Gap assessments and reviews

Independent safety audits against your contract requirements

Also called: Client contract gap assessment

An independent safety audit checks a contractor against the safety requirements in the owner's contract, not just against COR. We score each site on its own, give a clear verdict, and list every improvement with the requirement it comes from and a 90-day priority.

See a sample report

Quoted per site. Call 1-800-440-6650 to talk to a safety expert.

Who does the work: Building and auditing safety programs for companies across Western Canada since 2008.

Who asks for an independent safety audit?

Owners and concession holders

Your contract sets safety requirements for the operator or maintenance contractor. You need an independent read on whether they are met, site by site.

Prime contractors

You carry the prime contractor duties and want proof your key subcontractors run their programs the way your contract says.

Contractors getting ahead of it

Your customer is about to audit you. We run the same check first so their audit finds nothing new.

Lenders and asset managers

Periodic independent reviews are often written into the agreements. We deliver a report that stands on its own.

What do we check?

The contract itself

  • Every safety requirement in the contract and its schedules, listed and scored
  • Your own health and safety framework, where the contract refers to one
  • Reporting obligations: what the contractor must send you, and when

The provincial baseline

  • OHS legislation for the province the site is in
  • Hazard assessment, emergency response and training records
  • Inspections, incident reporting and corrective actions

Beyond the safety program, when the contract asks

  • Fire safety equipment and inspection records
  • Environmental, social and governance commitments
  • Cybersecurity and information handling requirements

Sample report

What does the report look like?

Four pages from a sample report, built on invented data. Real reports follow the same order: the summary first, then the scores, every improvement in full, and a roadmap to close them.
Sample Company Ltd.Sample

Executive summary

Site A and Site B, against the owner's contract requirements

91.4%

Conformance, Site B

Satisfactory

A well-established program with focused improvements at Site B.

What is working

  • Daily hazard assessments completed before work on every crew observed
  • Supervisors knew the emergency plan and muster points
  • Inspection program running on schedule at Site A

Top priorities

  • Review task assessments for the night crew
  • Run the overdue emergency drill at Site B
  • Get monthly statistics to the owner on time
Invented data for illustrationPage 1
1 of 4

Sample gap list

What does a gap look like?

Every gap names what we found, the evidence behind it, the fix, and the reference it comes from. Filter the sample list or open any row.

Showing 8 of 8 sample gaps

  • Evidence we checked
    3 of 5 task assessments sampled pre-date the change; the night crew supervisor confirmed in interview.
    The fix
    Review the three assessments with the night crew, add lighting and fatigue controls, and set a review trigger for any change in hours.
    Reference
    Alberta OHS Code, Part 2
    Target
    Within 30 days

How does it work?

  1. Scoping questions

    A short questionnaire of facts: sites, headcount, fleet size, who your customer is and what they asked for. We never ask "do you comply". That is our job to find out.

  2. Secure upload link

    You get a private link with a named list of the documents we need, so nobody guesses what to send. Upload from any device.

  3. Desk review before we arrive

    We read every document before the site visit, so field time is spent checking your records against the work, not reading binders.

  4. Field day

    We walk the site, talk with workers and supervisors, and check what the records say against what is actually happening.

  5. Scored report and debrief

    A scored report with a prioritized gap list, the reference for each gap, and a practical fix. We walk you through it and answer questions.

What does it not cover?

  • Not a COR audit. We can read the contractor's latest COR report first so we do not repeat it, but the score here is against your contract.

  • Not a legal opinion on the contract. We report conformance with what it asks for; interpretation disputes go to your counsel.

  • Not a one-sided exercise. Findings are reviewed with the contractor before the report is final, so every gap is accurate.

Frequently asked questions

What is an independent safety audit?

It is a third-party check of a contractor's safety performance against a specific set of requirements, usually the owner's contract. The auditor is independent of both the owner and the contractor, so the result can be relied on by both.

How is it scored?

Each requirement is rated on evidence from documents, interviews and the site. The report gives a conformance percentage and a Satisfactory or Needs Improvement verdict for each site, so a strong site is not hidden by a weak one.

What does the report look like?

A two-page executive summary first, then the opportunities for improvement, each with a specific recommendation, the contract or regulatory reference, and a 90-day priority. Detailed findings by area follow, plus a register comparing results with any earlier audit.

Can you work around the contractor's own external audit?

Yes. We ask for their most recent external audit report up front and focus the field time on what that audit did not cover, so the contractor is not audited twice on the same thing.

Do you audit more than one site?

Yes. Multi-site work is common. Each site gets its own score and report, and we schedule the field days back to back to keep travel down.

Related services

Other gap assessments and reviews

All gap assessments

Book an independent safety audit

Tell us what your customer, regulator or certifying partner is asking for. We will scope it and quote it per site, usually the same business day.

Call a safety expert: 1-800-440-6650