Building Confidence with Competence

Chris is a Corporate Health, Safety and Environment Manager specializing in the development and implementation of safety management systems. His 25+ years of work experience spans the construction, oil and gas, utilities, and mining industries, which includes roles on both the client and contractor sides of the business. He is an Occupational Health and Safety graduate from the University of New Brunswick and holds designations as a Certified Health and Safety Consultant (CHSC) and National Construction Safety Officer (NCSO). Chris’ professional objective is simple – to protect people and the environment – comes with a mentality to challenge the status quo and retains a commitment to continuous improvement.

Through this article, Stamp highlights the lack of confidence in the concept of competency in the construction industry despite its frequent use.

A common word in the construction industry is ‘competent.’ We throw it around like a hot potato. We’ve read it in legislation, concluded it in incident investigations, and even said it ourselves during leadership meetings. The question is, ‘Do we have confidence in competence’?

The most likely answer is ‘no’. Talk is cheap.

As leaders, we truly believe that when our workers are competent, it reduces the risk of injury and incidents. We also know that internal leaders and external clients love hearing the word ‘competent,’ so we often use it. However, if we dared to tell the truth, most of us would feel the angst in our confidence to stand behind workers being competent. Why would we feel this way?

Chances are, we don’t know what being competent is or how to achieve a proper state of ‘competence.’

Defining Competent

There are many variations to defining competent, but they all sound similar. Most definitions would include such words as knowledgeable, experienced, and adequately trained.

We have to find out what workers know and don’t know. If someone asks you, ‘Tell me what you don’t know,’ you’d probably silently respond with, ‘How am I supposed to know what I don’t know.’ Therefore, set competency criteria must be established to evaluate workers.

We need to have a Competency Program, a well-written, strategically structured, and consistently applied Program. This will build confidence.

The design of this Program will not, and cannot, be a ‘dust collector.’ You can have the best words on paper, but if it’s not being used, it’s not worth much. We need this Program to add measurable value to stakeholders.

Know the Stakeholders

Just like any program, we must determine a List of Stakeholders early in the development stages. Well, we know to include subject matter experts, workers, supervision, and different levels of management. You have to get buy-in upfront, or you’ll struggle to sell later.

Set the Priorities

Building a respected Program is not a 30-minute exercise or a 1-pager. In fact, for most companies, it’s a rather large consumption of time and resources. A prerequisite is to complete a Competency Needs Analysis. For example, you may need to deem workers competent for operating heavy equipment and using higher-risk tools. Once that’s analyzed and organized in a Competency Inventory List, you’ll need to prioritize completion. Items on the list require immediate development, while others can wait until next quarter.

Thoroughly Evaluate Competency

This is where you establish set criteria to evaluate a worker’s competence. Years ago, the common practice was to have a one-page, general, catch-all checklist form for anything and everything competency. It was nearly senseless and a waste of paper. 

Today, your workers, company, and legislation expect more. You should have Competency Evaluation Forms for each item on your Competency Inventory List. Each item needs its form tailored in a very specific manner. If it’s specific, it becomes helpful to the evaluator to know exactly what to evaluate. Also, from a due diligence perspective, you always want the words on paper to speak for themselves as much as possible – if you’re needed to verbally explain the written words in a court case, you’re likely losing.

The form will need some basic information such as name and position. You’ll also need to capture the worker’s experience and formal training relevant to the competency. Remember, if a worker went to school and was able to produce a training certificate for operating a loader, that doesn’t mean they’re able to operate it competently or safely. Shall I remind you of how many times you said on public roads, ‘I can’t believe that person has their license’ – formal training is a component of competency, but not a validation of competency.

Then, for evaluators, you’ll need to design the forms in logical order. If it flows well, it’s easier to use and keeps the list of complaints low. For the company, the methodology needs to breathe due diligence. The two main techniques to evaluate should be ‘demonstrate’ and ‘explain.’ It’s a ‘show me’ and ‘tell me’ approach. This two-prong approach is not bulletproof but close when done properly.

I like to write the questions as independent questions, with the notion to not cascade them. I tend to group questions into competency sections – for heavy equipment; I would have a pre-operation section, start-up and testing section, practical operations section, etc. I also think that placing questions in a logical order, when possible, is appreciated by most.

State Outcome of the Evaluation

After evaluating a worker’s competency based on set criteria, there will need to be definitive outcome options such as ‘not yet competent’ or ‘competent.’ Also, you may have ‘levels of proficiency’. This means you could say they’re competent, but it’s based on conditions or limitations. The outcome needs to be clear.

Record Management

We need to have all records fully completed and available. A Centralized Electronic System is the preference; it can be completed directly in the system or location for uploads. This makes it easier to share and access records across a company and is ideal for auditing purposes. Something to keep in mind, though, is to get the users’ access permissions correct. If not correct, this can become an issue. The system setup for records can be as important as the program itself.

Closing Tips and Conclusion

Use digital tools for the development and introduction of the Program, such as a Project Charter, Management of Change Form, and a Rollout Plan.

Keep in mind the words used to define ‘competent.’

Measure success via Feedback Forms and use them for your commitment to Continuous Improvement.

Building Confidence with Competence takes time. If you use the framework referenced, you’ll find yourself getting closer and sleeping better at night as your confidence builds.