Understanding your FLHA · Lesson 10 of 11
When should an FLHA be updated?
When the work, the conditions or the hazards change, or when a control stops working. Then crews usually pause the work that changed and go through the FLHA, or Field Level Hazard Assessment, again together.
FLHA · Their form
After the form
- Before work starts Make sure the controls are done. Lesson 9
- If something changes Look at the form again. This lesson
What counts as a change
- You start a different task, or do the task a different way.
- You move to a different work area, or the conditions change.
- New equipment arrives, or another crew starts working near you.
- A control is no longer in place, or is not working.
- Something unexpected happens, like a near miss (something that almost hurt someone, but did not).
When someone new joins the crew, it helps to go through the FLHA with them before they start. Whether that means a new form depends on your site.
After lunch, the crew has a new task: load the rented ladders onto a truck, using a forklift.
The morning form is about boxes, a cart, and room 3. It says nothing about ladders, a truck, or a forklift. So the crew stops and looks at the form again together.
Two ways to start the afternoon
Keep working under the morning form
Why: The form doesn't mention the ladders, the truck, or the forklift. Nobody has looked for those hazards yet.
Afternoon task: loading the rented ladders onto the truck at the loading area, using a forklift.
Why: The crew goes through the new task step by step, before anyone carries a ladder.
The hazards they find:
- The forklift moving near people.
- The load shifting or falling.
- People walking into the loading area.
- The truck backing in.
- Long ladders hard to carry around corners.
The controls they agree on:
- Keeping people clear of the loading area.
- Agreeing how the truck moves.
- Securing the ladders.
- Carrying long ladders with help.
The crew confirms the controls with the supervisor, decides who puts each one in place, and checks they are ready before loading starts. They follow the site's procedures.
The forklift also changes the permits, tickets and plans part of the form. "Operating equipment" is now a yes. Ali offers to drive the forklift. The crew goes through the four questions from lesson 5:
- What work are we doing? Loading the ladders onto the truck with a forklift.
- What does this work need? A driver who is trained and allowed to drive it on this site, a forklift that has been checked, and a way to keep people clear of the loading area. The supervisor confirms what applies.
- Who is trained and allowed to do it? Not Ali. The supervisor confirms Raj is, and gives him the job.
- Is everything in place before we start? The crew checks before anyone lifts a ladder.
Ali helps with the ladders on the ground.
How your site records an update is different from site to site. Some add to the same form. Some start a new one. Your supervisor can tell you how yours works.
On your next FLHA
When something changes during the day, try asking: "Is this on the form?" If it isn't, many crews pause that part of the work and go through the hazards and controls again together.
This is general information. It does not replace employer procedures, site rules, or regulations.