Pipeline standards and regulations require all staff working on pipelines to be both’competent’and’qualified', but there is little guidance on how organizations can demonstrate that their staff are competent and qualified.Any demonstration of competence must be objective;therefore, an individual's curriculum vitae(CV)is not a convincing demonstration, as a CV is usually highly subjective and has no independent verification.Many organizations rely on individuals performing self-assessments, or rely on line management ensuring that staff are competent at the tasks they perform, but usually there is no structured process for either specifying or assessing the competency.This informality is not a convincing demonstration.Competencies need to be formally assessed(verified)in order to satisfy industry standards and regulations.The competencies are assessed using a’competency standard', which details all the required skills, knowledge, and experience expected for that competency.The assessment could be an examination, an interview, or a performance review.'Qualified’means’an individual who has been evaluated';therefore, individuals who pass the assessment are qualified in that competency.An individual claiming a competency, without verification through an assessment, is not deemed to be qualified in that competency.This paper gives an outline of competence assessments, and a process for competence assessment.
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