Download COR® audit instrument

Download the new COR® audit instrument for Nova Scotia here.

A healthy and safe work environment is a non-negotiable at Bird, including supporting employee mental well-being. The company pursues a “holistic approach” to employee health and wellbeing, and strives for an empathetic culture that considers the mental health and psychological safety of all employees. Bird was the inaugural winner of Construction Safety Nova Scotia’s Workplace Mental Health Award, presented at our Annual General Meeting this past April.

Bird’s mental health program was developed specifically to address a need within the company to address a gap that has likely existed for a long time, but has been significantly amplified through Covid-19, said Dan Andersson, HSE Director, Atlantic, at Bird. Managers receive Mental Health First Aid training so they are equipped with the tools to recognize and assist workers who may be facing challenges with their mental health. Through the company’s Workday learning module, there are numerous free courses on the topic of mental health available to employees. Bird employees and their families have access to an Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP).

In step with Merit Nova Scotia’s Workplace Wellness Program, Bird is facilitating site-based toolbox talks with a specialized theme for each month, such as mental health stigma, suicide prevention, depression and anxiety, respectful workplaces and emotional intelligence. Andersson says when they first started these toolbox talks, it would just last about 15 minutes, but now sometimes they last for an hour as people have really started to open up.

“Our intent is to talk about this stuff, be open, and let people know it’s ok to talk about these things,” he says. “We spend eight hours a day with people at work, but we have no idea what goes on in the other 16 hours in their life. Being able to create a safe space where people feel comfortable to talk about these things is important.”

Part of the Merit program provides workers with access to “wellness champions” within the company who are passionate about mental health and who assist with putting up posters and educational pieces around job sites.

New programs

Of course Bird focuses on physical safety too, and a new program has increased near miss reporting by 40 percent from 2022 to 2023. QR codes are placed on safety board and throughout a project site, so workers have easy access to scan it and digitally fill out a near miss form.

“It gets rid of the old way of having to go find a near miss card and fill it out and submit it. Workers can submit near misses when they are live and active in the field, and the project team will get an email notification right away,” said Andersson, adding corrective actions are then put in place after a discussion with the workers.

Yet another new initiative that is being piloted at the Richmond Yards project in Halifax is the “energy wheel field level hazard assessment,” a researched-based visual tool that helps workers identify hazards that they perhaps would have naturally overlooked.

“I think sometimes you get focused on the work you’re doing and don’t immediately see all the hazards,” says Andersson. “For example, say you’re working on a project site and doing something at ground level, you may not realize there are people working overhead on a balcony. The energy wheel goes through 10 different categories of hazards and then you see if you can spot any in your immediate work area.”

The focus on mental health, new OHS programs, and engaging workers in safety comes straight from the leadership team at Bird.

“It starts at the top with our District Manager being committed to safety,” says Andersson. “The first value we talk about at Bird is ‘We put safety first’, so that is ingrained in the company culture.”

As a construction employer, you’ll recognize at least one of these important construction safety organizations helping you to work safer.

But if you printed each of these names on trading cards and sealed them in a wax pack, the wrapper would read “CFCSA: The Canadian Federation of Construction Safety Associations.”

The name may not be familiar to everyone, but as a united umbrella organization, the CFCSA represents a formidable force. The CFCSA shepherds national programs such as the COR^® accreditation standard, and the National Construction Safety Officer (NCSO^®) and National Health and Safety Administrator (NHSA^™) designation programs. In addition, the association promotes awareness of construction health and safety practices and programs, facilitates information sharing, and collaboratively produces workplace health and safety training, standards and information resources.

The CFCSA meets annually and the chairperson is typically the head of the construction safety association scheduled to host the next annual meeting. Standing committees meet throughout the year.

Sean Scott, immediate past chair of the CFCSA, notes that the organization takes on the difficult problems of harmonization of safety regulations across the country.

“Construction safety regulations are primarily issued at the provincial or territorial level, so it’s a challenge to get those jurisdictions to harmonize regulations,” says Scott. “As a national organization we look at the large picture and advocate for that type of harmonization, and help our members operating in different provinces to navigate the remaining differences.”

Mike McKenna, executive director of the BC Construction Safety Alliance, notes that the CFCSA has also endorsed a harmonized audit approach for COR^® certification. Similarly, a memorandum of understanding between CFCSA members provides a simple path for companies who are COR^® certified in their home jurisdiction to apply to have that certification recognized in any other jurisdiction, at no cost. This allows companies to bid on any project requiring COR^® certification in a jurisdiction in which they don’t have a permanent base of operations.

“The CFCSA exists to make safety simpler for all of its members,” he says. “There’s a real benefit for employers who work across jurisdictions.”

