SECOR — the Small Employer Certificate of Recognition — is the standard safety certification for Alberta companies with fewer than 10 workers. It's the baseline credential required to work as a subcontractor for most major operators, general contractors, and pipeline companies in the province.
The audit is a document review. An auditor from a Certifying Partner (usually your industry association) works through six elements of your safety management system, scoring you on whether your written program meets the standard and whether your records show the program is actually being followed.
Most companies that struggle with SECOR don't have a bad safety culture — they have a documentation problem. Here's exactly what's being evaluated.
The 6 SECOR Audit Elements
Management Leadership and Organizational Commitment
Auditors want to see evidence that leadership is actively involved in safety — not just that a policy exists on paper. This element carries significant weight because it sets the tone for everything else.
- Signed, dated safety policy with owner or senior management signature
- Safety responsibilities clearly assigned in writing (who is responsible for what)
- Evidence of management participation in safety activities — toolbox talks, site visits, incident reviews
- Safety goals and objectives documented for the current year
Hazard Identification and Assessment
The core of day-to-day safety documentation. Auditors look for a documented process for identifying hazards and evidence that the process is being used in the field. This is where your FLHAs and JSEAs live.
- Written hazard identification procedure (how and when FLHAs are completed)
- Sample completed FLHAs — signed, dated, site-specific
- Hazard register or log showing identified hazards and controls
- Evidence that workers are trained on the FLHA process
Hazard Controls
Having identified hazards, auditors want to see that controls are actually implemented and verified. This is where corrective action tracking matters — it's not enough to identify a hazard, you need to show what you did about it.
- Documented corrective action process — how hazards move from identified to controlled to verified
- Records of corrective actions completed (not just identified)
- Safe work practices or procedures for high-risk tasks
- PPE requirements documented by job role
Ongoing Inspections
Regular inspections of the workplace and equipment. Equipment pre-start inspections are a key part of this element for companies operating vehicles, heavy equipment, or power tools.
- Documented inspection schedule — what gets inspected and how often
- Completed inspection records (equipment pre-starts, workplace inspections)
- Deficiency tracking — defects identified and resolved
- Evidence that inspection findings are actioned
Qualifications and Training
Auditors verify that workers have the certifications and training required for their roles — and that records exist to prove it. This is one of the most common weak points for smaller companies.
- Training matrix — what tickets are required for each role
- Individual worker training records with completion dates
- New worker orientation records with sign-off
- Evidence of ongoing safety training (toolbox talks, refreshers)
- Current certifications on file — first aid, H2S, WHMIS, trade-specific tickets
Incident Investigation
The final element covers how your company responds when something goes wrong. Auditors look for a documented process and actual records of investigations — not just a policy that says incidents will be investigated.
- Written incident investigation procedure with defined steps
- Completed incident investigation records (near misses count)
- Root cause analysis documented for each incident
- Corrective actions implemented and verified following incidents
- Evidence that incident findings are communicated back to the crew
The Pre-Audit Documentation Checklist
Before your SECOR auditor arrives, have these documents organized and ready:
- Signed safety policy — current date, owner/management signature
- Safety responsibilities document — who owns each safety function
- FLHA/JSEA procedure and at least 10 completed, signed field examples
- Hazard register with corrective action status
- Equipment inspection/pre-start forms — at least 30 days of records
- Worker training matrix — roles mapped to required certifications
- Individual worker training records with cert copies
- New worker orientation records with signatures
- Toolbox talk / safety meeting records — dates, attendees, topics
- Incident investigation records — near misses and incidents with root cause and corrective action
- Safe work procedures for your highest-risk tasks
Where Companies Lose Points
Most common SECOR audit point deductions
- FLHAs on file are generic — not site-specific, missing hazard details or signatures
- Training matrix says "as required" instead of naming specific certifications
- No near-miss reports — zero incidents reported looks like nobody's paying attention, not a clean record
- Safety policy undated or signed by someone who is no longer with the company
- Equipment pre-starts on file but defects have no follow-up records
- Incident investigations on file but no root cause identified — just a description of what happened
- Toolbox talk records exist but show the same topic repeated every week (copy-pasted)
SECOR auditors are not looking for perfection — they're looking for evidence that your safety program is real and being used. One near-miss report with a proper investigation and corrective action tells a better story than zero incidents with no documentation at all.
Maintaining Your SECOR Certification
SECOR certification is valid for three years, with an annual check-in to confirm your program is still active. The companies that struggle at renewal aren't the ones who had a weak program to start — they're the ones who passed the first audit and then let the daily documentation slip.
The fix is making daily documentation part of the job, not an end-of-month catch-up exercise. When field workers submit FLHAs and pre-starts from their phones every morning, and supervisors can pull any record in 30 seconds, SECOR renewal stops being an event and becomes a formality.
Build your SECOR documentation from the field
WayOS is structured around the six SECOR audit elements. Every FLHA, pre-start, incident report, and training record your crew fills out is building your audit file automatically. Start a free 14-day trial.
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