CSA Z1003
CSA Z1003 training: the skills the Standard expects
CAN/CSA-Z1003-13/BNQ 9700-803 is the National Standard of Canada for psychological health and safety in the workplace. Bedrock Minds is mapped to every one of its normative clauses.
The Standard
A voluntary framework, not a law.
The Standard was launched in January 2013. The Mental Health Commission of Canada commissioned it and describes it as a set of voluntary guidelines. It was published by CSA Group and BNQ.
It takes a management system approach: like a physical safety program, it treats psychological hazards as things an organization can identify, assess and control, and keep improving on.
A second edition, CSA/ASC Z1003:26, is listed by the Mental Health Commission as coming soon. Bedrock Minds is mapped to the 2013 edition, and we will review the mapping when the new edition is published.
The 13 workplace factors
Thirteen things in how work is organized that affect mental health.
Researchers at Simon Fraser University identified twelve of these psychosocial factors; the Standard added the thirteenth, protection of physical safety. The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety lists the same thirteen.
- Organizational culture
- Psychological and social support
- Clear leadership and expectations
- Civility and respect
- Psychological competencies and demands
- Growth and development
- Recognition and reward
- Involvement and influence
- Workload management
- Engagement
- Balance
- Psychological protection
- Protection of physical safety
Every Bedrock Minds learner covers the 13 factors online. Champions go further: finding which ones are hazards in your workplace, rating them, and planning controls.
How the course maps
Training that feeds your program.
Competencies for everyone
Skills to prevent harm, promote health and address incidents, practised and scored on the practical day.
Higher expectations for leaders
Delivered through the Champion stream, which ends in a written 90-day plan.
Critical event preparedness
Crisis scenarios and a tabletop exercise on a critical event at work.
Confidential hazard reporting
Close the loop, the fourth step of the 4C Pathway, builds de-identified hazard reporting into everyday conversations.
A shared language
The four zones give staff and leaders one way to describe how a person or a team is doing.
Evidence of training
Each learner receives a certificate of completion, valid for three years from the practical day.
Be clear about this
What training can and can’t do.
No training makes an organization conform to CSA Z1003 on its own. The Standard is voluntary, and conformance depends on your whole program: leadership commitment, hazard identification, policies, measurement and review.
What a course can do is build the competencies the Standard expects and give the people who run your program the tools to plan. The Bedrock Minds certificate of completion is not an accredited credential, and the course is not endorsed, sponsored or reviewed by CSA Group, BNQ or the Mental Health Commission of Canada.
Want the legal picture as well? Read what Ontario law requires of employers.
Guides on this topic
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A psychosocial hazard assessment: the first step for any employer
A psychosocial hazard assessment finds the parts of how work is organized and led that can harm mental health, then rates and controls them. Here is a seven-step method based…
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The cost of psychological harm at work in Canada: numbers to bring to leadership
National estimates, recent Statistics Canada data and Ontario WSIB trends on the cost of mental health at work, plus a step-by-step way to build a business case from your own…
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CSA Z1003 explained: what the Standard asks, what’s voluntary, and what’s changing
A plain-language walk through CSA Z1003, Canada’s voluntary standard for psychological health and safety at work: what it asks of employers, what is optional, and what the coming second edition…
Build your team’s footing.
Tell us how many people you want to train, which streams, and where your workplace is. We reply within one business day with a quote and available dates.