JHA (Job Hazard Analysis)
A Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) is a systematic technique that breaks a job into individual steps, identifies hazards at each step and determines preventive measures to reduce risk.
What Is a JHA?
A Job Hazard Analysis (JHA), also known as a Job Safety Analysis (JSA), is a core risk management tool. It decomposes a task into sequential steps, identifies the hazards associated with each step and prescribes controls to eliminate or minimize each hazard.
Steps to Conduct a JHA
- Select the job: Prioritize jobs with high injury rates, new processes, or significant consequence potential.
- Break the job into steps: List each task in the order performed, usually 8-12 steps.
- Identify hazards: For each step, ask "What could go wrong?" Consider energy sources, environmental factors, human error and equipment failure.
- Determine controls: Apply the Hierarchy of Controls - eliminate, substitute, engineer, administrate, or apply PPE.
- Review and communicate: Share the completed JHA with all workers performing the task and update it whenever conditions change.
JHA vs. FLHA
A JHA is typically developed in advance and reviewed periodically. A Field Level Hazard Assessment (FLHA) is a shorter, daily check done at the worksite before starting work. Both are complementary.
Digitize JHAs with Make Safety Easy
Make Safety Easy lets supervisors build JHA templates, assign them to crews, collect digital sign-offs and track revision history - all from a phone or tablet.