Jackie Manuel, chief executive officer of the Newfoundland & Labrador Construction Safety Association, says that information sharing between associations provides the greatest benefit to local members.

“The early sharing of COVID-19 resources by larger construction safety associations who had in-house epidemiologists benefitted more than just construction companies here,” she says. “Our website became the go-to source for working during a pandemic for many employers in the province.”

When road contractors were asked to perform night work on a provincial highway project for the first time in the province’s history, Manuel quickly sent out a query to CFCSA members across Canada who already had experience with the practice.

“Safe work practices and procedures related to night work on a highway already existed,” she says. “Our contractors were quickly able to adapt them to their specific circumstances.”

Roy Silliker, CEO of the New Brunswick Construction Safety Association and current CFCSA chair, says that sharing of information resources has helped his organization to stretch its budget.

“One of the biggest benefits is the ability to get materials, programs, and toolbox talks that have been developed in other jurisdictions free of charge,” he says. “That allows associations such as ours to get resources that we may not be able to develop due to lack of funding. Any time we’re looking at doing something new or different we survey our sister associations in the CFCSA to see if they’ve tried it, done it or have materials for us to work with.”

CFCSA member organizations understand that — even if safety regulations aren’t perfectly aligned across all jurisdictions — a fall is a fall wherever it occurs.

“But when CFCSA members talk to each other and share best practices, they tend to become the accepted regulatory standard in each jurisdiction in which they operate,” Scott says. “That helps to build regulatory harmonization from the bottom up.”

For more information, visit www.cfcsa.ca.

Trane Canada has won Construction Safety Nova Scotia’s Chair’s Award for Safety Excellence – Standard Business two years in a row. They are going on just over four years with no recorded incidents. According to Donnie Clarke, area service manager, one of the reasons for the company’s success is because safety at the HVAC company is not just done because workers are told to do it, but it has truly become embedded in the company culture.

“When your workers are working safe from a second nature standpoint, you’ve hit that gate where it’s now in the culture versus, ‘I have to do this because I have to check the box,’” he said.

Clarke accepted the award at the CSNS 2023 Annual General Meeting in April.

Like all good safety cultures, a commitment to safety comes from the top at Trane. Safety is supported at the highest levels and the senior leadership team makes sure workers have whatever they need to work safely. Trane supplies all the necessary PPE for its workforce.

The pre-job hazard assessment was recently embedded into the company’s Salesforce software so when technicians arrive at a job, they must complete the hazard assessment first.

“The beauty of this is it lets the team stop and think, ‘Ok, this is the hazard I am going to face today at the site.’ It lets them stop and take a look around, and they know they have done their due diligence, they can work safely, and they can proceed,” said Clarke.

All field leaders meet with the safety team across Canada on a monthly basis to review anything and everything safety related. For example, there might be some new PPE coming, near misses to discuss, or a new safety initiative being launched.

“We go away from that meeting and cascade that information down to our people,” said Clarke. “that national aspect of everybody doing the same thing from a safety perspective helps build consistency and uniformity.”

Trane is COR® certified in all three Atlantic provinces where it operates — New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador —which is important because it further solidifies that uniformity piece, Clarke explains.

“That keeps our safety program robust. We have guidelines that we work towards and abide by in all three provinces, and gives a point of reference for our technicians,” he said. “It’s the industry standard that we are holding ourselves to.”

Trane has been COR® certified consistently since 2003.

Mental health is a current focus at Trane, and the company recently extended its employee assistance program (EAP) to all unionized technicians.

“I tout that with our technicians and I give them that phone number. By nature, the trade, they are not ones to talk about their feelings, but a couple of times I have said, ‘Here call this number, talk to somebody and get some help,’” said Clarke. “Having access to that makes a difference.”

The following are the new questions and their respective sections for the new harmonized COR® standard.

2. 5 Are design and layout of the work area, ergonomics, machinery, and processes considered in the assessments?

2.7 Are the personnel competent to participate in the hazard assessment process?

5.1 Does the policy, procedure, or guideline include responsibilities for setting, implementing, and complying with company rules.

5.2 Are both company and project (work location) specific rules available?

8.1 Is there a method for the selection of safety and health training of employees?

8.2 Is there a method for the evaluation and monitoring of the knowledge, competency, and effectiveness of safety and health training of employees?

9.4 Are specific methods, forms, or checklists used to identify deficiencies for pre-use inspections?

12.1 Are approved and current versions of applicable documents readily available at the point of use?

12.4 Are leading and lagging performance indicators measured?

14 Procurement and Contractor Management

The organization shall establish, implement, monitor, and maintain a documented policy statement, procedure(s), and/or guideline(s) for procured products and services, including contractor management/outsourcing.

