Use the hierarchy of controls
Consider elimination, substitution and engineering controls before administrative controls or personal protective equipment. Record why a higher-order control is not selected or requires further assessment.
Workplace Hazard Assessments, JHAs and Inspections
Workplace hazard assessments and inspections change as work changes. New tasks, equipment, workers, worksites, contractors, materials, weather conditions, production demands, and inspection findings can all create risks that may not be reflected in old forms or outdated safety documentation.
Calgary Safety Consultants helps employers develop and improve practical hazard assessments, job hazard analyses, workplace inspections, investigation processes and corrective-action tracking. The employer, knowledgeable workers and supervisors must participate in and validate the results against the actual work.
We help structure hazard identification, risk assessment, control selection, workplace inspection, investigation and corrective-action follow-up. Site conditions, worker input, equipment requirements and specialist findings still govern the final controls.
We provide practical support for employers across Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan.
Serving employers on site across Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan, and online across Canada.
Hazard assessments
How We Support Workplace Hazard Assessments and Inspections
Workplace hazard assessment and inspection support helps employers identify workplace hazards, evaluate risk, confirm controls, and document follow-up before problems lead to incidents, audit findings, client concerns, regulatory issues, or repeat deficiencies.
- A hazard assessment identifies what could harm workers, assesses the risk, and selects controls using the hierarchy of controls. Elimination, substitution and engineering controls should be considered before administrative controls and personal protective equipment, with the reasons documented when a higher-order control is not selected.
- A job hazard analysis, often called a JHA, breaks a specific task into steps so hazards, controls, PPE, training needs, and safe work expectations can be clearly explained.
- A workplace inspection observes and records current conditions, equipment, tools, work methods and controls during operations. It is a sample in time, not an engineering approval or proof that every condition is safe.
- A workplace investigation examines what happened after an incident, near miss, concern, repeat deficiency or inspection finding so contributing factors and corrective actions can be identified. Complaints involving harassment, privacy, discipline or potential litigation may require a separately scoped impartial process and legal or human-resources advice.
Together, these processes help employers move from reactive safety management to a practical system for identifying hazards, verifying controls, learning from problems, and preventing repeat issues.
For a step-by-step look at how a formal JHA is completed, read our free job hazard analysis guide. For the check crews complete at the work location before each shift, our field-level hazard assessment guide explains how to complete an FLHA and keep it current. For planned walk-throughs of your workplace, our workplace safety inspection guide explains how to plan and carry out an inspection that finds real hazards. Each guide includes free forms and a quick guide you can download.
Hazard assessments designed for practical crew useJHAs, FLHAs and inspections built around the taskValidation and specialist limits
Field Participation and the Right Expertise Matter
A consultant’s document review or site visit is not a substitute for the employer’s ongoing hazard assessment process. Workers and supervisors who know the task must participate, changing conditions must be reassessed, and controls must be tested under actual or reasonably representative conditions before relying on them.
Stop and escalate uncertainty
Stop work or apply an appropriate interim control when an uncontrolled hazard, missing critical information, conflicting instruction or unsafe change is identified. Escalate through the employer’s authority structure before work resumes.
Bring in specialists where required
Engineering, occupational hygiene, ergonomics, medical, environmental, equipment-certification and other regulated professional work is outside routine consulting scope unless expressly included. Manufacturer instructions and approved engineering cannot be overridden.
Inspections with assigned and verified follow-upFind hazards, control risk and verify effectivenessWhen to get help
When Hazard Assessments, JHAs, Inspections or Investigations Need Attention
Employers may need support when safety documents no longer reflect how work is actually being performed.
This often happens when equipment changes, workers take on new tasks, work locations shift, contractors are added, production demands increase, or supervisors inherit forms that were copied from another company.
Support may also be needed when hazard assessments are generic, JHAs are incomplete, inspections are inconsistent, investigation notes are unclear, or corrective actions are identified but not tracked to completion.
These gaps can make it harder to show due diligence and can create confusion for supervisors, workers, clients, auditors, and regulators.
