How can an employer determine who qualifies as a “competent person” under the standard? Does an employee have to take a particular training class to meet the definition of a competent person under the standard?

The standard does not specify particular training requirements for competent persons. Instead, it defines a competent person in terms of capability, i.e., whether a designated competent person has the knowledge and ability to perform the duties prescribed by the standard. The employer must also give the competent person the authority to perform those duties. See 29 CFR 1926.1153(b).

To determine whether a given employee has the appropriate knowledge and ability to perform the duties of the competent person, an employer needs to confirm that the employee is capable of:

1. Identifying existing and foreseeable silica hazards; and
2. Promptly eliminating or minimizing those hazards.

See 29 CFR 1926.1153(b). In addition, the employee must be capable of making frequent and regular inspections of job sites, materials, and equipment for purposes of implementing the written exposure control plan, to ensure that the engineering controls, work practice controls, required respiratory protection, housekeeping measures, and procedures to restrict access in the workplace are implemented for the silica-generating tasks listed in the plan. See 29 CFR 1926.1153(g)(1)(i)-(iv), (g)(4).

A person with these capabilities (whether acquired through training, education, work experience, or otherwise), who is authorized by the employer to perform the duties of a competent person, qualifies as a competent person under the standard.