Job hazard analysis (JHA) and risk assessments (RA) are two valuable processes for assessing the risks in your workplace. This guide will cover the differences between the two processes and how they help you assess the risks in your organization.
Job hazard analysis
JHA is a technique used to identify hazards specific to a job or work task and to provide hazard mitigation strategies in the form of engineering controls, administrative controls, and personal protective equipment (PPE).
When it comes to how to assess risks effectively, process focuses on the relationship between the worker, task, tools and equipment, and the environment. The JHA will identify controls to reduce or eliminate the hazard, so workers won’t get hurt on the job. Additionally, the JHA is a great opportunity to train employees to complete the job safely with the appropriate PPE.
So how do you assess risks in a collaborative way? Ideally, you ask employees to provide input for the JHA because they know best what can go wrong with the job. As a safety professional, you may develop a JHA when only one or a few processes exist that you fully understand.
However, some companies operate multiple processes across multiple sites. In those cases, subject matter experts (SMEs) must support JHA development. This teamwork becomes essential for jobs you do not know well, so rely on your team for their input. In addition, when jobs involve multiple complex processes, you may need outside help from private risk assessors, insurance companies, or even the local fire department.
OSHA provides a free resource in the form of a JHA booklet. This resource is particularly helpful in understanding the JHA process to assess risks.
JHA preparation to assess risks
You will want to do your homework before starting on a JHA. Below are three important steps to prepare for a JHA.
1. To develop a JHA, you must first start with observing the work task. Let the employee know what you are doing and why. Observe the work task from start to finish and receive input from the employee.
2. Review accident/injury / near miss history to understand which jobs are high risk. Jobs with frequent incidents usually mean there is a significant risk for injury that needs to be mitigated.
3. If you have multiple JHA to complete, rank and prioritize the jobs with the highest hazard rating. Priority should be given to jobs in which one human error could result in a severe accident or injury. Likewise, priority should also be given to new jobs to the operation or jobs that have undergone recent changes such as a process change or introduction of new equipment.
Conducting the JHA
Once you prepare to begin the JHA, follow the steps below to conduct and define your company’s process for assessing risks.
1. Break the job into steps. It is important to not be too general or too detailed during this process of breaking the job down into individual steps. Start with a verb such as “Turn on [name of equipment/tool]” or “Place material on the table”.
2. For each step, you will identify associated hazards. There may be one or quite a few. Ask questions like:
- What can go wrong?
- How likely is the hazard to occur?
- How can the hazard occur?
3. For each hazard, identify a solution to prevent or reduce the hazard from happening. Consider engineering controls, such as machine guards or proper lighting, and in cases where engineering controls are not possible, then implement administrative controls. Administrative controls can include training, conducting the step differently, rotating jobs, etc. If engineering and administrative controls cannot eliminate the hazard, then require PPE such as safety glasses, safety shoes, hard hat, etc.
4. Require reviews and updates to assess risk, either annually, if there is a near miss or incident, or if there is a change in the process, whichever occurs first.
5. Train employees before they begin the job. New employees must complete training before supervisors release them to start work. In addition, the JHA provides valuable information that helps employees complete tasks safely and avoid injury.
To ensure compliance with OSHA regulations, it’s a good idea to review regulations as they pertain to specific jobs. Reference those regulations in your JHA.
Risk assessment
As stated earlier, the primary difference between a JHA and an RA lies in the scope. While a JHA focuses narrowly on a specific job, an RA takes a broader look at the workplace or a projected activity to identify and rank potential hazards and to assess risk.
In addition, a risk matrix scores and prioritizes the hazards and controls. To be effective, the RA must also include a management component, as shown in the U.S. Army’s Composite Risk Management (CRM) program.
The strength of the CRM program comes from the fact that thousands of people must understand it. Therefore, the Army created a process that is easy to learn and simple to implement. Although the Army faces unique challenges that your company may never encounter, the principles of the program remain relevant and adaptable.
Assess risks with these 5 steps
We will discuss the five steps that make up the composite risk management process.
1. Identify the hazards. As with any type of risk assessment, hazard identification is at the forefront. Consider hazards bigger in scope and relevant to the company, such as loss of revenue or customers, failure to reach an important initiative, etc. Work with your management team to highlight hazards to the company.
2. Assess the hazards by using a risk matrix. This tool assigns either a numerical value or a high, medium, or low rating for both probability and severity. For example, you may rank the hazard of an explosion in the process as high and catastrophic for severity but low for probability.
3. Develop controls and make decisions. Work with your team to create controls that limit or reduce the hazard. For example, creating engineering controls to ensure the valve remains open to prevent an explosion.
4. Implement controls. Communicate the controls throughout the company. Train and re-train employees on these controls.
5. Supervise and evaluate. Once controls are in place and have been communicated, you can manage the CRM by evaluating the effectiveness of the controls. Ensure lessons learned are incorporated to make the process better.
Incorporate these processes to improve job safety for workers and to protect company assets.