14.1 Does the company have criteria for the selection, evaluation, and monitoring of contractors and service providers?

14.2 Does the evaluation, selection, and monitoring include the ability and competency of the contractor to identify, communicate, and control hazards that may impact their own workers, your workers, as well as any other person?

14.3 Has the criteria for the selection, evaluation, and monitoring of contractors and service providers been followed?

14.4 Is there a system in place to coordinate safety and health requirements, roles, and responsibilities when multiple contractors/employers are working under your control?

14.5 Does the company have criteria for the selection, evaluation, and procurement of products that have the potential to create a hazard?

14.6 Has the criteria for the selection, evaluation, and procurement of products been followed?

Return to Work

15.9 Does a Return-to-Work policy exist?

15.10 Is there a Return-to-Work program in place?

15.11 Are the roles and responsibilities defined in the Return-to-Work program?

15.12 Is company specific Return-to-Work training conducted?

15.13 Is the Return-to-Work program evaluated for effectiveness?

Mental Health

15.14 Does the use initiatives or programs to support or educate workers in mental health and psychosocial hazards?

Q. Who is affected by these changes?
A. All COR® certified companies who all in the following classifications: Small Business, Intermediate Business, Standard Business, as well as any companies applying for COR® that fall within those categories.

Q. I’m an owner/operator. Do I need to do anything differently?
A. No. Nothing is different for owner/operators. You will stay on the same audit tool and process that you are currently using.

Q. What questions are new?
A. Click here for the complete list of new questions organized by section.

Q. What evidence is required to satisfy the new requirements?
A. The following evidence is required:

Are design and layout of the work area, ergonomics, machinery, and processes considered in the assessments? (Hazard assessments which include an assessment of design and layout of work areas, ergonomics, machinery and processes.)
Is there a method for the selection of safety and health training of employees? (Policy/procedure/guideline which includes a method for selecting training of employees.)
Have the emergency procedures and response plans been reviewed, and revised as appropriate, at least annually? (Records showing that the company’s emergency response directives/plans have been reviewed annually. The records must indicate the results of the review and what corrective actions were taken (or reasons for no action being taken) to correct identified deficiencies.)
Is there a system in place to coordinate safety and health requirements, roles, and responsibilities when multiple contractors/employers are working under your control? (Project plans; completed hazard assessments, inspections, site safety orientations, toolbox/safety/start-up meeting minutes, utility clearances, permits, SDSs, incident investigation reports, etc. )
Does the company have criteria for the selection, evaluation, and procurement of products that have the potential to create a hazard? (Hazard assessments/analysis for the products which may be purchased.)

Q. Is it really difficult to meet the new standard requirements?
A. Evidence required to meet the Harmonized COR® Standard (2020) remains largely unchanged. Many companies have already developed and implemented the policies, practices and procedures required by the new COR® Standard.

Q. Do I need to re-do any of the COR® training that I have already completed?
A. No, if you already have completed the COR® training prior to the new standard coming out you will not have to re-do any of the training. For anyone that requires the COR® training after the new standard is released, they will need to take the new updated version of the COR® Evaluation course, which will be virtual instructor-lead training.

Q. When do I have to make the change over to this new standard?
A. You will have the option of a one-time choice in 2023 of using old audit tool or the new audit tool. OHS Advisors will contact you in advance of your 2023 audit to discuss options and help you prepare. Starting Jan. 1, 2024, all audits will be required to use the new COR® standard and audit tool. CSNS is here to support you in this transition and ensure you feel well prepared for the changes.

Q. What is the format of the new audit tool?
A. It will be available in multiple formats including traditional paper booklet, fillable pdf and our new digital e-audit instrument provided by AuditSoft.

Q. Can you tell me more about the digital audit tool?
A. CSNS is pleased to partner with AuditSoft to offer our members a digital option for completing their internal COR® audits. As of Sept. 1, 2023, all CSNS OHS Advisors will be using AuditSoft to conduct all external COR® audits, and members will be able to select the AuditSoft tool for their internal audits, if they so choose. If you are interested in using AuditSoft for your next audit, please contact CSNS at 1-800-971-3888 or cor@constructionsafetyns.ca. (Please note that both a paper-based and fillable pdf version will still be available to our members.)

