Question 1

Is a Job Hazard Analysis required by OSHA?

Accepted Answer

No general standard mandates JHAs by name, but they are OSHA’s recommended method for meeting duties that are mandatory: the General Duty Clause, the written PPE hazard assessment (29 CFR 1910.132(d)), and task-level requirements in standards like lockout/tagout, where machine-specific written procedures are required. Some standards and many contractors and insurers do require JSAs/JHAs explicitly for high-risk work.

Question 2

What is the difference between a JHA and a JSA?

Accepted Answer

Nothing substantive — Job Hazard Analysis and Job Safety Analysis are two names for the same steps/hazards/controls exercise. Some companies use “JSA” for the daily pre-task version signed by the crew and “JHA” for the master analysis kept on file, but OSHA’s publication 3071 treats them as the same tool.

Question 3

Which jobs should I analyze first?

Accepted Answer

Follow OSHA’s priority list: jobs with the highest injury and illness rates (your OSHA 300 log tells you), jobs that could cause severe injury even without history, jobs where one human error is catastrophic, new or recently changed jobs, and jobs complex enough to need written instructions. A handful of well-made JHAs on the worst tasks beats fifty superficial ones.

Question 4

How many steps should a JHA have?

Accepted Answer

Usually 5 to 10. If you are past 15, the job is probably two jobs — split it. If you are at 3, steps are probably hiding hazards — break them down. The test: each step should be a distinct action where the exposure changes (position, lift, cut, transport, restart).

Question 5

Who should write the JHA?

Accepted Answer

A supervisor or safety lead facilitates, but the analysis must be done with the employee who performs the job — by observing the task as actually done, not as the procedure says. Workers spot hazards and workarounds no office review will find, and involving them is also what makes the resulting controls stick.

Question 6

How often should JHAs be updated?

Accepted Answer

Review a JHA whenever the job changes (new equipment, new product, new layout), after any incident or near miss on that task, and periodically — annually is a common cycle — to catch drift between the written steps and actual practice. An outdated JHA that no longer matches the job is a red flag in an inspection, not an asset.

Question 7

Can I use a JHA template?

Accepted Answer

Yes — the three-column format is universal, and starting from an industry example saves time. But the content must come from observing your task, in your workplace, with your equipment and your workers. OSHAid gives you industry-specific starting points and lets you correct them on site with photos, which is the fastest honest path from template to real JHA.

Job step	Hazards	Controls
1. Shut down and cool the fryer	Burns from hot surfaces; contact with oil above 300 °F	Written cool-down time before filtering (per manufacturer); lockout of heating element; thermometer check before handling
2. Drain oil into filter unit	Splash burns; slips on oil spills; fire if oil contacts ignition source	Use built-in filtration or a closed transfer unit — never open pots; spill kit at hand; keep drain path clear of burners
3. Transport used oil to disposal container	Burns while carrying; strain from heavy container; slips along the route	Wheeled, lidded transport caddy; two-person rule or pump transfer for heavy volumes; route kept dry and clear
4. Refill and restart	Splatter when adding oil to hot fryer; overfill	Fill only when fryer is cool; fill line marked; restart procedure posted at the fryer

Job step	Hazards	Controls
1. Approach and secure the trailer	Trailer creep; dock separation; falling between dock and trailer	Wheel chocks or dock lock engaged before entry; dock plate rated and secured; go/no-go light system
2. Enter trailer and lift the pallet	Tip-over on uneven dock plate; unstable or overweight load; poor visibility	Load within rated capacity; forks fully under pallet, mast tilted back; headlights on inside trailer; damaged pallets refused
3. Reverse and travel to staging area	Striking pedestrians; collisions at blind corners; falling load	Separated pedestrian walkways and physical barriers; horn and slow-down at intersections; load carried low; spotter where view is blocked
4. Stack in racking	Load falling from height; rack collapse; caught between truck and rack	Rack capacity labels respected; racks inspected and anchored; no one on foot in the aisle during stacking

Job Hazard Analysis: the method, with concrete examples

The anatomy of a JHA

How to do a JHA in 4 steps

Select the job and involve the worker

Break the job into steps

Identify the hazards at each step

Define controls and put them to work

Example 1 — JHA: filtering a deep fryer (restaurant / bakery)

Example 2 — JHA: unloading pallets with a forklift (warehouse)

More JHA examples by industry

Building JHAs with OSHAid

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

Related reading

Related pages

Build your JHAs on site, from your phone