Building a competence framework for high-risk roles

For high-risk work, competence can be the difference between safety and serious harm. Bridget Leathley outlines how to build a framework that identifies and prioritises the capabilities that matter most.

What is competence?

In a previous article we challenged the assumption that delivering training on its own automatically results in lower risk. If we want training to reduce risk, we must first understand what competencies people need. From that, we can decide on the best way to deliver and improve those competencies.

To do that, we must first understand what competency means. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations require employers to “appoint one or more competent persons” to assist them in meeting relevant safety law, including that for fire safety. The regulation defines competence as “sufficient training and experience or knowledge and other qualities” to be able to provide that assistance.

This regulation and others provide specific examples of where competence is needed – in dealing with emergencies; in supervising young workers; in the inspection and examination of work equipment and in drawing up examination schemes and planning lifting operations.

The regulations are unclear what logic is intended by the term “training and experience or knowledge”. Is training vital, but experience or knowledge interchangeable? Or is “knowledge and other qualities” a substitute for training and experience? The HSE website clarifies by describing competence instead as “the combination of training, skills, experience and knowledge that a person has and their ability to apply them to perform a task safely.” It is clear that competence goes beyond training. Notably, someone needs experience to develop the knowledge and skills acquired through training, and assessment must look at the ability to apply these on the job, in all the circumstances that a worker might face.

To do that, the worker needs a range of skills other than the technical “how to” skill set. The worker might need to know where to get the resources they need, who to talk to, what internal processes they need to follow (such as permits) and what local signals to be alert for. They might need to negotiate with other workers, influence behaviour, communicate, and solve problems which couldn’t be foreseen in the course syllabus. Where necessary, they should have the assertiveness to stop work if safety can’t be ensured.

Building a competence framework

1. Start with the job tasks

Since we’re focusing on building a competence framework for high-risk roles, we should start by identifying which roles include safety-critical tasks. While it’s easy to think about airline pilots and nuclear power station operators, we should also think about car parking attendants, maintenance staff and warehouse workers. In many cases there will be many tasks that people do that could have a business impact if they get it wrong, but no safety element. However, within their working week there could be some tasks that if done incorrectly, or if omitted, could harm themselves or someone else.

Start with your risk assessments. List all the hazards for which competence or training is a control. Look for hazards where competence is assumed: if the control is that someone will do something “carefully” or “after making checks” there’s an assumption they know what careful looks like, and what checks to make. Compare the competences you have listed with those in relevant HSE guidance or advice provided by specialist organisations.

This could be a big job, but since you should be reviewing risk assessments regularly, you could incorporate the task into the next round of reviews.

2. Defining the competences more clearly

For each competency be clear:

• What must people know?
• What must they do?
• When can they follow a rule set, and when must they make decisions?
• What knowledge, understanding and skill do they need to make the right decisions?

Think about using a ladder. The risk assessment identified that falling from the ladder could occur if it was damaged, it wasn’t set up properly, or the person climbing didn’t follow best practice.

For someone using a ladder, the learning objectives might cover:

• Knowing when to use a ladder, and which ladder to select
• Understanding how to check for damage
• Applying the rules for setting up the ladder, taking account of the environment in which the ladder is being used
• For the supervisor planning the work, competence could include:
• Analysing the work and environment to identify the factors that could make ladder use unsafe.
• Bringing together the requirements for equipment, people and the working environment to plan how the work should be done.
• Evaluating whether a ladder is the best tool for this job, and if it isn’t, selecting an alternative method.

3. Sort and group

You have limited resources, so focus on the higher risks first. A competence that reduces the likelihood of an accident from high to low has a higher priority than one that, although documented, makes little difference to the likelihood or severity of the outcome. For example, where machinery isn't interlocked, the ability to isolate it before maintenance could prevent a fatal or major injury and should be prioritised. Where machinery is interlocked and with continuous verification of the interlocks via sensors, the operator’s ability to check the interlock (while still important) has less impact on the reduction of risk and could be considered a lower priority.

You also need to sort thematically. For example, some competencies might relate to handling goods, some to working at height, and some to driving vehicles. These might have occurred across multiple risk assessments, but it might be more efficient to group them when you decide what training or work experience is needed to deliver the competencies.

4. Collating the information

You might already have a training matrix, but do you have a competence matrix? Instead of lists of training courses against names or roles, the competence matrix will identify which competences are needed. This might link to an existing training matrix, but your competency framework must also include information about how practice will be provided, skills developed, application on the job demonstrated and competency refreshed.

With an effective competence framework, you’re no long asking “Have they had training?” The more useful question is “How sure are we that they can do the job safely?”

Our Training Management Service manages your health and safety training from start to finish, from identifying training needs and delivering the right learning solutions to building structured training plans, competence management and monitoring progress. This ensures your workforce remains skilled, compliant and safe.