Certifications
The Artes Group policy attaches a great deal of importance to quality and safety. The well-being of our Constructive People is one of our permanent concerns. We attach great importance to training programmes, safety procedures and vital protective equipment for all of our staff and employees. This ensures that all activities can take place in a safe and responsible way. Thanks to these investments, Artes Group has managed to obtain several quality and safety certifications.
Artes Group attaches a great deal of importance to safety and respect for the environment. Artes Depret, Artes Roegiers and Artes Woudenberg have all been holders of a so-called VCA** certificate for many years. As a result, every project is executed according to a predetermined VGM file, a localized acronym meaning Safety, Health and Environment.
The VCA** acronym refers to:
The VCA certificate confirms that the company conducts its activities in a structured and safe manner. Clients and contractors are legally required to safeguard both their own and subcontractors’ employees from risks. Artes Group only collaborates with subcontractors carrying a quality and/or safety label, attestation or certificate. In addition to safety-related aspects, the company also devotes special attention to health and environment.
Artes is also active in the petrochemical industry. By obtaining the VCA-P certificate we have confirmed our ability to meet the sector’s strict safety requirements.
Artes Prefab
ISO 9001:2015
From the beginning to the end of the project, Artes Group remains strongly committed to customer satisfaction. As proud holders of the ISO 9001:2015 quality label, we can guarantee your project will be conducted to the highest quality standards.
Working with a structured quality control system also means constant motivation, training and upskilling for all of our employees.
ISO 9001:2015 is a standard that sets requirements for an organisation's quality management system. The company has to meet customer requirements and wishes and the legal requirements applicable to the organisation's product or service to increase customer satisfaction.
Artes Depret, Artes Roegiers and Artes Woudenberg are all holders of this quality label.
CO²reduction
Because of the social role the company plays, Artes Group considers it important to implement sustainable entrepreneurship in various ways. The CO² performance ladder is an important tool to achieve this. It allows us to map out and reduce our energy consumption and CO2 emissions.
ISO 14001:2015
The ISO 14001:2015 certification is a standard for an environmentally friendly approach. Having already introduced it for some time, both Artes Roegiers and Artes Depret are striving to improve this even further in the years to come. This certificate is an additional incentive, encouraging us to strictly comply with environmental legislation and continuously reduce our environmental impact. This environmental management system, which also safeguards quality and safety, focuses on managing and improving our environmental performance. Monitoring, managing and reducing our environmental impact is an essential part of our policy, on top of meeting various customer requirements and making a personal positive contribution to preventing the planet’s current environmental problems.
In Belgium, public works contracts can only be awarded to ‘approved’ contractors. The government assigns classes, according to the scope of works one is allowed to conduct, for a certain category or subcategory. The criteria this is based on are the company's technical competence, financial strength and professional integrity.
Ranging from 1 to 8, this classification determines, among other things, the maximum contract amount a contractor is allowed to conduct work for. A higher class opens the door to bigger public contracts. This registration system is a quality label for Belgian contractors.
QUALITY, SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
It is the goal of Artes Group to realise all our building projects in a constructive manner
Continuous improvement is the common thread of the management system that we have set up to achieve this. In doing so, we aim to encourage all of our motivated employees to put their knowledge to the best use in conducting our projects to the highest standards with respect to quality, safety and the environment.
QUALITY
The Artes Group's quality management system has been deployed according to ISO 9001, version 2008. Whenever possible, the upcoming 2015 version has already been taken into account. The existing system has been completely modified and reworked, with an emphasis on training for all our employees.
The company’s complete operation has been laid down in modules that describe its various activity domains. Every module has been built from “swimming lanes” that run through the process horizontally. A function has been allocated to each “swimming lane”. This approach ensures that every employee can find their role in every company process very transparently and act according to their responsibilities and tasks.
When conducting our activities, we put great emphasis on work preparation of all the sub aspects of the project or task at hand. Every project comes with a “K file”, a quality dossier. For each part of the project, the K file consists of work preparations, a start-up meeting and a quality control.
A dynamic document, the reference K file is updated every six months, based on the experience of the previous six months. This lets us share all of the lessons learned with all of our employees. Furthermore, this ensures continuous improvement of our quality system and an increasingly better control of safety, quality and environmental risks.
SAFETY
At Artes Group, we consider the well-being of our employees a top-priority. One of our most important tasks is to ensure that all our employees can conduct their work in optimal conditions and return home safe and sound when the day is done.
Safety at work is a mindset that should be propagated top-down by all our employees. Because of the ever-changing conditions on our construction sites, we all have to ensure our own safety and that of our colleagues. Together, every day. A construction site should be a well-organized place, with proper attention being paid to order, cleanliness and collective security. This ensures an accident-free workplace where both personal injuries and property damage can be avoided.
Risk management represents the main pillar of our prevention policy, which has been drawn up in accordance with VCA**. Risk analysis maps out all of the company’s safety, health and environmental risks. Appropriate measures are then taken to reduce any risks to an acceptable level.
No work will be started until project management has listed all of the potential risks, evaluated them and taken the necessary preventive measures. Safety is always a priority when choosing working methods, equipment, subcontractors and suppliers. Start-up meetings are standard before the start of any activity, with all involved parties present.
The commitment of all managers on the project is a key factor to ensuring a safe worksite, to the benefit of all employees involved. This commitment by all site managers is reflected in their dedication and involvement when drawing up safety plans, holding start-up and toolbox meetings and conducting frequent site inspections.
Important information concerning risks and how to manage them is exchanged at the project meeting or through the prevention adviser. By exchanging experience and information, we continuously aim to improve safety, health and environmental conditions.
ENVIRONMENT
With an eye to the future, taking care of our environment is a priority for all of us. As a construction company, we owe it to ourselves and the environment to play a ‘constructive’ part. Sometimes, in the day-to-day operation of our business, it’s the little things that make a big difference. It all comes down to a regular sensitization of all our employees, using toolboxes to make them stop and think about every action they undertake. To ensure that they do so with due regard for the environment, especially in terms of thoughtful use of energy and raw materials and waste sorting.
An ISO 14001-based management system has been drawn up for all departments of Artes Depret and Artes Roegiers. It focuses specifically on the following items:
As a construction company, we make significant investments in new equipment every year. Taking into account the environmental impact of any purchase, we submit every investment to the internal environmental coordinator for approval.
The risk analysis — which we update annually — maps out all the activities that have an impact on the environment. Last year’s management review forms the basis for next year’s action plan, which is always looking for ways to improve the prevention of material and environmental damage. This plan of action is communicated to all of our employees at the start of the new working year, with toolboxes providing regular refreshers throughout the year.
