Who can conduct fall protection training under OSHA?

For construction covered by Subpart M, 29 CFR 1926.503(a)(2) requires that each employee be trained by a competent person qualified in the eight areas the rule lists, and 1926.503(b) requires a written certification record. In general industry, 29 CFR 1910.30(a)(2) requires training by a qualified person, as 1910.21(b) defines one, and asks for no certificate. The rule that applies follows the work each employee does, and the employer judges who meets it.

A maintenance crew inspects rooftop exhaust fans at a paper mill, using personal fall protection near the roof edge. Later, the employer assigns the crew to install guardrails around a new concrete roof opening during a construction project. The employees use similar equipment on both jobs, but the applicable training rule follows the work.

The maintenance inspections fall under general industry, where 1910.30 calls for a qualified trainer. The construction task in this example falls under Subpart M, where 1926.503(a)(2) calls for a competent person qualified in the listed subjects and paragraph (b) requires a written certification record. Steel erection follows a separate rule: 1926.500(a)(4) excludes it from 1926.503, and 1926.761(a)-(b) requires training by qualified persons.

Who can conduct fall protection training in construction?

Construction fall protection is Subpart M of 29 CFR Part 1926, and its training section is 1926.503. Paragraph (a)(1) sets up the program: "The employer shall provide a training program for each employee who might be exposed to fall hazards." Paragraph (a)(2) names the trainer:

The employer shall assure that each employee has been trained, as necessary, by a competent person qualified in the following areas: (29 CFR 1926.503(a)(2))

The eight areas, as the rule lists them:

• (i) The nature of fall hazards in the work area
• (ii) The correct procedures for erecting, maintaining, disassembling, and inspecting the fall protection systems to be used
• (iii) The use and operation of guardrail systems, personal fall arrest systems, safety net systems, warning line systems, safety monitoring systems, controlled access zones, and other protection to be used
• (iv) The role of each employee in the safety monitoring system when this system is used
• (v) The limitations on the use of mechanical equipment during the performance of roofing work on low-sloped roofs
• (vi) The correct procedures for the handling and storage of equipment and materials and the erection of overhead protection
• (vii) The role of employees in fall protection plans
• (viii) The standards contained in this subpart

Two tests sit in that one sentence. The trainer is a competent person, and the trainer is qualified in the areas listed. Competent person is defined in 29 CFR 1926.32(f):

Competent person means one who is capable of identifying existing and predictable hazards in the surroundings or working conditions which are unsanitary, hazardous, or dangerous to employees, and who has authorization to take prompt corrective measures to eliminate them. (29 CFR 1926.32(f))

Qualified is defined in 1926.32(m). A trainer who meets the 1926.32(f) definition passes the first test. The second is about subjects, and several of them point at the job itself: area (i) speaks of "the work area" and area (ii) of "the fall protection systems to be used."

Nothing in 1926.503(a)(2) says the trainer has to be on your payroll, and paragraph (b)(1) covers the employer who relies on training "conducted by another employer." For the rest of Subpart M, from guardrails to personal fall arrest, see the construction fall protection guide.

Who can conduct fall protection training in general industry?

General industry's rule is 29 CFR 1910.30, in Subpart D of Part 1910, the walking-working surfaces subpart. OSHA published the final rule revising Subparts D and I on November 18, 2016, and it took effect January 17, 2017. Paragraph (a)(1) requires training "Before any employee is exposed to a fall hazard," for "each employee who uses personal fall protection systems or who is required to be trained as specified elsewhere in this subpart," and it set May 17, 2017 as the date by which employees had to be trained. The trainer rule is paragraph (a)(2), one sentence:

The employer must ensure that each employee is trained by a qualified person. (29 CFR 1910.30(a)(2))

Qualified is defined in 1910.21(b):

Qualified describes a person who, by possession of a recognized degree, certificate, or professional standing, or who by extensive knowledge, training, and experience has successfully demonstrated the ability to solve or resolve problems relating to the subject matter, the work, or the project. (29 CFR 1910.21(b))

The word competent appears nowhere in Subpart D, sections 1910.21 to 1910.30. Paragraph (a)(3) of 1910.30 lists the minimum topics: the nature of the fall hazards in the work area and how to recognize them, the procedures to minimize those hazards, the correct procedures for installing, inspecting, operating, maintaining and disassembling the personal fall protection systems the employee uses, and the correct use of those systems, "including, but not limited to, proper hook-up, anchoring, and tie-off techniques, and methods of equipment inspection and storage, as specified by the manufacturer." Paragraph (d) has the employer train each employee "in a manner that the employee understands."

