Facility Audit Preparation

We are able to perform either a full or partial facility audit for your company. We’ll go through your paperwork and review your C.V.O.R. to see what areas need to be fixed and help you to fix the problems.

Why Do I Need Audit Prep?

You may wonder why you should spend money doing this audit preparation. Couldn’t you do this yourself? Well, the fact is that you can, but how many of you really have the time? Or the full understanding of the regulations and process? Here are some of the benefits that you’ll get when you hire us:

  • As a former M.T.O. officer Sylvie is aware of the procedures and regulations
  • As a licensed paralegal in Ontario Sylvie can help you deal with charges to improve your C.V.O.R.
  • We will ensure that you have all the policies in place that an auditor will be looking for
  • We will review your maintenance records to ensure they are complete
  • We will review driver log books and inspection reports to ensure they are complete and comply with the appropriate regulations
  • We will identify areas where training may be needed
  • We will review your C.V.O.R. and driver abstracts to ensure accuracy and identify areas that require training or disciplinary action

These audits would prepare you for an M.T.O. facility audit and give you an idea of how well you would rate on a government safety audit. They would also help in identifying problem areas that should be corrected before a ministry sanctioned enforcement audit is initiated. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you need our assistance.

Don’t wait until the M.T.O. comes knocking on your door — get prepared now!

What is a facility audit?

A facility audit is an examination of an operator’s safety practices and record keeping for the purpose of determining the operator’s compliance with relevant highway safety regulations. With the changes that have been made in the C.V.O.R. system, the auditing process has been modified as well. The basics of an audit are still the same but the process is different.

What items or areas are examined?

A facility audit is made up of these 3 profiles:

  • Qualification Records and Reporting
  • Hours of Service
  • Vehicle Maintenance

You will receive a score for each profile and receive one of the following grades:

  • Excellent — overall score of at least 80% and no profile below 70%
  • Pass — overall score of at least 55% and no profile below 50%
  • Fail — overall score below 55% or any one profile score below 50%

A failure in an audit can result in a Conditional C.V.O.R. rating for at least 6 months.

Why would M.T.O. auditors/investigators conduct an audit?

Facility audits may be undertaken for a variety of reasons, including:

  • a carrier’s overall violation rate exceeds 50% of its overall CVOR threshold
  • an excessive out-of-service rate on inspections
  • a severe accident or accident rate
  • a request from other jurisdictions to perform audits on their behalf
  • a carrier is involved in a high profile highway safety-related incident, such as a collision, wheel separation, impoundment, and/or criminal driving offence

It may just be that your company hasn’t had an audit conducted in quite a few years, or even that it never had one and is now due.

In some cases, a facility audit of the operator’s business practices and record keeping may be necessary to obtain a specific rating. The results of this audit will be combined with the operator’s CVOR record.

You may also request an audit. This can be helpful if you’ve improved your compliance or have never been audited and are seeking a higher C.V.O.R. rating to improve your business.

Carrier Safety Rating

The Carrier’s Safety Rating will be determined by the operator’s CVOR record plus, where available, the results of the facility audit. Points are assigned in three categories and an overall mark is calculated based on that.

  • Collisions — 40%
  • Convictions — 40%
  • Inspections — 20%

A threshold number is calculated based on the annual mileage of your fleet (it is no longer based on size of fleet). By comparing your points to the threshold and looking at your audit results you will receive one of these five carrier safety ratings:

  • Excellent: (Superior audit and low percentage of CVOR threshold)
    Overall violation rate not more than 20% of your CVOR threshold within a 24 month period and no failed audits.
  • Satisfactory: (Acceptable audit and CVOR record)
    CVOR violation rate less than 70% of your overall CVOR threshold level for at least 6 months and a pass or better on your audit.
  • Satisfactory-Unaudited: (Acceptable CVOR record with no audit)
    CVOR violation rate less than 70% of your CVOR violation threshold level for at least 6 months but who have not been audited.
  • Conditional: (Unacceptable audit and/or CVOR record)
    You will receive a Conditional safety rating for a minimum of six months in any of the following circumstances:

    • CVOR violation rate is 70% of your overall threshold level or higher;
    • you fail an audit
    • upon appealing a proposed sanction (Unsatisfactory safety rating);
    • upon reinstatement of a suspended CVOR certificate (i.e. following an Unsatisfactory safety rating).
  • Unsatisfactory: (Sanction in place − suspension or cancellation)
    An Unsatisfactory safety rating may be proposed for any carrier whose CVOR points (violation rate) exceeds their allowable threshold (i.e. 100%), and could result in a suspension or cancellation of their operating privileges for a period defined by the Registrar. The Unsatisfactory rating is effective for the period of the suspension or cancellation.
Note: A carrier’s safety rating is available to the public, shippers, transportation industry, financial lending institutions, insurance agencies, and other jurisdictions.

It is very important that you have good safety practices and record keeping in place. Without them, you will fail an audit and the repercussions of a failed audit and conditional (or worse) rating will harm your business. Don’t leave this vital part of your business to chance.

We hope this information on Facility Audits was helpful. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if we may be of further assistance to you in determining your company’s compliance with relevant highway safety regulations.