What a COR is
A Certificate of Recognition is the Alberta government's sign-off that a company's health and safety management system has been audited and meets the provincial standard. It is issued jointly by the Government of Alberta and a Certifying Partner, after the company passes an audit.
Some owners and GCs ask for one at prequalification. It is not required by law to work, but on the jobs where it is asked for, not having one means not bidding.
COR or SECOR
| SECOR | COR | |
|---|---|---|
| For | Businesses with up to 10 employees | Larger businesses |
| Audit | A self-assessment, reviewed by your Certifying Partner | An external auditor, reviewed by your Certifying Partner |
| Pass mark | At least 80% overall, and at least 50% in every element | The same |
| Valid for | 3 years, with a maintenance audit in each of the 2 calendar years after certification | The same |
A small employer that expects to grow past 10 employees can follow a transition program from SECOR to a standard COR.
How to get one
1. Choose a Certifying Partner
Alberta has 13 Certifying Partners. For construction, the Alberta Construction Safety Association (ACSA) is one: in the province's own list of COR holders, it is the Certifying Partner on more than four thousand certificates. The partner trains you, helps you build the system, runs the audit process and does the quality review.
Course requirements and fees are set by the Certifying Partner, so get them from ACSA or whichever partner you choose.
2. Put a health and safety management system in place
Your Certifying Partner will help you build one that meets its standard, or tell you what to change in the one you have. This is the long step: the province warns that a company starting without a system may take 12 months or more to get through the whole process.
3. Get audited
- SECOR: you do the self-assessment and send it to your Certifying Partner.
- COR: you hire an external auditor from your partner's list. The consultant who helped build your system cannot be the one who audits it.
The audit includes interviews with employees at every level and observation of the work. The auditor has 21 days after finishing to submit the report to the Certifying Partner, which can extend that in exceptional cases, but never past 45 days.
4. Pass, and receive the certificate
Score 80% overall and 50% in each element, and the Certifying Partner asks the province to issue the COR. It comes signed by both.
Keeping it
A COR lasts 3 years only if you complete a maintenance audit in each of the two calendar years after certification. The province's warnings about the process apply here too:
- October to December is auditors' busiest time, and audits take longer.
- If an auditor misses a deadline or the audit fails quality review, it is not accepted, and your COR can expire while you redo it.
So book maintenance audits early in the year.
How a GC can check one
The Government of Alberta publishes the list of employers holding a COR, with each certificate's number, expiry date and Certifying Partner. A certificate number marked SE is a SECOR. Asking for the COR number and checking it there takes a minute.
For the rest of what a GC checks before letting a trade on site, see what a GC checks before hiring a subcontractor.
Questions about the program itself go to the province's COR line, 780-415-8690, weekdays 8:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Working commercial jobs around Calgary? Join Syndex as a subcontractor. It is free.