In 18 Subparts of OSHA’s 1926 construction standard and six in the 1910 general industry standards, the agency references operations requiring a “competent person.”

It is therefore not surprising that one of OSHA’s Top Ten citations to the construction industry is the failure to provide a competent person. Citations given on this basis are usually the result of the company not knowing the nature and extent of a competent person’s responsibilities and/or that a specific task requires one.

For many years, NUCA — with the help of instructors, companies and organizations across the country — has offered a training program designed to educate the competent person for excavation. However, this is not the only activity/task at a jobsite that requires a competent person. (See sidebar on the next page for other examples.) Competent persons must be designated based on their knowledge of the relevant OSHA regulation, as well as on their training and experience.

For example, OSHA’s respiratory protection standard (1926.103) requires every respirator wearer to be trained by a competent person for respiratory protection.

OSHA defines a competent person in 29 CFR 1926.32(f) as someone “who is capable of identifying existing and predictable hazards in surroundings or working conditions that are unsanitary, hazardous or dangerous to employees, and who has authorization to take prompt corrective measures.” In brief, the competent person needs specific knowledge based on training and experience and the authority and willingness to act.

Who should be assigned as the competent person?

The competent person can be a project manager, superintendent, foreman, supervisor, equipment operator or even a worker, as long as he or she knows the applicable regulations and hazards associated with the type of work or activity that he or she is overseeing and has the authority to stop the work and take corrective action when necessary. For example, a competent person assigned to oversee a trenching operation should not allow workers to enter a trench more than 5 ft deep (4 ft deep in some states) until a protective system is in place.

A single individual can be considered a competent person in more than one area. For example, the foreman of a pipe laying crew might be qualified to act as a competent person with regard to both excavation and the slings/rigging used for handling pipe. The key point is that the foreman must be knowledgeable about the requirements set forth in both standards.

While training is crucial, it is not the end of the road. For most people, it is only the first step in becoming a competent person. Experience and common sense also play a role. What training programs like NUCA’s Excavation Safety and Competent Person training program are designed to do is help employees understand OSHA’s Excavation Standard–Subpart P, recognize existing and predictable hazards and learn how to eliminate or control those hazards. In addition to task-specific training, employees responsible for managing jobsites should also attend an OSHA 10-hour construction outreach training program, which will help ensure that managers have a basic understanding of the OSHA regulations and know how to find the competent person requirements and regulations applicable to the work that will be performed at the jobsite.

A contractor can be cited by OSHA anytime he or she has not designated a competent person to perform the tasks that are prescribed by a specific standard. To prevent this from happening and to comply with the OSHA standards, be sure you are aware of all the standards that include competent person requirements.

If your company is in charge of a jobsite, a competent person should be assigned to oversee operations and verify that the safety program is being implemented. If necessary, the responsibilities can be spread around. Your foreman could be the competent person responsible for the trench, your crane operator could be the competent person responsible for inspecting the crane, slings and rigging and the safety director could be the competent person for respiratory protection.

Compliance with the OSHA rules and regulations is an absolute necessity. For example, if a compliance officer visits a jobsite that has an open excavation, he or she will undoubtedly ask who the designated competent person is. As long as the person you designated is well-trained and otherwise well-qualified as a competent person for what he or she is expected to oversee, your company should be in compliance. However, if there are compliance issues — e.g., no protective system in use — OSHA will say that the competent person is not competent and a citation is likely to follow.

As you can see, designating a competent person is perhaps not as easy as you thought. You must be as sure as you can that he or she is knowledgeable about the applicable standards, the hazards associated with the task being overseen and the means of eliminating or controlling those hazards. Your role is to make sure that those you have designated understand why you have assigned them and what you expect them to do. They must also know that they have your full authority to take corrective action when a hazard is identified. Support them completely because they are the key to compliance and preventing accidents.

George Kennedy is NUCA Vice President of Safety.