Alberta COR safety manual template
A complete written health and safety program for Alberta employers, laid out element by element to follow the Alberta Construction Safety Association (ACSA) COR audit. It arrives as an editable Word file you make your own: your name, your logo, your job titles and your work.
A look inside
Sample pages from the manual, marked and cut short. Your copy has no watermark.
What’s in the manual
1. Management commitment
A health and safety policy that covers what the audit looks for, ready to sign, plus written responsibilities for senior management, managers, supervisors, workers and contractors, the legislation you work under and workers’ three rights.
2. Public, visitors and contracted employers
How you protect people who are not under your direction, manage contractors, and orient visitors and contracted employers before they start.
3. Health and safety committees and representatives
When Alberta requires a joint committee or a representative, how they are set up and trained, and the duties they carry out.
4. Training, orientation and communication
Orientation content and timing, confirming qualifications, competency assessments, job-specific and refresher training, two-way communication, and training for the people who lead assessments, inspections and investigations.
5. Hazard assessment
Formal hazard assessments built from a job and task inventory, the standard 5 × 5 risk matrix with what each risk band requires, a review schedule, and site-specific hazard assessments done with the crew before work starts.
6. Hazard control
Choosing controls in the order Alberta requires, putting administrative controls in place, and violence and harassment prevention plans with their review.
7. Inspections and maintenance
Inspection frequencies and responsibilities by level, the tools used to record them, correcting deficiencies, and a preventive maintenance program.
8. Emergency response
Identifying realistic emergencies, the contents Alberta requires in the plan, testing and evaluating it, correcting what drills find, and first aid.
9. Incident reporting and investigation
Reporting incidents, near misses, illness and work refusals, an investigation procedure, and following corrective actions through.
10. Program administration
Records, a yearly analysis of your statistics, the annual program evaluation, and acting on your last audit’s findings.
Appendix A. COR cross-reference
Every documentation question in the 2023 ACSA COR audit instrument, what it looks for in plain words, the section of your manual that answers it, and whether the auditor will also want to see your records. Each entry links to its section.
Appendix B. Forms
17 print-ready forms that match the manual, each on one page with a form code so records trace back to the program: orientation, competency, training, hazard assessments, inspections, maintenance, drills, incidents, investigations, work refusals, committee minutes, corrective actions and the annual evaluation.
Built around the ACSA COR audit
The manual follows the ten elements of the 2023 ACSA COR audit instrument in the same order, so an auditor reading it finds each requirement where they expect it.
The COR audit scores three things: documents, interviews and observations. This manual covers the documents, with a written answer to each of the 59 documentation questions, and Appendix A shows exactly where each one is met. The 38 interview questions and 11 observations are passed by your people doing what the manual says, which is why the training, communication and supervision sections are written to be used, not just filed.
Certification needs 80% overall with no element below 50%. No template can guarantee that on its own, and we don’t claim to. What it gives you is a complete, audit-shaped program to put in place.
Written to be edited
Every page uses named Word styles, so your additions match the rest and the formatting never drifts. Type your company name once in the setup box and desktop Word puts it on the cover, in every header and through the text.
Shaded “Tailor this” notes tell you what to check or change in each section, and highlighted placeholders mark every name, date and location you fill in. Delete the notes when you are done and the manual is ready to sign.
The contents and the cross-reference are live links. Save the finished manual as a PDF for your crews and they still jump straight to each section.
Who it is for
Alberta employers preparing for a COR audit with ACSA, and those who need a written health and safety program because they regularly employ 20 or more workers, or because a client or prequalification platform asks for one.
If your certifying partner is not ACSA, the ten elements will look familiar, but check the manual against your partner’s own audit tool. Small employers working toward SECOR can use the same program, though the SECOR audit is different.
Lifetime updates
When legislation or the audit changes, we publish a new edition and email everyone who bought the template. Every update is free, for as long as we publish it.
Version 1.0 September 30, 2026
- First edition, laid out to follow the 2023 ACSA COR Audit Instrument (Rev. 1.5).
- Written to the Alberta OHS Act, OHS Regulation and OHS Code as consolidated in 2025, checked September 2026.
Working in more than one province?
Buy templates together and save on the whole order: 2 for 10% off, 3 for 15% off, 4+ for 20% off.
British Columbia
British Columbia COR safety manual template
$249.95
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan COR safety manual template
$249.95
Questions
What format is the manual in?
An editable Microsoft Word (.docx) file on US Letter pages. It works best in desktop Word for Windows or Mac. It also opens in Google Docs and Word on the web, where you use Find and replace to put your company name in.
Will this manual get us COR?
It gives you the written program the COR audit reviews, laid out to follow the ACSA audit, with every documentation question answered and cross-referenced. Certification also depends on your records, worker interviews and what the auditor observes on site, so no template can promise a pass. If you want help putting it in place, or a gap analysis before your audit, our team does that too.
Do I need a written health and safety program in Alberta?
Alberta employers who regularly employ 20 or more workers must have a health and safety program. COR certification requires a documented program whatever your size, and many clients and prequalification platforms ask for one too.
How do I get the file after I pay?
Your download is on the confirmation page the moment payment goes through, and we email you a download link as well.
What if I lose the file or need it again later?
Go to Find my downloads and enter the email you paid with. We email you a link to every template you have bought, and you can download them again whenever you need.
What happens when the legislation or the audit changes?
We update the template, and you get every update free for as long as we publish it: lifetime updates at no extra charge. We email you when a new edition is ready, with what changed and a link to download it.
Does it work with TruStar Connect?
Yes. The manual rates risk on the same 5 × 5 matrix TruStar Connect uses for its hazard register and investigations, so if you run your program in Connect, your ratings, bands and actions carry straight over.
Can I use it for more than one company?
Each purchase is licensed to one company. Consultants setting up programs for several clients should contact us.
Want it built for you?
Our safety advisors tailor programs to your operations and take you through COR from gap analysis to audit day.
COR and SECOR preparedness