A job hazard analysis is the least glamorous safety document with the highest return: one page that breaks a job into steps, names what can hurt someone in each step, and commits to the control that prevents it. The method is OSHA's own (Publication 3071), it takes 20 minutes per job once you know it, and it's the first thing a compliance officer asks for after an incident. Here's the full walkthrough — including the risk-matrix math (severity × probability, where 15 and up means the job doesn't start) and the hierarchy of controls that separates a real JHA from a PPE shopping list.
Write JHAs for jobs with one of these three traits: high severity if it goes wrong (roof work, energized electrical), high frequency (the crew does it weekly, so exposure adds up), or incident history (it or anything like it has hurt someone at your company). One JHA per job — not per trade, not per site. "Masonry" is not a job; "lay 8-inch block on the south elevation, third lift" is.
Watch someone competent do the job (or walk it in your head) and write the steps in order — 5 to 10 of them. Steps are verbs: stage material, set ladder, tear off, inspect deck, shingle, clean up. Two failure modes to avoid: too few steps (everything is "install roof," which hides the hazards) and too many (open the truck, close the truck — nobody briefs from a 25-line document).
The trick that makes this step fast: hazards are energy sources and releases. For each step, ask what energy is present that could reach a person — gravity (falls, dropped tools), motion (vehicles, rotating parts), electricity, stored pressure, heat, chemicals, and the quiet one, silica and other respirable dust. A 22-foot roof tear-off is gravity waiting for a missed guardrail; a trench is soil tonnage waiting for a missing trench box; a panel re-energization is arc-flash energy waiting for a skipped verification.
Give each step a severity (1-5, worst credible outcome) and a probability (1-5, how often the exposure actually occurs), and multiply. The bands most programs use:
| Score | Band | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 1-4 | Low | Proceed with standard controls |
| 5-9 | Medium | Verify controls in the pre-task briefing |
| 10-14 | High | Additional controls before start; supervisor sign-off |
| 15-25 | Critical | Do not start until controls reduce the score |
Worked example — the roofing preset in our builder, scored straight: staging 3×2=6, ladder access 4×2=8, tear-off at the edge 5×3=15, deck inspection 4×2=8, leading-edge shingling 5×3=15, cleanup 3×2=6. Total 58, two Critical steps. That's not a paperwork problem — it's the signal that the edge work needs engineering controls (guardrail, anchors placed from the ground) before the crew climbs, dropping the 15s to High or below.
Construction presets, editable steps, live risk scoring, and a printable form with sign-off lines and a QR code for the field.
Open the JHA Builder →For each hazard, pick the highest rung you can actually deliver: elimination (prefab at grade so nobody works the edge), substitution (water-based instead of solvent), engineering (guardrail, trench box, ventilation), administrative (the JHA itself, rotation, permits), and only then PPE. The order matters because effectiveness drops with every rung: an engineered guardrail protects anyone who walks near the edge, harnesses protect only the person who dons, inspects, anchors, and ties off correctly every single time.
A JHA whose controls column is 80% "wear gloves and hard hat" was written backwards. PPE is the last line, not the strategy — and a compliance officer reading the document can tell the difference at a glance.
Why bother: in FY2024, federal OSHA's most-cited standard was fall protection — general requirements (1926.501), for the 14th consecutive year, with ladders, scaffolding, fall-protection training, and eye/face protection all in the top ten. Five of the ten most-cited standards in the country are construction standards. The JHA is where those five get caught on paper before they get caught on a citation.
The JHA that lives in a binder protects no one. Brief it with the crew before the task — the crew will spot steps you missed, which is the point — and have the preparer, supervisor, and at least one crew member sign. Review it after any near miss, any change in method or equipment, and on a calendar if neither happens. A JHA for a job that changed is a JHA for a job that no longer exists.
Pair it with the daily rhythm: a 10-minute toolbox talk keeps the awareness warm between JHA events, and our QR code generator will link any printed form to its live version. If you're on the insurance side of the same risk, the workers' comp calculator prices what these documents exist to prevent.
A JHA is a written record that breaks one specific job into steps, names the hazards in each step, and assigns a control for each hazard. OSHA describes the method in Publication 3071. It is not a blanket safety policy — a JHA is job-specific, which is why crews brief from it before the task, not after.
Choose the job (prioritize high-frequency, high-severity, or incident history), break it into 5-10 steps, identify hazards in each step, decide controls for each hazard climbing the hierarchy (elimination, substitution, engineering, administrative, PPE), then review and revise whenever the job changes or after a near miss.
On a 5x5 severity-times-probability matrix, 15 (for example severity 5 x probability 3) is Critical: credible worst outcome is a fatality and the exposure happens routinely. The convention most programs use: 1-4 proceed, 5-9 verify controls, 10-14 add controls before start, 15-25 do not start until controls reduce the score.
OSHA does not mandate a document called a JHA. What the construction rules require is the substance: 1926.20(b) hazard assessment and protection against recognized hazards, and 1926.21(b)(2) instruction in hazard recognition. A written JHA is the standard evidence that both happened. Rules for specific hazards — falls at 6 feet, trench protection at 5 feet, scaffold guardrails at 10 feet — apply regardless.
This guide explains a standard safety-planning method; it is general information, not legal advice. Site conditions and regulations control — involve your competent person and refer to 29 CFR 1926 (and 1910 for general industry) for the requirements themselves.