OSHA Terminology, Part 2, Qualified and Competent.

Welcome back to our discussion of OSHA terminology.

Last time we discussed ‘Certified’ and found that OSHA does not certify anything, nor does it have the legal authority to certify anything.

Now we will look at ‘Qualified’ and ‘Competent’. I am covering these together because they are so closely related yet different enough not to be interchangeable.

Let’s start by looking at their Oxford Dictionary definitions:

Qualified - officially recognized as being trained to perform a particular job.

Competent - having the necessary ability, knowledge, and skill to do something successfully.

As you can see, they are very similar yet also very different. You could be qualified (Trained) but not necessarily competent. However, being competent without first being qualified would be rare. It is possible, as in the case of an individual who is solely self-taught with no formal training. Some of the best craftsmen fall into this category.

So how does this relate to the world of OSHA? When the term qualified is used in an OSHA standard, it indicates that the individual simply needs to be trained. This training and what it consisted of needs to be documented. Remember what I said last time, ‘If it is not documented, it never happened’? That is always the case.

Competent, on the other hand, indicates that the individual is not only trained but also skilled at the task or process. Again, the training and the means of determining competency must be documented. Self-taught does not apply here. Training is still required regardless of an individual’s capabilities.

It may seem like we are splitting linguistic hairs here, but the two terms exist for a reason; they indicate very different skill levels. So, while navigating the quagmire of the OSHA standards, keep the differences between these two terms clearly in mind. Ensure that you fulfill and document all the requirements of each.

A qualified individual may not always be competent, but a competent individual, if trained, is always qualified.