Benefits of AuditSoft digital COR® audit tool*:

No more paper: Say goodbye to paper forms & spreadsheets. With AuditSoft the whole audit process and workflow is digital. Evidence is gathered, assessed and findings documented all in one single easy to use application.
Support at your fingertips: Each step in the audit is supported with clear and easy to follow guidelines, instruction, and auditor tips. No more guessing of what to do or look for. Even example interview questions are provided.
Simple uploading of evidence: Evidence of supporting documentation, pictures to capture observations and proof of implementation and interviews can be uploaded and capture straight into the application.
Automated calculations: No more manual tallying of interview results, scoring and calculating averages or data re-entry. All calculations are automated to save you time and remove potential errors.
No more wasted report writing time: Once you have uploaded your evidence, completed your assessment, and documented your findings a professionally indexed and formatted audit report is generated immediately with a click of a button. This includes links to supporting documents referenced within the report.
Continuous improvement: Once you have completed the audit all corrective actions and suggestions for improvements identified can be exported into a Corrective Action Report/Plan with a simple click of a button. This will drive continuous improvement, mitigate identified risks; and close the loop on the audit.
Electronic submission & tracking: Submit your audit electronically, track your auditing progress and get notifications on missed sections. No more emailing back and forth or calls required.
Access to your own COR® ScoreCard: Once your COR® Audit is approved by your association, you have access to AuditXchange which allows you to assess your performance against your peers, track year-on-year improvement, identify strengths and opportunities for improvement, use generated graphs in appropriate OHS sustainability reporting and share with relevant stakeholders to promote transparency of your OHS performance.

*Source: AuditSoft

Q. Will there be changes needed to my safety manual?
A. No major changes will be required to the structure and content of your safety program, but you will need to add and revise some elements to match the new standard’s requirements.

Q. How does this impact my internal audits?
A. Your internal auditor will need to have the required knowledge and skill to complete the new COR® Evaluation instrument. By the end of the summer, a new version of the course will be available should they wish to take it. Please note the overall process, mailout schedule, sending your completed forms back in to us will all remain the same — the only difference is the audit instrument itself but the process is the same.

Q. Is my COR® going to be in jeopardy if I don’t meet all the new requirements?
A. CSNS wants you to succeed in this transition. Our OHS Advisors and Administrators will help you understand the new requirements and what you need to do to meet them. If corrective actions result from your audit, we will work with you to implement the required changes within reasonable timelines so that your COR® standing is not affected.

Q. Can I just stick with the old standard instead?
A. For companies that expire prior to Dec. 31, 2023 you can use the old audit tool to complete your audit. Starting Jan. 1, 2024, all audits are required to use the new COR® standard and audit tool. CSNS is here to support you in this transition and ensure you are prepared for the changes.

Q. I don’t understand the changes and I need help revising my safety manual to meet the new standard, can CSNS help with that?
A. Yes, we have OHS Advisors and administrators on staff to help support your company through the transition process and be set up for success.

Q. How has the scoring method changed?
A. See below methods for scoring:

All boxes under the techniques D (documentation), O (observation), and I (interview) MUST include a (√) or (x).
Ensure ALL questions that have been confirmed with a (√) under the documentation technique have a supporting document immediately following the audit instrument section page.
Write the audit question number directly onto the supporting document that, at a glance, clearly identifies where the intent of the documentation question has been met.
Refer to the audit instrument guidelines for clarification on how to interpret each question and award points.
Where a question is worth four (4) or more points, consult the guidelines on how points should be allocated. Where no specific instructions are given, positive response (√) equals full points, negative response (x) equals zero (0) points.

Q. What terminology has changed?
A. See below for a listing of definitions outlined for the new COR® standard (Note: the new COR® audit tool contains a glossary of terms for reference):

Comprehensive Hazard Assessment is now referred to as Formal Hazard Assessment.
New Employee: means an employee who is (a) new to a position or place of employment, (b) returning to a position or place of employment in which the hazards have changed during the employee’s absence, (c) under 25 years of age and returning to a position or place of employment after an absence of more than six months, or (d) affected by a change in the hazards of a position or place of employment.
Leading Indicators: allow you to take preventive action to address that failure or hazard before it turns into an incident. Examples: The root causes of near misses, the percentage of inspections or behavior-based safety observations completed at a location, and training attendance and pass rates.
Lagging Indicators: can alert you to a failure in an area of your safety and health program or to the existence of a hazard, leading indicators. Examples: injury frequency and severity, lost workdays, incidents and near misses, and. workers’ compensation costs.
Return to Work: The audit must verify that the employer has a defined return-to-work policy that is right for the size, industry, and location of the business.

New COR^® Audit Instrument coming

MAY 30, 2023 — COR^® audits are about to get easier. A new audit tool is coming soon that uses clearer language, simplifies and streamlines the process, and reduces the likelihood of making mistakes. The new and improved COR^® audit instrument will be used by Canadian Federation of Construction Safety Associations (CFCSA) members across Canada, which greatly increases mobility and reduces complexity for our members that operate in multiple provinces. We are currently undergoing feedback sessions with our members on how to best rollout this change, and we will provide more information as the time comes.

