Write a risk assessment for Job hazard analysis

A risk assessment and job hazard analysis (JHA) should be a structured, task-based process used to identify hazards, evaluate risk, and define controls before work begins. A JHA breaks the job into steps, identifies existing and potential hazards at each step, assesses severity and likelihood, and determines how to eliminate or control the hazards. It is also a practical tool for training, accident prevention, and developing safe job procedures. [1] [2] [10]

1. Select and prioritize the jobs to analyze first, focusing on tasks with injury history, severe potential consequences, new or modified work, infrequent/non-routine work, or permit-required activities such as confined space or hot work.
2. Involve the people who perform the work, supervisors, and safety personnel. Review accident and near-miss history, equipment manuals, SDSs, and site conditions before observation.
3. Break the job into clear task steps by observing the work and confirming the sequence with employees, including variations that are done infrequently.
4. Identify hazards for each step, including obvious and less visible hazards such as struck-by, caught-between, falls, chemical exposure, ergonomic stressors, electrical contact, dust, heat, noise, and environmental conditions.
5. Evaluate risk for each hazard by considering who or what is exposed, what could go wrong, the likely consequence, and the probability of occurrence. Use a risk matrix or risk code system to rank priorities.
6. Apply controls using the mitigation hierarchy: eliminate first, then engineering controls, administrative/work-practice controls, and PPE as the last line of defense.
7. Document the controls, required PPE, safe work procedure, responsible persons, and any stop-work criteria for high-risk steps.
8. Communicate the JHA in a pre-job briefing, update it when conditions change, and reassess after incidents, equipment changes, or process changes.

[1] [2] [15] Hazard identification should be both workplace-wide and task-specific. Start with a baseline survey of the workplace, then analyze each job step for hazard type, source, body parts at risk, exposure conditions, and contributing factors. Useful hazard categories include impact, penetration, crush/pinch, harmful dust, chemical, heat, optical radiation, electrical contact, ergonomic hazards, and environmental hazards. For more detailed JHAs, also consider accident mechanisms such as struck-by, caught-in, fall-to-below, overexertion, bodily reaction, and overexposure. [6] [7] [17]

Task-based risk evaluation should rate each hazard by severity and probability, then assign a risk priority to determine action. A practical matrix approach classifies severity from fatal/permanent disability to no injury, and probability from frequent to extremely improbable. High-risk tasks require immediate suspension until controls are implemented; medium-risk tasks require prompt controls; low-risk tasks may not require additional controls unless a specific standard still mandates protection. [7] [4] [4]

1. Elimination: remove the hazard entirely, redesign the task, perform the work from the ground instead of at height, substitute a safer chemical, or avoid the task if it is unnecessary.
2. Engineering controls: machine guards, enclosures, ventilation, lifting devices, elevated work platforms, interlocks, and other physical changes that reduce exposure at the source.
3. Administrative or work-practice controls: safe work procedures, sequencing changes, lockout/tagout steps, training, supervision, scheduling, restricted access, inspections, and job briefings.
4. Interim controls: temporary barriers, cones, tape, or temporary guarding while permanent controls are being implemented.
5. PPE: eye/face, head, hand, foot, hearing, respiratory, fall protection, body, leg, or flotation protection selected to match the residual hazard.

[11] [16] [14] PPE requirements must be based on a documented hazard assessment. OSHA 29 CFR 1910.132(d)(1) requires employers to assess the workplace to determine whether hazards are present, or likely to be present, that necessitate PPE. PPE must be selected only after feasible engineering, work-practice, and administrative controls have been considered first. The assessment should identify the hazard type, source, body parts at risk, severity, probability, risk code, and control method, and the employer should provide appropriate PPE, train employees, ensure proper use, and maintain PPE in safe condition. [2] [3] [5]

• Typical PPE categories to evaluate include eye and face protection, head protection, hand protection, foot protection, hearing protection, respiratory protection, fall protection, leg protection, torso/body protection, and personal flotation devices where applicable.
• Respiratory protection requires special evaluation when airborne contaminants may exceed permissible exposure limits; selection may range from filtering facepieces to supplied-air respirators or SCBA depending on the hazard.
• PPE must fit the worker properly, be durable for the exposure, and be matched to the specific hazard rather than selected generically.

[6] [18] [4] Safe work procedures should be written from the JHA and used in pre-job planning. They should define the task steps, hazards, required controls, PPE, permits, isolation requirements, tools/equipment, emergency actions, and stop-work triggers. Before starting work, conduct a site-specific job briefing with the crew to review the JHA, discuss hazards not already captured, and confirm controls. If conditions change, hold another briefing and revise the JHA so it remains a living document. [13] [1] [1]

Incident prevention depends on using the JHA as an active management tool rather than a formality. Prioritize jobs with accident history, near misses, severe potential outcomes, new workers, changed tasks, and non-routine work. Use the JHA to verify that workers have the right training, equipment, and supplies; inspect tools and guards; correct unsafe conditions before work starts; and reassess hazards after incidents or changes in equipment, process, or site conditions. [13] [10] [9]

For OSHA and related regulatory compliance, employers should at minimum ensure that workplace hazards are assessed, PPE needs are determined and documented, employees are trained, and records are available for review. The supplied documents specifically reference OSHA 1910.132(d)(1) for PPE hazard assessment, OSHA 1910.134 for respiratory protection, and Washington WAC 296-800-16005 and 296-800-16010 for PPE hazard assessment and documentation. Even where a JHA is not explicitly mandated for every task, regulators expect employers to take the steps necessary to make jobs safe and healthful, and a JHA is a recognized best-practice method for doing so. [2] [18] [12]

• Maintain a documented hazard assessment or JHA form showing job/task steps, hazards, sources, body parts at risk, severity, probability, risk code, and selected controls.
• Keep certification details such as workplace name, location, assessor, approver, and assessment date.
• Document PPE selection, issuance, employee training, and retraining where needed.
• Incorporate new PPE requirements and safe work procedures into the written accident prevention program or equivalent safety program.
• Retain supporting documents such as SDSs, equipment manuals, inspection records, permits, incident investigations, and job briefing records.
• Review and update documentation periodically and whenever tasks, equipment, personnel, or conditions change.

[12] [4] [9] In practice, a compliant and effective procedure is: survey the workplace, choose the job, break it into steps, identify hazards and exposures, rate severity and probability, stop or redesign high-risk work, implement controls in hierarchy order, specify residual-risk PPE, write the safe work procedure, brief the crew, perform the work with supervision, and revise the assessment whenever conditions change. That approach supports regulatory compliance, reduces incidents, and creates the documentation needed to demonstrate due diligence. [8] [4] [1]