What is COR?
The Certificate of Recognition program is an undertaking which ultimately credits companies which demonstrate the highest health and safety standards in practice today. With every certification comes a rigorous process in through which it is to be obtained.
How do we register?
A company must have an active Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) account in good standing in order to register with the IHSA. The IHSA is the only legal grantor of the Certificate of Recognition in the province of Ontario. Employers with a current WSIB account is eligible to register by completing the COR Application form, found on IHSA.ca. If all the information disclosed in the application is complete and accurate, the company is then registered into the program.
What training is needed?
A Senior Manager and a full-time employee are required to complete prescribed training. The senior manager is to complete only one workshop, however, the full-time employee who is the prospective internal auditor must complete this same workshop, as well as three others. Having only one approved provider of this training for each province make the process of locating and completing training simple. Something to keep in mind is that training completed with any member organization of the Canadian Federation of Construction Safety Associations is recognized throughout the provinces supporting COR.
The First COR Audit
Once registration and mandatory COR training of both the senior manager and internal auditor is completed, the company can then complete its internal audit. A subsequent external audit is to take place within 60 days of the internal audit submission. The internal audit must satisfy the following requirements for the external audit to begin: Legislative requirement score of 100%, individual element score of 65%, and an overall score of 80%.
COR Audit 2 and 3
The audits that take place in years two and three are only internal, which when completed get submitted to the to the IHSA who will then decide whether or not good standing is deserved. Internal audits should be submitted 45 days in advance of the anniversary date of acquiring COR.
Renewing Certification
The fourth year is when a company’s COR will expire, obligating those who wish to stay certified to re-register and fulfill the process once again. What changes is that companies do not have to complete an internal audit for the fourth-year term, only an external audit is to be performed. It may still be in the company’s interests to complete an internal audit regardless, ensuring that essential requirements are met and that nothing comes as a surprise come time of the external audit performance.
To find out more about COR the IHSA has a Frequently Asked Questions page
To find out how Aceis Group can help you through the COR process, visit our COR service page or contact us below.