Read the announcement letter from our CEO here

BACKGROUND

The National COR^® Accreditation Standard was approved in 2021 to foster harmonization across the country. The new COR^® audit instrument was endorsed for use in 2022 and clearly aligns with the new standard. This new audit will be used across most Canadian jurisdictions to verify a company’s safety and health program meets the national COR^® accreditation standard. New Brunswick, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan have already implemented this change.

OBJECTIVE

Along with the identical questions to be used within the audit instrument, CFCSA members have also worked to harmonize guidelines, observation, and interview questions. The goal is to keep the 14 elements of the COR^® program the same across Canada — any additions or variations specific to a province or territory are intended to be identified in a supplemental section. Overall, the objectives of the new standard are as follows:

Simplify COR^® Certification
Streamlined audit instrument
Clear and detailed question and scoring guidelines
Easier to achieve COR^® in other provinces and territories
Easier to achieve COR^® reciprocity in other provinces and territories.

SUPPORT FROM CSNS

CSNS is committed to helping our COR^® members navigate this change. We will be working closely with you to ensure you are able to meet the requirements and have sufficient time to adapt. We are currently in consultations with focus groups made up of COR^® members and we will be getting their feedback to ensure you have sufficient runway to adoption, and to determine what else CSNS can do to support you through this change.

PRIMARY AREAS OF CHANGE TO STANDARD

Ergonomic, work-station and workplace layout considerations
Explicitly stating criteria for training procurement and planning in policy
Annual review of emergency plans
More explicit requirement for coordinating and controlling activities of subcontractors
The addition of procurement of goods and services
The addition of a return to work policy and program

SUMMARY OF CHANGES TO AUDIT INSTRUMENT

The new COR^® standard (2020) does not depart greatly from the COR^® Standard and COR^® Evaluation Instrument employed by CSNS in the preceding 10 years. Most changes are the result of:

Removal of questions
Combining of multiple questions into one question (total audit questions has been reduced from 135 to 110)
Change in question wording
Change in sequence of questions
Change in source of evidence being assessed and the weighting of the evidence
Changes to source of evidence being assessed for specific questions (i.e., documentation, observation, interviews)
The addition of “and” and “or” questions
Section 14 now “Procurement and Contractor Management”
Section 15 now “Provincial Supplement”.

TIMELINE

The new COR^® Audit Instrument will become publicly available on August 1, 2023 on this web page. Beginning January 1, 2024, the new COR^® audit instrument will be used for all COR^® audits. If you have a COR^® Audit scheduled between September 1st to December 31, 2023, and you would like to benefit from early adoption of the new instrument, please contact us at cor@constructionsafetyns.ca or call us at 902-468-6696 (toll free: 1-800-971-3888). The new audit instrument will be available in multiple formats including traditional paper booklet, fillable pdf and our new digital e-audit instrument.

WEBINARS

We hosted a live stream webinar on social media on June 22^nd to explain the changes to the standard and outline how CSNS is here to support you. Watch the recording of the webinar here and review the slides here.

We hosted another live stream webinar on August 9^th to walk our members through the new auditing tool. Watch the recording of the webinar here and review the slides here.

FAQs

Click here for a list of frequently asked questions. More questions and answers are being added regularly based on feedback from our members.

RESOURCES

CFCSA COR^® Accreditation Standard

NEW COR^® AUDIT TOOLS

Printable PDF – CSNS New COR^® Audit Instrument August 2023
Fillable PDF
Download Auditsoft – New Digital COR^® Audit Tool

DIGITAL AUDIT TOOL
CSNS is pleased to partner with AuditSoft to offer our members a digital option for completing their internal COR^® audits. As of September 1, 2023, all CSNS OHS Advisors will be using AuditSoft to conduct all external COR^® audits, and members will be able to select the AuditSoft tool for their internal audits, if they so choose. If you are interested in using AuditSoft for your next audit, please contact CSNS at 1-800-971-3888 or cor@constructionsafetyns.ca. (Please note that both a paper-based and fillable pdf version will still be available to our members.)

Getting started with AuditSoft

Download AuditSoft – New Digital COR^® Audit Tool from the Microsoft Store

Benefits of AuditSoft digital COR^® audit tool*:

