Qualified for What?
A job title does not tell the whole story of electrical qualification. The more useful question is what equipment and tasks a person has the knowledge and demonstrated ability to handle safely, and what the employer has authorized that person to do.
OSHA’s definition of a qualified person recognizes that qualification depends on the circumstances. A person can be qualified regarding some equipment and unqualified regarding other equipment. Its note about supervised on-the-job training is also specific: demonstrated ability at the trainee’s level and direct supervision matter. It is not a blanket authorization for trainees to perform any electrical task.
Andrew Olsen’s upcoming presentation explores how the employer’s label “qualified electrical worker” can be confused with the term “qualified person” used in standards. Within an employer’s electrical safety program, the designation “qualified electrical worker” can carry additional requirements and responsibilities beyond the standards’ term “qualified person.” The employer may reserve that designation for someone who has completed the required training, demonstrated the necessary skills and knowledge, gained the required experience, and received authorization for the assigned work. By comparison, OSHA recognizes that an employee undergoing on-the-job training can be considered a qualified person for specific duties after demonstrating the ability to perform those duties safely at their level of training, while under the direct supervision of a qualified person.
This being the case, someone can be considered a qualified person for specific duties and yet not be considered a fully qualified electrical worker under the employer’s electrical safety program. It is through this lens that we need to read and apply provisions in the standards that use the term “qualified person,” with attention to the duties and conditions for which that person is qualified.
Andrew Olsen will deliver the forty-five-minute presentation Say What You Mean at the 2027 IEEE IAS Electrical Safety Workshop, March 22–26, 2027, at the Peppermill Resort in Reno, Nevada. He will also lead the tutorial Five Frustrating DC Power System Safety Practices, covering DC energy challenges involving electric vehicles, solar PV, energy storage, power conversion, and data centers supporting AI. Join the workshop to continue these discussions with the electrical safety community. ElecTrain will also participate in the vendor exhibition. Stop by the ElecTrain booth to say hello and pick up some free giveaways.