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CDFOM: Staffing, Training and Competence Management: Coverage, Authorization and Evidence

CDFOM · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.

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Staffing, Training and Competence Management: Coverage, Authorization and Evidence

Staffing, Training and Competence Management

This domain tests organisation design and the evidence that people are competent for the tasks they perform. It covers roles, 24×7 shift coverage, authorization, training records and handover. Exam questions often ask you to calculate FTE coverage or identify a competence gap, not just list job titles.

Core rules and concepts

  • Define roles by accountability: operations or facilities manager, shift leader, technicians, security, safety officer and vendors. Each role needs a job description, authorization level and deputy.
  • 24×7 coverage needs more than one person per shift: breaks, leave, sickness, training and escalation require relief. Calculate FTE from productive hours, not headcount.
  • A competence matrix maps people to tasks such as switching, LOTO, fire panel, generator and CMMS, with evidence: training, assessment, supervised practice and reauthorization.
  • Training includes induction, OEM or equipment training, emergency procedures, safety, security and vendor escort. Records need date, trainer, assessment result and expiry.
  • Shift handover must be face-to-face with a written record; fatigue, overtime and lone working are staffing risks.

Worked example

One 24×7 post needs 8,760 hours per year. An FTE is contracted for 2,080 hours, but after 200 hours leave, 60 hours training and 40 hours sickness, productive hours are 1,780. Coverage = 8,760 ÷ 1,780 = 4.92, so at least 5 FTE are needed before adding relief for breaks and absence spikes. If the post requires two people on every shift, the baseline becomes 10 FTE. If the site also needs a day-shift supervisor outside the shift rotation, add that role separately. Reasoning: use net productive hours and state the coverage assumption; rounding down creates a hidden single point of failure.

Traps that cost marks

  • Dividing 8,760 by 2,080 and ignoring leave, training and sickness.
  • Treating attendance at training as competence without assessment.
  • Letting authorization expire without revalidation.
  • Assuming a vendor's staff are covered by the site's competence matrix.
  • Running lean shifts without a fatigue or escalation policy.