flha

A Field Level Hazard Assessment (FLHA) or field-level risk assessment is a real-time, site-specific review completed before and during work to identify hazards, assess risk, confirm existing controls, and decide whether additional measures are needed before work starts. It is intended to supplement formal risk assessments and daily safety discussions, and it should continue as conditions change so the crew avoids complacency. [1] [1] [1]

A practical FLHA/JHA procedure is to: break the job into steps, observe the work, identify hazards for each step, evaluate likelihood and severity, assign a risk priority, verify current controls, add recommended controls, communicate the plan in a pre-job briefing, and repeat the assessment whenever site conditions change. Workers who perform the job should be directly involved because they know the task and its hazards best. [3] [3] [3] [1] [3] [3]

• Review all job steps, including non-routine work such as maintenance, repair, cleaning, startup, shutdown, and upset conditions.
• Look at the work environment, equipment, materials, products, energy sources, traffic, weather, housekeeping, and surrounding operations.
• Identify who or what may be harmed, what could go wrong, what triggers the hazard, and the likely consequences.
• Consider hidden hazards such as ergonomic strain, repetitive motion, psychosocial factors, inexperienced workers, visitors, and off-site personnel.
• Use incident records, employee hazard reports, inspections, manuals, SDSs, and prior investigations to find hazards that may not be obvious during a brief observation.

[6] [6] [3] [3] [3] [6] For field-level risk assessment and job hazard analysis, risk should be ranked using severity and probability so the crew can decide whether work may proceed. A common approach is to assign a risk code or priority for each hazard at each task step. High-risk work must be stopped until controls are in place; medium-risk work requires prompt controls; low-risk work may proceed, while still checking whether any regulation requires protection. [2] [2] [2] [2] [2]

Control measures should follow the hierarchy of controls. The preferred order is elimination, substitution, engineering controls, administrative/work-practice controls, and then PPE. In practice, this means first asking whether the task can be removed, changed, isolated, guarded, automated, or done differently before relying on PPE alone. [1] [3] [10]

• Elimination: remove the hazard entirely or cancel the task if it is unnecessary.
• Substitution: replace the material, process, or equipment with a safer alternative.
• Engineering controls: guarding, ventilation, isolation, interlocks, machine protection, lifting devices, or redesign.
• Administrative/work-practice controls: procedures, permits, training, supervision, scheduling, restricted access, inspections, and job briefings.
• PPE: select hazard-specific equipment only after higher-level controls are considered and ensure proper fit, condition, and worker training.

[1] [4] PPE requirements must come from a documented hazard assessment. The assessment should identify the task, hazards, where they are located, the likelihood and severity of injury, and the PPE needed. PPE must be matched to the hazard, fit the worker, and be supported by training, supervision, and replacement as needed. [8] [2] [11] [10]

• Eye and face protection
• Head protection
• Hearing protection
• Respiratory protection
• Hand and skin protection
• Foot and leg protection
• Fall protection
• Torso/body protection
• Personal flotation devices where applicable

[5] Worker safety responsibilities in an FLHA/JHA process include participating in the assessment, sharing frontline knowledge, attending the pre-job briefing, following the selected controls, using assigned PPE correctly, reporting hazards and changing conditions, and stopping or escalating work when risk becomes unacceptable. Employee involvement is essential both for hazard identification and for successful implementation of controls. [7] [3] [11] [11]

Effective incident prevention depends on treating the JHA/FLHA as a living process rather than a one-time form. Before work, the crew should review the task and controls; during work, they should reassess when conditions, equipment, personnel, weather, or scope change; after incidents, near misses, or changes in equipment or process, the hazard assessment should be updated. Regular inspections also help verify that hazards remain controlled and that new hazards are identified early. [3] [7] [7] [9]

For regulatory compliance, the documents emphasize that PPE hazard assessments must be conducted, PPE needs determined, and—where required—documented as a certification. The documentation must be available to safety and health personnel and typically includes the workplace name, the person certifying the assessment, and the assessment date. Employers must also communicate PPE selection decisions to affected employees and ensure proper fit and use. [3] [7] [11] [11]

• Job or task being assessed
• Location or work area
• Task steps in sequence
• Hazards and hazard sources for each step
• Who or what is exposed, including body parts at risk
• Severity, probability, and risk priority/code
• Current controls and additional required controls
• Required PPE
• Names of participants/reviewer or certifier
• Date of assessment and revision history
• Record of pre-job briefing and updates when conditions change

[1] [4] [9] In summary, a strong FLHA/JHA program combines pre-task hazard identification, worker involvement, risk ranking, hierarchy-based controls, PPE selection based on documented assessment, pre-job communication, and continuous reassessment. If a hazard is high risk or controls are not adequate, do not start or continue the work until the hazard is eliminated or reduced to an acceptable level. [1] [2]