Job hazard analysis is a time-tested way to identify and correct job hazards. It’s simple, it works with any job, and it gets the results you need to create a safer workplace.
Most simply put, job hazard analysis (JHA) breaks jobs into basic steps, identifies the hazards associated with each step, and prescribes controls for each hazard.
A JHA should be conducted for most jobs in your workplace. Priority, however, should go to:
- Jobs with the highest injury or illness rates
- Jobs with the potential to cause severe or disabling injuries or illness, even if there is no history of previous accidents
- Jobs in which one simple human error could lead to a severe accident or injury
- Jobs that are new to your operation or have undergone recent changes in processes and procedures
- Jobs complicated enough to require written instructions
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Data Analysis
The JHA should include a review of statistical data to reveal trends and identify specific areas to concentrate accident prevention efforts. Data to analyze includes:
- Recordable injury logs
- First-aid logs
- Safety inspections
- Accident investigation reports
- Employee hazard reports
Look for similarities between the data and job location, type of equipment in use, time of day, and day of week.
The analysis should also look at when and where close calls or near misses have occurred. In addition, the JHA should include observations of employees performing tasks in hazard-prone areas and documentation of the observations.
Once the JHA is completed and hazards have been identified, corrective actions can be developed and implemented.
Corrective actions may include steps such as:
- Finding a new way to do a job
- Changing the physical conditions that create the hazard
- Changes in job procedures
- Reducing the necessity or frequency of the high hazard job or task
Corrective measures must also include training to increase safety awareness and provide employees with the tools to recognize and eliminate hazards. All such training should be documented.
Also be sure to review the JHA during any accident investigation. If a JHA has not been conducted, perform one as a part of the investigation to determine the events and conditions that led to the accident.
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Need More Information About JHA?
No problem! BLR’s Safety Audit Checklists provides a section on job hazard analysis, in addition to safety and health checklists on more than other 50 essential workplace topics.
Each topic contains:
- A review of applicable OSHA standards
- Safety management tips
- Training requirements
- At least one comprehensive safety checklist
Many sections also contain a compliance checklist, which highlights key provisions of OSHA standard. All checklists can be copied and circulated to supervisors and posted for employees.
All told, this best-selling program provides you with more than 300 separate safety checklists keyed to three main criteria:
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- Safety management checklists that monitor the administrative procedures you need to have for topics such as OSHA 300 Log maintenance, training program scheduling and recording, and OSHA-required employee notifications.
Make as many copies as you need for all your supervisors and managers, and distribute. What’s more, the entire program is updated annually. And the cost averages only about $1 per checklist.
If this method of ensuring a safer, more OSHA-compliant workplace interests you, we’ll be happy to make Safety Audit Checklists available for a no-cost, no-obligation, 30-day evaluation in your office. Just let us know, and we’ll be pleased to arrange it.
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