How to complete an FLHA, step by step

This guide fills out an FLHA for one real job: replacing about 30 m of eavestrough and two downspouts on a two storey house in Red Deer, Alberta. The eaves are about 6 m up, the overhead service drop runs 1 m from the gutter line, there is ice at the base of the wall, and the homeowner's car is in the driveway. A lead hand and two installers are on site.

The legal frame is the Alberta OHS Code Part 2, which has the most explicit hazard assessment rules in Canada. The same steps work in other provinces.

Alberta s.7(1) requires the assessment before work begins at the work site. Get the crew to the rear of the house where the work is, not the cab of the truck. Write the date and time (s.7(3) requires the date), your company, the prime contractor if there is one, and the exact location.

One or two plain lines: remove old eavestrough and downspouts on the rear and side, install new seamless eavestrough, connect downspouts. If the task changes later in the day, that triggers a re-assessment.

Look up, down and around. Use a checklist as a prompt; Alberta's sample site-specific form lists items such as lighting, weather, overhead hazards, holes and openings, ground conditions, vehicle and pedestrian traffic, powered mobile equipment, chemicals and other workers on site. For the eavestrough job:

• Fall from a ladder or the platform at the eaves, about 6 m.
• Service drop 1 m from the gutter line: contact with a ladder, lift or the new eavestrough.
• Ice at the base of the wall: ladder foot or lift slipping.
• Old eavestrough and fasteners falling onto the driveway and the homeowner's car.
• Sharp cut edges on aluminum.
• Old paint on the fascia that could contain lead if sanded.

Alberta s.9 sets the order: eliminate the hazard if reasonably practicable; if not, control it with engineering controls; if that is not enough, use administrative controls to keep it as low as reasonably achievable; then PPE. A combination is allowed where it gives a greater level of safety.

Falls have their own rules. Alberta s.139(1) requires fall protection where a worker may fall 3 m or more, and below that where there is an unusual possibility of injury. Guardrails come first (s.139(3)). Where a worker may fall 3 m or more without guardrails, a written fall protection plan is required (s.140). In Ontario, fall protection rules apply above 3 m (and lower over machinery, water or openings), a guardrail system is the first choice, and written rescue procedures are needed before anyone uses fall arrest (O. Reg. 213/91 s.26, s.26.1).

• Eliminate: pre-cut and crimp eavestrough sections on the ground so less work happens at height.
• Engineering: use a scissor lift with guardrails on firm, cleared ground instead of ladders; spread sand on the ice; ask the utility to cover or move the service drop.
• Administrative: barricade the drop zone and ask the homeowner to move the car; keep ladders and lift at least the utility's required distance from the line; do not sand old paint.
• PPE: cut-resistant gloves, safety glasses, hard hats for anyone below, CSA safety boots.

No provincial law requires a risk score on an FLHA. Many prime contractor forms (often called FLRAs) include one to decide what to deal with first. A 5x5 matrix multiplies likelihood by severity: 1 to 4 Low, 5 to 9 Medium, 10 to 14 High, 15 to 25 Critical. These bands are common practice, not a regulation.

For the service drop: Possible (3) x Fatality (5) = 15, Critical, before controls. With the utility covering the line and a set clearance enforced: Rare (1) x Fatality (5) = 5, Medium. Do not start any task still rated Critical.

Tick yes or no: PPE inspected, scissor lift pre-use check done, barricades up, muster point and emergency plan reviewed, first aid kit in the truck, anyone working alone has a check-in plan. Record any permit or locate numbers. If the fall protection plan applies, note where it is kept.

Alberta s.8(1) requires affected workers to be involved. Read the hazards and controls out, ask the crew what was missed, add it, then have each worker sign. The lead hand signs as the reviewer. Anyone who joins later is briefed and signs before starting.

Alberta s.7(4) requires the assessment to be repeated when a work process changes. Add a timed entry for each change. Example: 11:30 am, wind gusting, lift lowered, ground work only until it drops, initials. At the end of the shift, complete the close-out section with what actually happened: area cleaned up, any hazards left for the next crew, any incidents. Never fill those boxes in at the start of the day.

COR auditors review completed site-specific assessments and interview workers to confirm they were involved.

• Date and time recorded, and a fresh FLHA for each shift or task.
• Hazards specific to the location that day, not a copied list.
• Controls follow the hierarchy, with guardrails or a lift before harnesses.
• A fall protection plan and rescue procedure where required.
• Every worker signed and can explain the hazards when asked.
• Re-assessment entries when conditions changed, and an honest end of shift review.