When was the last time you actually used your job hazard analysis? If it’s gathering dust in a file cabinet or buried in a digital folder, you’re not alone. However, you’re missing out on one of the most powerful tools in workplace safety.
Here’s what that oversight might be costing you: The National Safety Council reports that in 2023, each medically consulted workplace injury cost companies an average of $43,000. Workplace fatalities? Nearly $1.5 million per incident. Beyond the obvious moral and legal obligations to protect your workers, unsafe workplaces devastate your bottom line.
What Is a Job Hazard Analysis?
A job hazard analysis (JHA) is a systematic tool designed to identify, eliminate, and prevent workplace hazards before they cause harm. The best JHAs focus on consequences and worst-case scenarios, not just surface-level risks. When done right, they double as invaluable training materials for new employees and contractors who need to understand not just how to do a job, but how to do it safely.
The Six-Step JHA Process
Creating an effective job hazard analysis doesn’t have to be complicated. Here’s the framework:
Step 1: Prioritize which jobs to analyze. Start with high-risk tasks, jobs with a history of incidents, or newly introduced processes. You can’t analyze everything at once, so focus your energy where it matters most.
Step 2: Break down each job into individual steps. Get granular. A task like “install overhead lighting” might involve ladder setup, wire stripping, fixture mounting, and testing, each with its own hazards.
Step 3: Identify hazards for each step. What could go wrong? Electrical shock, falls, cuts, pinch points? This is where the real analysis happens.
Step 4: Describe and prioritize the hazards. Not all risks are created equal. A paper cut and a fall from height both qualify as hazards, but they demand different levels of attention.
Step 5: Select appropriate controls. Use the hierarchy of controls: elimination, substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls, and PPE, to address each hazard. Always start at the top of that hierarchy and work your way down.
Step 6: Review and update continuously. This is where most JHAs fail. Without regular reviews, your analysis becomes obsolete the moment conditions change.
The Secret Ingredient: Worker Input
Here’s a truth that often gets overlooked: the people doing the work know it better than anyone else. Your equipment operators, technicians, and field workers have firsthand insight into hazards that might never occur to someone in an office. Involving them in creating and updating JHAs doesn’t just improve accuracy, it builds worker buy in. When workers help develop safety protocols, they’re far more likely to follow them.
Living Documents for Changing Conditions
This is the critical difference between a compliance checkbox and a functional safety tool. Jobs evolve. A construction project that started in mild weather now faces winter conditions. The experienced crew member who knew every hazard just retired. The equipment you specified in your original JHA was replaced with a different model. Your personal protective equipment shows wear.
If your JHA doesn’t reflect these changes, it’s not protecting anyone. Treat your job hazard analyses as living documents that get referenced during toolbox talks, updated after near-misses, and revised when scope changes. Pull them out during safety meetings. Walk new hires through them on day one. Make them as routine as your daily safety briefings.
From Paperwork to Protection
The difference between a JHA that sits on a shelf and one that saves lives comes down to how you use it. When integrated into your daily operations, a well-maintained job hazard analysis becomes second nature: a practical reference that keeps your team thinking about safety at every step.
Need help developing or revitalizing your job hazard analysis program? We’re here to help. Send us a message and we’ll get back to you within 24 hours.
Additional Resources: OSHA provides a comprehensive job hazard analysis guide that’s worth reviewing as you develop your program.