The Alberta OHS Act hazard assessment requirement
Under the Alberta Occupational Health and Safety Act, employers are required to identify existing and potential hazards before work begins and assess the risk of injury or illness to workers. At the field level on construction sites, this obligation is typically met through the daily FLHA.
Alberta's OHS Act is clear: the hazard assessment must be in writing, and it must happen before work commences. A verbal discussion is not sufficient. An assessment completed after work has started does not satisfy the requirement.
ACSA COR audit requirements for FLHAs
The Alberta Construction Safety Association administers COR certification for most Alberta construction contractors. During a COR audit, ACSA auditors evaluate the hazard assessment program across multiple dimensions:
- Documentation — are FLHAs completed daily, for every worker, with individual signatures?
- Quality — do FLHAs identify specific hazards relevant to the work, or are they generic checklists?
- Implementation — do workers understand the process and can they describe it?
- Supervisor involvement — are supervisors reviewing and confirming assessments?
- Record management — can records be retrieved quickly for any requested date range?
How digital FLHAs satisfy Alberta OHS requirements
A digital FLHA submitted through TrueCOR Safety satisfies all elements of Alberta's OHS Act hazard assessment requirement:
- Written record — stored digitally with full data fields
- Before work begins — GPS timestamp proves the time of submission
- Individual worker documentation — each submission is tied to a specific worker and signature
- Hazard identification — trade-specific hazards with worker-selected controls
- Employer access — supervisor dashboard provides real-time visibility
The GPS coordinates additionally prove that the assessment was completed on site — something the Alberta OHS Act anticipates but cannot enforce with paper records.
Alberta-specific hazards your FLHA should cover
Alberta construction sites often involve hazards that are more prevalent than in other provinces. TrueCOR Safety's Alberta trade configurations include:
- H2S exposure (oil and gas construction)
- Extreme cold and frost heave risks (northern Alberta)
- Wildfire smoke and air quality (during fire season)
- Industrial energy isolation requirements
- Heavy equipment and crane operations
Companies can customize their hazard lists in the TrueCOR Safety dashboard to reflect site-specific conditions in any Alberta region or trade environment.