You may also need support if your company is preparing for COR, SECOR, a client audit, contractor prequalification, or a regulatory review. In these situations, employers need more than a document. They need a practical process that shows hazards are being identified, controls are being applied, inspections are being completed, concerns are being investigated, and follow-up is happening.
Hazard assessment, inspection, and investigation support can also be helpful after incidents, near misses, repeat deficiencies, unresolved hazards, worker concerns, or inspection findings. When the same issues keep showing up, the system needs to be reviewed, not just the form.
The goal is to help your company identify hazards clearly, document controls properly, inspect work areas consistently, investigate concerns when needed, correct deficiencies, and keep your safety program connected to the real work being performed.
Why it matters
Why These Processes Work Better Together
Hazard assessments, JHAs, workplace inspections, investigations, and corrective actions should not operate as separate paperwork systems.
- A hazard assessment identifies what could go wrong and what controls should be in place.
- A JHA gives workers and supervisors task-level guidance so the controls are easier to understand and apply.
- A workplace inspection checks whether those controls are actually working in the field, shop, yard, office, vehicle, equipment area, or worksite.
- A workplace investigation helps the employer understand why an incident, near miss, concern, complaint, or repeat deficiency occurred.
- Corrective action tracking helps confirm that the issue was assigned, completed, verified, and closed.
When these processes are disconnected, hazards may be identified but not controlled. Inspections may be completed but not tied back to risk. Investigations may identify concerns but fail to correct the underlying issue. Corrective actions may be written down but never verified.
That creates gaps that can affect worker safety, productivity, claims exposure, audit performance, client confidence, supervisor accountability, and regulatory due diligence.
A stronger system connects hazard assessments, JHAs, inspections, investigations, and corrective actions into one practical risk management process.
How we help
How Calgary Safety Consultants Helps
Calgary Safety Consultants helps employers develop, update, and improve hazard assessment, JHA, workplace inspection, workplace investigation, and corrective action processes.
We start by learning about your work activities, locations, equipment, workforce, current safety documentation, inspection process, investigation process, corrective action system, and any COR, SECOR, audit, client, contractor, or regulatory requirements.
We can review your existing hazard assessments, JHAs, inspection forms, corrective action records, incident reports, near miss reports, worker concern records, safe work practices, procedures, training records, and safety manual sections.
From there, we identify what is working, what is missing, what is outdated, and what does not reflect current workplace conditions.
Our support may include:
- Formal hazard assessments.
- Site-specific hazard assessments where the agreed scope includes sufficient site access, worker participation and current operating information.
- Job hazard analysis development.
- Workplace inspection forms and checklists.
- Inspection schedules and responsibilities.
- Workplace investigation forms and guidance.
- Incident and near miss investigation support.
- Worker concern and repeat deficiency review.
- Corrective action tracking.
- Setting up Site App Pro, so crews complete hazard assessments and inspections on a mobile app that works offline, and corrective actions are assigned and tracked to closure.
- Review of safe work practices and procedures connected to hazards.
- Training and competency documentation review.
- COR, SECOR, client audit, and contractor prequalification support.
- Implementation guidance for supervisors and workers.
- Program improvement recommendations.
We can help define how hazards, deficiencies, investigation findings and inspection results are assigned, tracked, verified for completion and effectiveness, escalated when overdue, and closed by an authorized employer representative.
This supports more reliable follow-up and stronger evidence of management activity. Records alone do not prove that hazards are controlled; effectiveness should also be checked through worker and supervisor input, observations, inspections, performance information and recurrence monitoring.
This service does not replace the employer’s responsibility to manage workplace health and safety. Employers remain responsible for identifying hazards, controlling risks, training workers, supervising work, completing inspections, investigating concerns, correcting deficiencies, and maintaining records.
Our role is to provide practical OH&S consulting support, improve your documentation, and help your team use systems that are easier to understand, maintain, and explain.
Common questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Find clear answers to common questions about our safety consulting, training, COR support, and OH&S program development services.
What is the difference between a hazard assessment, JHA, workplace inspection, and workplace investigation?
