Glossary
JHA
Also: Job Hazard Analysis, Job Safety Analysis, JSA
A written analysis that breaks a job into steps, identifies the hazards at each step, and specifies the controls in place for each hazard.
JHA stands for Job Hazard Analysis. (Job Safety Analysis, or JSA, is the same document with different vocabulary.) It’s a written analysis that breaks a job into discrete steps, identifies the hazards at each step, and specifies the controls in place to address each hazard.
OSHA doesn’t have a single rule mandating JHAs by name, but several substance-specific standards (asbestos, lead, confined space, fall protection) require hazard analysis activities that a JHA satisfies. The JHA is also the basis for pre-shift safety briefings on most construction sites.
A useful JHA names the competent person responsible for the work, lists the workers involved, and is signed by each. It’s reviewed at the start of each shift the activity is performed. When conditions change (new hazards discovered, controls modified), the JHA is updated rather than re-written from scratch.
AHA is a closely related document and the two terms are often used interchangeably.