The basics
COR stands for Certificate of Recognition. It confirms that an employer has a documented health and safety management system, and that an independent audit has verified the system is genuinely in use.
In Ontario, COR is administered by the Infrastructure Health and Safety Association (IHSA), which conducts the external audits and issues the certificates. COR 2020 is one of five management system standards accredited by Ontario's Chief Prevention Officer, and the one designed for construction.
Why buyers require it
Large public buyers and many general contractors require a certified safety management system as a condition of bidding. The screen is objective: a bidder either holds a current certificate or does not, and it is applied before price is considered.
Since 1 January 2026, an Ontario public buyer that requires certification must accept any system accredited by the Chief Prevention Officer. COR 2020 is one of the five, and for most contractors it remains the most practical route.
The audit sequence
Register and train
You enrol with IHSA. A senior management representative completes one course, COR Essentials. Your designated internal auditor completes four: COR Essentials, Basic Auditing Principles, COR Internal Auditor, and Introduction to Hazard and Risk Management.
The training belongs to the individual rather than the company. If that employee leaves, another must be trained before maintenance audits can continue in-house.
Build the program
The written system is developed and put into use, and records begin to accumulate. The audit is scored on evidence, so this operating period matters as much as the documents themselves.
Internal audit
Your trained internal auditor audits the program first. IHSA requires this person to be a permanent full-time employee of your company, and the role cannot be filled by an outside firm.
External audit
IHSA conducts the external audit, which includes a document review, site visits and interviews with your workers.
Maintain certification
Certification is valid for three years. Your internal auditor completes a maintenance audit in each of years two and three, submitted to IHSA at least 60 days before your anniversary date, and a full external audit follows in year four.
How it is scored
The audit applies three thresholds, and all three must be met in the same audit.
Missing any one of the three requires a re-audit. In practice, contractors tend to score well on visible site practices and lose marks on administrative elements such as document control, training records and management review.
The 14 elements
The audit assesses a program across 14 elements, and each one must be evidenced.
Health and safety policy, document and record control
Hazard assessment, analysis and control
Controls
Procurement and contractor management
Company rules
Personal protective equipment
Preventative maintenance
Training and communication
Workplace inspections
Investigations and reporting
Emergency preparedness
Statistics and records
Legislation and other requirements
Management review and management of change
Element names and thresholds are set by IHSA under the COR 2020 standard. Source: IHSA COR 2020 Program Guideline and Steps to Achieve COR. Confirm the current audit tool with IHSA directly.
Where we fit
None of the above requires a safety credential to administer. It requires the documents to be written, the records to be collected every month, and the evidence to be assembled element by element before the audit.
That is the work BidStanding does. Your supervisors provide the knowledge of how the job runs, and we build and maintain the documented system around it.