Introducing
the Certificate of Recognition Program
The Certificate of Recognition (COR) Program is an occupational health
and safety certification program for all Yukon employers.
The program is designed to:
- assist companies in the development and maintenance of a company-wide
safety program
- introduce standardized training
- monitor the safety program through annual audits.
Specifically, the COR Program helps employers understand the OH&S
Act and Regulations, and employer and worker rights and responsibilities.
This will help firms avoid liability and ensure due diligence. Through
participation in the program, employers and employees
will come to recognize that injury prevention must be an integral part
of their business conduct and daily working routine.
The COR program is a partnership between the Northern Safety Network
Yukon (NSNY) and the Yukon Workers’ Compensation Health and
Safety Board (YWCHSB). The program is administered by the Northern Safety Network
Yukon and available to all Yukon employers, from owner/operators
to large corporations. Upon completion of the program requirements, a
certificate of recognition is issued jointly by the NSNY and the YWCHSB.
Certificate of Recognition (COR) Process
The process to obtain a Certificate of Recognition for companies
with ten or more employees is:
STEP 1 - Register in the program by filling in the COR
registration form (13kB PDF) and faxing it back to the NSNY.
STEP 2 - Have at least one full-time employee complete
the following core courses:
Principles of Health & Safety Management (PHSM) - A one-day course
designed to help the company develop and implement a health & safety
program.
Auditor Training - A two-day course designed to help the person responsible
for health & safety understand how to measure the effectiveness of
the program within the company. NOTE: for certification as a NSNY auditor,
a self-audit must be submitted within six months of completing the two-day
audit course.
Leadership for Safety Excellence (LSE) - A two-day course designed to
help the supervisor understand their health & safety roles and responsibilities.
The course covers legislation, inspections, investigations and training
(safety meetings, etc.).
Train-the-trainer course - Workplace Hazardous Materials Information
System (WHMIS). Once the course is successfully completed, the participant
can provide WHMIS training to other workers within the company.
The above courses require six days of training. The same person is not
required to take all the courses; however, the auditor must complete PHSM
and Auditor training. The NSNY recommends that all supervisors take LSE.
STEP 3 - On completion of the required training, you
will develop and implement your company safety program. Once you feel
your safety program is ready, the person that took the auditor training
must complete and submit an internal audit to the NSNY.
The NSNY reviews the audit, and if accepted the auditor will be confirmed
as a certified auditor. Once the auditor is certified, the company can
request an external audit.
After the internal audit is completed and reviewed, fill out external
audit request form and fax or mailed it to the NSNY. Arrangements for
the audit, from notification date, could take from two to four weeks to
arrange depending on audit load, availability of auditors within the industry,
construction season activities, etc.
STEP 4 - The external audit should take approximately
2 to 5 days to complete, for a company with up to 30 employees, depending
on location of the active work site(s) in relation to Whitehorse. Once
the audit is completed and the close out meeting (between the auditor
and the company) has been held, the audit document must be forwarded by
the company to the NSNY for review. This process should take less than
ten days to complete, barring any unforeseen errors and/or omissions in
the audit.
STEP 5 - The NSNY forwards a request for certification
to the Yukon Workers’ Compensation Health and Safety Board for issuance
of the Certificate of Recognition. The whole process for audit review
could take up to four weeks to complete.