The Certificate of Recognition Program (COR) is a program between Alberta Employment, Immigration and Industry(Workplace Health & Safety) and employers. This program operates only within Alberta.

A COR is essential to WCB's Partners in Injury Reduction program and a key component of Alberta Employment, Immigration and Industries (WH&S) Partnership program. The COR is issued to employers who have successfully implemented a basic workplace health and safety management system. Once an employer has developed and implemented their workplace health and safety management system, it must be independently audited. Audits are coordinated through a Certifying Partner appropriate to their industry. The Certifying Partner then reviews the audit for compliance with quality standards.

If the audit meets all of the standards, the Certifying Partner, in conjunction with Alberta Employment, Immigration and Industry (WH&S), will issue a COR to the employer.

Once a COR has been issued, it is valid for a three year period as long as all maintenance requirements are met. The employer is responsible for completing internal audits for each of the next two years. When the COR expires after three years, another external audit must be conducted to renew the COR. This is again arranged through the Certifying Partner.

There are fifteen Certifying Partners in Alberta representing all major industries within the province. The Manufacturers' Health & Safety Association is a Certifying Partner and represents the manufacturing sector within the province.

The process for obtaining a Certificate of Recognition for companies with more than thirty (30) employees is:

Step 1: Register the company with the MHSA

Step 2: Have at least one (1) full-time employee complete the following courses:

• Safety Basics - A two (2) day course designed to help the company develop and implement a health & safety program.


• Hazard Assessment & Analysis - 1 day. This course will provide the basic knowledge and tools for conducting Hazard Assessments & Analysis in individual work environments.


• Safety Auditor - A two (2) day course designed to help the person responsible for health & safety understand how to measure the effectiveness of the program with the company. The person is also required to be available to complete an external peer audit (when requested by the MHSA) according to the requirements of the program.


• Effective Disability Management - A two (2) day course designed to help the person responsible for the company Workers' Compensation program understand how the WCB system works. Information on how to establish and effective and efficient Modified Work Program is covered in detail.


• Supervisor Training (LSE) - A two (2) day course designed to assist the supervisor/lead hand understand their responsibilities in the areas of health and safety. This training is required in the third year of the program. It is highly recommended this training is done earlier.

Step 3: On completion of the required training, the auditor must submit a self audit and be confirmed as a Certified Auditor before the company can request an external audit.

Step 4: The company requests an external audit by completing the "Request for External Audit" form. The MHSA will arrange for an auditor to be assigned which could take up to four (4) weeks to arrange. This time frame is required due to audit load and availability of auditors.

Step 5: The auditor completes the external audit. Before presenting the audit to the company it is sent to the local MHSA office for review. Once the audit is reviewed and meets the quality control standard it is then presented to the company. A completed audit document is then sent to the MHSA for final review, feed back and record requirements.

Step 6: The MHSA forwards a request for certification to Alberta Human Resources and Employment, Workplace Health & Safety for issuance of the Certificate of Recognition.

Step 7: The employer is required to maintain the COR by completing an internal audit in the second and third years of the program and an external audit in the fourth year. These audits are sent to the MHSA for review and feed back.