinhorst. “For example, you can see that question 10.1, VCA requirements for subcontracting, is no longer optional. Another shift is the focus on supervision. Workplace inspections are supplemented with behavioral observations. What employees do and how they behave becomes more important than just checking what safety measures are in place.”
According to Seinhorst, the biggest challenge for organizations in obtaining VCA-MAX certification lies in changing mindsets. “VCA-MAX only works if safety is no longer seen as an obligation, but as a shared value. When safe and healthy working becomes part of the corporate culture, an environment is created in which structure and rules can ultimately be abandoned, because behavior and awareness have become self-evident.” With VCA-MAX, SSVV is therefore taking an important step towards an integrated safety management system in which technology, organization, and people come together. “This makes safety truly everyone's responsibility.”
