SHLDWhat is an FLHA, and how do you fill one out right?
The Field Level Hazard Assessment is the most-filed safety form in Canadian construction, and the one auditors read most closely. Here is how to do it properly, and a free printable template at the bottom.
What an FLHA is
A Field Level Hazard Assessment is a short form the crew completes at the work face, before the task starts. It answers four questions: what is the task, what could hurt someone doing it, what are we doing about those hazards, and who agreed to the plan. It exists to make the crew stop and look before the work starts, not to create paper.
When to fill one out
- At the start of the shift or a new task.
- When conditions change: weather turns, a new trade shows up, the plan changes, new equipment arrives.
- After any incident or near miss, before work resumes.
The "conditions change" trigger is the one crews miss most, and the one inspectors ask about: "It started raining at noon. Where's the updated hazard assessment?"
How to fill one out
- Name the task specifically. "Structural framing, Level 2" beats "framing." A specific task produces specific hazards.
- Walk the area and list real hazards. Look at the site in front of you: the open edge, the cords across the path, the trade working overhead. Generic lists copied from yesterday score zero with auditors and protect nobody.
- Write the control beside each hazard. Every hazard gets an answer: guardrail installed, area roped off, spotter assigned, PPE specified. A hazard without a control is an open loop.
- Set the risk level and make the call. Can work proceed safely? If the answer is no, the form just did its job.
- Everyone signs. The signatures prove the crew saw the plan. A form signed by one person protects one person.
The mistakes auditors catch
- Pencil-whipping. Identical hazards every day for three months. Auditors flip pages fast and spot the pattern faster.
- No controls. Hazards listed, nothing beside them.
- Missing signatures. Five workers on site, two names on the form.
- No follow-up. The form said "guardrail needed" and nothing shows it was installed.
- The truck-seat archive. The form was filled out and then lived in a truck until audit week. If you can't produce it, it doesn't exist.
Free printable FLHA template
Print it, copy it, use it. It covers the sections a COR auditor expects to see.
Job details
Hazards and controls
| Hazard identified | Control in place | Risk |
|---|---|---|
PPE required
Decision
Crew sign-off
| Name | Signature | Time |
|---|---|---|
Or skip the paper entirely
In SHLD360, the FLHA is a form your crew fills out on their phones: hazard categories, PPE checklist, risk level, and the whole crew signing from their own phones. It lands signed, time-stamped, and filed as audit evidence the moment it's done. That is the difference between doing the work and being able to prove it during a COR audit.