Safety Codes Council introduces updates to the accreditation program
For most accredited organizations the changes will have little to no effect on their day-to-day work
November 27, 2024 – The Safety Codes Council (the Council) is releasing two new accreditation policies to enhance effectiveness, accountability, and flexibility of the program in response to a request from the Minister of Municipal Affairs and stakeholder feedback.
The Accreditation Standard comes into effect on January 1, 2025, and will replace the current Accreditation Policy. Orders of accreditation issued prior to January 1, 2025, remain active until suspended, cancelled, or updated.
The Accountability in Accreditation Framework, which includes updated performance metrics, will be fully implemented by 2027. This phased approach ensures that accredited organizations have ample time to adapt to the new requirements. There are no changes to reporting for 2024 and 2025 data. The Council will work with accredited organizations to implement new reporting.
The Council emphasizes that the revised standard will not require immediate action from most accredited organizations.
“Our goal is to enhance the overall effectiveness and accountability of the accreditation program, while providing flexibility for accredited organizations with the capacity and desire to innovate and explore alternative risk-based approaches to administering their safety code oversight and compliance,” says Kris Schmaltz, vice president of Service Excellence with the Council.
“All accredited organizations have the option of maintaining the status quo, and we expect this will be the choice of most for the foreseeable future.”
What’s new?
The new standard clarifies requirements that must be contained within the order of accreditation, addressing gaps that were identified during consultations, including the requirement to specify geographic boundaries, locations, and facilities, as well as a two-year restriction on reapplying after cancellation.
It also provides municipalities, corporations, regional services commissions, and delegated administrative organizations with an optional second path for administering their safety code oversight and compliance. To be approved, any alternative risk-based quality management system must meet the same or higher standards of safety as the current approach.
Accredited organizations can choose to continue with the current Council-prescribed quality management system.
The standard is supplemented by the evaluation framework, which outlines how the program’s success will be assessed over time.
Informed by stakeholder engagement and leading practices
In 2021, the Minister of Municipal Affairs asked the Council to review its accreditation program to:
- Identify opportunities to enhance safety code system efficiency;
- Enable flexibility for how accredited organizations administer the Safety Codes Act; and,
- Strengthen oversight and compliance in Alberta’s safety code system.
The Council conducted a thorough review, which included extensive stakeholder engagement in 2022 and 2023, highlighting opportunities for greater accountability and flexibility within Alberta’s safety code system.
For more information, accredited organizations should reach out to the Council at accreditation@safetycodes.ab.ca