The safety legislation in Canada is changing and your business is legally obligated to have an updated Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OHSMS). The COR program was first developed right here in Alberta over 20 years ago to help employers implement an effective health and safety management system. Since then, it has proven to reduce accidents and injuries and thereby the human and financial costs associated with them.
What is the COR Process?
The COR process requires business to demonstrate to an external auditor that their company is compliant with the latest health and safety standards. This includes staff and management training, emergency response plans, incident investigation procedures, and health and safety policies. Businesses also need to train internal auditors to ensure that policies and procedures are followed and kept up to date in between external audits which are usually conducted every three years.
During this process you also have to pick an authorized Certifying Partner that is right for your company considering the following details:
- Your industry
- Safety services offered
- Availability of training
- Where training is offered
How Do I Get COR Certified?
Getting your COR can take up to a year, especially if you don’t already have a health and safety management system in place. However, the process is not complicated provided you follow all the necessary steps systematically.
Step One:
The first step is to identify your Certifying Partner. Currently, there are 13 authorized Certifying Partners in Alberta.
Step Two:
The next step towards getting your Certificate of Recognition (COR) is to design and implement a health and safety management program that complies with the requirements of your certifying partner. Your health and safety plan should include components like:
- Discipline policy
- Training policy
- Management review
- Preventative maintenance policy and program with schedules
- Hazard assessments
- Creating and testing emergency response plans
- Conducting employee training
- Employee training and competency verification
- Incident investigations
Along with any industry specific plans like vehicle inspections, site safety plans, fire extinguisher inspections, among others.
If you already have a health and safety management system in place, you will need to bring it up to date to meet the requirements set out by your Certifying Partner.
Step Three:
The third major step is getting an external audit. Your Certifying Partner cannot be your auditor but will recommend a list of qualified auditors. Choose a qualified auditor and set up the audit.
Step Four:
The auditor sends their written report to your Certifying Partner. You need a minimum of 80% overall including a score of 50% in each of the audit elements to pass your audit.
CORManuals.com Can Help
At Cor Manuals, we understand that each company is unique and there is no one size fits all solution to developing and implementing a health and safety management plan to achieve your COR. We are here to help you with the entire process – from finding the right certifying partner based on your specific industry and your business operations to implementing a health and safety management system. We also help you find a certified auditor who, schedule your audit, ensure you have everything you need and provide support through the entire process.
Contact COR Manuals today to get your COR process started today.