What a Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) Is

A Job Hazard Analysis (sometimes called a Job Safety Analysis) is a written, step-by-step breakdown of a specific job or task. You pick the job, list the steps, identify the hazards present at each step, and document the controls that keep workers safe. Controls can be engineering changes, administrative procedures, training, or PPE. JHAs cover all four.

A JHA is organized by job or task. One JHA for forklift battery changeout. Another for welding mild steel inside the shop. Another for cleaning the mixer. Each one stands alone and walks through that specific work.

JHAs are not named in a single Cal/OSHA standard the way the IIPP or PPE rules are. They are a methodology, not a regulation. But Cal/OSHA’s IIPP standard (Title 8 §3203) requires you to identify and evaluate workplace hazards and document hazard correction procedures. A program of written JHAs is the most defensible way to show an inspector you actually did that work for each job at your facility, especially for high-hazard tasks. Inspectors typically start by asking how you identified hazards in your highest-risk operations. A JHA gives a direct answer.

What a PPE Assessment Is (Cal/OSHA §3380)

A PPE Hazard Assessment is California-mandated. Under Title 8 §3380, an employer is required to assess the workplace for hazards that require personal protective equipment, select the right PPE for each hazard, and document that selection with a written certification. This is not optional. It is one of the few hazard assessments Cal/OSHA names explicitly and requires in writing.

A PPE Assessment is organized by body part and exposure. Eyes and face. Head. Hearing. Hands. Feet. Respiratory. The assessment walks through each work area and each task that exposes that body part to impact, penetration, compression, chemicals, heat, radiation, dust, noise, or biological hazards. For each exposure, the document identifies the required PPE and the standard it must meet: ANSI Z87.1 for eye protection, ANSI Z89.1 for head, ASTM F2413 for footwear, ANSI/ISEA 105 for hand protection, and so on.

The certification page at the front of a complete PPE Assessment is what an inspector wants to see. It states the workplace was assessed, the assessor’s name, the date, and that PPE selection was certified. Without that page, you don’t have a §3380-compliant assessment.

Side-by-Side: JHA vs. PPE Assessment

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How the Two Fit Together

JHAs and PPE Assessments are not competing documents. They work together inside the IIPP’s hazard assessment requirement.

A useful way to think about it: the JHA decides whether PPE is the right control for a given hazard. The PPE Assessment then specifies which PPE, at what standard, for that exposure.

In practice, when we walk a facility, the sequence looks like this. First, we identify the hazards present in each work area and each task. That’s hazard identification at the IIPP level. Second, we run a JHA for each high-hazard or non-routine job. The JHA decides what can be engineered out, what must be controlled administratively, and what residual hazards still require PPE. Third, the residual PPE need rolls up into the PPE Assessment, which certifies selection per body part across all jobs and is signed under §3380.

A common mistake we see in the field: a facility has a 50-page binder of generic JHAs downloaded from a free template site, but no PPE certification page. They satisfy neither requirement. An inspector reading the binder finds the JHAs don’t reflect actual operations, and the §3380 documentation is missing entirely.

Which One Do You Actually Need?

Most California facilities with hazardous work need both. The question is what order to build them in and how detailed each needs to be.

You need a PPE Assessment first if:

• You issue any PPE today and you cannot produce a signed §3380 certification
• You’re preparing for a Cal/OSHA inspection or a GC compliance audit
• You’re opening a new facility and PPE is going on the floor before the safety program is fully built
• You changed processes, chemicals, or equipment since the last assessment

You need JHAs in addition to (or before) the PPE Assessment if:

• You have high-hazard or non-routine work: confined space entry, lockout/tagout, hot work, working at heights, machine maintenance
• You had a recent incident or near-miss in a specific job
• A regulator, GC, or insurer has asked for job-specific hazard analyses by name
• You’re building or rebuilding your training program and need each job’s hazards documented for the training file

For most facilities we walk in California, the practical answer is: do the PPE Assessment as a facility-wide §3380 deliverable, and write JHAs for the specific high-hazard jobs that the IIPP and any task-specific standards (confined space §5157, LOTO §3314) point to. The two together cover both the regulatory requirement and the operational reality.

What the Finished Documents Look Like

A complete PPE Assessment, the way we build them, includes the §3380 certification page, a facility map with PPE zones marked, a body-part-organized table of hazards and required PPE with the applicable ANSI/ASTM standards, photos from each work area, and a PPE training and re-issue procedure.

A complete JHA package is one document per job. Each one lists the job title, the steps in sequence, the hazards at each step, the controls in place, and the residual PPE needed. Critical jobs get a supervisor sign-off and an annual review date.

Both documents live inside your IIPP. The PPE Assessment sits in the appendix as a §3380 certification; the JHAs sit alongside the training records for each job classification. For a deeper look at how the §3380 walk-through works, see our Cal/OSHA hazard assessment guide.

Next Steps

If your facility has PPE on the floor without a §3380 certification, or if you’re being asked for JHAs you don’t have, the most efficient path is one walk-through that produces both deliverables together. We come to your facility, evaluate every work area and every job classification, and deliver the PPE Assessment and the JHAs as finished documents your inspector will accept.