OSHA Requirements for a Competent Person at Construction Sites with Confined Spaces
Federal OSHA confined space standards for construction (1926 Subpart AA) require all employers have a designated Competent Person evaluate all confined spaces in which one or more of the employees it directs (including but not limited to their full time employees, part-time employees, temporary service employees . . .) may perform work, to identify each and every space that is a permit-required confined space. This determination must be made through the Competent Person’s consideration and evaluation of the characteristics of each confined space, including testing of the atmosphere if and when necessary.
Duties of a Competent Person for Confined Spaces
Generally speaking, federal OSHA defines a Competent Person as someone designated by the employer who has training and experience necessary to allow them to identify health and safety hazards at the worksite that can affect their workers, and who has the authority to take corrective measures to eliminate those hazards before workers are exposed.
Various OSHA standards have a Competent Person requirement, including the OSHA confined spaces in construction standard. In the context of this standard, the designated Competent Person at a construction site with confined spaces must have training needed to fulfill the following duties:
- Identify each confined space at the site where their employees may work.
- Evaluate those spaces to determine if they are permit-required confined spaces, or non-permit required confined spaces.
- Re-evaluate any non-permit space again if the configuration of a space change, or if there are new potential hazards introduced into the work operations.
The Competent Person may also be designated by their employer to fulfill the role of the designated Entry Supervisor to oversee entry operations. Or, they may be called upon to be a confined space entrant or attendant. In those cases, the Competent Person will need additional training, which is provided in our on site class or online courses, to fulfill those duties.
On Site Confined Space Training for the Competent Person
Have a highly qualified instructor conduct an on site confined space training for the Competent Person class for your group. The confined space training is based on the requirements of OSHA 1926 Subpart AA confined spaces for construction standards. This training service is available to all employers located anywhere in the United States and territories.
Online Confined Space Training Courses
For individual students and those in a hurry, we offer the option to take our comprehensive online Confined Space Training for the Competent Person course. This online course also covers training for an entry supervisor, entrant, and attendant. That means you can actually perform the duties of a Competent Person if designated by the employer, and also be the designated Entry Supervisor during entry operations, as well as a confined space entrant or attendant.
Sign up one student for this online course, or use our free Learner Management System (LMS) to purchase multiple courses, assign them to students, and track their progress. Course instantly available upon registration. Students can train at their own pace, logging in and out at any time, even from different computers / devices. Print your personalized training certification for confined space competent person upon successful completion of your course.
ON-SITE CONFINED SPACE TRAINING FOR THE COMPETENT PERSON
- Training class conducted for a group at your site
- Class based on the Federal OSHA 1926 standard for confined space entry at construction sites
- Training covers duties of the competent person and the entry supervisor (also covers entrant and attendant training)
ONLINE CONFINED SPACE TRAINING COURSE FOR THE COMPETENT PERSON
- The online confined space entry training course for the Competent Person and the Entry Supervisor is based on Federal OSHA 1926 Subpart AA construction standards
- Log in and out, train at your own pace.
- Print your confined space training certification when finished
Important Information About Confined Space Competent Person Certification
Do not pay attention to advertisements claiming that taking their training course makes you “OSHA certified” to be a competent person for confined space entry operations, or that you have will receive your “OSHA certification”.
OSHA does not “certify” any person to be a competent person for confined spaces at a construction site, and neither can we (or anyone other than the employer). That responsibility lies solely with the employer, after careful consideration of the competent person’s experience with, and training about, permit-required confined space in a construction environment.
We do provide students of our on site and online training with personalized certificates that certify that a training confined space training course for the designated Competent Person was successfully completed.