Health and safety management systems: guidelines to apply for accreditation

Overview

If your organization has an occupational health and safety management system (OHSMS), you can apply to have it accredited by the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development’s Chief Prevention Officer (CPO).

Under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, an OHSMS is defined as “a coordinated system of procedures, processes and other measures that is designed to be implemented by employers in order to promote continuous improvement in occupational health and safety.”

If you use an accredited health and safety management system you may apply to the CPO for employer recognition and could be eligible to receive a rebate on premiums from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB). Learn more about the employer recognition criteria established by the CPO.

This guideline was developed to help you complete the OHSMS accreditation application form.

Who is eligible

To receive CPO accreditation, your OHSMS must meet all the requirements contained in the CPO OHSMS accreditation standard, and be either an:

• industry-based management system standard developed by a technical advisory
• organization-specific management system that is successfully implemented and active in a workplace

How to apply for accreditation

Step 1: download the application

Download the application form.

Step 2: complete the application form

Fill in all sections of the application and sign all forms where needed. By signing the application, you are certifying that all your information is complete, accurate and true.

Only complete applications will be considered. The CPO will not issue conditional accreditation.

Any false or misleading information, reference or documents will result in your application being rejected. An OHSMS that is accredited by the CPO based on submission of false, misleading or inaccurate information will have its accreditation revoked.

Learn how to complete the form.

Step 3: Submit your application

Complete your application in full and sign where indicated.

You must submit your application in an electronic format. You can send it:

• by email, to SOSE@ontario.ca
• on a USB by registered or traceable mail, to:
  Training and Awareness Branch
  400 University Avenue, 7th Floor
  Toronto ON M7A 1T7

After you apply

Once you submit your application:

• the ministry will notify you by email or mail of your status
• you must notify the ministry of any changes, additional information and/or references. Changes may delay the processing time.

How to complete the form

The information you provide in the application is collected under section 7.6.4(1) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. The process for evaluating that information is authorized under section 7.6.1(1) of the act.

This information is strictly confidential and will not be disclosed to any third parties or used for any other means unless authorized by law.

Section A: Application information

1. Applicant information

This section requires you to provide:

• contact information
• details about your organization and your organization’s OHSMS

Canada Revenue Agency Registered Business Number

The business number (BN) is a unique number, assigned to a business by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), that simplifies and streamlines the way businesses deal with federal, provincial and municipal governments. Your business number can be found in your 15-digit CRA account number (see below for an example). Please use your 9-digit BN or your 15-digit CRA account number in your application.

• Example CRA account number: 123456789TR0001
  • Business number: 123456789
  • Government program: TR
  • Reference number/account: 0001

Ontario uses and collects the business number when interacting with businesses in the province.

Designated contact information

The application must include the information of a designated contact who has knowledge of OHSMS implementation, monitoring and its continued improvement.

If you are applying with an organization-specific OHSMS, the designated contact must also:

• be an employee of the organization
• perform their work duties within the scope of the OHSMS
• have knowledge of OHSMS implementation, monitoring and its continued improvement

Organization and OHSMS details

In this section, select “industry-based” or “organization-specific.” The application will change based on your choice. Complete all sections that appear.

If you are applying with an industry-based standard, provide:

• the name of the standard
• the industry for which the standard was developed
• the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes within the industry
• the number of workplaces that use the standard
• the date when the standard was first introduced
• a copy of your standard for ministry review

If you are applying with an organization-specific OHSMS, provide:

• the name of the system
• the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code(s) by which your organization is classified, and that fall under the scope of your OHSMS
• a brief description of your organization and what it does, including any operations, activities, process, products and goods or services
• the total number of workers in your organization
• the number of workers the OHSMS applies to (this may be the same as the total number if it applies to everyone)
• the date that your OHSMS was first implemented in your workplace(s)

2. Alternative contact information

Alternate contact information

Provide the information of a contact who can be reached in the event the ministry can’t reach the designated contact. This person must be authorized to act on behalf of your organization as it relates to the OHSMS.

Certification

The designated contact and alternate contact are both required to read, understand and agree before signing this section.

Section B: Attestation

Attestation

Attestations are used as part of the accreditation application process to confirm, verify and provide evidence that the criteria have been met.

If you do not complete this section, we cannot accept your application and the review process will be delayed.

Certification

Sign and date the form, and check the box affirming you have signing authority for your organization. If this is not affirmed, the application will not be processed.

Section C: OHSMS assessment and evidence

You must show how your OHSMS meets the requirements of the standard by including:

• precise references to where requirements can be found in your OHSMS
• a description of how each requirement is met

Please do not submit your complete OHSMS. Include enough information for each requirement to show that it is met within your OHSMS. You may do this by providing:

• an outline of how the requirement is met
• direct language from the OHSMS
• an explanation of the concept that clearly shows how it meets the requirement

If you have developed an OHSMS standard, please submit a copy with your application.

How to fill out the chart in the application form

The first two columns in the application form provide reference information about requirements in the CPO accreditation standard that you need to meet.

The last three columns provide space for you to input information on how you meet each requirement.

Each requirement will appear in a separate row.

Column 1: Section number in CPO standard

Identifies the specific clause number in the CPO accreditation standard. This is pre-populated for your reference. You are not required to do anything in this column.

Column 2: Requirement

Provides the language of the requirement taken directly from the CPO accreditation standard. This is pre-populated for your reference. You are not required to do anything in this column.

Column 3: Document control reference number

Element 5.2.9 of the CPO accreditation standard requires document controls, such as version controls, page numbers, clause numbers and/or unique identifiers. 

If you use an individual OHSMS:

• provide specific references in your OHSMS that address the requirement in Column 2

If you use an industry-based standard:

• provide the specific clause number in your industry-based standard that addresses the requirement in Column 2

Column 4: Title of document

If you use an individual OHSMS:

• provide the title or name of the document that contains the references in Column 3
• provide a title for each requirement so it is clear which specific document contains the requirement, even if the title or name is repeated in multiple rows

If you use an industry-based standard:

• all requirements should be contained within the standard itself, however sometimes a standard may reference complementary material as well.
• provide the title of the document that contains the clause numbers in Column 3

Column 5: Brief description of how the OHSMS meets the requirements

Briefly explain how your individual OHSMS or the industry-based standard you use meets the specific requirement in Column 2. 

If you use an individual OHSMS:

• you do not need to submit your entire OHSMS
• you must include a sufficient explanation to determine whether the intent of the requirement has been met, or we may determine that the requirement has not been met
• describe how each requirement relates to the others, if applicable

If you use an industry-based standard:

• submit the entire standard with this application

Saving the application and supporting documents

Make sure to keep original versions for your records.

When saving your documents to submit with the application, use the following naming protocols.

Contact us

You can contact the Prevention Office by:

• Phone: Toll-free: 1-877-202-0008 (toll free)
• Mail:
  Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development
  Training and Awareness Branch
  7th floor, 400 University Ave.
  Toronto, ON M7A 1T7