Double Diamond Receives COR Certification

September 3, 2014 in News
Explorer: Fall 2014

When Athabasca Basin Development first acquired ownership in Double Diamond Industrial Structures in September, 2012, one of the newly appointed CEO’s goals was to get the company COR Certified. This is easier said than done – COR certification is an intense process that involves safety audits, a comprehensive safety program that adheres to high standards, and thorough testing conducted by the Saskatchewan Construction Safety Association (SCSA) to ensure compliance to standards.

Double Diamond passed – with 100%.

“I’m so pleased to announce that as of June 19, 2014, Double Diamond is officially COR Certified,” says Barrie Bergsma, CEO of Double Diamond Industrial Structures.

“Getting COR certified took a lot of time and effort, but it was well worth it. COR means a lot – to us, to our clients, to everyone. It means we’re recognized for our efforts in achieving a high safety standard; not only in our policies and procedures but in our everyday work environment. More importantly, it’s a reflection of our company’s culture, where excellence in safety is central to everything we do, every minute of the day.”

COR Certification took many months to complete. The process started with a safety consultant doing a thorough audit of everything from the condition of tools and equipment, to practices and procedures, to interviews with employees. “When you first start on this journey, you really don’t know how much time and effort it will take to get COR certified,” says Bergsma. “The audit was extremely valuable in showing us where we were already strong regarding safety practices, and where we needed to make improvements.”

With the results of the audit, Double Diamond hired an HSE Coordinator to address the recommendations. This included a thorough review of all procedures, developing a comprehensive safety manual, developing forms putting tools and vehicles on a regularly scheduled maintenance program, employee training, equipment upgrades and much, much more. “When everything is done, two people from the SCSA performed an independent third-party audit and examined everything, and conducted interviews with staff to ensure everyone is knowledgeable about safety practices. It’s an excellent process and I found it extremely valuable.”

“I’d like to take this time to congratulate Barrie and his staff for this outstanding achievement in safety excellence,” says Geoff Gay, CEO of Athabasca Basin Development. “A high dedication to safety is a common element for Athabasca Basin Development’s holdings; it’s something we look for in a potential investment. Many of our holdings have achieved recognition for excellence in safety. Double Diamond is the newest of Athabasca Basin Development’s holdings to receive COR Certification, joining Flyer Electric, Points Athabasca, Athabasca Basin Security, and Athabasca Labour Services in this achievement. In addition, Team Drilling has been recognized multiple times by their clients with safety awards, and they are also registered with the Canadian Diamond Drilling Association’s DEC Program. West Wind Aviation has won awards for safety, including the NSBA Award for Safe Employer. These are just some of the safety certifications and awards, and I’m proud to have so many of our investments receive recognition and certification for their efforts and dedication to safety.”

Double Diamond has a history of celebrating achievements with decorated cakes shared with employees. When Bergsma got the news about achieving COR Certification, the celebration cake was decorated with a COR logo alongside the Double Diamond logo. “I’d like to acknowledge the efforts from my staff during this process,” says Bergsma. “Everyone really embraced what we were doing and worked very hard to get this. I’m very proud of all my staff, and would like to thank them for their efforts in this outstanding achievement.”

The national standard for certification in the construction industry is the Certificate of Recognition (COR) program through the Construction Safety Association. The objective of COR certification is to provide companies with the knowledge and tools to develop an effective safety and health management system to reduce incidents and their associated human and financial costs. COR certification is now frequently required as a pre-qualification and/or condition of contract by public and private buyers of construction across Canada.