Job Hazard Analysis

Overview
. What does JHA mean?
. Study Questions
. Establishing JHA Priorities
. Selecting a JHA Team
. Performing a JHA
. Identifying Basic Job Step
. Practice Exercise
. Determining Existing and Potential Hazards
. Recommending Corrective Measures
. Using JHA
. Summary
Establishing JHA Priorities

Establishing priorities are based on the following criteria:

. High frequency of accidents or near-misses
. History of serious accidents or fatalities
. Potential for serious harm
. New jobs
. Changes in procedures and standards
Establishing JHA Priorities
Note: Even the most routine jobs can include unrecognized hazards. By performing a thorough JHA you
may be able to discover a safer or healthier way of performing the job.

Selecting a JHA Team

. Involving others in the process reduced the possibility of overlooking an individual job step or
potential hazard.
. It also increases the likelihood of identifying the most appropriate measures of eliminating or
controlling the hazards.

Selecting a JHA Team: An effective JHA team usually include:

. The supervisor
. The employee most familiar with how the job is done and its related hazards
. Other employees who perform the job
. Experts or specialist when necessary, such as maintenance personnel, occupational hygienist,
ergonomists, or design engineers.
Performing a JHA

Three-stage process . . List the basic steps necessary to perform the job from start to finish
. Identify every existing or potential hazards associated with each job step
. Develop recommendations for ways to eliminate, or control each hazard.
. Note: it is best to complete JHA forms one column at a time.
Identifying Basic Job Steps
. The most effective way for the JHA Team to .identify the basic job steps is to watch carefully as an
operator performs the entire job at least once. .
. Then, as the operator performs the job again, the individual steps are noted in the JHA form using
simple action phrases that are short and to the point.
. Job steps should be numbered to indicate the order in which they are performed
Identifying Basic Job Steps

Two of the most common errors made during this stage:

. Describing the job in too much detail
. Describing the step in too detail.
Identifying Basic Job Steps
. The purpose of JHA is to identify hazards associated with a job and to make recommendations for
ways to eliminate or control these hazards.
. Describing job steps in terms of what they are supposed-to accomplish provides maximum opportunity
to explore alternative ways of performing the job in a safer, healthier manner.

Practice Exercise

Identifying Basic Job steps

Job Description: As you leave for work today, you discover that your car has a flat tire. The car is parked on
level ground, and the parking brake is already set. The bumper jack and the spare tire are both in good condition
and stored in the car's trunk.

Job Steps:
 Remove a jack, spare tire, and the lug wrench from the trunk.
 Loosen lug nuts
 Raise jack
 Remove flat tire'
 Install spare tire
 Lower jack
 Tighten lug nuts
 Place flat tire, jack and lug wrench in trunk.
( .
.
.
Determining Existing and Potential Hazards

Simple technique to make sure that each step is examined thoroughly is to consider the following:
1. The physical actions required for that specific step
2. The materials used.
3. The equipment used. .

4. The conditions under which the step is normally performed.

5. Physical Actions

Determining Existing and Potential Hazards

1. Many jobs require the operator to perform a specific physical activity that, if done incorrectly can
result in an injury or illness. - .' -
Ex: lifting of heavy objects causing back injury or muscle strain
2. Materials:
 Whenever hazardous chemicals' or other dangerous substances are involved in a job step, there is
always the possibility of injury, illness, or environmental harm.
 Carefully examine the job step for possibilities that employees might be exposed to material; a
fire or explosion could occur; or if the material could be released into the environment

3. Equipment - Examine the job site for ways employees might be caught in, on, or by any part of the
equipment, and to see' if any electrical or other energy source or hazards are present that poses a risk.

4. Conditions
 Consider ,any environmental conditions that could threaten an employee's health and safety
 This could inylude poor housekeeping, too much or too little light; hazardous' noise levels;
exposure to temperature extremes; and adverse weather.

5. "What if' Questions

 in addition to identifying those potential hazards when the job is performed in the normal manner
or under normal working conditions, asking some "what if' questions allows the team to
anticipate hazardous situations that might occur if normal operating conditions were suddenly
changed or if a job step were to be performed incorrectly or out of sequence.

6. Common problem encountered when asking "What if” questions is deciding when to stop considering
possibilities

7. Solutions:
 Keep the discussion focused only on possibilities that the team considers most likely. . .
 Consult previous JHA and accident investigation reports
 Talk with experienced operators

Recommending Corrective Measures

 Recommendations should be developed on the job site whenever possible
 Recommendations should be developed in sequence, beginning with the first hazard.
 Recommendations must be specific
 As many solutions as possible should be listed.
The same four factors used to identify hazards can be used to develop an effective recommendations for
corrective measures:
1. The physical actions required for that specific step
2. The materials used
3. The equipment used
4. The conditions under which the step is normally performed
5. Physical actions
1. It may be possible to eliminate the risks by modifying, rearranging or combining actions '
2. It is also good practice to list personal protective equipment (PPE) that may be used to
control the employees exposure to hazards associated with a particular physical action even
when- recommendations for eliminating the hazard have been proposed.

6. Materials
1. It may be possible to substitute' a less hazardous material. If this is not possible it may be
necessary to recommend ways to control theemployee's exposure to that material by
suggesting the use of PPE or the installation of protective devise such as splash guards or
shields.
7. Equipment
1. Recommendations for corrective measures may include the installation of machine guards,
automatic safeguard devices or perhaps even the replacement of a particular piece of
equipment.
2. Recommending the use of PPE should also be considered.

8. Work Area Condition

1. Recommendations for corrective measures could include such things as improved
housekeeping procedures, installation of' additional lighting, ventilation, or noise reduction
systems, the use of PPE, or the relocation or redesign of the work area.

Using Job Hazard Analysis

The information provided by a thorough job hazard analysis can be used as the Basis for .
1. Developing or updating standard operating procedures
2. Training employees
3. Observing employee performance
4. Conducting-inspections-
5. Investigating accidents

Summary
 Job Hazard Analysis is one of the most effective tools available to help supervisors protect the
health and safety of their employees
 To perform an accurate and completed JHA, you need to:
 Select the job to be analyzed; and
 Assemble a team of knowledgeable and experienced personnel to conduct the JHA
 Then, the team as a whole needs to:
 Observe the job as it is performed to break it down into basic steps
 Analyze each step to determine what, if any, hazards could possibly occur, and
 Develop recommendations for eliminating or controlling the hazards associated with each
step.