No more paper: Say goodbye to paper forms & spreadsheets. With AuditSoft the whole audit process and workflow is digital. Evidence is gathered, assessed and findings documented all in one single easy to use application.
Support at your fingertips: Each step in the audit is supported with clear and easy to follow guidelines, instruction, and auditor tips. No more guessing of what to do or look for. Even example interview questions are provided.
Simple uploading of evidence: Evidence of supporting documentation, pictures to capture observations and proof of implementation and interviews can be uploaded and capture straight into the application.
Automated calculations: No more manual tallying of interview results, scoring and calculating averages or data re-entry. All calculations are automated to save you time and remove potential errors.
No more wasted report writing time: Once you have uploaded your evidence, completed your assessment, and documented your findings a professionally indexed and formatted audit report is generated immediately with a click of a button. This includes links to supporting documents referenced within the report.
Continuous improvement: Once you have completed the audit all corrective actions and suggestions for improvements identified can be exported into a Corrective Action Report/Plan with a simple click of a button. This will drive continuous improvement, mitigate identified risks; and close the loop on the audit.
Electronic submission & tracking: Submit your audit electronically, track your auditing progress and get notifications on missed sections. No more emailing back and forth or calls required.
Access to your own COR^® ScoreCard: Once your COR^® Audit is approved by your association, you have access to AuditXchange which allows you to assess your performance against your peers, track year-on-year improvement, identify strengths and opportunities for improvement, use generated graphs in appropriate OHS sustainability reporting and share with relevant stakeholders to promote transparency of your OHS performance.

*CURRENTLY FREE

Source: AuditSoft

Construction Safety Nova Scotia (CSNS) and the Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) of Nova Scotia are working collectively with the construction sector to improve return to work (RTW) outcomes by helping injured workers get back to work faster.

Over the past several months, we have been engaging with workers, employers, health care providers and other stakeholders to identify the current state of RTW experiences and discuss potential solutions to making the RTW process faster.

Through these engagement sessions, one theme continued to emerge: small and medium construction companies, in particular, are experiencing challenges navigating the RTW process. In an effort to rectify this, CSNS is launching a pilot project in collaboration with WCB to test out the following services:

Transitional Job Matching: Pilot a service to match injured workers with meaningful and productive transitional work with other employers across the construction industry.

RTW employer hotline: Pilot a service to provide construction industry-specific RTW support to help employers navigate the RTW process when they need it by providing specific RTW process information and coordinating the flow of communication between parties.

Both of these services will be offered by CSNS. Your point of contact for either of these programs will be our Return to Work Project Consultant, Joy Moore at jmoore@constructionsafetyns.ca

TRANSITIONAL JOB MATCHING

Benefits of a transitional job matching program:

Support employers in meeting their labour demands.
Support workers in staying connected to the workplace.
Address the labour shortage.
Improve productivity.
Decreased WCB premium rates because workers are doing transitional work rather than drawing on WCB benefits.

FAQs

FAQs FOR THE HOST EMPLOYER:

Q. What are the benefits to me of being a host employer?
A. Many employers are feeling the labour crunch across the construction sector. This project will open up a new source of labour to fulfill your workforce needs, stay productive, and complete your contracts on time. The costs paid by WCB on claims will impact the rates of the individual employer and the collective rates of the industry, so every injury we prevent and person that is able to return to work benefits everyone.

Q. Do I pay the worker for this transitional work?
A. Yes, you would be responsible for paying wages as you would for any employee you would hire. However, if the transitional wage is lower than the amount of the worker’s earnings replacement benefits, as always, the WCB would ensure the worker received benefits to bring their total compensation in line with the full earnings loss benefits to which they would be entitled.

Q. What if the worker gets injured in the transitional job at my company?
A. Generally speaking, if the worker is re-injured while in their transitional job (recurrence), the liability will be with the pre-injury employer. If it is a new injury, the liability will be with the net-new employer. (Aligned with WCB Policy 4.3.1 and Procedure 3.1.7)

Q. Ultimately, what responsibilities am I assuming as the host employer?
A. The same responsibilities that you would have for any employee you hire, including safety training and pay.

Q. I have an open job, how do I submit it?
A. Please contact our our Return to Work Project Consultant, Joy Moore at jmoore@constructionsafetyns.ca

Q. How will CSNS support me once the worker is placed at my company?
A. Our RTW Coordinator will remain your point of contact as long as the worker stays in the transitional role and will be available to answer and assist with any questions you may have.

Q. What if the worker wants to stay at my company instead of going back to their pre-injury employer?
A. This decision ultimately rests with the worker. The Worker can choose to continue working for the Host employer once they can fully return to work, if that is an option available to them.

FAQs FOR THE PRE-INJURY EMPLOYER:

Q. I don’t want my worker going to work for that particular employer. What can I do?
A. You do not have to sign off on the placement. Participation in the pilot program will be voluntary for the Employer and Employee (both must agree).

Q. What happens if my worker is injured when working in their transitional job at the other company?
A. Generally speaking, if the worker is re-injured while in their transitional job (recurrence), the liability will be with the pre-injury employer. If it is a new injury, the liability will be with the host employer. (Aligned with WCB Policy 4.3.1 and Procedure 3.1.7)

Q. How will the worker know the new job is safe?
A. A RTW coordinator will vet the transitional job opportunities to ensure they are within the safe work capabilities of the worker.

