OSHA Terminology, Part 3, Authorized and Compliant

Sorry folks, a bit late on this one, and it is a little long.

Last time we looked at ‘Qualified’ and ‘Competent’. We found they are very different in meaning. That difference comes primarily from skill level. Qualified being less skilled than Competent. Be careful how you use these. As mentioned, they have very different meanings in both the OSHA world and from a legal standpoint.

In this final instalment, we will examine authorized and compliant.

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

Authorized - having official permission or approval.

Compliant - meeting or in accordance with rules or standards.

OSHA only authorizes two things. The Authorized Outreach Instructors, those individuals authorized to conduct the ten and thirty-hour OSHA courses and issue the corresponding cards, and the curriculum those instructors use to teach the classes.

Nothing else can be referred to as being OSHA authorized. This includes other training, equipment, personnel, policies, procedures, and so on. The employer can authorize an individual to hold a position, assume specific responsibilities, perform particular tasks, and so forth. The critical thing to remember here is that the employer is doing the authorizing, not OSHA.

Now let’s look at compliant. Compliant is the one word you do want to see in conjunction with training equipment, policies, procedures, and other things. Compliant means the item being referred to complies with all the requirements of the applicable OSHA standard.

When considering whether something is compliant, you may encounter what OSHA refers to as "Incorporated by Reference." In these cases, OSHA is referring to the specifications in a non-OSHA standard. The most common of these are the International Standards Organization, ISO, American National Standards Institute, ANSI, and the National Fire Prevention Association, NFPA. In this case, these standards carry the same force of law as the OSHA standards.

For example, let’s say you want to manufacture safety glasses. To be considered fully OSHA compliant, they would have to meet all the requirements of the OSHA standard 1910-131 and ANSI Z87.1. This is because ANSI standard Z87.1 has been “Incorporated by Reference” into 1910-131.

So ensure all your PPE and other items are fully compliant before purchasing and using them.

So there you have it—the four most commonly misunderstood and misused terms in the OSHA world. I hope you have found this series to be informative and helpful. I will be continuing to post other OSHA and safety-related subjects so check back often.

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Thank you

Richard R Williams

AGI Resource Group

agiresourcegroup.com

richard.w@agiresourcegroup.com