Prioritize Jobs - Worst First
Now that you have some idea how much risk is involved in each job, you can prioritize them.
Should this job be a high priority for a JHA?
As mentioned earlier, a common strategy is to prioritize the most hazardous job first. If a JHA is required for many tasks in your workplace, priority should go to the following types of jobs, in order of priority:
- Jobs with the highest injury or illness rates;
- Jobs with the potential to cause severe or disabling injuries or illness, even if there is no history of previous accidents;
- Jobs in which one simple human error could lead to a severe accident or injury;
- Jobs that are new to your operation or have undergone changes in processes and procedures; and
- Jobs complex enough to require written instructions.
OSHAcademy Student Opinion
According to William I., it's important to understand that all the (potentially) "severe events" should be addressed first, then down to critical, etc. He has seen many cases where customers and safety professionals have focused on frequency issues because there is data to review and success to demonstrate. Meanwhile they ignore large loss potential events until they occur. In his opinion, as you address the large loss potential events, there is corollary benefit to the "less severe but more frequent" incidents.
According to William I., it's important to understand that all the (potentially) "severe events" should be addressed first, then down to critical, etc. He has seen many cases where customers and safety professionals have focused on frequency issues because there is data to review and success to demonstrate. Meanwhile they ignore large loss potential events until they occur. In his opinion, as you address the large loss potential events, there is corollary benefit to the "less severe but more frequent" incidents.
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
1-10. Which jobs should have the highest priority when conducting a Job Hazard Analysis?
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