A hazard assessment identifies hazards and controls across workplace activities. A JHA breaks a specific task into steps so hazards and controls can be explained clearly. A workplace inspection checks current conditions, equipment, work methods, and controls. A workplace investigation reviews what happened after an incident, near miss, concern, complaint, or repeat deficiency so the employer can identify contributing factors and corrective actions.
Do employers need both hazard assessments and workplace inspections?
Yes, in most workplaces they serve different but connected purposes. Hazard assessments identify what hazards exist and what controls should be in place. Workplace inspections help verify whether those controls are being followed and whether new hazards or deficiencies have developed.
Can Calgary Safety Consultants update existing hazard assessments or JHAs?
Yes. We can review existing hazard assessments and JHAs, identify outdated or generic content, improve the risk-ranking method and draft control updates within the agreed information and site access. Knowledgeable workers and supervisors must validate the work steps, hazards and controls before employer approval.
Can you develop workplace inspection forms?
Yes. We can develop inspection forms and checklists for offices, shops, yards, vehicles, equipment, field work, construction sites, mobile work, or other work areas. The goal is to make inspections practical enough for supervisors to use and detailed enough to support follow-up.
Can you help with workplace investigations?
Yes. We can support reviews of incidents, near misses, worker concerns, repeat deficiencies or inspection findings from a safety-management perspective. Before accepting a complaint investigation, the scope must address investigator competence, independence, privacy, procedural fairness, legal risk and any reporting or evidence-preservation duties.
Can this support help with COR or SECOR?
Yes. These processes can support COR or SECOR preparation when aligned with the identified certifying partner and current protocol. Documents and records are only part of the evidence; an auditor may also rely on worker and management interviews, workplace observations and proof that corrective actions are effective.
How often should workplace inspections be completed?
Inspection frequency depends on applicable OHS legislation, committee or representative duties, the hazards and rate of change, manufacturer instructions, certifying-partner or audit requirements, and client rules. A monthly schedule may suit some workplaces, but pre-use, shift, weekly or other intervals may be required for specific equipment or higher-risk, mobile or changing work. Reinspect after significant changes, incidents, complaints, or evidence that a control is ineffective. Assign responsibility, document findings, correct urgent hazards promptly, and verify corrective actions to closure.
Talk to a safety consultant
Book a Free 30-Minute Consultation
Need help with hazard assessments, JHAs, workplace inspections, workplace investigations, corrective action tracking, COR readiness, or safety program documentation? Book a free 30-minute consultation with Calgary Safety Consultants. We will review your situation, identify the next practical step, and explain how we can help improve your safety documentation, supervisor follow-up, and risk management process.
Preparing for COR or SECOR?
Confirm that assessment and inspection records are audit-ready
A COR Readiness Review checks whether hazard assessments, inspections, corrective actions and related records are current, complete and supported by evidence that the system is being used in the workplace.
Explore the COR Readiness ReviewFrom $2,499.99 + GSTThe review identifies priorities before certification; it does not guarantee a COR or SECOR result.
Related case study
From OHS orders to a successful COR
See how an Alberta employer with three warehouse locations used a mock COR audit, a practical implementation plan and six months of support to rebuild its safety program before successfully completing an independent external audit.
Read the warehouse compliance and COR case studyBefore you reach out
Quick answers about working with us
- Which areas do you serve?
- Calgary Safety Consultants is a Western Canadian health and safety consulting firm. We support employers across Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan, on site and online.
- Who will we work with?
- Projects are led by John Duplessis, B.Sc., CRSP, President and Principal Health & Safety Consultant, who has more than 30 years of occupational health and safety experience. He is a Canadian Registered Safety Professional, a certified COR auditor, an Energy Safety Canada external auditor and a member of Health and Safety Professionals Canada and the Alberta Society of Health and Safety Professionals.
- How do we get started?
- Book a free 30-minute consultation on our calendar, call 1-888-231-0358, or use the form below. We talk through your situation first, then send a written scope and quote before any work begins.
- What does it cost?
- Our Starter Safety Manual Package, recommended for SECOR, is $1,995 plus GST, and Custom Safety Training built from your own procedures starts at $1,499 plus GST. Online courses are priced per learner, starting at $24.99, and 10% comes off automatically at checkout when you buy 10 or more seats of the same course. Other consulting is quoted per project after a free 30-minute consultation, so you know the scope and cost before any work begins. See all our packages and prices.
