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