Competency is fundamental to the safe and efficient running of port operations, and it is a legal requirement under the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). To support members in meeting these obligations, Port Skills and Safety, in collaboration with members, has developed a Competency Management System (CMS) along with example assessment templates for safety‑critical tasks in operations, engineering, and marine areas.
The CMS provides a structured way for organisations to assess, maintain, and revalidate competence across safety‑critical roles. It is built on the HSE’s Managing Competence for Safety‑Related Systems guidance, with reference to relevant legislation and Safety in Ports (SiP) guidance, ensuring it reflects both regulatory expectations and industry best practice.
The CMS is designed for those responsible for managing workforce training and assessment in ports. This includes assessors who carry out competency checks, but in practice the adaptation of templates and the design of assessment processes is likely to be led by learning and development teams. Members benefit from the assurance that staff meet legal and operational requirements, while employees gain clarity on the expectations for safety‑critical roles.
Organisations begin by familiarising themselves with the CMS document, which sets out the system in detail. Learning and development teams can then adapt the example assessment templates, and create additional templates where needed, to suit local requirements and reflect the specific needs of individual organisations. Assessors use these adapted templates to carry out competency checks, while HR and training teams oversee the process to ensure assessments are consistent, re‑assessments are scheduled, and competence is revalidated over time.