Fall Protection - Competent Person

By: Ryan Clayton

Working at elevated heights is easily seen and it doesn't take much for OSHA 
compliance officers to gain authorization to stop at your site where fall hazards might be present. The compliance officers will take the effort a step further, targeting scaffolding and roofing activities and ensuring that a "competent person" is on site and has taken the necessary steps to qualify for that title. OSHA defines a competent person 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".

So, what qualifies your employee to be given the title of competent person? First, this person needs to possess a significant amount of experience. Experience on safe job sites will serve as quality practice for your employee, and give them the means to 
recognize a safe site versus hazardous sites or situations. The quicker a problem or hazardous situation is recognized, the quicker it can be resolved. With enough quality experience, your employee will easily be able to recognize hazardous conditions.

With specific training, along with experience, the competent person should have the ability to identify existing and predictable hazards, and understand the necessary steps to correct them. Training is important for your competent person because it give them a chance to clear up any uncertainty. It is at this point that your employee is able to question anything he or she has learned on the job. Training also allows the employee to explain their knowledge, whether it is for new safety equipment or a new safety process. A competent person's training is crucial and should be refreshed annually.

The final quality that your site's competent person should possess is authority. Without the proper authority, this person will not be able to create change or direct work activities. For example, companies often deem new hires as safety monitors on roofs. This can be very dangerous because this person is new, and he or she might not have the right experience or training to recognize hazards or potential hazards that may arise. Also this person, even though he or she was given authority, may not feel comfortable speaking up when work needs to be stopped or changed. Your competent person must have enough authority to step up and stop work to create change.

Overall, OSHA seems to really be cracking down on Fall Protection Competent Persons for construction sites, because it is often unclear to employers what this entails, exactly. With education and authority, a competent person is valuable and necessary, and employers should know the correct ways in naming them. OSHA will continue to crack down on this as it continues to be a problem, so getting your site safety started off on the right foot is key.