How to Complete a Workplace First Aid Assessment

Last updated: March 2026

A WorkSafeBC inspector asks to see your first aid assessment. You pause. You didn't know you needed one in writing. You figured having a first aid kit and someone with a certificate was the assessment. It's not, and that gap just became the most expensive thing you skipped.

At Safety Evolution, we walk contractors through this process during our free safety assessments. The first aid assessment is one of the simplest documents in your safety program, but it's also one of the most commonly missing. Here's exactly how to do it in both BC and Alberta.

A workplace first aid assessment is a written evaluation that employers must complete to determine the type and level of first aid services required at their workplace. The assessment uses objective inputs: how many workers are on shift, what hazards they face, and how far you are from emergency medical services. The output tells you exactly what attendant certifications, kit types, and procedures you need. It is not optional. It is the legal foundation of your entire first aid program.

For the full picture of employer first aid obligations, see our workplace first aid requirements guide.

Why Do Most Contractors Skip This Step?

Most contractors think they already know what first aid they need. They have a guy with a certificate and a kit in the truck. What's to assess?

Here's what they're getting wrong: the assessment isn't about confirming what you already have. It's about proving that what you have matches what the regulations require for your specific situation. The number of workers, the type of work, and the distance from a hospital all change the answer. A 5-person crew doing commercial renovation in Edmonton has different requirements than a 30-person crew doing pipeline work near Slave Lake.

Without a written assessment, you can't prove your first aid program is adequate. During a COR audit, the auditor asks for your assessment document. During an OHS inspection, the officer asks for it. After an incident, the investigation team reviews it. If it doesn't exist, you fail all three.

A 20-person concrete sub in the Okanagan got cited for this during a routine WorkSafeBC visit. They had two OFA Level 1 attendants, which was actually the right number for their crew size. But they couldn't produce a written assessment documenting how they determined that. The citation wasn't for having the wrong coverage; it was for not having the documentation to prove their coverage was intentional. That's the part that stings.

How to Complete the Assessment in BC

In BC, employers must complete a written first aid assessment per OHS Regulation s.3.16. WorkSafeBC provides a standardized worksheet. Here are the steps:

Step 1: Count Workers Per Shift

Count the maximum number of workers physically present at your workplace during any single shift. This is per location, not per company. If you have workers at three different sites, each site gets its own assessment.

Step 2: Determine Your Hazard Rating

WorkSafeBC assigns a hazard rating to your classification unit. Find your rating on the classification unit description sent to you annually, or look it up through WorkSafeBC's online tools. Construction classification units typically carry higher hazard ratings.

If workers will perform work at a separate location that poses greater risk than your assigned rating, you may need to use a higher hazard rating for that location. See OHS Guideline G3.16 for details.

Step 3: Assess Accessibility

Determine whether a BC Emergency Health Services ambulance would normally take more than 30 minutes to reach your workplace. If yes, your workplace is classified as "less accessible," which triggers higher first aid coverage requirements.

For construction sites that change location regularly, you need to reassess accessibility each time you move to a new site.

Step 4: Consult Schedule 3-A

With your worker count, hazard rating, and accessibility status, look up Schedule 3-A of the OHS Regulation. It tells you the minimum required:

• First aid attendant certification level (Basic, Intermediate, or Advanced)
• Number of attendants per shift
• First aid kit type
• Equipment and facilities (e.g., first aid room, transportation vehicle)

Step 5: Involve Your JHSC or Worker Representative

Your joint health and safety committee or worker representative must participate in the assessment process. Document their involvement. If you don't have a JHSC (required at 20+ workers in BC), your worker health and safety representative fills this role.

Step 6: Document and File

Complete the written assessment and keep it accessible for inspection. WorkSafeBC's first aid assessment worksheet is the standard format. Store it with your safety program documentation.

How to Complete the Assessment in Alberta

Alberta's process uses a different structure but follows the same logic. The OHS Code Part 11 and Schedule 2 govern first aid requirements.

Step 1: Classify Your Hazard Level

Alberta uses three categories: low, medium, and high hazard. Construction and demolition are always classified as high hazard in OHS Code Schedule 2. Check the schedule for your specific work type if you're unsure.

Step 2: Determine Your Worksite Distance Category

Measure travel time from your worksite to the nearest hospital or medical facility under normal conditions:

• Close: Up to 20 minutes
• Distant: 20 to 40 minutes
• Isolated: More than 40 minutes

Use worst-case travel conditions (winter roads, not summer highway driving).

Step 3: Count Workers Per Shift

Count the maximum number of workers present during any single shift at that worksite.

Step 4: Consult Schedule 2

Schedule 2 contains three tables (one per hazard level). Find the row matching your worker count and the column matching your distance category. The cell tells you the minimum number of first aiders, their required certification level, and the kit type needed.

Step 5: Document Your Assessment

Write down your findings: the hazard classification, distance category, worker count, and the resulting requirements from Schedule 2. While Alberta doesn't provide a standardized worksheet like BC, the documentation must demonstrate how you determined your requirements.

For detailed Alberta requirements and Schedule 2 breakdowns, see our Alberta first aid requirements guide.

