Resource · COR · Alberta
COR Audit Checklist for Alberta contractors.
Ten things to confirm before your COR auditor arrives — built around the gaps that most often surface during external audits.
Certified COR Auditor · Program leadership
Allan Head conducts external COR audits and leads program build for employers getting COR-ready. Most clients hire us for the full program path; external audits are available when we're not also preparing that certification.
Quick Answer
What does a COR audit check?
A COR audit checks whether your safety management system is actually working in the field — not just documented. Auditors compare what your program says, what your supervisors and workers say, and what's actually happening on site. The most common findings come from inconsistency between those three, not from missing documentation.
The checklist
Walk through each item with your safety lead and a supervisor or two. Where the answers don't line up, that's where to focus next.
- 1
Program documentation
Confirm the written program is current, version-controlled, accessible to workers, and reflects how the work is actually done — not how it was done two years ago.
- 2
Hazard assessments
Hazard assessments (FLHAs / job hazard assessments) are task-specific, current, and being filled out properly — not copy-pasted templates that don't match the actual job.
- 3
Training and competency records
Records exist for every worker, are current, and tie to specific roles. You can show how you confirmed competency — not just that training was attended.
- 4
Supervisor knowledge
Supervisors can describe expectations consistently across crews and explain how the program applies to their work in their own words.
- 5
Worker knowledge
Workers know the hazards in their job, the controls in place, and what to do in an emergency. The way they describe it should line up with the program.
- 6
Inspection program
Site inspections are happening on a defined cadence, are documented, and findings are tracked through to closure — not just listed.
- 7
Corrective actions
Every flagged item has an owner, a deadline, and a verifiable closure. Open items are tracked so nothing quietly falls off the list.
- 8
Incident investigation records
Past incidents (including near-misses) have been investigated, root causes identified, and corrective actions completed and verified.
- 9
Emergency response
Emergency procedures are current, documented, communicated, and tested. Workers can describe what to do — not just where the binder lives.
- 10
Management review
There's evidence that leadership reviews the program regularly, sets expectations, and follows up on the trends the program surfaces.
Pro Spec Woodwork
Manufacturing · 100% COR audit
“We were able to not only pass the audit and achieve our initial COR certificate, but we scored 100% which exceeded our expectations.”
Brad Smith, President
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Frequently asked questions
Straightforward answers about preparing for a COR audit in Alberta.
Audit coming up?
Tell us your audit date and what you're seeing in the field. We'll figure out together what to focus on first.