Q. Do I pay the worker for this transitional work?
A. No. Responsibility for payment of wages lies with the host employer. However, if the transitional wage is lower than the amount of the worker’s earnings replacement benefits, as always, the WCB would ensure the worker received benefits to bring their total compensation in line with the full earnings loss benefits to which they would be entitled.

Q. What if the worker wants to stay at my company instead of going back to their pre-injury employer?
A. This decision ultimately rests with the worker. The worker can choose to continue working with their net-new employer once they can fully return to work, if that is an option available to them.

RETURN TO WORK EMPLOYER HOTLINE

Starting July 4, CSNS will be piloting a service to provide construction industry-specific RTW support to help employers navigate the RTW process when they need it. We will be providing specific RTW process information and coordinating the flow of communication between parties. Joy Moore, our Return to Work Consultant with CSNS, will be the coordinator for this pilot project. You can call her or email her with any return to work questions you may have. She can be reached at lross@construcitonsafetyns.ca or 902-223-4499. The goal of this RTW hotline is to help support our members — especially small- and medium-sized companies — navigate the sometimes complex and confusing RTW process. Joy will be offering the following services:

Advice and support to employers in navigating the claims process and return-to-work planning.
Answering frequently asked questions that employers have as it relates to RTW
Supporting employers in understanding the process flow for RTW
Directing employers to useful WCB resources.

When Iron Maple Constructors was formed in May 2020, the ownership group made it clear right out of the gate that safety was of the utmost importance.

“Their belief is that production does not take precedence over safety,” said Earl Affleck, safety manager at the Dartmouth, NS-based general contractor. “If you need something, they get it for you. The safety culture has been passed down from the top.”

The company has a training matrix for site management and supervisors that includes a variety of courses, including WHMIS, basic first aid, leadership for safety excellence, accident and incident investigation, principles of loss control, hazard identification and control, JOHSC member/representative, fall protection and mobile elevated work platform/telehandler training. The majority of the courses except for mobile elevated work platform are taken at Construction Safety Nova Scotia. (Sneak peek: A mobile elevated work platform training course is set to launch later in 2023!)

“Our belief is if they don’t have that training, it’s hard to see whether someone is doing it right,” said Affleck.

Tilt-up work

One of the biggest hazard Iron Maple faces is likely the tilt-up work. The company, which has 140 employees, has a separate safety manual for this work, and it conducts a safety standdown to review the procedures with staff and the crane operator every time this work is conducted. The field-level hazard assessments are a valuable asset because if anything changes, it allows the workers to discuss it and make sure they feel prepared.

“It’s a high risk, and we need to make sure everyone understands their role because these panels could be 20 tons, and if something happens, it could be catastrophic,” said Affleck.

In addition to ensuring the work area is properly marked, workers are trained on proper ergonomics to ensure they are not bending or twisting, and they often conduct stretches before the work begins.

Involving staff

Affleck has about 50 topics for toolbox talks on the “resources” page of Site Docs that supervisors can pull from, and they are expected to choose topics relevant to the work or conditions at hand — heat stress in August, for example. They often give Affleck feedback if there is a new topic they would like to have available.

Affleck also makes sure to involve staff when developing safe work plans. He writes a draft then sends it around to workers who make their comments and suggestions, which Affleck incorporates into the final versions.

“The workers tell me what they want in it,” said Affleck. “They are very involved and they tell me step by step how they are doing it. We really can’t do it without their involvement.”

Recently, Iron Maple changed the name of its near miss program to “good catch, near miss” to encourage workers to report good catches — and it worked! The number of reports received has increased now that workers have switched their mindset.

“When it’s a good catch, it’s not a negative thing. A lot of people think with near misses that something did happen, but we try to catch it before it does,” said Affleck.

Young workers

Iron Maple is very committed to young worker safety and has many employees under the age of 30 in roles ranging from project coordinators to carpenters. The company believes in growing talent from within.

“Many of our superintendents started out as carpenters on the job site we believe in providing the atmosphere and training to allow our entry level employees to grow,” said Affleck. “They are the future; they will be the leaders of tomorrow.”

Iron Maple is the winner of the CSNS 2023 Young Worker Safety Award. Apprentices and new hires undergo a wide range of comprehensive training and new employees are placed with a more experienced mentor in the trades.

COR® certification

Iron Maple is COR® certified, which is important to the company because it is a nationally recognized standard. Iron Maple operates in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, so having one consistent standard makes it much easier.

“COR® sets the standard for our clients. Not all clients require it, but the majority do,” said Affleck. “When people see that you are COR® certified they realize that you are committed to safety.”

