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Job hazard analysis: what it means for the CHST

Toe Board editorial teamSources checked 3 min read

A job hazard analysis, or JHA, breaks one task into its steps, names the hazards in each step and assigns a control to each hazard before the work starts. A job safety analysis, or JSA, is the same tool under another name. Some companies use JSA for a shorter version filled out by the crew on the day.

A three-column worksheet with rows for three task steps; the columns read step, hazard and control, and an arrow points from each hazard to its control
One row per step: what you do, what can hurt you, what stops it.

How to build one

  1. Pick the task. Start with jobs that have hurt people, nearly hurt people, are new or are done rarely.
  2. Break it into steps. Use plain action words, in order. Too few steps hides the hazards; too many makes the form useless.
  3. Name the hazards in each step. Ask what can fall, strike, crush, cut, shock, burn, poison or make someone fall.
  4. Assign controls. Work down the hierarchy of controls for each hazard, and name who does what.
  5. Review it with the crew. The people doing the work know steps the planner missed.

OSHA's guide to job hazard analysis, publication 3071, describes the method in more detail and is free to download.

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Emergency Preparedness, Incident Investigation, and Response

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A short invented example

Task: cutting a trench across a sidewalk with a walk-behind saw. Step one is set up traffic control, with a struck-by hazard from vehicles and controls of cones, a flagger and a barrier. Step two is cutting, with silica dust and noise, controlled by water on the blade, hearing protection and the matching entry in the silica rule's table. Step three is lifting slabs, with a pinch and back strain hazard, controlled by a mini excavator and tag lines. Each line on the sheet ties one step to one hazard and at least one control.

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Where a JHA goes wrong

  • Generic hazards. "Be careful" is not a control. Name the equipment or the rule.
  • Copy and paste. A JHA from last year's job may miss today's soil, weather or overhead lines.
  • No crew input. A form signed without discussion records nothing.
  • No update after a change. When the method, crew or conditions change, revisit the sheet. A near miss on the task is a signal to redo it.

On the CHST exam

Building a job hazard analysis is named in the hazard and risk identification and control domain, 36.6% of the CHST. Our blog has a fuller job hazard analysis worked example.

Practice it

The CHST exam outline shows where JHAs sit among the four domains, and the CHST terms glossary lists the rest of this set.

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Facts checked 26 October 2026 against the sources listed above. If something has changed, tell us and we will correct it within 2 business days.

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