ABSTRACT
The newly formed Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) under the Department of Labor, recognized that health hazards needed to be analyzed much the same way as safety hazards. Job related injuries occur every day in the workplace. Often these injuries occur because employees are not trained to follow the proper procedures. One way to prevent workplace injuries is to establish safe job procedures and then train employees to work following that procedure. Improved job methods can reduce costs resulting in employee absenteeism and workers' compensation, and can often lead to increased productivity. A job hazard analysis can be performed for all jobs in our workplace, whether the job is "special" or routine. If an accident or injury occurs on a specific job, the job hazard analysis should be reviewed immediately to determine whether changes are needed in the job procedure. A job hazard analysis also can be used to effectively train new employees on job steps and job hazards.
