Variations of “qualified worker” include qualified employee and qualified person. The emphasis is on “qualified” and getting that wrong can be a fatal mistake.
OSHA’s general requirements are in 29CFR Part 1910. Under 1910.332, you’ll find training requirements that apply “to all employees who face a risk of electric shock that is not reduced to a safe level by 1910.331 through 1910.335.” To be “qualified” to work on something electrical, you must, at a minimum, be trained in (and familiar with):
- The (OSHA-mandated) safety-related work practices that pertain to the job assignment.
- The skills and techniques necessary to tell live parts from other parts.
- The skills and techniques necessary to determine the nominal voltage of exposed live parts.
- The clearance distances specified in 1910.333(c) for the voltages to which the employee will be exposed.
The training can be classroom or on the job. The degree of training must be determined by the risk to the employee. A problem that is readily apparent in this list of only four items is short. If you meet it, you meet the OSHA requirements. But is there more information to help fill out the picture of what a qualified worker is?
Yes, but let’s first turn to NFPA 70, Art. 100 to get a simple definition that’s easy to remember. It’s: “One who has the skills and knowledge related to the construction and operation of the electrical equipment and installations and who has received safety training to recognize and avoid the hazards involved.” Even easier to remember, it’s someone who has a black belt in electrical danger and can protect him- or herself.
To fill out that picture of what a qualified worker is, let’s now turn to NFPA 70E, 110.6 Training Requirements. Under Sec. 110.6(A)(1), we find an extensive explanation of what this means. It fleshes out the OSHA requirements by adding such things as knowledge of:
- PPE
- Ability to perform the job safety planning
- Ability to assess the risk
It also requires that:
- Employees be able to select an appropriate test instrument and demonstrate how to use it to verify the absence of voltage.
- Employers determine through regular supervision or inspections conducted at least annually that each employee is complying with the safety-related work practices required by NFPA 70E.
And it allows for an employee who is undergoing on the job training in the safety procedures to be a “qualified person” if under the direct supervision of someone who actually is a qualified person.
If you’re not a qualified person per these descriptions and definitions (which have structured training as an underlying means of qualifying you), then let your supervisor know rather than proceed with work you are not qualified to do. Don’t try to please your supervisor by claiming qualification you don’t actually have. If you’re lucky, your supervisor will discover the ruse, and you’ll receive a reprimand. If you’re not lucky, you could be maimed or killed — and you could even take a coworker or two with you.
Let your supervisor deal with a lack of qualified personnel. It’s a big problem in the industry today, and the only correct contribution you can make to solving it is to get the training that makes you qualified.
What if, upon observing a coworker, you conclude that person isn’t a “qualified worker?” You owe it to that person, to yourself, and to your company to ask that person to stop. Bring the issue to your supervisor immediately. It’s not a matter of getting someone in trouble if you do this; it’s a matter of preventing serious harm to a coworker.
