"Qualified Personel"
- Thread starter jchase
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wbdvt
Senior Member
- Location
- Rutland, VT, USA
- Occupation
- Electrical Engineer, PE
29 CFR 1926.32(f) states: "Competent person" means on 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(l) states: "Qualified" means one who, by possession of a recognized degree, certificate, or professional standing, or who by extensive knowledge, training and experience, has successfully demonstrated his ability to solve or resolve problems relating to the subject matter, the work, or the project.
NFPA 70E-2018 states:Qualified Person is one who has demonstrated skills and knowledge related to the construction and operation of electrical equipment and installations and has receifved safety training to identify the hazards and reduce the associated risk.
So, one does not need an electrical license to be a Qualified Person or a Competent Person
29 CFR 1926.32(l) states: "Qualified" means one who, by possession of a recognized degree, certificate, or professional standing, or who by extensive knowledge, training and experience, has successfully demonstrated his ability to solve or resolve problems relating to the subject matter, the work, or the project.
NFPA 70E-2018 states:Qualified Person is one who has demonstrated skills and knowledge related to the construction and operation of electrical equipment and installations and has receifved safety training to identify the hazards and reduce the associated risk.
So, one does not need an electrical license to be a Qualified Person or a Competent Person
Adamjamma
Senior Member
- Location
- Jamaica and london
I quailify as competent in many ways but still am striving, slowly but surely, to be certified, not just competent.
kwired
Electron manager
- Location
- NE Nebraska
All those definitions are similar in the fact they state the individual must have some sort of training, knowledge, authorization, experience, etc. and who determines just what those requirements are? The AHJ in many cases, especially when involving licensing aspect.
kwired
Electron manager
- Location
- NE Nebraska
"License" is a term that may qualify them, especially for a particular AHJ.
NFPA codes don't use "license" as the only thing that could "qualify" an individual, a city, state, municipal licensing department very well leans much more on that "license" as proof of qualification.
- Location
- San Francisco Bay Area, CA, USA
- Occupation
- Electrical Engineer
“Who is qualified” is a test that could ultimately be administered by a judge or jury should there be an accident involving an injury or death. In the mean time, it’s entirely possible that a business could be shut down pending that determination. It’s far far better for a company to carefully weigh the risk/reward consequences of any perceived convenience in a looser interpretation of “qualified”. Sticking to licensed/certified employees or contractors is a much much simpler way to go if you ask me.
kwired
Electron manager
- Location
- NE Nebraska
And that judge is going to refer to any laws first (which will bring licensing into the determination in many cases), then maybe will consider what commonly used codes or standards have to say (NFPA 70, 70E in particular) which in many cases NFPA 70 will be mentioned in some law journals as a standard that is considered to be law in the jurisdiction.
wtucker
Senior Member
- Location
- Connecticut
Just as all licensed electricians are not qualified to work on all electrical equipment, all qualified persons do not necessarily need licenses, depending on the state you're in.
For example, in Connecticut, licensed journeyman electricians may work only for licensed electrical contractors, who are defined by law as those who offer their services to the general public. In other words, businesses may employ unlicensed technicians to do electrical work on their own property, because they're not offering their services to the general public. By the same token, homeowners may do electrical work on their own property. So licensure depends on the state you're in.
The next question is, what's the definition of "electrical work" insofar as the scope of your state's law? Is troubleshooting by the manufacturer's qualified technician "electrical work?" I'd argue that a specialist from the company that built the equipment is more qualified to work on it than a journeyman generalist. Similarly, some in-house electricians are quite qualified for that kind of work.
For example, in Connecticut, licensed journeyman electricians may work only for licensed electrical contractors, who are defined by law as those who offer their services to the general public. In other words, businesses may employ unlicensed technicians to do electrical work on their own property, because they're not offering their services to the general public. By the same token, homeowners may do electrical work on their own property. So licensure depends on the state you're in.
The next question is, what's the definition of "electrical work" insofar as the scope of your state's law? Is troubleshooting by the manufacturer's qualified technician "electrical work?" I'd argue that a specialist from the company that built the equipment is more qualified to work on it than a journeyman generalist. Similarly, some in-house electricians are quite qualified for that kind of work.
Adamjamma
Senior Member
- Location
- Jamaica and london
A qualified person would know and use the proper ppe and the proper testing techniques. Or they could not be considered qualified.
jumper
Senior Member
- Location
- 3 Hr 2 Min from Winged Horses
Damn good answer!!!:thumbsup:
wbdvt
Senior Member
- Location
- Rutland, VT, USA
- Occupation
- Electrical Engineer, PE
Since the person is going into a live (energized) enclosure, they would need the arc rated PPE to open the door. Once the door is opened and if they can remove the hazard, possibly using such techniques as putting up insulating material to create a barrier, then PPE can be removed. Otherwise all work needs to be done wearing the PPE that the arc flash label indicates.
Adamjamma
Senior Member
- Location
- Jamaica and london
If you are a qualified person and the recommended PPE for a particular job you are doing is Lockouts for Breakers, Hi Vis, Safety Gloves, Safety boots, and Eye protection, and tyou decide that it is a five minute job and you only need to do it quickly, then how are you qualified, wearing shots, muscle tee, and using a screwdriver?
I am a qualified but not certified person. That means in order to keep people considering me as qualified, I know what to wear when I do certain jobs, whether the job is electrical, plumbing, carpentry, or soldering. Just because it is a hundred degrees outside does not mean I toss my jacket and pants and boot when riding a motorbike, and the same goes for any work I do... It may take twice as long to do, but I secure my ladders, etc...
Because I have the scars to prove what happens when accidents occur or things break...
Don't want any scars from just outright doing it wrong!
I am a qualified but not certified person. That means in order to keep people considering me as qualified, I know what to wear when I do certain jobs, whether the job is electrical, plumbing, carpentry, or soldering. Just because it is a hundred degrees outside does not mean I toss my jacket and pants and boot when riding a motorbike, and the same goes for any work I do... It may take twice as long to do, but I secure my ladders, etc...
Because I have the scars to prove what happens when accidents occur or things break...
Don't want any scars from just outright doing it wrong!
romex jockey
Senior Member
- Location
- Vermont
- Occupation
- electrician
My wife says i'm qualified to take out the trash
I guess things could be worse....
~RJ~
I guess things could be worse....
~RJ~
kwired
Electron manager
- Location
- NE Nebraska
Qualified, certified, licensed....can have different meanings depending on if you are talking from NEC perspective, safety policy perspective, licensing perspective, etc.
One can have a license, that usually means they met certain requirements that some AHJ has decided is enough to consider them competent to do certain activities, and install things to codes (safety standards) that is sufficient to give reasonable protection to life and property from use of such installations.
Such license qualifications usually doesn't cover safe work practices though, which can be practices of working with live components, or even safe practices of how to use certain tools and machinery to perform such installations.
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