COR 2020 & ISO 45001 Support
Our services include
- Complete program customization
- Onsite or virtual detailed workplace assessment/gap analysis to ensure the scope of the workplace is captured
- All policies and procedures created as individual documents in an organized manner, divided by element number
- Forms and templates suited to fulfill program requirements
- Catalogue of safety talks
- COR 2020/ISO45001 program implementation plan provided
- Virtual update meetings during program development as needed/requested
- 4-hour in person or virtual program roll out to teach how to use and implement the program
- Internal audit prep and assistance
- External audit assistance
- COR2020 transition assistance
- And More…
COR™2020 Certificate of Recognition
The certificate of recognition (COR™) is a national accreditation standard intended to demonstrate an employers successful implementation of a recognized occupational health and safety management system.
While COR™ exists in many provinces for various industries, in Ontario the COR™ standard is applicable to the construction industry.
COR™ was officially launched in Ontario by the IHSA in 2012 and was made available to employers to apply. This program focused on 19 elements that were common to the construction industry and intended to promote health and safety in the workplace.
The COR™ program requires that each employer have internal audits conducted on an annual basis, as well as an external audit that is conducted by a member of the IHSA every third year. To ensure the internal audits were performed correctly, there is a requirement for the designated internal auditor to complete training sessions hosted by the IHSA.
In January of 2020, the COR™ program was revised to coincide with the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development’s new Occupational Health and Safety Management System Accreditation Standard.
Companies that were approved under the previous COR™ standard are able to convert to the COR™ 2020 standard by making some modifications to the existing program. Companies that are COR™ approved and are interested in achieving COR™ 2020 are encouraged to do so as often times it doesn’t take a lot of work to make the transition.
ISO 45001-18 / CSA Z45001:19
Occupational Health and Safety Management System
In 2018, The International Organization for Standardization, commonly known as ISO, created an international standard known as ISO 45001-18 for Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems. The implementation of this standard is to demonstrate an organization’s responsible approach to managing occupational health and safety risks, and its commitment to compliance with the applicable legislation.
Due to ISO being an international organization, it is up to employers to interpret and apply the requirements in a way that complies with local regulatory requirements. In Canada, the Canadian Standards Association, also known as CSA, have created a Canadian version of ISO 45001 known as CSA Z45001:19, which was completed and released in 2019.
CSA Z45001:19 further outlines the amendments necessary to properly apply ISO 45001-18 in Canadian workplaces. Similar to the COR™ 2020 requirements, ISO 45001-18 also has a requirement to be internally audited annually, as well as audited externally every three years.
In 2020, the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development developed the Occupational Health and Safety Management System Accreditation Standard which aligns with the ISO 45001 OHSMS standard, as well as CSA Z45001:19.
The COR™ 2020 Audit Process
A COR™ 2020 audit is a structured evaluation of your occupational health and safety management system (OHSMS) against the 14 elements defined by IHSA’s COR™ 2020 Audit Tool. The audit is how IHSA, the sole authority having jurisdiction for COR™ in Ontario, determines whether your company qualifies for Certificate of Recognition status. There are two types of audits involved, and understanding the difference is essential before beginning the certification process.
Internal Audit
The internal audit is conducted by a designated employee within your company who has completed IHSA’s required training. That employee must be a full-time permanent staff member and must complete four IHSA courses (COR Essentials, Basic Auditing Principles, COR Internal Auditor, and Introduction to Hazard and Risk Management) before being eligible to conduct the audit. Your senior management representative must also complete the COR Essentials course.
The internal auditor uses IHSA’s official COR™ Audit Tool to assess your OHSMS against each of the 14 elements, gather objective evidence (policies, procedures, records, observations, and employee interviews), and produce a complete audit report. That report is submitted to IHSA for review via the AuditSoft platform.
External Audit
The external audit is conducted by a third-party IHSA-approved auditor and takes place in the first year of your certification cycle, following the internal audit, and every third year thereafter. The external auditor independently validates your OHSMS against the same 14 elements. Successful completion of both the internal and external audits in year one is what triggers the issuance of your Certificate of Recognition.
Scoring Standard
COR™ uses a common national audit scoring standard. To pass, your company must achieve a minimum of 65% on each individual element and an overall audit score of at least 80%. Falling below either threshold means corrective action is required before certification can be issued or maintained.
It evaluates your OHSMS against 14 elements, including four areas that were added or expanded in the 2020 revision: procurement and change management, contractor management, control of documents, and control of records. Each element requires both a written policy (stating the expectation) and a documented procedure (explaining how employees meet the expectation).
The Three-Year Audit Cycle
Once certified, COR™ 2020 operates on a three-year cycle:
Year | Audit Type | Outcome |
Year 1 | Internal audit + external audit | Certificate of Recognition issued |
Year 2 | Internal maintenance audit only | Letter of Good Standing |
Year 3 | Internal maintenance audit only | Letter of Good Standing |
Year 4 | Re-apply and restart cycle with external audit | Certificate renewed |
Internal maintenance audits in years two and three are what keep your certification active between external audits. If a maintenance audit is not successful, you have 90 days from your certification anniversary date to correct deficiencies and resubmit. After 30 days past the anniversary without resolution, your status changes to “pending” but you remain certified and able to bid for projects. After 90 days, you must restart the certification process from the beginning.
We recommend starting your internal audit at least 90 days before your certification anniversary date to leave room for any corrective actions before the deadline.
