In this blog, we will delve into ISO 45001's Clause 7.2, which focuses on Competence. Our goal is to simplify this aspect of the standard, ensuring that you gain a comprehensive understanding. By the conclusion, you will be equipped with the knowledge to enhance the proficiency and safety of your team.
Let’s take a look at what Clause 7.2 wants us to do. First off, the clause states that...
The organization shall:
a)determine the necessary competence of workers that affects or can affect its OH&S performance;
b)ensure that workers are competent (including the ability to identify hazards) on the basis of appropriate education, training or experience;
That’s right - it’s up to the organization to figure out what competence requirements are needed for the different roles relevant to the environmental management system.
You normally see what these competence requirements are by being documented in Position Descriptions or Job Descriptions. They could also be included in a training matrix or register. These requirements should be based on appropriate education or training requirements which could be licenses, tickets, certifications, or certificate level training through to degree level. These could also include on-the-job training requirements. These will be determined by legal requirements (which you’ll identify as part of clause 6.1.3), industry requirements, and your own business requirements.
As well as education and training there may also be experience requirements that could be what the person comes to you with OR it could mean that there is an element of on-the-job training to be completed before they are marked off as competent. The unique requirement for OH&S with regards to competence is that this competence INCLUDES hazard identification as well as anything else determined by the organization as a requirement.
Then the next section states that...
c) where applicable, take actions to acquire and maintain the necessary competence, and evaluate the effectiveness of the actions taken;
The NOTE at the end of this clause actually states that...
Applicable actions can include, for example, the provision of training to, the mentoring of, or the re-assignment of currently employed persons; or the hiring or contracting of competent persons.
So, now that you have established the competence requirements, whether it be by education, training, or experience individually or altogether, you can still consider taking on board people to the business with some shortfalls to the competence requirements, however you need to make sure that actions are taken to complete training, further study or on-the-job training or experience in tasks – which could also include mentoring from another person in the business.
Then the final section of this clause states...
d) retain appropriate documented information as evidence of competence.
So, for any competence requirements that have been determined, you need to ensure that you have evidence that they have been achieved. Therefore if you say that a Diploma or a licence, or both are required for a particular job, ensure that you have collected and saved the documentation to prove that this has been met. If you also state that on-the-job training is required, ensure that there is a record of this as well.
To summarise these clause requirements an organization needs to:
- Figure out what competence requirements are needed – base this on legal and industry education and training requirements as well as on-the-job.
- Make sure that these competence requirements are met, even if the organization has to support some actions to make sure they are achieved.
- Retain evidence that these competence requirements HAVE been met by keeping a record of training completed, certificates gained, licenses, as well as on-the-job training records.
Now that you have a better understanding of these requirements, it's time to take action and implement them in your own organization and ISO 45001 OH&S management systems.
If you'd like to learn more about ISO 45001, why not take a look at our other articles on the topic, starting with What is ISO 45001 and OHS Management Systems?
If you prefer watching over reading, head to our ATOLTV ISO 45001 playlist on YouTube, either way, be sure to check out our range of ISO 45001 OH&S management systems courses and qualifications today.
