2022 Certificate of Recognition (COR) COVID Audit Plan
The 2022 COVID Audit Plan is in effect from January 1 to December 31, 2022.
-On-site data gathering activities by auditors was suspended from January 1 to February 28, 2022.
During this period, Alberta implemented a public health measure for mandatory working from home in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Note internal maintenance auditors were allowed to continue on-site activities, if they were directed by their employer to remain on-site during the pandemic.
-Effective March 1, 2022, the suspension of on-site data gathering by auditors is lifted. Auditors may resume on-site data gathering activities, or continue to work remotely.
Alberta lifted the public health measure for mandatory working from home on March 1.
Partnerships will continue to monitor the COVID 19 situation, and respond if public health measures are again implemented.
Prior to conducting on-site data gathering activities, both the auditor and employer must agree that on-site work can be safely conducted.
Approval of this decision is not required by the auditor’s Certifying Partner (CP).
The Safe Auditing Guidelines for Auditors and Employers for On-Site Activities must be followed.
Audit Techniques
-Remote interviews are conducted using web-based platforms (Teams, Zoom, WebEx, etc.) or by telephone calls.
-For some audits, questionnaires can take the place of interviews (as allowed by Partnerships Standard 1.9).
-The use of observations for COR and SECOR audits will remain optional throughout 2022.
-Auditors may explore the use of remote technology for observations with the approval of their CP
COR Audits
A. Certification/Recertification Audit Minimum Requirements
External audits based on documentation and interviews (conducted remotely) are eligible for three-year CORs.
-The minimum requirement for documentation is any six months of system documentation in the previous 12-month period.
-The passing score for certification/recertification is a minimum of 80% based on overall score only. There is no minimum element score requirement.
B. Maintenance Audit Minimum Requirements
Audits based on documentation and interviews (conducted remotely) by either the employer’s internal auditor or an external auditor are eligible to maintain COR.
-The minimum requirement for documentation is any six months of system documentation in the previous 12-month period.
-The passing score for maintenance audits is a minimum of 60% based on overall score only.
C. COR Audit Instruments based on Documentation and Interviews
CPs are not required to create specific COVID audits based on documentation and interviews, the current approved audit is used.
-Auditors will mark observation questions as not applicable (N/A).
-Multiple audit technique questions that require observations are scored based only on the other specified techniques (documentation and/or interviews).
Maintenance Options for COR
The following maintenance options are available to employers in the COR program (these options are not available to SECOR employers).
-Standard 1.5 – Action Plans
The submission timelines for action plans for COR maintenance are extended:
The deadline for employers to submit an Action Plan to their CP for approval is June 30, 2022.
The deadline for employers to submit their completed Action Plan to their CP for review is December 31, 2022
Small Employer Certificate of Recognition (SECOR) Audits and Assessments
A. SECOR Audits – Minimum Requirements
-External SECOR audits based on documentation and interviews (conducted remotely) are eligible for three-year certification or maintenance.
-The minimum requirement for documentation is any six months of system documentation in the previous 12-month period. The current approved SECOR audit instrument is used.
-Auditors will mark SECOR observation questions as not applicable (N/A).
-Multiple audit technique questions that require observations are scored based only on the other specified techniques (documentation and/or interviews).
-SECOR element scores are reported.
Note, compared to the COR audit, there are so few SECOR questions that require observations, marking these as N/A does not significantly affect the balance between elements.
B. SECOR Assessments – Minimum requirements
-SECOR Assessments conducted with the current documentation-based process are eligible for three-year certification or maintenance.
The minimum requirement for documentation is any six months of system documentation in the previous 12-month period.
CPs follow the current review and scoring process for SECOR assessments as outlined in Partnerships Standard 7.2.
C. Scoring Requirements for SECOR Audits and Assessments
-The passing score for certification/recertification is a minimum of 80% based on overall score, and no less than 50% in each audit element.
-The passing score for maintenance is a minimum of 60% based on overall score only.
Auditors
A. Auditors – Recertification Requirements
Certified auditors must be recertified at least once every three years. To be eligible for recertification, auditors must:
-Attend an auditor refresher training session within the three-year certification period, and
-Successfully complete one audit within the three-year auditor certification period.
B. Auditor Candidates – Qualification Requirements
For certification, auditor candidates are required to:
-Complete auditor training (covering all required content),
-Pass the full auditor exam (covering all required content), and
-Successfully complete a qualification audit based on both documentation and interviews (conducted remotely).
C. Auditors Holding Limited Status from 2020
Auditors holding limited status (after completing a documentation-only qualification audit in 2020), must conduct a second qualification audit or relinquish their auditor status. The second audit must include both documentation and interviews (conducted remotely), and be completed by December 31, 2022.
-Prior to conducting their second qualifying audit, auditors must complete focused training (covering interviews and use of the audit tool) from their CP.