I wondered if everyone would even be familiar with the term, let alone know about the requirement. Until somebody actually said they were unfamiliar with the requirement I was just gonna be lazy and not bother to provide more specific information.
From the OSHA website:
"The term "Competent Person" is used in many OSHA standards and documents. As a general rule, the term is not specifically defined. In a broad sense, an OSHA competent person is an individual who, by way of training and/or experience, is knowledgeable of applicable standards, is capable of identifying workplace hazards relating to the specific operation, is designated by the employer, and has authority to take appropriate actions (see 1926.32). Some standards add additional specific requirements which must be met by the competent person.... "
And the specific OSHA regulation that defines what the "Competent Person" is required to do on the excavation site:
"1926.651(k)(1)
Daily inspections of excavations, the adjacent areas, and protective systems shall be made by a competent person for evidence of a situation that could result in possible cave-ins, indications of failure of protective systems, hazardous atmospheres, or other hazardous conditions. An inspection shall be conducted by the competent person prior to the start of work and as needed throughout the shift. Inspections shall also be made after every rainstorm or other hazard increasing occurrence. These inspections are only required when employee exposure can be reasonably anticipated. "
So, what this boils down to is that, on any excavation site there *must* be an individual who has been formally trained to identify conditions that are contrary to OSHA regulations, and that person has to be able to shut the job down until everything is brought into compliance. Furthermore, it's my understanding that even though the description given above says, "by way of training and/or experience", that experience alone is not sufficient--the individual must have gone to a class of some kind to be accepted as the "competent person".
BTW, (since you never know who might be lurking these kinds of websites), if there's anybody here from OSHA I think it would be a wonderful thing if you'd speak up and say so. I know there are a number of questions that I'd want to ask, because there are always gray areas in the way things might be interpreted that can be clarified through discussion.
I'll acknowledge that there's a "risk of exposure to a hazardous atmosphere" because I do think there's a sort of adversarial feeling between people who work in the industry (any industry actually), and the people who are charged with enforcing the rules that govern that industry. I also believe (and think you believe too), that everyone could benefit if some of that adversarial feeling went away. You might need to be a little thick-skinned, but I think I can speak for all of the moderators when I promise we won't let you get too badly beaten up.