Return to work

At CSNS, we are working with industry, the WCB, and other stakeholders to find ways to improve the return to work system for Nova Scotia construction workers and employers. This topic is near and dear to Affleck’s heart as he was an injured worker himself nearly 30 years ago before he got into the safety profession.

“Lumber fell on top of me and I was off work for six months. I had surgery on his back and leg. I am lucky to be here to tell you the truth,” Affleck said. “I know the value of getting people back to work safely.”

One of the hardest things about being off work due to an injury is you don’t feel part of the team anymore, he said, you lose that social connecting with your colleagues and it’s important to try and get your life back to normal as soon as possible — but safely of course.

At the company’s New Brunswick site, an individual has been off work due to an injury but after six weeks, they were able to return slowly, starting with just three days per week for four hours each day. Everything is done in consultation with their occupational therapist and their supervisor is very accommodating — whenever they need a break, they take it. Even though the worker was only off for three weeks, they were given a complete re-orientation of the site when they came back, and they walked through the work with their supervisor to determine what they could and could not do.

“In the old days, you came back to work or you didn’t get back. But now with early return to work, it allows someone to know I don’t need to work the full eight hours per day to go back,” Affleck said. “The key is to gradually get people back in a safe manner.”

May 15, 2023

Construction Safety Coalition — made up of 14 industry partners — coming together to address worker safety at heights

DARTMOUTH, NS — Every year, construction workers die on the job or are severely injured as a result of improper fall protection when working at heights across Nova Scotia. These injuries occur in all types of workplaces, including on residential homes when completing work such as re-shingling or building an addition. But most homeowners are unaware they could be legally and financially liable should an injury or fatality occur when a contractor is working on their home.

“When you are having work done on your home, the obligation of the homeowner under the OHS Act is the same as any other major construction site owner — but most homeowners are completely unaware of this,” said MJ MacDonald, CEO of Construction Safety Nova Scotia. “This means if an incident occurs, you could be held liable for medical bills, lost wages, or damages.”

To address this issue, a total of 14 organizations making up the Construction Safety Coalition have come together to launch a new fall protection awareness campaign funded through the Occupational Health and Safety Education Trust Fund. The campaign launches today across multiple channels and mediums, and targets homeowners across the province. It encourages them to ask for “TMI” when hiring a contractor:

T- Trained: Do they have safety training certificates for a Fall Protection course? Make sure they are not expired.

M- Managing safety: Do they have a safety policy or safety management plan in place? Do they regularly inspect harnesses to make sure they are in working order? Is safety something they take seriously?

I-Insured: Do they have Workers’ Compensation Board insurance? Ask for a clearance letter.

“In this case, TMI is a good thing! Homeowners should not shy away from asking for this information,” said Crystal Ingram, executive officer of the Canadian Home Builders’ Association – Nova Scotia, which is a partner on the campaign. “Good contractors worth hiring will be happy to show you these documents and proud about the safety protocols they have in place.”

“Safety in the roofing industry is not talked about enough in Nova Scotia. It seems that efficiency is king in our world when, in reality, we should be more focused on sending every worker home to their families at the end of the day. We prefer to train our workers to be efficient with the proper fall protection gear so everyone has the peace of mind needed to be working in dangerous situations,” said Andrew Solomon, owner of Rydel Halifax. “As a homeowner, I would strongly urge everyone to put their contractors through a proper vetting process to identify whether or not safety is a priority within their company. Fall arrest systems save lives everyday; I believe everyone working at heights should be properly certified to use this system.”

Resources and legislation pertaining to homeowners can be found at HireTMI.ca.

Nova Scotians can call 1-800-9Labour if they have questions about fall safety, or to report concerns about unsafe work.

ABOUT CONSTRUCTION SAFETY NOVA SCOTIA

Construction Safety Nova Scotia (CSNS) is an industry funded not-for-profit association focused on improving occupational health and safety in the construction sector. CSNS is a highly regarded leader in OHS services with over 300,000 students trained in health and safety and over 1,150 firms attaining the association’s Certificate of Recognition (COR®) safety certification. The board of directors, OHS advisors, and CSNS staff work towards a safer construction industry by engaging with its membership to reduce injuries and improve safety culture. The association is passionate about saving lives and reducing injuries through industry-tailored instruction and advice. https://constructionsafetyns.ca/

ABOUT THE OHS DIVISION OF THE GOVERNMENT OF NOVA SCOTIA
Workplace safety is our number one priority. We will work with Nova Scotians so that everyone understands the province’s occupational health and safety rules. We use our Pathways to Compliance (PDF) to help ensure workplaces are compliant. We encourage Nova Scotians to work with us to build a strong culture of Health and Safety. Safety is everyone’s responsibility. Work safe, Home safe, Everyday.