General industry does have a competent person, in another subpart. 29 CFR 1910.140, the personal fall protection systems standard in Subpart I, defines one in paragraph (b) and gives that person inspection work. Under 1910.140(c)(6), "A competent person or qualified person must inspect each knot in a lanyard or vertical lifeline" before anyone uses it. Under 1910.140(c)(17), a system or component that took an impact load stays out of service "until a competent person inspects the system or components and determines that it is not damaged and safe for use." Section 1910.140 holds no training requirement. The person who inspects the gear under 1910.140 and the person who teaches the class under 1910.30 are measured against different definitions.

What's the difference between a competent person and a qualified person?

Competent, in 1926.32(f), is about recognizing hazards and holding the authority to correct them. Qualified, in 1926.32(m) and 1910.21(b), is about a demonstrated ability to solve or resolve problems in the subject, shown by a degree, a certificate or professional standing, or by extensive knowledge, training and experience. A person can meet one test without the other. Construction asks its trainer to meet both, and general industry asks for the second.

OSHA's letter of August 31, 2017 calls the construction definition of qualified "identical" to the general industry one. Read side by side, they differ only in wording, such as "describes a person who" in 1910.21(b) and "means one who" in 1926.32(m).

Which rule applies when the same crew does construction and general industry work?

The answer is in 29 CFR 1910.12. Paragraph (a) applies the Part 1926 standards "to every employment and place of employment of every employee engaged in construction work," and paragraph (b) defines the term:

For purposes of this section, Construction work means work for construction, alteration, and/or repair, including painting and decorating. See discussion of these terms in § 1926.13 of this title. (29 CFR 1910.12(b))

The test is the work each employee is doing, and it can change from one week to the next on the same site. The crew follows 1910.30 for the maintenance inspections and 1926.503 for the roof-opening task under Subpart M. Steel erection is governed separately by 1926.761; crane and derrick work also has specific provisions. When it's unclear whether a task counts as repair, 1910.12(b) points to 29 CFR 1926.13 for the discussion of its terms.

The regulations don't address a single class meant to cover both kinds of work. Each rule covers its own work. Employees who might be exposed to fall hazards in construction work are trained under 1926.503(a), with the certification record of 1926.503(b). Employees who use personal fall protection systems in general industry work are trained under 1910.30.

Two more cases come up. On residential roofs in general industry, an employer who can demonstrate that guardrail, safety net or personal fall protection systems aren't feasible or create a greater hazard falls under 29 CFR 1910.28(b)(1)(ii). That paragraph has the employer "develop and implement a fall protection plan that meets the requirements of 29 CFR 1926.502(k) and training that meets the requirements of 29 CFR 1926.503(a) and (c)." That brings in the competent person trainer of 1926.503(a)(2). The sentence names paragraphs (a) and (c) of 1926.503 and leaves out (b), the certification record.

Specific standards also win over general ones. Under 29 CFR 1910.5(c)(1), a standard "specifically applicable to a condition, practice, means, method, operation, or process" prevails over a different general standard. Specific sections of Part 1910, such as 1910.268 and 1910.269, prevail over 1910.30 for what they cover, and they're outside this article.

Can a competent person train workers under 1910.30?

The International Safety Equipment Association put that question to OSHA in comments dated January 18, 2017, the day after the general industry rule took effect. It described a fall protection trainer who is also designated as a competent person under ANSI/ASSE Z359.2-2017 and asked whether that trainer meets 1910.30(a)(2). OSHA answered on August 31, 2017. In its answer, it set the two training rules side by side:

Although the final rule's language on training requirements is not identical to the Construction Fall Protection Standard, OSHA believes the two standards are consistent. (OSHA letter of August 31, 2017)

The letter goes on to note that the construction standard "also specifies that the competent person must be 'qualified' in various aspects of the training's subject matter," and that the construction definition of qualified is identical to the general industry one. On the question asked, OSHA wrote that it "will consider that a trainer who is a designated competent person and meets all of the qualifications for trainers and competent persons in ANSI/ASSE standards is a 'qualified person' for purposes of the final rule (§§1910.21(b) and 1910.30(a)(2))."

The letter covers a designated competent person who also meets all of the trainer and competent person qualifications in the ANSI/ASSE standards the letter discusses, Z359.2-2017 and Z490.1-2016. The letter doesn't say that the competent person title is enough on its own, and the letter itself says that "OSHA's letters of interpretation do not create new or additional requirements." For a general industry class, the test stays the one in 1910.21(b).

What does the 1926.503(b) certification record have to show?

The employer shall verify compliance with paragraph (a) of this section by preparing a written certification record. The written certification record shall contain the name or other identity of the employee trained, the date(s) of the training, and the signature of the person who conducted the training or the signature of the employer. (29 CFR 1926.503(b)(1))

The record holds who was trained, when, and a signature. The rule takes the trainer's signature or the employer's, so the employer can sign when the outside instructor is long gone. For a hand who arrives with training from another employer, the rest of (b)(1) applies: the record "shall indicate the date the employer determined the prior training was adequate rather than the date of actual training." Paragraph (b)(2) adds one line: "The latest training certification shall be maintained."

