Job Hazard Analysis – Job Review Process
The following comments were adapted from “Job Hazard Analysis” by James Roughton and Nathan Crutchfield. Also review ANSI AIHA Z10-2005, Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems assessment.
The Job Hazard Analysis represents only one aspect in the establishing of a safe job procedure and job hazard analysis process. A combination of risk and hazard analysis, behavior consequence analysis and organizational design review are essential to improving the potential for an effective safety management systems process.
Job Risk and Hazard
It is essential that an organization develop an in-depth understanding of the nature and scope of the risk and hazards related to all of its activities. I believe the Job hazard Analysis, if used routinely and comprehensively, can increase the effectiveness of the safety process. In workshops of supervisors and employees I have lead, I have seen examples time and again of additional needed safety issues that surface during the selection and development of the designated JHAs.
Job Behavior
The second phase is to review the behavior involved. A “consequences” analysis is needed to determine if the organization has unconsciously or accidentally designed actions or guidelines that will drive behavior away from safety. Safe behavior reinforcement requires an understanding of what happens after a specific behavior and recognizing the type of feedback employees receive when they do a job or task.
The consequences of working safe and following the rules may be found to be outweighed by the consequences of getting the job done. Employees may take reducing the risk of a supervisor’s criticism about productivity (high probability) over the risk of injury as the probability that something injurious will happen is usually a low probability for most tasks. We appear to have a built in bias towards “if there is no immediate loss, there is no immediate risk.”
A rule of thumb is that if you have good safety rules and guidelines in place and are finding that they are not being followed, then hidden consequences are driving behavior away from the controls implemented. Even the best Job Hazard Analysis can’t overcome the strong consequences that drive behavior.
Management Process
The third phase is to assure that the organization has effective processes that bring people with the correct skills and knowledge into the system; that training and orientation are in place and an understanding about what is needed for human performance improvement is in place.
The human-social element must match the needs of the tasks and technology required to reach the desired job goals. The structure of supervision must effectively manage, provide adequate resources and communicate what is expected. The work environment must be understood and goals set that properly account for these five elements.
The fields of Human Performance Improvement and Organizational Development provide insight into the needs of Phase Three. A great overview of Human Performance Improvement is provided in the American Society of Safety Engineers Professional Safety, June 2009, written by Crossman, Crossman and Lovely.
With an understanding of all three phases, developing the Job Hazard Analysis process can have a greater chance of being successful.
Related articles by Zemanta
- 9 Avoidable Workplace Health and Safety Hazards (inc.com)
- Mining and workplace safety (slideshare.net)
- Example Root Cause (slideshare.net)
Technorati Tags: Online Safety Training,Safety Training Topics,Job Hazard Analysis Training,Safety Training Videos,Dangerous Goods Training,OSHA 1910,AIHA Z10,ANSI AIHA,ANSI Z10,ANSI Z10-2005,I2P2,IIPP,OHSAS 18001
{ 5 trackbacks }