HSS Voluntary Protection Program: Articles

Automated Job Hazards Analysis (AJHA)

New 'Pocket AJHA' Is First Site-wide Use of PDA's in DOE

AJHA Program - The Automated Job Hazard Analysis (AJHA) computer program is part of an enhanced work planning process employed at the Department of Energy's Hanford worksite. The AJHA system is routinely used to performed evaluations for medium and high risk work, and in the development of corrective maintenance work packages at the site. The tool is designed to ensure that workers are fully involved in identifying the hazards, requirements, and controls associated with tasks.

Growing Recognition - The AJHA tool is being recognized across the complex as the hazard identification and analysis tool of choice. The tool is listed on the DOE-HQ VPP web site and has just been added as a Best Practice on the Energy Facility Contractors Group (EFCOG) Best Practices web site. The AJHA was also demonstrated at the 2002 Hanford Safety Expo which is held annually by DOE - Hanford for the northwest region of the U. S. As a result of this demonstration, interest in using the system was received from the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, the Pasco, Washington and Kennewick, Washington School Districts, and several privates companies. Last year, Hanford Safety Expo guests, including Assistant Secretary Beverly Cook, from the Office of Environment, Safety and Health (EH) took time to review the tool and expressed their interest in support of AJHA. Notably, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) in a recent report called the AJHA system a "Noteworthy" accomplishment and a valuable tool.

Growing Use - To date five DOE sites have been provided copies of the AJHA tool and are using it. In May 2002, AJHA Administration, responding to a request for service, traveled to the Oak Ridge Y-12 Site to test the AJHA modified for Y-12, support their AJHA implementation process, and help develop an AJHA training program. The Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, and the Savannah River Project have also implemented the AJHA tool. In addition to the use of the AJHA by many DOE sites, other government agencies have begun using the system or are investigating its use. Staff from the Hanford site has installed the AJHA system for contractors operating the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA), Johnson Space Center. Additionally, Boeing, operating the Delta Project at NASA-Cape Canaveral has contacted our Hanford site about using the AJHA as well as the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta.

National Award Winner - The AJHA program receives a national VPP award for innovation this past fall from the Voluntary Protection Program Participants Association (VPPPA): The VPPPA is a non-profit organization consisting of participants in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) VPP and the U.S. Department of Energy - VPP. The VPPPA meets annually to foster safety in the work place, and recognize those individuals and companies that have made exceptional contributions to the mission during the previous year.

Recently, a new feature has been developed and added to the AJHA. The new feature will permit workers to take the Automated Job Hazard Analysis tool into the field and capture the results of their work as they perform their walkdowns. The AJHA software has now been adapted to the pocket PC, sometimes referred to as a personal data assistant or PDA. This new program that enables a user to process an AJHA record on a PDA is called "Pocket AJHA." For the full story on develop of the program for PDA use, see article.

Want to Use the AJHA at Your Location?
Points of Contact - The points of contact for the AJHA system are Mr. Miles Jaeger, AJHA Program Manager, phone (509) 372-3576, or e-mail, and Mr. Mark Hermanson, AJHA System Analyst, phone (509) 376-2257 or e-mail. Audrey Harwick is the AJHA System Administrator, and she may be reached at phone (509) 372-3422 or e-mail. Demonstration - Those interested in a demonstration of the AJHA system should go the link or AJHA Demonstration. CAUTION: This demonstration is a large Power Point File, including a voice narration. It is 13 MegaBytes in size, and can take a while to load. You should also ensure you have Quick View Plus 6.01

So, how do we avoid the negative and profit by the positive? Let's start with management's perception of why workers want to participate. This is important because it is one of the key points directly affecting the attitude developed by the workers. For example, when a worker wants to go above and beyond just doing their job, first line management must understand, support, encourage and lead by example.

By doing that, management is stressing the importance of worker involvement, which will develop the necessary positive attitude needed to perform work in a safe and efficient manner.

Sometimes the stress from deadlines and milestones may cause management to lose focus on safety and worker involvement, which in turn could send a negative signal to the work force on how work is to be preformed. However, if the message is, "even though we are behind schedule, you need to go to the safety meeting or your safety committee, etc. because it is important", management demonstrates a commitment to "Doing Work Safely" and instill a positive attitude in the work force.

Telling the same worker that going to a safety meeting will put them behind schedule or simply saying, "you HAVE to go but get right back or we'll be behind", sends a clear message that production is more important then safety. And ultimately, you will change workers' attitude toward wanting to participate.

So, the simple message is: A positive attitude is one of the most important safety tools available. It can be given or taken away, but if you have it and share it with others then you will truly have a safe workplace.