Paragraph (b) asks for nothing more. The trainer's qualifications and a test score aren't on the list in 1926.503(b)(1). Writing the qualification down anyway is the quickest answer when someone asks how the trainer met 1926.503(a)(2).

Does OSHA require a fall protection training certificate in general industry?

29 CFR 1910.30 requires the training but does not prescribe a training certificate or a record designating the trainer. That differs from the written certification required by 1926.503(b) for construction work within its scope. Other written records, such as the anchorage documentation under 1910.27(b)(1), concern separate duties.

The general PPE standard used to carry a training certification. 29 CFR 1910.132(f)(4) was removed effective July 8, 2011 (76 FR 33606, June 8, 2011), and paragraph (f) now stops at (f)(3). What 1910.132 still wants in writing is the hazard assessment:

The employer shall verify that the required workplace hazard assessment has been performed through a written certification that identifies the workplace evaluated; the person certifying that the evaluation has been performed; the date(s) of the hazard assessment; and, which identifies the document as a certification of hazard assessment. (29 CFR 1910.132(d)(2))

Under 1910.132, then, the written certification belongs to the hazard assessment, and Subpart D asks for none on fall protection training. You can keep a training record anyway. When someone asks who trained the crew and how that person is qualified, the record gives the answer, and 1910.21(b) tells you what to write about the trainer. The broader picture of what OSHA training rules ask for is in the OSHA safety training requirements guide.

How often does fall protection training have to be repeated?

Neither 1926.503 nor 1910.30 sets an interval. In both, retraining follows events. The general industry version reads:

The employer must retrain an employee when the employer has reason to believe the employee does not have the understanding and skill required by paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section. (29 CFR 1910.30(c))

Both paragraphs then list situations that "include, but are not limited to" changes in the workplace that render previous training obsolete, changes in the types of fall protection systems or equipment to be used, and inadequacies in an employee's knowledge or use of fall protection systems or equipment. Moving a crew from guardrails to personal fall arrest is a change in the type of system. If the earlier class never covered harnesses, that's the situation (c)(2) describes.

An annual refresher, or an expiration date on a trainer's designation, is company policy. Neither 1926.503 nor 1910.30 sets one.

Does a course or a card make someone competent or qualified?

The duty sits with the employer in both rules: "The employer shall assure" in 1926.503(a)(2), and "The employer must ensure" in 1910.30(a)(2). Neither names a particular course or card, and neither prescribes a form of proof. Whether a trainer is competent or qualified is the employer's judgment.

A course certificate can be part of that judgment. 1910.21(b) lists a certificate as one route to qualified, next to a recognized degree, professional standing, or extensive knowledge, training and experience, as long as the person "has successfully demonstrated the ability to solve or resolve problems relating to the subject matter, the work, or the project." 1926.32(m) lists the same routes. For a competent person, 1926.32(f) also asks that the person have "authorization to take prompt corrective measures to eliminate them," which is about authority on the job. The article Does OSHA certify competent persons? covers what an inspector asks to see behind a designation.

How do you record who trained each worker?

On paper, it's two lines on the sign-in sheet: who taught the class, and why that person meets the rule. HazComFast puts both lines on the training record. Choose Fall Protection as the training type, and the record asks what the trainer acted as, "Qualified person (29 CFR 1910.30(a)(2))" or "Competent person (29 CFR 1926.503(a)(2))," and how the trainer is qualified. The hint follows the role. For a qualified person, it points to the recognized degree, certificate or professional standing, or the extensive knowledge, training and experience described in 1910.21(b). For a competent person, it points to the areas listed in 1926.503(a)(2).

The form follows the OSHA part your organization works under. Under 1910, a passing fall protection record needs the qualified person role and a description of the qualification, and if either is missing the message cites 1910.30(a)(2). For an organization under both parts, either role is accepted, and the message reminds whoever enters the record that the trainer requirement follows each employee's work. The database runs the same check when the record is saved.

The people come from one register. "Competent & Qualified Persons" keeps every designation with its activity, its jobsite, its dates and its status, past designations included. A qualified designation needs at least one piece of evidence, and a competent one asks the employer to confirm the authority to take prompt corrective measures. Once a designation passes its expiration date, it shows as Expired and drops out of the lists where a designated person is chosen, so nobody picks a lapsed name for a permit or a plan.

Related reading: Does OSHA certify competent persons? · Fall protection in construction · OSHA safety training requirements · Why falls stay the top construction hazard