Job Hazard Analysis (JHA): Find the Danger Before You Start

5-minute toolbox talk · 2:43 video + discussion, quiz and sign-off · free printable sheet with sign-off table.

Key points

• A JHA looks at one job, step by step — not the whole site.
• For each step, ask: what can go wrong, and how bad could it be?
• Fix the hazard at the source first. PPE is the last line of defence, not the first.
• The people who do the job help write the JHA. They know where it really goes wrong.
• A JHA is a living document. Update it when the job, the tools or the site change, or after a near miss.

Step by step

1. Pick the job. Start with jobs that had injuries or near misses, or that are new or rarely done.
2. Break the job into steps in the order they are done. Keep it to the main steps.
3. For each step, list the hazards: moving parts, energy, heights, chemicals, heat, lifting, traffic.
4. For each hazard, choose a control. Try in this order: remove it, replace it, guard or isolate it, change how the work is done, then PPE.
5. Write it down and walk through it with the crew.
6. Check the controls are in place before work starts.
7. Review the JHA after any change, incident or near miss.

Never

• Never copy a JHA from another site without walking the job.
• Never use PPE as the only control when you can remove the hazard.
• Never start a job when the JHA does not match what you see.

Who needs this training

• Supervisors and team leads who plan the work.
• Experienced workers who do the job — they know the real steps and shortcuts.
• Safety staff who review and approve the JHA.

What the rule says

In the US there is no single OSHA rule that requires a JHA for every job, but OSHA recommends it (Publication 3071) and many standards require a hazard assessment — for example 29 CFR 1910.132(d), which requires the employer to assess the workplace for hazards and certify that assessment in writing before choosing PPE.

Many clients, insurers and safety programmes (ISO 45001 and others) expect documented hazard identification and risk assessment.

Controls follow the hierarchy of controls: elimination, substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls, then PPE.

Common mistakes

• Writing the JHA at a desk without watching the job.
• Too many tiny steps, or one giant step called "do the job".
• Controls that are vague: "be careful" is not a control.
• Writing it once and never updating it.
• Not reviewing it with the crew before the work starts.

Talk about it

1. Which job in our area had the last near miss? Do we have a JHA for it?
2. At which step of our most common job could someone get hurt badly?
3. Is there a hazard we control with PPE that we could remove instead?

Quick check

Questions people ask

Based on OSHA Publication 3071 "Job Hazard Analysis"; NIOSH Hierarchy of Controls; OSHA 29 CFR 1910.132(d) (PPE hazard assessment). This talk is a summary for training. Your site's written procedure and your supervisor's instructions come first.