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Is your competent person truly competent?

Writer's picture: BUDDY LEE UNDERWOOD JR USN(RET) USDOLOSHA(RET)BUDDY LEE UNDERWOOD JR USN(RET) USDOLOSHA(RET)

Updated: Jul 16, 2020

The term "Competent Person" is used in many OSHA standards and documents. An OSHA "competent person" is defined as "one who is capable of identifying existing and predictable hazards in the surroundings or working conditions which are unsanitary, hazardous, or dangerous to employees, and who has authorization to take prompt corrective measures to eliminate them" [29 CFR 1926.32(f)]. By way of training and/or experience, a competent person is knowledgeable of applicable standards, is capable of identifying workplace hazards relating to the specific operation and has the authority to correct them.


Employers really need to understand this definition and when they are designating someone as a competent person, they need to take a long hard look at the person. The duties and responsibilities are far broader than the guy on the job site who knows how to dig a hole or re-roof a house. OSHA will use what your competent person says and does on the job site as knowledge to substantiate a hazard and a violation as well they will use your decision to call this person competent as knowledge.

When you designate or train someone as a competent person you are placing your trust in that person. The competent person has the safety of your employees at his/her grasp. It is imperative for the safety of your employees and the protection of valuable company assets that your vetting process not only include the pertinent industrial knowledge, but this person’s integrity has got to be vetted as well.

Too many times while I was with OSHA I heard the competent person say, “he was only going to be up there minute”, or “I did not recognize the shear wall of that trench as a hazard until it blew out” or “the scaffold was only out of plum and square on one end, it should not have collapsed”. These are not the statements of a competent person. These are things someone says that leads t believe they are either incompetents or dangerous.


I am reminded of the roofer that was in my office some years back. He was a crusty old hard-working man. His hands and the rest of his body underscored the signs of 45 years as a roofer. He is in my office angry because he was cited for no fall protection. His argument was he had been a roofer for 45 years and never had a serious accident. The reason he was not enforcing the use of fall protection was because he was in charge of the site and did not see the height at which they were working (8-ft) as a hazard. He had seen plenty of men fall from that height and not get hurt. I turned to the owner and ask why he had selected this man to be his competent person and his reply was “his experience”. Of course, my response was “how’s that working out for you”. Ironically, the sad part of this story was within one week of this meeting, the man was dead from a fall off a 5:12 pitch 8-foot roof.

If you are really concerned for the safety of your employees and safety of your company’s reputation or the assets of the company your vetting process must include:


Background Check: does this person carry the history of personal or professional integrity to do the right thing by the employees and does this person show any history of commitment to safety. This person’s resume or job application should be scrutinized can this person training be verified. During your vetting process ask thought provoking technical questions that pertain to the competency level of the position.

Training: the competent must have been trained and the training should include some type of testing in place to gauge how much information did they retain from the training

Experience: The competent person must have the practical experience to understand what they are doing, understand and recognize not only hazards but violations of standards as well.

Evaluation: Put them on a probationary status initially and evaluate their performance as it relates to their competency, then periodically throughout the year evaluate them again. Written evaluations of their job competency will force you to look closely at the people your placing your company’s future in.

Last step: Put them on notice in writing, tell them what your expectations are and what the consequences of violating your trust would result. Have them acknowledge that understand what your expectations are and they are aware of the consequences of non-compliance.


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