Achieve a culture of competence

While we focus on procedures and compliance, true safety, isn’t about just checking boxes, it’s about ensuring competency. This article aims to explore the importance of competence, how it fits into safety management systems, and why we need to shift from simply following procedures to creating a culture of competence in the workplace.

The Importance of Competence

In high-risk industries such as construction, oil and gas, chemicals, renewables, and manufacturing, safety is paramount. It’s not enough for employees to merely follow procedures, they need to have the skills and understanding to apply those procedures effectively in real-world situations. This is where competency comes in.

Competency is the ability to perform tasks to the required standard, consistently and confidently, with a heavy focus on safety. It’s not about completing a training course or obtaining a certificate; it’s about being able to perform under pressure and make the right decisions when faced with real-world challenges. A worker might have all the certifications in the world, but without the practical experience and the ability to think and act critically in a high-risk environment, they may not be competent.

Competency encompasses safety, technical and behavioural knowledge and skills. It’s not just about knowing the procedures, it’s about applying them correctly, especially when things don’t go as planned. For example, a worker may be certified to operate machinery, but if an emergency arises, they need to act quickly and safely, something certification alone can’t guarantee.

Certification vs. Competency: Why Competency Matters

Certification is important, but it’s not the same as competency. Certification tells you that someone has passed a specific test or completed a training programme, but it doesn’t mean they can necessarily apply that knowledge in real, sometimes unpredictable situations. Certification is typically a one-off event, but competency is an ongoing process that is part of daily life.

True competency means that all those performing safety-critical tasks can execute them safely, consistently, and in line with safety and technical standards, even under pressure. This involves continuous learning, adapting to new risks, and building practical experience. In safety-critical industries, this ability to adapt and apply knowledge is vital, as even small mistakes can have severe consequences.

This shift in mindset, from simply checking off certifications to ensuring true competency, can lead to a more proactive safety culture. A competent workforce doesn’t just react to safety problems as they arise but actively works to prevent them from happening in the first place.

Competence in the Context of Safety Management Systems

A Safety Management System (SMS) is a structured approach to managing safety within an organisation. It includes policies, procedures, training, and practices designed to identify, assess, and control risks. Competence is an integral part of any SMS, as it ensures that the people responsible for safety-critical tasks are not just following the rules but are truly capable of confidently executing them at the highest standard.

For an SMS to be effective, the competency of the workforce must be central. Without a competent team, even the most robust safety management system will fall short. Competence ensures that safety procedures are not just theoretical concepts on paper but are applied accurately and effectively in practice.

Moreover, safety management systems should not be static, they must evolve to meet new challenges and risks. Competency allows organisations to adapt and continuously improve their safety practices, ensuring that employees are equipped to handle changing conditions and emerging hazards.

Building a Culture of Competence

Creating a culture of competence involves more than just ensuring employees have the right certifications or are just assessed against a set of criteria. It’s about embedding true competency into the fabric of the organisation where there is a proven, reliable and consistent application of knowledge, skills and behaviours as part of daily life.  It’s not just about people knowing about something or following procedures, it’s about them doing it well whatever the situation.

In my experience, here are some key steps to building a culture of competence:

1. Competence Frameworks: A well-defined competence framework is essential to provide clarity and consistency across all departments and disciplines. It shows how competence relates to organisational goals, gives guidance to all stakeholders, ensures fairness and sets your competence system up for success.
    
2. Knowledge and Performance Standards: These are vital to set the expectations required of your workforce and helps both your business and the individual meet common and personal goals, industry benchmarks and boosts safety performance and compliance.
    
3. Ongoing Learning: Assuring competence means that people must continue to learn and move with ever-changing conditions. In high-risk industries, knowledge should be refreshed regularly, best practice learning should be updated, and sharp focus maintained on knowing how to dynamically assess risk. This can be achieved through regular training, simulations, coaching, mentoring and knowledge-sharing initiatives - all of which are key components of our Workforce Training Solutions at 3t.
    
4. Regular Assessment and Feedback: Competence should be assessed regularly, using knowledge and performance criteria, feedback, and performance reviews. This ensures that any gaps are identified and addressed early. High-risk tasks should be assessed more regularly.
    
5. Leadership Commitment: Leaders must not only support competence initiatives but lead by example and drive it forward. By demonstrating their own commitment to safety and competence, they set the tone for the rest of the organisation.

The Role of 3t’s Competence Framework

At 3t, we’ve developed a Competence Framework that helps organisations clearly define, develop and assess the safety, technical, leadership and behavioural competencies required for safety-critical roles. This framework focuses on the Knowledge, Skills, and Experience (KSE) needed for each role, and how to assess them against knowledge and performance standards. 

Our framework is tailored to meet the specific needs of high-risk industries. It is based on the understanding that safety is an ongoing journey, not a one-time achievement. By using this framework, organisations can ensure that their teams are not only knowledgeable but truly competent in managing risks and making safety decisions in real-world situations.

A truly competent workforce goes beyond following procedures; they are able to adapt, think critically, and make informed decisions when it matters most. This approach not only improves safety but also creates a more resilient, proactive organisation that is well-equipped to handle the challenges of high-risk industries.

As we work toward building safer workplaces, let’s prioritise competence at every level of our organisations, ensuring that our workforce is not only trained but truly capable of keeping themselves and their colleagues safe.

Deborah Yeats is training and competence director at 3t. For more information, visit www.3tglobal.com