Apex General Industry Resource Group

09/24/2025

Sorry folks, a bit late on this one, and it is a little long.

Last time we looked at ‘Qualified’ and ‘Competent’. We found they are very different in meaning. That difference comes primarily from skill level. Qualified being less skilled than Competent. Be careful how you use these. As mentioned, they have very different meanings in both the OSHA world and from a legal standpoint.

In this final instalment, we will examine authorized and compliant.
Let’s start by looking at their Oxford Dictionary definitions:
Authorized - having official permission or approval.
Compliant - meeting or in accordance with rules or standards.

OSHA only authorizes two things. The Authorized Outreach Instructors, those individuals authorized to conduct the ten and thirty-hour OSHA courses and issue the corresponding cards, and the curriculum those instructors use to teach the classes.

Nothing else can be referred to as being OSHA authorized. This includes other training, equipment, personnel, policies, procedures, and so on. The employer can authorize an individual to hold a position, assume specific responsibilities, perform particular tasks, and so forth. The critical thing to remember here is that the employer is doing the authorizing, not OSHA.

Now let’s look at compliant. Compliant is the one word you do want to see in conjunction with training equipment, policies, procedures, and other things. Compliant means the item being referred to complies with all the requirements of the applicable OSHA standard.

When considering whether something is compliant, you may encounter what OSHA refers to as "Incorporated by Reference." In these cases, OSHA is referring to the specifications in a non-OSHA standard. The most common of these are the International Standards Organization, ISO, American National Standards Institute, ANSI, and the National Fire Prevention Association, NFPA. In this case, these standards carry the same force of law as the OSHA standards.

For example, let’s say you want to manufacture safety glasses. To be considered fully OSHA compliant, they would have to meet all the requirements of the OSHA standard 1910-131 and ANSI Z87.1. This is because ANSI standard Z87.1 has been “Incorporated by Reference” into 1910-131.

So ensure all your PPE and other items are fully compliant before purchasing and using them.

So there you have it—the four most commonly misunderstood and misused terms in the OSHA world. I hope you have found this series to be informative and helpful. I will be continuing to post other OSHA and safety-related subjects, so check back often.
I would also like to ask a favor: please share this post and follow both the page and agiresourcegroup.com. Both would be very helpful. You will also be notified of new posts.

Thank you
Richard R Williams
AGI Resource Group
agiresourcegroup.com
[email protected]

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09/07/2025

OSHA Terminology, Part Two, Qualified and Competent.

Hello, and welcome back to our discussion of OSHA terminology.

Last time we discussed ‘Certified’ and found that OSHA does not certify anything, nor does it have the legal authority to certify anything.

Now we will look at ‘Qualified’ and ‘Competent’. I am covering these together because they are so closely related yet different enough not to be interchangeable.

Let’s start by looking at their Oxford Dictionary definitions:
Qualified - officially recognized as being trained to perform a particular job.
Competent - having the necessary ability, knowledge, and skill to do something successfully.

As you can see, they are very similar yet also very different. You could be qualified (Trained) but not necessarily competent.
However, being competent without first being qualified would be rare. It is possible, as in the case of an individual who is solely self-taught with no formal training. Some of the best craftsmen fall into this category.

So how does this relate to the world of OSHA? When the term qualified is used in an OSHA standard, it indicates that the individual simply needs to be trained. This training and what it consisted of needs to be documented. Remember what I said last time, ‘If it is not documented, it never happened’? That is always the case.

Competent, on the other hand, indicates that the individual is not only trained but also skilled at the task or process. Again, the training and the means of determining competency must be documented. Self-taught does not apply here. Training is still required regardless of an individual’s capabilities.

It may seem like we are splitting linguistic hairs here, but the two terms exist for a reason; they indicate very different skill levels.

So, while navigating the quagmire of the OSHA standards, keep the differences between these two terms clearly in mind. Ensure that you fulfill and document all the requirements of each.

A qualified individual may not always be competent, but a competent individual, if trained, is always qualified.

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09/02/2025

Hello everyone,

Over the next few posts, I will address some terms from the OSHA world that can be confusing and are often misused. These are: Certified, Qualified, Competent, Authorized, and Compliant.

I am going to start with Certified. This is the one that is most often misunderstood and misused.

The simple fact is that OSHA does not certify anything. That is correct, nothing, nada, zilch, etc. If you search for 'Does OSHA certify anything?', one of the first hits will be from the OSHA website, clearly stating that it does not. In fact, OSHA does not even have the legal authority to certify anything.

This raises the question: Where does the confusion come from? It comes from the standards. Certified is used in the standards in several places. What is missed by many people is the context in which it is used. When the standards state that someone or something must be certified, it is the employer that does the certification, not OSHA.

The standards may provide some criteria for what is required for the certification, and at other times, it is left to the employer to decide what is needed. As always with OSHA, the certification must be documented and state the criteria used to grant the certification. As we say in the aviation industry, ‘If it is not documented, it never happened.’ This is also OSHA's stance—document everything.

So, if you see the phrase ‘OSHA Certified’ in an advertisement for anything, training, equipment, PPE, etc, or anywhere claiming ‘OSHA Certification’, it is wrong. This comes from two leading causes. Either the author is unaware of the facts pertaining to the subject or is deliberately being deceitful. In either case, buyer beware. You are dealing with an organization that does not understand the standards as well as they should or is not reputable.

Luckily, in my experience, for the most part, it is usually a misunderstanding. Being outright deceitful is rare.

Hopefully, this clears up the confusion. If you have any questions, please leave a comment and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

agiresourcegroup.com

08/21/2025

Though they haven't changed, I failed to include the URL and email in the Aviation & General Industry Resource Group rebranding announcement.
agiresourcegroup.com
[email protected]

Richard Williams, Founder and Principal

08/20/2025

Hello everyone.
I have some interesting news. Aviation and General Industry Resource Group has been rebranded as Apex General Industry Resource Group.
This is due primarily to insurance issues. Apparently, insurance companies will no longer provide general liability insurance to anyone who does business with aviation. It seems rather odd, but checking with seven different carriers, I got the same response. Definitely a case of insurance companies making no sense whatsoever.
We will continue to provide the same exceptional service, and there have been no changes to our website URL or any of the email addresses.
Same great services, just a different name. Hope to hear from you soon.
Richard Williams, Founder and Principal.