Electrical work JHA: a fillable US task template

An electrical job hazard analysis (JHA) identifies the steps in a particular job, the electrical and non-electrical hazards at each step, and the controls the crew will verify before proceeding. It should begin with the question: can the work be performed after the relevant parts have been safely deenergized and verified? A generic “use PPE” line cannot stand in for isolation, qualified testing, guarding or a documented decision about exposed live parts.

This worksheet is for US work planning, not an electrical design, lockout/tagout (LOTO) procedure, switching order, energized-work authorization or equipment-specific arc-flash assessment. A qualified person must adapt and approve the method for the actual equipment, voltage, sources, location, task and workers. State Plan, utility, maritime or other sector rules may change the applicable requirements. In general industry, 29 CFR 1910.333 requires exposed live parts to be deenergized before work on or near them unless the employer can demonstrate an allowed increased hazard or infeasibility; its requirements also govern lockout/tagging and verification. Construction has its own Subpart K, including §1926.417 for lockout/tagging of circuits. Do not paste general-industry text into a construction job without checking its controlling standard.

Job identity and authorization

Do not enter a voltage, approach boundary or PPE rating by guessing from a panel label. Check current equipment information and the actual exposure. For general-industry work, §1910.332 distinguishes training for qualified and unqualified people. An employee who has taken a generic safety course is not automatically qualified to work on exposed energized equipment. Define competence for the specific equipment and task.

Pre-start decision: choose the safest work state

1. Can the job be redesigned or scheduled to avoid exposure? Consider remote diagnostics, preassembled equipment, an outage window or a different method.
2. Can all hazardous sources be identified and disconnected? Include utility feeds, generators, UPS, batteries, solar or other distributed energy, capacitors, control circuits and possible backfeed. Use equipment-specific diagrams and a field check. Push buttons, selector switches and interlocks are not sole means of deenergization under §1910.333.
3. Can qualified personnel lock/tag and verify zero energy? General-industry §1910.333 specifies written procedures, isolation, locks/tags with defined exceptions, and qualified verification including possible induced or backfeed voltage. Construction §1926.417 has its own circuit lockout/tagging text. The JHA should reference the controlling procedure and record, not invent a shortened substitute.
4. If exposed parts must remain energized, is there a genuinely applicable exception and a competent, task-specific safe method? Under general-industry §1910.333, only qualified persons may work on exposed live parts that have not been deenergized. The employer must demonstrate the reason deenergizing is not feasible or creates an additional/increased hazard; production convenience alone is not a safe assumption. The qualified lead must select work practices, protection, boundaries, tools and supervision appropriate to the voltage and conditions. A separate energized-work approval may be required by the employer's program or other applicable standard.

Stop now if the source or equipment identity is uncertain, the test instrument is unsuitable, another feed may energize the part, isolation cannot be proved, the work-state decision lacks qualified approval, or weather/water/space conditions undermine the planned safeguards. Escalate rather than filling a box with “low risk.”

Copyable JHA table

Add, remove and reorder steps to match the actual job. For each control, name who implements it and what record or observable check proves it is in place.

For overhead or underground lines, add a separate task-specific row and involve the owner/operator where required. §1910.333(c)(3) addresses work near overhead lines in general industry. Construction electrical and equipment-specific power-line rules can differ. Do not copy a universal clearance into this form; a qualified person must check voltage, worker/equipment category and controlling rule.

Checks the qualified reviewer should attach

Under §1910.335, appropriate electrical protective equipment, tools, shielding, signs and barricades help protect personnel when electrical hazards remain. PPE must match the specific work; the JHA should not specify gloves or arc-rated clothing by appearance or generic category alone. OSHA's arc-flash guidance also emphasizes assessing likelihood, severity and mitigation, while particular utility-sector incident-energy requirements have their own regulatory scope. Do not treat this worksheet as an incident-energy calculation.

Example: replacing a motor starter

Suppose a plant maintenance electrician must replace a starter in a shared control cabinet. The useful JHA starts by checking the cabinet and starter ID against the work order, tracing all feeds and control power, coordinating a shutdown with production, and identifying who will apply isolation. A qualified worker verifies the exposed parts are deenergized with the appropriate test method. The crew controls nearby access while the cabinet is open and follows the restoration sequence after tools and people are clear. If another feed or unexpected voltage appears, work stops and the plan is rewritten. A checkbox saying “power off” would miss the backfeed, stored energy and neighboring live parts that make this job hazardous.

If diagnostic testing truly requires a live circuit, that is a separate decision with qualified approval and protective measures. It is not automatically authorized by changing the JHA's work-state field to “energized.”

Common failure modes

• Treating a breaker handle as proof of zero energy. Verify the actual parts and possible backfeed using the applicable qualified procedure.
• Using one generic LOTO line for every electrical asset. Equipment-specific sources, stored energy and role boundaries matter.
• Conflating general industry and construction. The cited work-practice rules have different scopes; utility/transmission work has additional rules.
• Assuming PPE replaces deenergization. In general industry, §1910.333 begins from deenergizing exposed live parts unless a narrow basis for leaving them energized is demonstrated.
• Leaving out other crews. Barriers, work sequencing and host-contractor communication keep unqualified people away from exposed parts.
• Failing to stop on change. Scope expansion, new feed, storm, water intrusion or equipment mismatch requires reassessment.

The observed Complys US OSHA software page is a candidate commercial relationship for JHA records. The manifest also names /us/jha-jsa-software, but that exact route could not be confirmed in this writer pass, so it is not linked in publication copy. Public pricing mentions an AI JHA builder, but a live, electrically competent assessment and output were not verified. Do not say Complys performs isolation, verifies absence of voltage, selects arc PPE or approves energized work. Link only a verified live product function after implementation review.

Source and claim register