Scaling Up: How to Transition from SECOR to COR

If your company has grown beyond a small crew, SECOR will eventually feel restrictive. More sites, subcontractors, and client prequalification requirements create complexity that exposes gaps in documentation, supervision, and training. The move to COR is about proving your system works in the field, not just on paper.

A strong transition starts with clean evidence, a clear training matrix by role, and consistent supervisory practices across all crews. Before you even plan the audit, confirm you have enough history. For many certifying partners, 12 months of records is the expectation for initial certification.

Where teams fail is not always the policy binder. Auditors focus on interviews, observations, and documentation. Common failure points include:

• FLHAs that list tasks but not specific controls

• Inspections with no corrective action trail

• Training logs that are not tied to positions

• Workers do not understand all of their rights and responsibilities

“Good” looks like this: a foreman runs a pre-job meeting/hazard assessment, names the top risks, completes an FLHA, assigns controls, and ensures that everyone signs off on reviewing the information. When a near miss occurs, the investigation cites that FLHA and the corrective action appears on a tracked log with a completion date. During interviews, workers can explain how they identify hazards and use stop-work authority. That is credible, repeatable, and audit-ready.

To stay ahead of Canadian requirements, start by updating your program to reflect recent provincial changes. Next, confirm your documentation matches your actual scope of work. Strengthen supervisor practices first so expectations are consistent across crews, then focus on tightening evidence capture. Once those pieces are in place, book your external auditor. This order saves rework and helps you reach certification faster.

Implementation Blueprint - SECOR to COR Checklist

A successful move from SECOR to COR requires structure, not guesswork. Companies that jump straight into an audit without preparation often face delays, repeat work, or outright failure. The checklist below highlights the key steps that turn a basic safety program into one that stands up to a full certification process.

• ✅ Compare your safety program against the full COR requirements for your province

• ✅ Replace generic or outdated policies with audit-tested documents

• ✅ Formalize your workplace inspection and corrective action process

• ✅ Ensure every supervisor has taken courses like Leadership for Safety Excellence

• ✅ Book a certified external auditor at least 90 days out

• ✅ Conduct an internal review using the same criteria your auditor will use

• ✅ Keep records clean, current, and easy to access during site visits and interviews

Role-Based Execution

Successful COR programs depend on clarity at every level. Each role, from workers to management, has specific responsibilities that auditors will test through interviews, observations, and documentation. When everyone understands their part and avoids common mistakes, your program becomes consistent, credible, and audit-ready.

• Workers: Use FLHAs or hazard assessments, follow controls, report hazards and near misses, provide certificates to supervisors.

• Supervisors/Foremen: Lead FLHAs, hazard assessments and toolbox talks, verify controls, document inspections, close corrective actions.

• Management: Resource corrective actions, review monthly safety metrics, support field execution.

Recent Provincial Updates

The jump from SECOR to COR isn’t just a checkbox — it’s a full upgrade in how your company proves safety accountability. While SECOR audits often accept informal records and part-time oversight, COR requires a robust safety system backed by documentation, training, and leadership competency.

If your company has grown beyond 10 employees, taken on more complex work, or expanded across provinces, it’s time to evaluate whether your current safety program can pass a full-scope COR audit. And with major legislative updates across Canada in 2024, even companies already holding COR need to reassess key areas like violence prevention, first aid, and supervisor training. The rules have changed — and your documentation needs to reflect it.

