SSSP vs JHA: What Is the Difference?
A site-specific safety plan (SSSP) documents the hazards, controls, responsibilities, and emergency procedures for an entire project, while a job hazard analysis (JHA) breaks a single task into steps and lists the hazard and control for each step. GCs usually require an SSSP before your crew mobilizes on a project, and a JHA for each high-hazard task once work is underway. They are not interchangeable, and most contractors end up needing both on the same job.
Side by side
| Site-Specific Safety Plan (SSSP) | Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) | |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | The whole project | One task or activity |
| Answers | How the entire job will be run safely | How this specific task is done safely, step by step |
| Typical length | 8 to 12 pages | 1 to 3 pages |
| When it is required | Before your crew mobilizes on the project | Before a definable or high-hazard task starts |
| Who asks | The general contractor, prequal portals, insurers | The GC, often per task at the pre-job brief |
| How often | One per project | One per task; several per project |
| Price at TailgateDocs | $49 | $29 |
Which one is the GC actually asking for?
When a GC says "send me your safety plan" before letting your crew on site, they mean the SSSP: the project-wide document. When a GC or your own program calls for a hazard breakdown of a specific activity like steel erection, trenching, or hot work, they mean a JHA (also called a JSA or, on federal jobs, an AHA). If the request names the project, it is an SSSP. If it names a task, it is a JHA.
On most commercial jobs you provide the SSSP up front, then a JHA per definable task as the schedule reaches each activity. The SSSP references that JHAs will be produced; the JHAs live inside the larger safety plan framework.
Get either one in minutes
TailgateDocs generates both for your exact trade and project, citing verified 29 CFR standards. The SSSP is $49 and the JHA is $29, each delivered as a print-ready PDF in about 4 minutes, with a Spanish version available for your crew.
Common questions
▸Can a JHA replace an SSSP?
No. A JHA covers one task and lacks the project overview, emergency action plan, responsibilities, and site details a GC expects in a site-specific safety plan. Reviewers treat them as separate documents.
▸Is a JHA the same as a JSA or AHA?
Yes, they are the same document under different names: job hazard analysis (OSHA usage), job safety analysis (industry usage), and activity hazard analysis (the term on Army Corps and federal projects, with a specific EM 385 format).
▸Do I need a new SSSP and JHA for every project?
A new SSSP per project, yes, because it is site-specific by definition. JHAs are per task, so you produce one for each definable activity on each project.
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