When Must the Assessment Be Reviewed?

Both BC and Alberta require the assessment to be reviewed when significant changes occur. In BC, the regulation specifies annual review or when operations change significantly.

Triggers for reassessment include:

• New worksite: Different location means different distance to medical services
• Crew size change: Adding or losing workers can change your requirements
• Work type change: Taking on a new type of project may change your hazard level
• New shift pattern: Adding a night shift means you need first aiders on that shift too
• Seasonal access changes: A site that's 20 minutes from the hospital in summer might be 45 minutes in winter

For construction contractors who move between sites regularly, this means your assessment isn't a one-time exercise. Every significant project move should trigger at least a quick review of the three inputs: worker count, hazard level, and distance to hospital.

Set a calendar reminder for your annual review. Many contractors we work with bundle the first aid assessment review with their annual safety program review and COR maintenance activities.

How to Document Your Assessment Findings

The assessment itself is only useful if the documentation is clear enough for someone else to understand your reasoning. An inspector, auditor, or new safety coordinator should be able to pick up your assessment document and immediately see what you determined and why.

Every completed first aid assessment should include these elements:

• Date of the assessment and the date of the next scheduled review
• Worksite address or location description specific enough to identify the exact site (GPS coordinates for remote locations)
• Maximum worker count per shift with a note on whether this fluctuates seasonally or by project phase
• Hazard classification with the regulation reference that supports it (e.g., "High hazard per OHS Code Schedule 2: construction")
• Distance to nearest hospital or medical facility, including the facility name, address, and estimated travel time under normal and adverse conditions
• Resulting requirements from the applicable schedule or table: attendant certification level, number of attendants, kit type and size, and any additional equipment
• Names of participating workers (JHSC members or worker rep in BC) with the date of their involvement
• Signature of the employer or employer representative confirming the assessment is complete and accurate

Keep the document straightforward. A single page is usually enough for a standard worksite. For multi-phase projects where conditions change (e.g., excavation phase vs. structural phase), document the highest-requirement phase and note when conditions will change.

Store a copy at the worksite where it can be produced within minutes if requested. Keep a backup copy at your main office or in your digital safety management system. If you use Safety Evolution's done-for-you safety services, your assessment is stored digitally and updated as part of your ongoing program management.

How Often Should You Review and Update the Assessment?

The minimum review frequency is annual in both BC and Alberta, but annual reviews are the floor, not the ceiling. Construction contractors should treat the assessment as a living document that gets revisited whenever conditions shift.

Here is a practical review schedule that works for most contractors:

• Annual formal review: Once per year, pull out the assessment and verify all three inputs (worker count, hazard level, distance to medical services) still reflect your current operations. Update the document date, confirm attendant certificates are current, and check kit contents. Bundle this with your annual safety program review and COR maintenance activities.
• Project mobilization review: Every time you move to a new job site, check the distance to the nearest hospital. If your accessibility or distance category changes, update the assessment before work begins. This takes five minutes with a map and a phone call to the local EMS dispatch for estimated response times.
• Crew size threshold review: When your crew grows past a Schedule threshold (e.g., from 9 to 10 workers in Alberta high hazard), your requirements change. Track your headcount against the thresholds relevant to your hazard and distance categories.
• Post-incident review: After any significant first aid incident, review whether your assessment accurately reflected the conditions that led to the injury. If the incident exposed a gap (e.g., the attendant was on break and no backup was designated), update procedures accordingly.

Document every review, even if nothing changed. A one-line note saying "Reviewed March 2026, no changes required" proves the review happened. Undocumented reviews are the same as no review at all from an audit perspective.

What Happens If You Don't Have One?

The assessment is a regulatory requirement, not a suggestion. Without one:

• Inspectors will cite you. Whether it's WorkSafeBC or Alberta OHS, the assessment document is one of the first things an officer checks during a workplace inspection.
• COR audits will flag it. Your COR audit checklist includes first aid documentation. A missing assessment is an easy deduction.
• Incident investigations get complicated. If a worker is injured and you can't demonstrate that your first aid coverage was adequate and assessed, you're exposed to additional liability.
• You might have the wrong coverage. Without an assessment, you're guessing. You might be over-spending on first aid training you don't need, or dangerously under-covered for your actual risk level.

The blunt truth: the assessment itself takes 20 minutes to complete once you know the process. It's not the documentation that's hard; it's knowing you need to do it in the first place. Now you know.

How to Make the Assessment Part of Your System

The assessment shouldn't be a standalone document that lives in a drawer. Integrate it into your safety management system:

1. Link it to your first aid records. Your assessment determines what records you need. Your records validate that you're following the assessment.
2. Include it in your worker orientation. New workers should know the first aid plan, who the attendants are, and where the kits are located.
3. Review it during toolbox talks. A quick annual refresher using your toolbox talk topics keeps first aid awareness current.
4. Connect it to your incident reporting process. When a first aid incident occurs, the assessment provides context for the investigation.

If building this into a larger safety program feels overwhelming, that's what we do. Safety Evolution manages the entire program as your done-for-you safety department, including first aid assessments, attendant tracking, and kit inspections.