Job Hazard Analysis A Guide for Voluntary Compliance and Beyond

In this second addition of “Job Hazard Analysis, A Guide for Voluntary Compliance and Beyond”, we continue to follow a hands-on, comprehensive approach to build and enhance a job hazard analysis (JHA) process. From our experiences since the first edition, we are even more convinced that JHA provides the critical link between risk assessment and an effective safety system. In our discussions about new concepts, we wanted to keep an emphasis on creating and sustaining an effective safety culture, as discussed in our book, “Safety Culture, An Innovative Leadership Approach.” We believe the new perspectives bring together a wider array of new concepts and techniques. We see safety as a result of many dynamics of the ever-changing organizational environment. It is an ecosystem where changes and operational conditions can occur quickly. Since the first edition, more emphasis has been placed on the use of risk management concepts. We have long held that when the JHA process incorporates risk-assessment criteria within its hazard analysis, it becomes the foundation for effective implementation of a safety system’s elements. We have included insights and materials derived from human performance improvement concepts to add new dimensions to the analysis of a job. The basic structure we developed continues to follow the one outlined in our first edition, use of the risk matrix and cause and effect diagrams for job component assessment, and use of the tools found in a Six Sigma process.
In addition to the hazard, risk recognition, and JHA development concepts, a brief overview of Six Sigma tools is provided for use as part of a continuous improvement effort for a safety system. Many different uses of specific tools such as diagrams, charts, analysis techniques, and methods provide step-by-step help to establish a process that can continually improve. We have found that while we are from different professional backgrounds, that is, manufacturing and risk management, we have similar experiences in a wide range of diverse industries. This difference in perspective has allowed us to create diverse points of view based on our personal histories. Both of us have lived the experience, from both the inside and outside of organizations. We have seen both, the good and the bad in the process and program design, administration, and leadership of safety systems.We believe that this edition will continue to provide the tools, methods, and concepts that meet the challenge of sustaining an effective safety system within an organization. The authors hope that this book is used by the leadership, safety professionals, safety educators, and students of safety management for developing the focal point for a successful safety system, the JHA.