706 Conducting a Job Hazard Analysis

Tips on Conducting the JHA

Employees reviewing a JHA job hazard analysis

• Analyze the task: Focus only on the job being performed. The goal is to identify hazards in the task—not to judge the worker’s performance or work habits.
• Record job actions clearly: Write down each step in a way that accurately describes what is done, without including unnecessary details. The detailed safe job procedure will be created later.
• Avoid extreme detail or generalization: Do not break the job down into so many small actions that the analysis becomes too long and hard to follow. At the same time, avoid writing steps so broad that they skip over important parts of the job.
• Get input from experienced workers: Workers who have done the job before can provide valuable insight into the steps and the potential hazards that might not be obvious to others.

• Emphasize task analysis, not performance evaluation: Make it clear to employees that the purpose of the JHA is to improve safety, not to criticize or evaluate their work.
• Include employees in every phase: Workers should be involved from the beginning to the end of the JHA. They should help review the steps, identify hazards, and suggest safe practices to reduce or eliminate those hazards.
• Use photos or videos if needed: Taking pictures or videos of the job can help when reviewing steps, identifying hazards, or explaining safe procedures during training.

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