Mentoring and competency verification · Lesson 4 of 4

Mentoring and competency verification: defects, verification and case study

Six ways a sign-off fails, two published OSHA press brake case histories, how to choose a corrective option, language and feedback, a program audit checklist, and worked re-check dates.

You will be able to: Diagnose why a sign-off failed from its evidence, choose between retraining, re-evaluating and stepping back to supervised work, and audit a competency program with a checklist.

10 min · 11 slides · 7 questions

All lessons in this module

Slide 1 of 11

Six ways a sign-off fails

Six ways a sign-off fails, each answered by a rule or guide in this module:

A signature for attending, not for being evaluated
No standard written before the training
A judge without the knowledge, or not independent
A record missing the evaluator or the dates
No refresher after a new task, near-miss or change
A reported problem answered with "be careful"

Sources

29 CFR 1910.178 Powered industrial trucks, paragraph (l) Operator training (current federal text as opened 2026-11-10) - U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Training Requirements in OSHA Standards (OSHA 2254-09R, 2015), which reprints 29 CFR 1910.95(k)(2), 1910.157(g) and 1910.178(l) and gives training guidance - U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration
29 CFR 1910.147 The control of hazardous energy, paragraphs (c)(6) and (c)(7) (current federal text as opened 2026-11-10) - U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Glossary

Near-miss: An incident in which no one was hurt but could have been. OSHA's forklift rule lists an accident or near-miss as a trigger for refresher training.
Point of operation: The place on a machine where the work is done on the material. OSHA's amputation guide describes press brake injuries there, where hands enter while the machine can cycle.
Program evaluation: Checking whether a training or safety program works, as distinct from checking one person. OSHA's recommended practices say to evaluate a safety and health program initially and at least annually.
Deficiency: A gap between the knowledge and skill expected and what employees show on evaluation. OSHA's guidance says to revise the program, retrain or refresh more often until it is resolved.