- Do you work with small businesses?
- Yes. Many of our clients are small and mid-sized employers without a full-time safety department, including contractors, manufacturers, non-profits and clinics.
- Can you help with COR, audits and training too?
- Yes. We conduct COR audits and help with COR and SECOR preparation, safety manuals, hazard assessments, compliance audits, emergency response plans, incident investigations and contractor prequalification in ISNetworld, Avetta and ComplyWorks. We also offer online courses including WHMIS, TDG and OH&S leadership, and custom safety training built around your own hazards and procedures. We can’t guarantee that you’ll obtain COR or SECOR, but we stand behind our work: every formal document we deliver carries a 60-day errors and omissions warranty, and our COR and SECOR program builds include a documentation warranty through your first audit or evaluation within 12 months of delivery.
How we work together
A Partnership, Not a Hand-Off
We work with employers who want to improve. The best results come when owners, managers and supervisors take an active part in the work, rather than handing it to an outside consultant and waiting for a finished binder. We bring the expertise, the structure and the follow-up. You bring leadership, time and a commitment to act on what we find.
If you only want paperwork that sits on a shelf, we're probably not the right fit. If you want a safer workplace, a program your workers trust and an audit you can walk into with confidence, we'd like to work with you. We'll talk about this openly during your free 30-minute consultation, so we both know it's a good fit before any work begins.
What We Commit To
- Direct access to a senior professional. John Duplessis, B.Sc., CRSP, leads every engagement himself, from the first conversation to final delivery.
- Quick replies. We answer emails and calls within 2 to 4 hours during business hours, or by the next business day after hours and on weekends. Every client question matters to us, and we treat it that way.
- A written scope and price first. You know what's included and what it costs before any work begins, and nothing outside that scope goes ahead without your written approval.
- Work built for your operation. Practical, plain-language deliverables that fit your work and your province's legislation, not a generic template.
- Clear timelines. We agree on delivery dates at kickoff and tell you early if anything puts them at risk.
- Confidentiality. We handle your records, incident details and worker information as set out in our Privacy Policy.
What We Need From You
- Leadership involvement. An owner or senior manager stays involved from kickoff to final review, approves the work and backs the changes. Workers can tell whether leadership means it, and so can auditors.
- A main contact with time and authority. Someone who can make decisions, get answers and keep things moving on your side.
- Complete, honest information. Your documents and records, and a true picture of how the work is really done, including near misses, shortcuts and what isn't working.
- Hands-on participation. Your supervisors and workers take part in interviews, site walks, hazard assessments and reviews. A program your people help shape is a program they'll use.
- Timely review and sign-off. You review drafts, give feedback and approve documents within the timeframes we agree on.
- Follow-through. You put the recommendations into practice and keep the records that show your program is in use.
Your Legal Responsibilities Stay With You
As the employer, you keep your legal duties under OHS legislation. We advise, organize and support. You make the decisions and direct the work. Our work makes your supervisors, internal safety coordinator, and safety committee or representative more effective. It doesn't replace them.
Timelines Depend on Both of Us
Our delivery dates start at project kickoff and assume your information, feedback and approvals arrive when agreed. If they're delayed, the schedule moves with them. If a project stalls, we'll raise it with you directly and agree on a plan to get it back on track, or pause it until you're ready.
Straight Answers, No False Promises
We'll tell you what you need to hear, not just what you want to hear. Audit, certification and inspection decisions belong to your certifying partner or regulator, so no consultant can guarantee the outcome. What we can promise is practical, credible work and honest advice about what it will take.
Our services are not an emergency response service. If someone is seriously hurt or in danger, call 911 first, then make any reports your provincial OHS regulator requires. Once the scene is safe, contact us and we'll help you with next steps.
Book a Free 30-Minute ConsultationContact Us
Need help with a safety manual, COR audit preparation, OHS order, hazard assessment, training, or ongoing safety support? Complete the form below or book a free 30-minute consultation. We will review your situation, identify the next practical step, and explain how Calgary Safety Consultants can help.