Maintaining SAFE Certification

SAFE Certification is valid for 3 years from the date of certification, providing that all maintenance requirements are met.

Large Companies

To maintain SAFE certification, a large company is required to conduct a maintenance BASE audit during each calendar year after the original SAFE certification date, with a recertification audit due before the SAFE certification expiry date .

There needs to be at least a 6 month time period between the initial certification date and the first maintenance audit submission and at least 6 months between each subsequent maintenance audit submission.

• For example, maintenance and recertification audit requirements for a company with SAFE certification date in 2006
• Maintenance audit 1 – due anytime in 2007, submit at least 6 months after certification audit submission.
• Maintenance audit 2 – due anytime in 2008, submit at least 6 months after maintenance audit 1 submission.
• Recertification audit – due in 2009 by the SAFE certification expiry date.

To avoid a lapse in certification, recertification audits must be submitted before the SAFE certification expiry date.

SAFE certification will become inactive for companies that fail to submit a maintenance audit by December 31st in that calendar year. Those companies WILL NOT be eligible for the WSBC rebate for that year and their name will be removed from the SAFE certified list. Upon submission of a maintenance audit, certification will be re-activated. Inactive SAFE certification will be terminated when a company fails to submit a maintenance audit for 2 consecutive calendar years. A company with a terminated certification will have to get recertified.

Maintenance audits must be undertaken by a certified external or internal (company-based) auditor. If a company chooses to use an external auditor for their maintenance audit and successfully meets the standard, their SAFE certification date will be renewed for another 3 years.

Small Companies

To maintain SAFE certification, a small company is required to conduct a maintenance SEBASE audit during each calendar year after the original SAFE certification date, with a recertification audit due before the SAFE certification expiry date.

There needs to be at least a 6 month time period between the initial certification date and the first maintenance audit submission and at least 6 months between each subsequent maintenance audit submission.

• For example, maintenance and recertification audit requirements for a company with SAFE certification date in 2006
• Maintenance audit 1 – due anytime in 2007, submit at least 6 months after certification audit submission.
• Maintenance audit 2 – due anytime in 2008, submit at least 6 months after maintenance audit 1 submission.
• Recertification audit – due in 2009 by SAFE certification expiry date.

To avoid a lapse in certification, recertification audits must submitted before the SAFE certification expiry date.

SAFE certification will become inactive for companies that fail to submit a maintenance audit by December 31st in that calendar year. Those companies WILL NOT be eligible for the WSBC rebate for that year and their name will be removed from the SAFE certified list. Upon submission of a maintenance audit, certification will be re-activated. Inactive SAFE certification will be terminated when a company fails to submit a maintenance audit for 2 consecutive calendar years. A company with a terminated certification will have to get recertified.

Companies must have one worker on staff that has completed the Small Employer OH&S Training. Maintenance audits should be coordinated by an individual who has completed the Small Employer OH&S Training and is qualified to complete the SEBASE audit submission.  

• Companies may also choose to use the assistance of a consultant to help assemble their SEBASE audit submission.

General Information

Continuous Improvement
A key part of performing the maintenance BASE and SEBASE audit is to generate a corrective action plan to address deficiencies.  This should address:

• Identified problems or weaknesses
• Required corrective action
• Person responsible
• Due date
• Completion status

For small companies, a corrective action plan template is included in the SEBASE audit.

For large companies, a corrective action plan can be developed from the recommendations in the BASE audit. A sample corrective action plan can be viewed here (pdf).

Submission Requirements
Since maintenance audits provide an opportunity for companies to verify that all aspects of their health and safety management system are being maintained, there is no requirement that a pass mark be obtained in order to stay certified.

Maintenance audit activities and audit submissions are to be completed to the same standard as certification audits and are subject to the same quality assurance review.

• For large companies the scope and scale for interview sample size and site observations is the same.
• For small companies, documentation must be submitted for all the operating months since the previous audit.
• Report content and formats are the same as certification audits.
• The corrective action plan from previous audit recommendations is required to be submitted as part of the current audit submission.

Change in Company Size
A company’s size may change and it may be suitable to change the company’s category.

• e.g. – A company SAFE certified as a small employer using SEBASE audit has grown to >20 worker count during the 3-year certification period; or a large SAFE certified company has downsized to 10 workers during the 3-year certification period and anticipates remaining at that worker count for the long-term.

If a company assesses their current worker count and/or anticipated peak season worker count for the upcoming year and identifies a significant, long-term variation and the employer wants to change their company category, the company must complete a SAFE Companies Status Change Form.  Requests for status change pertaining to company size and audit requirements must be submitted prior to the date of upcoming audit submission and will require approval from the Council. Company status change will made at the next anniversary of certification.

A company can always choose to be certified at a larger company size audit standard.

• e.g. – employer with 18 workers can be certified at the BASE audit standard.

It is recommended that large companies certified as a large employer using the BASE standard whose worker count falls below 20 workers during maintenance years maintain their certification as a large company.

ABOUT THE PROGRAM	Registration information
> Benefits of being a SAFE certified company - LINK > The Cost of Unsafe (pdf) - LINK > SAFE Companies: Six Month Audit Submission Requirements (pdf) - LINK   > Request for Extension form (pdf) - LINK > SAFE Companies Application Form (pdf) - LINK	> Guide to SAFE Company Registration (pdf) - LINK > Large Company - LINK   > Booking a Student Auditor - LINK > Small Company - LINK   > Tips for Submitting a Good SEBASE Audit - LINK > Independent Companies - LINK   > Individual Owner Operators (IOO) - LINK > Certification Timelines by Licencee - LINK > Registration - Request for Status Change Form - LINK
AUDITORS	TRAINING
> List of Certified External Auditors - LINK > Auditor Code of Ethics (pdf) - LINK > Notice of Audit Activities Form (pdf) - LINK > Declaration of Dependent Contractors Form - LINK	> Individual Owner Operator SAFEty Course - LINK > External Auditor Training - BASE Audit - LINK > Internal Auditor Training -LINK > OHS Small Employer Training - LINK > Basic Forest Supervisor Course - LINK
RESOURCES	SAFE CERTIFIED COMPANIES
> Large Employer (BASE) Audit (pdf)   - LINK > Small Employer (SEBASE) Audit (pdf)- LINK   > Tips for Submitting a Good SEBASE Audit - LINK   > An Explanation of the SEBASE Audit Questions (pdf) - LINK > Individual Owner Operator (IOO) SAFEty Log - LINK > Safe Companies Update Newsletter - LINK > Safety Advocates - LINK > SAFE Companies Questions Answered - LINK	> List of SAFE Certified Companies (pdf) - LINK > BC Forest Companies Registered for SAFE Companies (pdf) - LINK > Maintaining SAFE Certification - LINK > SAFE Companies / COR Rebates - LINK