How to Write a Job Hazard Analysis (JHA): Step-by-Step Example

Read this to the crew

Before we start today, we are going to fill out the JHA for this task together. I want to talk about why we do it before anyone picks up a tool, and what we do if something changes after we have started.

1. We fill out the JHA before work starts because that is when changing the plan is easiest. Once the crane is flying bundles, moving a guardrail or a walkway means stopping people mid-task.
2. You know this task better than the form does. If you see a hazard that is not on the sheet, say so now, and we will add it before anyone signs.
3. Any step that scores 10 to 16 does not start until we add controls that bring the score down and the supervisor signs off. A 20 or higher means we stop and plan the task a different way.
4. Your signature means you read the JHA and understand the controls for your part of the work. If a control does not make sense to you, ask before you sign.
5. Conditions change during a shift. Rain on the deck, a different crane, a guardrail pulled for a pick, or a new person on the crew all count.
6. When something changes, stop the step it affects and tell me. We update the JHA right there at the work area, score that step again, and everyone on it initials the change before work starts back up.
7. Anyone on this crew can stop a step when a control on the JHA is missing. Stopping to fix the plan is part of the job here.

Ask the crew

• Which step of today's task has the highest score before controls, and what is the control that brings it down?
• If the guardrail has to come down for a crane pick, what protects the person at the edge, and who checks it?
• What changes during this shift would make you stop and ask to update the JHA?
• If someone joins the crew after lunch, what do they need to do before they start work?