Key points
- A common thread among the roles is an enhanced level of knowledge, training or education.
- For safety professionals, these roles offer an extended presence on a jobsite or during a task.
- Confusion comes about because some of the roles’ definitions overlap.
Competent. Qualified. Certified. Authorized. Designated.
When employers give these titles to workers to help manage jobsite risk, many things matter: technical expertise, supervisory authority and/or task-specific execution.
“It’s a big deal,” said Rachel Housman, founder of Ally Safety. “You need somebody with that experience and authority to say, ‘That trench is safe to enter’ and ‘These are the safety protocols we need to have to be able to stop work when it becomes unsafe.’
“This empowers the worker, and that’s what’s super important and valuable.”
However, these titles can cause confusion.
Which tasks (and industries) need which person present on a jobsite? What are the similarities and differences between each role?
‘They’re compliance driven’
For most of the titles, regulatory standards spell out the requirements.
“Some of them are kind of general,” said Pete Batrowny, senior safety consultant at SafeStart. “Some of them are specific to a task or a skill that you need to have. That’s one way to think about it. Some have to do with authority. Except for certified, all the other ones are regulatory driven. They’re compliance driven.”
Added Abby Ferri, director of NSC Networks at the National Safety Council: “The common thread is that they’ve had education beyond what they need to do the task, and it’s more specialized on how we are making this task safe.”
One of the most common questions? The difference between the definition of a competent person and a qualified person.
A competent person must meet two important criteria, according to OSHA:
- The person is “capable of identifying existing and predictable hazards in the surroundings or working conditions which are unsanitary, hazardous or dangerous hazards to employees.”
- The person has the “authorization to take prompt corrective measures to eliminate them.”
OSHA says a qualified person, meanwhile, has a recognized degree, certificate or professional standing and can solve or resolve problems on a worksite via complex calculations or system designs.
All at the same time?
It’s possible that a jobsite will require more than one role.
For example, when cranes are onsite, “you’ll have your whole card full for the different types of persons,” said Ferri, who added that these roles are vital for safety during high-risk situations, such as scaffolding use, engaging in trenching and excavation, and during confined space entry.
“In a lot of these workplaces, something serious could happen,” she continued. “Being able to have critical controls in place and making sure you have verified those critical controls affects a lot of different industries.”
Ferri, whose career began in construction, said a transient workforce in the industry calls for employers and safety professionals to ensure workers have the necessary credentials to meet these roles.
Even if a worker has a crane certification from a previous employer, their new job could have a different brand or style of crane, so new certification is needed.
“What they’re coming to you with will depend on how much evaluation you’re going to do of that person’s skills or competence,” she said.
Choosing the right person is another important process. Housman said assessing each person’s level of skill and competence can help.
“On a construction site, I may have five guys working in a trench and I know them all,” she said. “Maybe they don’t have competent and qualified roles assigned yet. Visualize this as someone you know.”
Or, for those who need to have eyes and ears in multiple locations, think of it as a safety network.
At one of her early jobs, Ferri said she was the only safety person for 250-plus employees on jobsites in multiple states. “You can’t get to all those jobs at all times when the most hairy work is happening,” Ferri said. “It’s building that network of what I would call ‘safety influencers.’”
Cutting through confusion
With multiple roles on a worksite, there can be plenty of questions.
“The confusion is they’re similar and there is overlap,” Housman pointed out. “So, where are the differentiators? Focusing on the differentiators can be very helpful.”
Understanding what a worker can and can’t do in a role is essential.
“That contrast is what helps us piece it apart better,” she said. “What I find when talking to people is this person can do this, and this person can’t do that.”
Batrowny added: “The confusion comes from what do you actually need to do to be designated for that role. Some are bestowed upon you after training and experience.”
At the end of the day, Housman said, it comes down to this: “Who is the most competent and can make those decisions with authority, and who’s qualified?
“Once we can humanize these things, and apply it to something real world, then it makes sense.”
What’s in a Title?
Workers may be designated with one of several safety titles to help ensure a safe workplace based on several factors, including expertise and experience. Here’s a look at how OSHA defines the titles, what regulations the titles are found in and examples of the roles.
COMPETENT PERSON
What it means: Under 1926.32(f), OSHA defines a competent person as someone who’s “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.”
Where it’s found: The term is widely used in various regulatory standards, including those from OSHA for construction (1926, in 19 subparts), general industry (1910, in subparts F, H, N and R), maritime (1915, 1917 and 1918), confined spaces (1926.32), trenching (1926.651(k)(2)), excavation (1926.651(h)(2)) and scaffolding (1926.451(f)(7), as well as in American National Standards Institute Z359.0 (fall protection) and International Organization for Standardization 45001.
Examples: Abby Ferri, director of NSC Networks at the National Safety Council, said that “a competent person has to inspect the trench before workers get into it every day. They have to know the soil type and what protections we have in place. Is it shoring? Is it a shield?”
The employer, according to the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service, should determine if that person has the appropriate training and experience in performing the task or tasks using tools and equipment “involved in the conditions on the jobsite,” along with the capability to identify hazards. The employer should also give this person stop-work authority to ensure hazards are fixed.
QUALIFIED PERSON
What it means: OSHA defines a qualified person as someone who, “by possession of a recognized degree, certificate or professional standing, or who by extensive knowledge, training and experience, has successfully demonstrated [the] ability to solve or resolve problems relating to the subject matter, the work or the project.”
Where it’s found: OSHA 1910.332 and 1926.32 and National Fire Protection Association 70E
Examples: A qualified person can be a certified electrician or plumber, said Richard Fairfax, a former deputy assistant secretary of labor for OSHA.
AUTHORIZED PERSON
What it means: “A person approved or assigned by the employer to perform a specific type of duty or duties or to be at a specific location or locations at the jobsite,” OSHA says. An added wrinkle is that an authorized person can become so when their duties expand to include performing service or maintenance, according to a 2004 OSHA letter of interpretation. Regarding confined spaces, OSHA defines the role of “authorized entrant.”
Where it’s found: OSHA 1926.32(d), 1910.147(b), 1910.211(d)(63), 1910.146(b) and ANSI Z359.0
Examples: A person who locks out or tags out machines or equipment to perform servicing or maintenance on that machine or equipment.
DESIGNATED PERSON
What it means: Under 1926.32, OSHA says that a designated person is the same as an authorized person. This person is someone who’s “approved or assigned by the employer to perform a specific type of duty or duties or to be at a specific location or locations at the jobsite.” The American Society of Mechanical Engineers defines this role as “a person selected or assigned by the employer or the employer’s representatives as being competent to perform specific duties.”
Where it’s found: OSHA 1910.179 and 1926.32 and American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ B30.2
Examples: A worker who monitors others when in a trench to ensure their safety.
CERTIFIED PERSON
What it means: Although OSHA doesn’t define the role in any of its standards, it denotes certification in a specific aspect of a worker’s job.
Examples: Safety pros, crane operators and industrial hygienists
