Posted By Jonathan Sandler All the law (HASAWA 74) reqires is a person who has attended a course, however as this web site is for safety professionals either Tech sp or MIOSH would be deemed competent.

Posted By Frank Hallett Like a great deal of other H&S issues, some of which are provided with extremely precise definitions yet are still apparently capable of an infinite range of interpretations; the word competence means all things to all people. When trying to explain it to others, I have found that, on occassion, it helps to approach this from the other direction - start by defining what it is that you do not understand, have no skill in or simply cannot do. What's left is what you're competent in! [Apologies to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for pararaphrasing the Sherlock Holmes principle of evidence]. I constantly amaze myself at how little I really know when compared to what can be known! Philosophy lecture circa 1965 - can't remember who it's accreditted to [something else I don't know]. Enjoy! Frank Hallett