About Your COR™ 2020 Certificate
The Certificate of Recognition (COR™) is a national accreditation issued in Ontario by the Infrastructure Health and Safety Association (IHSA) under authority granted by the Canadian Federation of Construction Safety Associations (CFCSA). It demonstrates that your company has developed, implemented, and independently verified an occupational health and safety management system meeting a recognized national standard. For construction employers in Ontario, COR™ is often a pre-qualification requirement for bidding on both public and private sector construction projects.
What the Certificate Represents
Your COR™ certificate represents successful completion of both an internal audit and an external third-party audit under IHSA’s COR™ 2020 Audit Tool, with a minimum score of 80% overall and 65% on each of the 14 elements. It tells project owners, general contractors, insurers, and regulators that your safety program has been validated against a nationally endorsed standard, not self-declared.
Who Holds the Certificate
The COR™ certificate belongs to the employer, not to individuals within the company. Training certifications for the senior management representative and the designated internal auditor remain with those individuals, but the certificate itself is held by the company. If your designated internal auditor or management representative leaves, the certificate remains valid, but you must assign and train a replacement to continue performing maintenance audits.
If your company operates under more than one WSIB account, each account requires its own independent COR™ certification.
How Long Your Certificate Is Valid
COR™ 2020 certification is valid for three years from the date of initial certification, conditional on successful completion of annual internal maintenance audits in years two and three. A Letter of Good Standing is issued each year the maintenance audit is successful, confirming to clients and project owners that your certification remains active.
At the end of year three, your company must re-apply to the COR™ program and begin the cycle again with both an internal and an external audit in year four.
Getting Your COR™ Certificate
There are four prerequisites before a company can pursue COR™ certification in Ontario:
- An active Ontario WSIB account in good standing.
- A functioning occupational health and safety management system in place for at least 12 months before the initial audit.
- A senior management representative who has completed the IHSA COR Essentials course.
- A full-time permanent employee designated as Internal Auditor who has completed all four required IHSA training courses.
Once these are in place, the company submits a COR™ application to IHSA, completes an internal audit using the official COR™ Audit Tool, and arranges the external audit through an IHSA-approved third-party auditor.
Why the Certificate Matters Commercially
Beyond the safety outcomes, COR™ certification carries real commercial weight in Ontario construction. A growing number of public-sector owners (including many municipalities, school boards, and government-funded infrastructure projects) require COR™ or equivalent from contractors bidding on projects. In the private sector, major developers and general contractors increasingly list COR™ as a prequalification requirement for subcontractors. Certified companies also qualify for WSIB rebates through the MLITSD’s Occupational Health and Safety Management System Accreditation Standard, typically delivered over a three-year period.
For many Ontario construction companies, the COR™ certificate is the difference between being invited to bid and being filtered out before the conversation begins.
Transitioning From Legacy COR™ 2015 to COR™ 2020
Companies currently certified under the previous COR™ standard can transition to COR™ 2020 without starting over. The transition requires adjustments to the existing OHSMS (particularly in the four new focus areas: procurement and change management, contractor management, control of documents, and control of records) and submission of an updated audit under the COR™ 2020 tool. STC assists with this transition directly and in most cases the work required is less than clients expect. Contact us to discuss your current certification and what the transition would involve.
How We Can Help
Our consultants can assist your company with the development, implementation, and management of both ISO 45001-18 occupational health and safety management systems and COR™ 2020 health and safety management systems. With extensive experience in the construction industry, we have helped many companies achieve and maintain accreditation under these standards. We also provide expert advice on internal and external audit results, aiming to simplify the COR™ 2020 certification process and offer guidance whenever needed. If your company is seeking ISO 45001-18 accreditation, aiming to become COR™ 2020 certified, or transitioning from COR™ to COR™ 2020, please contact us for assistance and support.
How can becoming COR™2020 or ISO 45001-18 (CSA Z45001:19) benefit your workplace and put money back into your pocket?
In Ontario, secondary to the need to keep workers safe, there are two program that will provide companies with WSIB rebates that have programs approved under the COR™ 2020 or ISO 45001-18 occupational health and safety management system standards.
WSIB Health and Safety Excellence Program (HSEp)
The Health and Safety Excellence program was built in 2019 with an advisory committee of WSIB representatives, service delivery providers and the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development Prevention Office.
The program helps businesses improve their workplace health and safety – the program starts from awareness or knowledge of basic health and safety requirements and builds to excellence, such as meeting a recognized national or international health and safety standard.
Businesses that implement program topics can improve their health and safety performance by creating a safer workplace, which can result in lower workplace injury and illness rates and reduced WSIB premiums. You can also earn rebates and recognition for your investments in health and safety.
To learn more about the WSIB’s HSE program, please visit the HSEp page of our website. If you are interested in enrolling in the program, please contact us for further information.
Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development (MLITSD) Occupational Health and Safety Management System Accreditation Standard
Companies that achieve COR2020 or ISO45001 approval are eligible for WSIB rebates through the Occupational Health and Safety Management System Accreditation Standard.
This program, administered through Supporting Ontario’s Safe Employers Program, is intended to identify excellence in occupational health and safety management through the accreditation of these systems by the chief prevention officer.
While this accreditation standard is completely voluntary, those employers who successfully meet the accreditation standard requirements are eligible for WSIB rebates over a three-year period. In addition, approved employers will receive recognition for their efforts on the MLITSD’s website.
To learn more about MLITSD’s OHSMS Accreditation Standard and how to enroll, please contact us.