Post on 21-Aug-2020
ihsa.caiHSa.ca Magazine Vol. 13 Issue 210
“Weareabusinessthatreliesoncontracts.Wheneverwe’rebiddingonacontract,it’salwaysgoodtohavesomethingthatsetsusapartfromtheothers.COR™willsetusapart.”
Intheconstructionindustry,manypredictthatCOR™willbecomeavitalcomponentofthebidprocess.Mr.Housefeelsthesamewillhappeninthetransportationindustry.“BasedonmyexperienceinAlbertaandmyyearsasahealthandsafetyprofessional,IthinkCOR™willeventuallybecomearequirement.Ithinkthesoonercompaniesgetonboard,thebetter.Youdefinitelydon’twanttobeontheoutsidelookingin,”hesays.“Therearesomanyresourcesavailabletohelpyoupreparefortheaudit,includingIHSAconsultantswhowillcomeouttoyourlocation.”
FirstStudenthasbeenaleaderinbustransportationinCanadaforquitesometime.Itisalsoaleaderinhealth and safety. First Student is one of the first transportationcompaniestoseekouttheCertificateofRecognition(COR™)inOntario.Thecompanyrunsschoolbusescoasttocoast,aswellassomemunicipaltransitsystemssuchastheonesinBarrieandOrangeville.Ithasapproximately10,000schoolbusesonCanadianroads.Whenyouseeaschoolbusinyourneighbourhood,it’slikelyaFirstStudentbus.
WhenCOR™wasintroducedtoOntario,FirstStudentjumpedonit.HavingalreadybeencertifiedinAlberta,thecompanyknewthevalueofCOR™certification.“WhenIjoinedFirstStudent,itwasgoingthroughaCOR™auditinAlberta,soIhadtoquicklylearnwhataCOR™auditmeant,”saysBarryHouse,HealthandSafetyMangerforCanadaatFirstStudent.“BeingontheBoardofDirectorsforIHSA,IfirstheardaboutCOR™comingtoOntarioduringapresentationatoneofourmeetings.Itgotmeinterested.Isawthebenefitsofbeingcertified.”Mr.Housewentontoexplainthatthosebenefitsrelatelargelytothebiddingprocess.
“Ithinkthesoonercompaniesgetonboard,thebetter.Youdefinitelydon’twanttobeontheoutsidelookingin.”
leading the way with coRtM
certificate of Recognition
11iHSa.ca Magazine Vol. 13 Issue 2ihsa.ca
ManycompaniesseeCOR™asalogicalnextstepafterparticipatinginSafetyGroups.“WehadbeendoingSafety
Groupsforanumberof years, so we had beenusingthesame
instrumentoverandoveragain. We liked the idea of
usingsomethingdifferent.It forced us to look at things
differently, which was refreshing. Wealsolikedtheideaofbeingabletoauditourselves,”saysMr.House.
COR™focuseson19elementsthatpromotehealthyandsafebehaviour.Tobecomecertified,afirmmustfirstpassaninternalaudit of its health and safety policyandprogramandthenpassanexternal,third-partyaudit.
“Ifyou’vebeendoingSafetyGroups,you’vealreadyproventhatyouhaveahealthandsafetymanagementsystem,sowithsomeadditionalwork,youcanusewhatyou’vedonewithSafetyGroupsfortheCOR™audit,”explainsMr.Houseashedescribeshiscompany’sexperience.“Obviously,theCOR™auditismorein-depththanaSafetyGroupsauditbecauseyouhavetodoanumberofinterviewswithemployeesandsometimesgotomultiplelocations,butthetwoprogramscertainlydovetailverywell.”
Jane Wilkinson, First Student’s Senior Regional Safety ManagerforEasternCanada,agrees.AfterbeinginvolvedwithSafetyGroupsforseveralyears,shefeelsFirstStudentisreadytotakethingsastepfurther.“I’mreallylookingforwardtotheemployeeinterviewsthatarepartoftheCOR™processbecausetheywillhelpvalidateourtrainingandidentifysomeofthegapsthatmaynotbeobvioustouppermanagement,”shesays.“Talkingtoouremployeeswillletusknowhowthepoliciesandproceduresarebeingreceived.Ithinkthat’s really where the valueis.”
Save the date: AGMIHSAwillholditsAnnualGeneralMeetingon
September10,2013.ThemeetingwilltakeplaceattheCentreforHealthandSafetyInnovationinMississauga,Ontario.Visitihsa.cainthecomingmonthsfordetails.To join First Student and
theotherfirmsthatareworking towards
COR™certification,visit ihsa.ca/cor.Formore
informationabout theprogram,visit
ihsa.ca/products and downloadtheCertificateofRecognitionbrochure
(IHSA022).
Learn more about CORTM