JOB HAZARD ANALYSIS
RIGGING A LOAD
Dropped load, crush, cut sling, people in the fall line.
- DOCUMENT
- GOSPEL-JHA-001
- REVISION
- 01 CURRENT
- EFFECTIVE
- 2026-09-01
- OWNER
- GOSPEL Safety
- APPROVED BY
- GOSPEL
- REVIEW
- 2027-09-01
THE JOB
Making a hitch and taking a load off the ground. The steps live in GOSPEL-SWP-011. This page is what can go wrong while you do them.
WHO IS EXPOSED
- Rigger at the piece
- Operator on the crane
- Signalperson
- Anyone who can walk into the fall zone
A JHA names what can hurt someone and how that risk is controlled. It is not the procedure. Do the work to the matching SWP. WorkSafeBC does not prescribe a JHA form — the Workers Compensation Act s. 21(2)(b) requires workers to be made aware of known or reasonably foreseeable hazards. This is how GOSPEL does that for this job.
HAZARDS AND RISK
Task is the work being analysed — not a procedure to follow. Controls follow the hierarchy: eliminate, substitute, engineer, administer, PPE last. The badge is how bad this task going wrong is in this job. Extreme is the killer with no recovery. High is serious injury or a dropped load you still have a chance to stop. Moderate is lost time or a plan that failed. Low is first aid.
LOWMODERATEHIGHEXTREME
| TASK | HAZARD | RISK | CONTROL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plan the hitch | Unknown weight or COG | HIGHOverload, tip, or the piece rolling onto the rigger. High severity. | Eliminate the guess. Shipping data, scale, or engineer. 14.36 — load weight determined. No plan, no hook. |
| Inspect the gear | Cut, birdcaged, opened, or unidentified sling or hardware | HIGHHitch fails under load. Dropped load. Fatal if anyone is under it. | Inspect before use (Part 15). Failed gear tagged and isolated — GOSPEL-SWP-025. No one-more-lift. |
| Connect the hitch | Sharp edge, twisted sling, hardware not seated, piece not blocked | HIGHSling cut, load shifts onto the rigger, fingers in the pinch. | Block the piece first. Softeners. Pins fully in. Hands off before weight. Engineer if there are no lifting points. |
| Clear the zone | People under or in the fall line | EXTREMEStruck-by or crush. 14.44 — loads over work areas. | Exclusion zone held before the load leaves the ground. Signalperson owns the zone, not traffic. |
| Test, then lift | Unbalanced hitch, shock load, lost signal | HIGHLoad dumps, crane shock, second hitch failure. | Inch off the ground. Re-rig if it tilts. Smooth hoist. Stop on any lost signal (14.47). |
RESIDUAL RISK
After blocking, inspection, a known hitch and a test lift, residual risk is a load that still moves when it should not — wind, a missed COG, a person entering the zone. That residual is held by the exclusion zone and by stop-work. It is not held by hoping.
THE JOB DOES NOT PROCEED IF
- Weight or centre of gravity unknown
- Gear fails inspection (Part 15)
- Angle or hitch not understood
- People in the fall line (14.44)
PPE — LAST LINE
- Hard hat
- CSA-grade footwear
- High-visibility clothing
- Eye protection
- Task-rated gloves
- Hearing protection where required
- Fall protection where the work exposes a fall
REFERENCES
- Workers Compensation Act s. 21(2)(b) — workers made aware of known or reasonably foreseeable hazards
- Workers Compensation Act s. 21(2)(e) — information, instruction, training and supervision
- OHS Regulation B.C. Reg. 296/97 (in force 15 Apr 1998) Part 3 — program, instruction, inspections (ss. 3.1–3.12)
- CCOHS Job Safety Analysis — JSA and JHA are the same method: break the job, name the hazards, select controls
- Workers Compensation Act s. 21 — known or reasonably foreseeable hazards; instruction and supervision
- OHS Regulation (B.C. Reg. 296/97, in force 15 Apr 1998) Part 3 — OHS program, instruction, inspections
- OHS Regulation Part 4 s. 4.13 — risk assessment where rescue or evacuation may arise
- OHS Regulation Part 8 — PPE; headwear CSA Z94.1-05 or Z94.1-15
- OHS Regulation Part 11 — fall protection
- OHS Regulation Part 14 — Cranes and Hoists
- 14.2(5) — CSA Z150-1998, or ASME B30.5-2004, or ASME B30.22-2005 (articulating boom)
- 14.2(6) — CSA Z248-2004 for tower, hammerhead and self-erecting tower cranes
- 14.35 pre-use inspection · 14.36 load weight · 14.42.1 critical lift · 14.44 loads over work areas · 14.45 unattended loads · 14.47–14.49 signals
- OHS Regulation Part 15 — Rigging
- Manufacturer load chart, manual and configuration limits
- Site lift plan, FLHA and site rules where stricter
PROVENsin(). Current version on this site.