Recent Provincial Updates

Alberta (AB)

• December 2024: Alberta’s OHS Code was amended, with a transition period ending March 31, 2025. Key changes include updated requirements for violence and harassment prevention under Part 27. All COR documentation should be reviewed for alignment. Alberta OHS Resource Portal

British Columbia (BC)

• November 1, 2024: New Occupational First Aid regulations took effect, requiring employers to review and update their first aid assessments, designated attendants, and equipment based on CSA standards. WorkSafeBC First Aid

Saskatchewan (SK)

• May 17, 2024: All provincially regulated employers must now have a written violence policy and prevention plan in place. This must be documented and made available to workers. Government of Saskatchewan – OHS

Ontario (ON)

• October 28, 2024: Bill 190 (Working for Workers Five Act) received Royal Assent. It introduces phased changes to the OHSA throughout 2024 and 2025, including expanded protections and employer duties. Ontario Ministry of Labour

Training That Supports Compliance

COR auditors don’t just ask if your team is trained; they ask for proof, by role, with current certificates. And in most provinces, training must match the worker’s tasks and responsibilities. Having your team complete the right courses now makes audit interviews smoother, faster, and less risky.

These are our most commonly assigned COR-aligned courses, built for real field conditions and Canadian compliance:

• WHMIS 2015 (GHS) – Chemical hazard recognition, labelling, SDS literacy

• TDG – Transportation of Dangerous Goods – Required for anyone shipping, handling, or receiving dangerous goods

• Leadership for Safety Excellence – Teaches supervisors how to complete inspections, lead meetings, and document actions

• Ground Disturbance 201 – Alberta – Endorsed by ABCGA, critical for excavation, trenching, and line locates

• Formal Workplace Inspection – Guides supervisors and HSEs through inspection procedures and documentation

If you're enrolling multiple workers, save time by using our Free Group Training Account. You’ll get automated reminders, a role-based training setup, and instant access to over 1,500 online courses.

Use promo code ONTRACK10 to save 10% at checkout.

Documents and Tools

COR is all about proof, and that means your forms, meeting minutes, and field-level checklists need to be current, standardized, and easy to access. The best time to update these tools is before your audit window opens. Here’s what we recommend every growing company use:

• Custom Safety Forms - Our most-used audit-ready documents, including: Field Level Hazard Assessments (FLHA), Worksite Inspection Checklists, Toolbox Talk Forms, Incident Investigations, Corrective Action Logs. Each one is editable and branded to your company — designed to match COR audit evidence expectations.

• Toolbox Talks Library Over 70 printable safety talks to help supervisors reinforce key topics during morning meetings and weekly tailgates. Use them to support documentation of ongoing safety communication — a key COR scoring category.

• Free Safety Downloads and Templates - Get instant access to high-impact tools like Safety Meeting Forms, Orientation Checklists, and Audit Prep Templates. These are ideal for teams needing to organize their evidence library fast.

Each resource listed above is designed to help you show your program is working — not just say it is.

Quick Roadmap

This Week:

• Choose your COR certifying partner (ACSA, ESC, IHSA, WorkSafe)

• Download your province’s official audit tool

• Draft a one-page evidence index that lists what you have (and what’s missing)

• Coach supervisors on completing FLHAs with quality notes and photo evidence

This Month:

• Map out required training by role (supervisors, field workers, admin)

• Enroll staff in key online courses like WHMIS, Leadership, and Ground Disturbance

• Update violence and harassment policies to match 2024/2025 legislation

• Run a mini audit on two audit elements (e.g., inspections, meetings) and document your corrective actions

This Quarter:

• Conduct a full internal audit against COR criteria and close all gaps

• Book your external auditor early to secure timelines

• Standardize your Corrective Action Log and link it to field inspections

• Launch monthly safety management reviews to confirm progress and accountability

How On-Track Safety Can Help

If you’ve read this far, you’re already ahead of most companies — and ready to take action. Transitioning from SECOR to COR doesn’t have to be overwhelming when you have the right tools and guidance.

On-Track Safety offers real-world support to make your upgrade easier and audit-ready:

• A COR-certified Custom Health and Safety Manual

• Direct access to a qualified external auditor

• Practical support to align your forms, training records, and evidence binder with what auditors expect

• A Free Group Training Account — assign training by role, automate reminders, and store certificates in one place

• Support going digital with SiteDocs — capture inspections, FLHAs, and field-level documentation from any device

If you’re planning a COR audit this year — or even thinking about it — now’s the time to prepare.