Ontario General Contractors Association (OGCA) members can now access a new online platform called COReXchange, a forum to ask questions and get answers on topics related to Certificate of Recognition (COR), share best practices and create a network of health and safety advocates across the province.
“It really tries to be a one-stop shop associated with the COR program,” Erich Schmidt, manager of public affairs and innovation for the OGCA told the Daily Commercial News.
“Our primary goal here is to build a network of health and safety advocates across the province that can accelerate the adoption of COR. This is really about connecting GCs to GCs and sharing lessons learned.
“We really wanted to amass a network of those willing to share their best practices. We always say that health and safety is not proprietary. This is truly an extension of that in its purest form.”
The initiative is led by OGCA and Auditsoft, which provides occupational health and safety auditing software, in partnership with NORCAT, Maple Reinders and The League of Champions.
“We’ve been working with them to deliver information in new ways to our membership specifically about COR and making sure that those that are seeking health and safety certification can get access to the information that they need in a convenient location,” said Schmidt.
“This is a new way for the OGCA to educate our members. We’ve never launched an online forum before.”
The Infrastructure Health and Safety Association’s COR health and safety management system is intended to reduce workplace incidents. The COReXchange platform is designed to provide information for those in various stages of the COR 2020 journey, from those thinking about pursuing COR accreditation to those who have achieved it.
“It’s oriented to anybody who has never heard of COR and wants to see what it’s all about, all the way to somebody who is going through their COR 2020 audit,” said Schmidt.
“We’ve also made sure to work directly with IHSA to make sure that all the templates and all of the information that is on the IHSA website is directly linked through the COReXchange, so it’s an easy way for our members to navigate and understand and access information.”
The platform is geared to businesses of all sizes.
“Another important part of this is for us to help smaller organizations that want achieve COR,” Schmidt said. “We notice that predominately those that have achieved COR have been larger general contractors, so understanding their experience and what they have learned and helping some of the smaller GCs that may be working to getting certified.”
OGCA members can sign up for the program to access the information.
“We really tried to break it down into its fundamentals,” said Schmidt. “There’s a section devoted to COR for beginners; a section devoted to the 14 sub-categories; the elements (needed to achieve certification) of COR 2020; a section related to auditing and auditors to share best practices associated with an audit; the preparation and what to expect; and to provide input and feedback for external auditors. We also have the opportunity to talk about audit tips and techniques.”
The health and safety mentorship component is an important part of the program, explained Schmidt. The forum will be moderated by a leading team of health and safety mentors including general contractors from Maple Reinders, Pomerleau, Aecon Group Inc., Alberici Constructors, Matheson Constructors, PCL Construction and Bird Construction.
“We really wanted to amass this group of mentors to be able to answer questions…It’s important that our members learn from the best and also they benefit from the practical experience that others have had getting certified or accredited.”
While the service is currently only available to GCs, the program may be expanded.
“In the future we may be looking to expand to, for instance, subtrades as well as those up and down the supply chain because they also need to have access to this information,” Schmidt said.
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