Effective March 17, 2020, documentation only audits are the only audits that will be accepted for COR certification, maintenance or recertification purposes.  This will be in effect until December 31, 2020.

• Auditors are encouraged to conduct documentation only audits remotely
• The passing score for documentation-only certification audits will be 80 per cent overall (element scores will not be counted), and will result in a one-year COR.
• The passing score for documentation-only maintenance audits will be 60 per cent overall (element scores will not be counted), and will be accepted for COR maintenance purposes in 2020.
• Limited scope audits, including those from 2019 will be completed using only documentation questions for the rest of 2020
• Regular COR audits will not be offered from March 17 until December 31, 2020, with a limited exception allowed for audits where all data gathering was completed prior to March 17, but where the audit report had not been submitted to the CP.  

What does this mean for CCSA COR holders and auditors?  

We are determining the impact and collaborating with other certifying partners regarding the use of the 2019 COR Audit Tool for 2020 audits.  CCSA COR team will be reaching out to each CCSA member COR contact in the near future to discuss options.

2. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, some employers are unable to meet the deadline to submit their proposed Action Plans for 2020 COR maintenance by March 31, 2020.

The deadline for employer to submit Action Plans to their CP for 2020 COR maintenance will be extended to May 31, 2020. 

3. Auditor candidates, who have completed auditor training, may not be able to conduct the qualification audit needed to complete auditor certification requirements by the normal six-month deadline.

All auditor candidates (as of March 17, 2020) will be granted an extension period to complete their qualification audits until December 31, 2020.

• As the audits until December 31, 2020 will be documentation only, the successful candidates will be certified only to conduct documentation only audits.
• Auditors who receive limited certification under this process, will have to conduct a new regular qualification audit to qualify for full auditor certification.

What does this mean for certification for qualifying auditor beyond 2020?

For 2020 and 2021,CCSA will allow qualifying auditors to participate in a team audit in order to achieve limited certification in 2020 and full certification in 2021.  The CCSA COR team will contact qualifying auditors to discuss their individual certification requirements.  

4. Address the critical shortage of internal auditors due to employers laying-off staff, and/or health and safety staff having no time for audits because of dealing with issues arising from the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Effective on March 17, 2020 CP’s may use staff auditors to conduct documentation-only certification audits, for employers who in their most recent COR cycle, were certified through the peer audit process.

• CP staff conducting audits may conduct maintenance audits for members, as outlined currently in Partnerships Standard 6.8.
• CP staff conducting audits must be COR certified auditors.

What does this mean for CCSA COR holders?

CCSA is here to assist our COR holder members to maintain their COR status for 2020.  COR holder members are encouraged to contact the CCSA COR team if you require assistance to complete your documentation only 2020 maintenance audit. 

5. Auditors, whose certification will expire, should not attend in-person refresher training during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

New rules will be implemented for certified auditors effective March 17 to December 31, 2020:

• All existing auditor certifications that were set to expire during this period will be extended to December 31, 2020.
• In-person auditor refresher training will be temporarily discontinued, and refresher training will be conducted through live webinars or other remote means.  All CP’s are encouraged to make training available in these alternate formats as soon as possible.

More information will come in future for both internal and external auditors certified with CCSA