10.6 Competent and Qualified Persons, Procedures, and Communication

Roles, Procedures, and Communication Channels

Many safety programs rely on specific roles such as competent person, qualified person, authorized employee, affected employee, attendant, entrant, operator, spotter, signal person, or emergency coordinator. The exact definition depends on the program and jurisdiction, but the ASP concept is stable: role titles should match knowledge, skill, experience, authority, and verified ability for the task.

A competent person is commonly expected to recognize hazards and have authority to take prompt corrective action within the assigned scope. A qualified person is commonly expected to have specialized knowledge, training, education, or experience to solve or design within a technical area. Do not treat the terms as interchangeable labels. Ask what the role must decide, what authority it has, and how the organization verifies readiness.

Policies and procedures serve different purposes. A policy states what the organization expects and why. A procedure explains how to perform a task or control a hazard. A good procedure is accurate, current, readable, available at the point of use, and aligned with real work. It should include scope, roles, required controls, step sequence, hold points, limits, emergency actions, and records.

Procedures should be managed through document control. Workers need the current version, and obsolete versions should be removed from normal use. Changes should be reviewed with affected workers and supervisors before implementation. If workers routinely ignore a procedure, investigate whether the procedure is wrong, impractical, poorly trained, or weakly enforced.

Internal communication includes pre-job briefings, shift handoffs, permits, signs, labels, alarms, dashboards, incident alerts, safety meetings, corrective-action updates, and management messages. The message should fit the risk. A chemical release, crane lift, confined-space entry, contractor mobilization, or severe weather event needs timely and targeted communication, not a delayed general memo.

External communication requires discipline. Contractors need site hazards, emergency procedures, access rules, coordination points, and changes that affect their work. Emergency responders need accurate preincident information and clear contact routes. Regulators, customers, and neighbors may need authorized and factual communication. Speculation can damage trust and create confusion.

ASP scenarios often test escalation. When a worker finds a procedure conflict, unexpected hazard, or role uncertainty, the best answer is to stop or pause affected work if needed, contact the responsible supervisor or competent person, clarify the procedure, communicate to affected parties, and document the change. Quiet improvisation is risky when the task has serious consequences.