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PS&M

Training · Competent person

Silica competent person training. Own the plan.

OSHA's silica rule does more than set an exposure limit — 29 CFR 1926.1153 requires a designated competent person on every covered construction site to implement the written exposure control plan and correct exposures as they happen. PS&M's silica competent person training builds that person from your own crew — fluent in Table 1, engineering controls, medical surveillance requirements, and the documentation that proves the plan is running.

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Delivery
On-site at your facility or jobsite
Audience
Concrete, masonry, and demolition contractors · General contractors designating competent persons · Superintendents and foremen · Safety managers building silica programs
Standards
29 CFR 1926.1153 · 29 CFR 1910.1053 · 8 CCR 1532.3

What the training covers

This course is built directly on OSHA’s respirable crystalline silica standard for construction, 29 CFR 1926.1153, and prepares your designee to run the role — not just recite it:

  • The hazard itself. Silicosis, lung cancer, COPD, and kidney disease — and the exposure math behind the standard: a permissible exposure limit of 50 µg/m³ as an 8-hour time-weighted average, with an action level of 25 µg/m³.
  • Dust-generating work. Cutting, grinding, coring, drilling, jackhammering, milling, and demolition of concrete, masonry, stone, and engineered stone.
  • Table 1 controls. The specified engineering controls, work practices, and respiratory protection for common construction tasks — and what full Table 1 compliance earns you: no exposure assessment required.
  • Engineering and work practice controls. Wet methods, local exhaust ventilation, and dust collection for the tasks Table 1 does not cover.
  • Medical surveillance. Which employees must be offered it, what the exams involve, and the recordkeeping obligations that follow.
  • The written exposure control plan. How to implement it, inspect against it, and document it so the record is dated, complete, and defensible.

Who needs silica competent person training?

Every employer covered by 29 CFR 1926.1153 must designate a competent person to make frequent and regular jobsite inspections and to implement the written exposure control plan. If your crews cut, grind, drill, or demolish concrete, masonry, stone, or engineered stone, OSHA expects a competent person on that site — designated, trained, and documented.

The standard defines that person as someone capable of identifying existing and foreseeable silica hazards, with the authority to promptly eliminate or minimize them. This course delivers the capability; your designation supplies the authority. California contractors answer to Cal/OSHA’s parallel standard, 8 CCR 1532.3 — we train to whichever governs your site.

This is not a box to check quietly. Respirable crystalline silica is the subject of an active OSHA national emphasis program, and an inspector’s opening questions are predictable: who is your competent person, where is the written exposure control plan, and show me the training record.

Delivered on your site, built around your work

We teach at your facility or jobsite, on your schedule, using your tasks, tools, and materials as the curriculum — never from boilerplate. A crew running handheld saws on block gets a different session than one milling pavement or fabricating engineered stone countertops.

If the written exposure control plan itself is the gap, PS&M builds those too — see our written safety program and exposure control plan development. Many clients pair this course with industrial hygiene training so the wider crew understands exposure limits, routes of entry, and why the controls exist.

Ready to designate with confidence? Request a quote or schedule a session, or call 213.290.3013.

Part of a bigger gap? See Safety Manuals & Written Programs →

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FAQ

Questions we hear

What does OSHA's silica standard require from a competent person?

Under 29 CFR 1926.1153, the competent person must be capable of identifying existing and foreseeable respirable crystalline silica hazards and have the authority to promptly eliminate or minimize them. The standard assigns this person frequent and regular inspections of jobsites, materials, and equipment, plus implementation of the written exposure control plan. Training builds the capability; your written designation supplies the authority.

What is Table 1, and why does it matter?

Table 1 of 29 CFR 1926.1153 lists common construction tasks — from stationary masonry saws to jackhammers — with the exact engineering controls, work practices, and respiratory protection OSHA specifies for each. Follow a Table 1 entry fully and correctly, and you are not required to conduct exposure assessments for that task. That makes Table 1 fluency the fastest path to defensible compliance, and it sits at the center of this course.

Does the general industry silica standard also require a competent person?

No — the competent person designation is specific to the construction standard, 29 CFR 1926.1153. General industry and maritime employers fall under 29 CFR 1910.1053, which still demands a written exposure control plan, exposure assessment, and medical surveillance. If your operation spans both, we train to both.

How often does silica competent person training need to be repeated?

The standard sets no fixed refresher interval, but it expects retraining whenever tasks, controls, or the written exposure control plan change — and it expects the competent person's knowledge to be demonstrably current. Most PS&M clients align refresher sessions with their annual program review. We will recommend a cadence that fits how your work actually changes.

Start the conversation

Train your crew before OSHA asks

On-site delivery, tailored to your equipment and your hazards. Request a quote — we respond within one business day.

Request this trainingor call (213) 290-3013