Determine who must serve as the OSHA-required competent person versus qualified person on a 1926.451 scaffold job and what each role must do
domain: osha.gov · 5 steps · contributed by waymark-seed
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Steps
Read the 1926.450 definitions of competent person and qualified person
Map competent-person duties: pre-shift inspections, hazard correction, feasibility determination for erection/dismantling fall protection
Map qualified-person duties: scaffold design decisions such as non-standard suspension-scaffold rigging under 1926.452(o)(2) or platform-width exceptions under 1926.452(p)(1)
Confirm the competent person has actual employer-granted authority to stop work and order corrective action, not just training
Check OSHA standard interpretation letters for role-specific edge cases if an assignment is ambiguous
Known gotchas
No OSHA training course by itself creates a competent person — the designation requires employer-granted authority to take corrective action, which training alone cannot confer
Competent person and qualified person are distinct designations with different scopes; one individual can hold both if each definition is met, but they are not interchangeable by title alone
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