What does "competency" mean in occupational hygiene?

WorkSafe has just released an updated Guide to Working with Occupational Hygienists that puts new emphasis on the word ‘competency’. It's now in the guidance on choosing a hygienist, and again when reviewing a quote, "Is it clear that a competent occupational hygienist has overall responsibility for the job?"

It's a fair question to ask, but not always an easy one to answer. New Zealand doesn't have its own accredited certification programme for occupational hygiene, so there's no single qualification you can check to know you're covered. 

But, if something does go wrong down the line, whether it's a worker's health complaint, a WorkSafe investigation, or a legal claim, the quality of the person behind your exposure monitoring will be put under scrutiny. 

So what does competency look like in practice, and how do you check for it before you commit to a provider, before you find out the hard way whether it was enough?

Why competency is harder to pin down than it sounds

As WorkSafe's guide points out, New Zealand doesn't yet have its own IOHA-accredited certification programme for occupational hygiene. That means there's no single local benchmark to point to and say "there, that's a competent occupational hygienist." Instead, competency is inferred by a combination of international qualifications, professional registration and experience across a range of sites and industries.

That's why WorkSafe recommends checking whether your hygienist is a Full or Fellow member of the New Zealand Occupational Hygiene Society (NZOHS) and listed on the HASANZ Register. It’s also worth asking directly about the qualifications and experience of whoever will be doing the work, and who has overall responsibility for it.

How we build competency at Air Matters

When it comes to air occupational hygiene, we take competency seriously, and that’s because our clients are putting their trust in us. To us, competency means our staff are well-qualified, suitably trained, and have the hands-on experience to work without supervision at the highest professional standard.

For our developing occupational hygienists, that means working directly under the guidance of a HASANZ-registered occupational hygienist while they work toward that standard themselves. Alongside their on-the-job experience, we also support them in achieving their international Certificate of Operational Competence in Occupational Hygiene, gaining full membership of NZOHS, and registering with HASANZ, all while their work is being actively supervised and reviewed. We're proud to say two of our team recently achieved their CertOH certification, a great example of the investment we make in growing our people.

Our senior consultants hold a range of international occupational hygiene certifications, giving our team a deep and varied skill set to draw on when assessing and managing workplace hazards.

Maintaining competency with peer reviews

Qualifications and registration may be the easiest ways to check for competency, but those skills also need to be kept fresh. At Air Matters, we see the value of continued professional development, which is why every assessment, data set, and final report is peer reviewed before it reaches a client.

Through this scrutiny, our team challenge each other's work to check that conclusions are sound, recommendations are relevant, and nothing is missed. It's how we make sure that competency isn't limited to a certificate in a file, but continually demonstrated on every project.

Combined experience for specialist competence

Some situations call for more than general occupational hygiene expertise. That's why several of our consultants hold dual competencies in specific areas.

Our local exhaust ventilation (LEV) assessments are carried out by specialists who have both occupational hygiene and international LEV performance qualifications. That means we’re not only able to assess how effectively your extraction systems are reducing exposure, but how they’re performing overall.

Our asbestos assessments are carried out by team members who are also Licensed Asbestos Assessors, which allows them to evaluate site risks with the technical rigour of an asbestos licence and the health context of an occupational hygienist.

Talk to a competent occupational hygienist

WorkSafe's updated guide is a reminder that competency should never be assumed. It’s your site, workers and company on the line, so choose a firm that has the experience and qualifications to do what they say they will. 

If you'd like to understand more about the process itself, our guide to choosing the right exposure assessment for your workplace is a good place to start.

Or, get in touch to talk through your requirements with a competent, HASANZ-registered occupational hygienist.