A COR (Certificate of Recognition) Audit is a standardized process used to assess the effectiveness of a company's health and safety management system.
What is a COR Audit
A COR (Certificate of Recognition) Audit is a standardized process used to assess the effectiveness of a company's health and safety management system. The audit ensures that companies are adhering to rigorous safety practices to protect workers and comply with regulatory standards. During a COR Audit, certified auditors review the company’s documentation, interview employees, and observe practices on-site to evaluate if safety policies are effectively implemented.
Why passing a COR Audit is critical
A successful audit results in a COR certification, which demonstrates the company’s commitment to workplace safety. This certification is often a requirement for companies to qualify for high-value contracts, especially with large corporations and government bodies that prioritize safety-certified partners. Successfully passing a COR Audit can also lead to financial benefits, such as lower Workers’ Compensation premiums and liability insurance costs, as it signals reduced risk to insurers. Furthermore, COR-certified companies experience improved employee morale and retention, as workers feel safer and more valued.
How to Properly Prepare for a COR Audit
A successful COR audit starts well before your audit expiry date or even before the audit start date. It starts as soon as your previous audit is complete. It is much more effective to keep a safety program running smoothly by doing a little bit each day and ensuring everybody focuses on safety at all times.
- Directional Documents are the policies and procedures that explain how the company meets its H&S responsibilities. These policies and procedures make up the health and safety program. Ensure the manual is up to date and reflects current business activities. We recommend structuring your H&S Program Manual in similar sections to the audit tool as it makes updating and auditing the program more convenient.
- Operational Documents are the records and forms used to record H&S activities and prove the company is completing H&S tasks – make sure your documentation is well organized and filed in a way you can easily retrieve documents by date and work site. Many auditors prefer to review documentation before visiting the work site so having documents stored electronically is better for sharing, easier to store and backup.(Digital Safety App)
- Have a calendar or schedule regular H&S activities so you receive reminders when tasks are due, such as the annual emergency drill, the month health and safety meeting, or the quarterly office inspection.
- Record Storage - create a set of folders categorized by name to store similar documents together makes it efficient when it comes to filing. Such as hazard assessments, incidents, training, health and safety meetings. Then create a new set for each 12 month period.
- Workers – Ensure new workers receive a safety orientation before they start work, are trained in their duties and familiar with their health and safety responsibilities. Review regularly with workers so they stay up to date and feel confident when interviewed by the auditor.
- Audit tool – Be sure you are familiar with the audit tool and the information the auditor will be expecting to see, throughout the year you maintain your system so there is no last minute rush to get ready for audit.
- Make sure equipment inventories and maintenance records are kept up to date, establish a routine for storing these throughout the year.
- Follow up on documents that have identified corrective actions, such as worksite inspections and incident investigations. Make sure that the date and type of corrective actions are recorded and signed off. Identifying areas to improve is good but even better when they are completed. It is important that every employer regularly conducts audits of their documentation, facilities, and worksites to ensure that their Health & Safety Program and its policies are being followed.
How BVS can help
Bow Valley Safety provides support to employers who may not have the available internal resources to get ready for your certificate of recognition (COR) or SECOR audit, and for those employers who want to use an independent company to support H&S culture change and reinforce the importance of compliance. For more information on our Safety Audit Preparation service, please go here
For more information on our Safety Audit Preparation service, please go here