COMPETENCY

CERTIFICATION WITHIN
THE INDUSTRY
 What is Competency
 Competency comprises the
specification of knowledge and skills
and the application of that knowledge
and skill to the standards of
performance required in the
workplace.
 Competency includes all aspects of
work performance and not only
narrow skills.
Hazardous Area Standardisation - A case 3
study from Australia
 Meaning of Competency
 Competency involves three elements.

 (i) Qualifications (Off the Job)

 (ii) Experience (On the Job)

 (iii) Recent and Relevant Training

(Off and On the Job)
 Assessing Competency
 Assessor must gather evidence which
must be :

 Valid
 Direct
 Authentic
 Current
 Sufficient
 What is Competency
 The four components of competency
are:

1. Task Skills
2. Task management skills
3. Contingency management
skills
4. Job/role environmental skills
 What is Competency
 The concept of competency focuses
on what is expected of an employee
in the workplace rather than the
learning process.
 It embodies the ability to transfer
and apply skills and knowledge to
new situations and environments.
 Owner’s Responsibilities
(Hazardous Areas)
•Electrical legislation states that the
owner is responsible and accountable
for the design, installation and
maintenance of electrical installations
within their plant that they are
electrically safe.
 WHY DO WE NEED IT
 AS/NZS2381 PART 1 STATES
‘You SHALL employ competent
personnel to work in hazardous
areas’
 An owner or occupier then faces the
decision as to how they ensure their
personnel are competent.
 In addition it prevents problems that
are shown in the following slides.
 Consequences of not using
competent persons
 Ex d switch.
 New larger switch
has been fitted
 Hole cut in the back
of the enclosure to
accommodate it.
 Enclosure will not
contain an
explosion
 Consequences of not using
Competent persons
 Ex e Increased
safety Terminal box
 Non-certified
components -
Relays added later.
 Box is now unsafe
& potential source
of ignition
Consequences of not using
Competent persons
 Use of Fused
terminals in an Ex
e Increased safety
box
 Terminals are
arcing devices and
are not certified as
Ex e components.
HOW DO WE GET COMPETENCY
 An owner or occupier can accept the
responsibility of deeming his own
personnel as competent however they
would face the consequences if there was
an incident.
 Alternatively they could ensure their
personnel were deemed competent to
AS/NZS4761
 In the future there will be a new path
through the IECEX certified persons
scheme
 Attributing Competency
 Competency is attributed on the
basis of Evidence and this evidence
must be:
1. Sufficient to show competency
2. Current. It must be current at
the time.
3. Authentic. It must be genuine
and relate to the person.
 Attributing Competency
 A person can be deemed competent
in one of two ways:
 By training and assessment by an
RTO
or
 By assessment for RPL (Recognition
of Prior Learning).This must be
carried out by an accredited RTO
 Attributing Competency
 Once deemed competent a person
must maintain their competency by
regular use of their skills, keeping up
with changes to standards and by
attendance at seminars relating to
their skills or
 By regular refreshers & assessments.
 AS/NZS4761 Units of
Competency
 Competency can only be given by an
RTO (Registered Training
Organisation) accredited to do so.

 RTO’s must be accredited by the

state governments through the
VETAB in each state.
What is a Unit of Competency
 A unit of competency is the
competency required for a useful work
function and which resides with an
individual.It covers both theory and
practical skills.
 This should not be confused with a job
description which will invariably
comprise a number of units of
competency.
 What is a Unit of Competency
 The specification of a Unit of
Competency comprises:
Scope
Prerequisites
Elements and performance
criteria
Range statement
Evidence Guide
Essential knowledge & skills
 AS/NZS Units of Competency
 There are a total of 28 units in
AS/NZS4761 some examples as
follows:
Unit code Unit title
UEENEE001B Report on the integrity of Ex
equipment in hazardous areas
UEENEE002B Attend to breakdowns in hazardous
areas
UEENEE004B Install explosion-protected
equipment and wiring systems.
UEENEE011B Conduct detailed inspection of
hazardous area installations
 AS/NZS4761 Units of
Competency
 In addition there are units covering:
Design Electrical installations
Repair & overhaul of equipment
Area Classification
Gas Detection
Maintain equipment
Plus specific units for the
Underground coal mining indstry
 AS/NZS4761 Units of
Competency
 Competency applies to operators as
well as tradespersons and some units
are specifically designed for
management and operators.
 Some units must be endorsed for the
explosion protection techniques
e.g Ex d , Ex e, Ex i etc.
IECEx Cert Persons Scheme - Overview
According to ISO/IEC 17024 + IECEx Rules + Operational
Docs Person prepares
application

IECEx Testing of
Certification knowledge
Body (ExCB) Assessment
of experience

Surveillance
Re-assessment

By ExCB

New Scheme for Personnel Certified

Person
 IECEx Certified Persons Scheme
 Australia has played a major part in
developing this scheme.

 Scheme only covers assessment of

persons for This competency.

 There are only 10 units of

competency for persons to be
assessed to.
 IECEx Certified Persons Scheme
LIST OF UNITS OF COMPETENCY

Reference Title

 Unit Ex 001 - Apply basic principles of protection in explosive atmospheres

 Unit Ex 002 - Perform classification of hazardous areas
 Unit Ex 003 - Install explosion-protected equipment and wiring systems
 Unit Ex 004 - Maintain equipment in explosive atmospheres
 Unit Ex 005— Overhaul and repair of explosion-protected equipment
 Unit Ex 006 - Test electrical installations in or associated with explosive
atmospheres
 Unit Ex 007- Perform visual & close inspection of electrical installations in
or associated with explosive atmospheres
 Unit Ex 008 - Perform detailed inspection of electrical installations in or
associated with explosive atmospheres
 Unit Ex 009 - Design electrical installations in or associated with explosive
atmospheres
 Unit Ex 010— Perform audit inspection of electrical installations in or
associated with explosive atmospheres
 IECEx Certified Persons Scheme
 At this time the scheme is in its
Formative stages and no certifyting
bodies have been accredited.
 However it is anticipated that this
will happen by the end of 2009
 Watch the IECEx website for news of
progress.
 IECEx Certified Persons Scheme
 This new scheme covers assessment
only and separates the assessment
process from the training.
 Training if needed must be
undertaken as a separate process
and with a specialist training
provider.
 The Rules are written to ensure that
assessments are consistent across all
service providers.
 IECEx Certified Persons Scheme
 The IECEx scheme will be accepted
internationally by all member
countries.
 The AS/NZS 4761 scheme is only
accepted in Australia and New
Zealand
 The new scheme offers another
option for industry to ensure and
maintain competency in their
workplaces
 Summary
 Standards for hazardous locations
require the use of special equipment
to avoid ignition of the atmosphere.
 If that special equipment is installed
incorrectly it can negate its explosion
protection properties and cause the
installation to be unsafe.
 Summary
 The use of Competent persons
ensures that maintenance will be
carried out correctly and maximise
service life.
 Competent persons are able to
identify faults which could be
potential sources of ignition.