Job hazard analysis software › Pre-task plan
Pre-task plan (PTP): what it is, an example, and the tools that run one
A pre-task plan (PTP) is the short hazard review a crew leader runs with the crew at the start of each shift: today's tasks, today's conditions, the hazards that come with them, the control for each, and everyone's signature. The job hazard analysis (JHA) is the standing plan for a kind of work; the PTP checks it against this morning's site.
PTP vs JHA: what each one is for
Both list tasks, hazards and controls. The difference is timing and who holds the pen. A JHA is written ahead of the work, usually by a supervisor or safety lead with the crew's input, and changes when the method or equipment does. A PTP is written in the work area every morning by the foreman and crew, and changes when the day does: rain overnight, a new trade next door, a crane that wasn't there yesterday.
| Job hazard analysis (JHA) | Pre-task plan (PTP) | |
|---|---|---|
| When | Before the work starts, often during preconstruction | Before each shift, and again when the activity changes |
| Who writes it | Supervisor or safety lead, with the workers who do the job | Foreman or crew leader with the crew, in the work area when possible |
| What it covers | The steps of one kind of work, the hazards of each step, the controls, PPE, training and equipment it needs | Today's tasks and conditions, other trades nearby, equipment and permits for today, and anything the JHA didn't foresee |
| How often it changes | When the job, method or equipment changes, or after an injury or illness | Every day |
| Who signs | The author and reviewer; crews often acknowledge it | Every crew member and the supervisor |
HammerTech, which sells software for both, puts the split this way in its post Do You Need Both a Pre Task Plan and a Job Hazard Analysis?: the JHA covers the tools, protections, resources and training that can't be sorted out in the field, and the PTP is the real-time look at the specific work location, the weather and the work going on around it.
Who requires a daily pre-task plan
Federal OSHA has no rule called a pre-task plan; the closest is the job briefing that 29 CFR 1926.952 requires before each job, and at least once a day or shift, on power line work. Otherwise the requirement usually reaches a crew through the general contractor's or owner's safety manual, which becomes part of the subcontract. Two public examples:
- Layton Construction's 2025 Project Safety Management Plan says each trade partner's crew supervisor must hold "a meaningful pre-task planning meeting" before work, in the work area when possible, covering the work sequence, hazards, controls, tools and emergency plans, and that "at least daily, each supervisor must submit in the Construct PM mobile app the crew's completed pre-task plan." Its form ends with crew and supervisor signatures. If your GC names its own form or app, read the site safety plan before you buy a second tool.
- Yale University's OCIP Safety and Health Guidelines (revised March 11, 2024) require each subcontractor to hold "a documented Pre-Task Plan huddle with workers prior to the start of shift (and with change in activity)", covering the tasks, expected exposures and controls, with a copy available on request.
A filled-in daily pre-task plan
A made-up example for a four-person utility crew tying a water service into a main, the morning after rain. The layout follows the common GC form: header, then task, hazard and control, then signatures.
| Crew and date | Utility crew of 4; foreman is the competent person for excavation. Tuesday, 6:45 a.m. |
|---|---|
| Work area | Lot 3, east side, Sta. 2+40 to 3+10; existing trench, about 7 ft deep, trench box in place |
| Today's tasks | Re-open the trench, tie a 2-inch service into the main, backfill and compact in lifts |
| Conditions today | Rain overnight; standing water in the trench; dry forecast; cool morning |
| Other trades nearby | Paving sub milling the access road about 100 ft north, dump trucks backing along the north edge |
| Permits and papers | 811 ticket number and expiry checked; GC excavation permit posted; JHA for trenching reviewed |
| Changed since the JHA | Rain (inspection before entry, pump water out); milling trucks (new walking route) |
| # | Task | Hazard today | Control |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Check the trench after the rain | Wall sloughing or a cracked edge; water in the trench | Competent person inspects before anyone enters, as 1926.651(k) requires after every rainstorm; pump out the water; nobody enters until the foreman clears it |
| 2 | Tie in the service at the main | Cave-in outside the box; hands caught between pipe and fittings; no quick way out | Work only inside the box; ladder inside the box within 25 ft of each worker; guide pipe with a bar, hands off the ends while it's lowered |
| 3 | Air in the trench | Exhaust from the trash pump and compactor collecting at the bottom | Pump and compactor engines kept up top where possible; 4-gas reading before entry and after the compactor runs |
| 4 | Backfill and compact in lifts | Struck by the skid steer; compactor noise and vibration | Eye contact with the operator before approaching; one spotter; hearing protection on the compactor |
| 5 | Walk past the milling crew's trucks | Struck by a backing dump truck | Coned walking route along the south edge; vests on; never walk behind a truck that is backing |
| Crew | 1. ____________ | 2. ____________ | 3. ____________ | 4. ____________ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foreman | ____________ Time: ______ | |||
The plan names what changed (rain, trucks) instead of copying yesterday's hazards, and its controls are actions someone can check, not "be careful." The trench rules cited are in 29 CFR 1926.651.
Tools that run a daily PTP with crew sign-off
Paper works. Software helps when the plan must reach the GC the same morning or a safety manager needs to see which crews skipped it.
| Tool | How the daily plan works | Crew sign-off | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| HammerTech | Trade-specific PTP templates, hazard and control libraries, AI autofill from recordings or documents, links to JHAs, permits and equipment, a live completion dashboard | Crew e-signatures | Quote, based on construction volume; free for subcontractors on a GC's project |
| HCSS HeavyJob Safety | JHAs from 100+ templates, edited by the foreman for the day; the office can build a pre-task plan for several crews working close together | Crew signs on a tablet | Quote after a demo |
| Field1st | Crew describes the job by voice (offline, English or Spanish); photo hazard check; each hazard scored; a qualified person confirms | Signed before work starts; subs and guests by QR | Quote; you license your own team, contractors free |
| SiteDocs | Digital safety forms, so a PTP or field-level hazard assessment is a form the crew fills in | Unlimited forms and signatures, logins for every worker | Quote, yearly, by company size |
| Dozer | The foreman types or dictates what the crew is doing today; Dozer drafts that day's JHA for the site with a matching toolbox talk; if the AI can't be reached it shows the closest of 59 task templates; the browser app needs a connection to save | Crew signs on one phone, passed hand to hand | Free for one site; $99 a month for each further site |
How to choose: HammerTech fits a GC collecting plans from many trades (it says it isn't meant for very small teams). A heavy civil contractor on HCSS should use its safety module. Field1st fits a company that wants each day's analysis scored and confirmed by a qualified person. Dozer is the light option for a foreman who wants the plan drafted and signed on one phone; it is web-only for now, with no risk score, approval step or line-by-line editor. Phone apps are compared in JSA apps for the job site.
Questions
Does OSHA require a pre-task plan?
No federal OSHA rule is called a pre-task plan. The requirement usually comes from the general contractor's or owner's safety manual, written into the subcontract; Layton's 2025 plan and Yale's OCIP guidelines both require a daily one. OSHA rules still apply underneath it, such as the competent person's daily excavation inspection in 29 CFR 1926.651(k).
What is the difference between a pre-task plan and a JHA?
A JHA is the standing analysis of one kind of work, written ahead of time and changed when the method changes. A pre-task plan is written by the crew at the start of each shift and covers today's tasks, conditions and nearby work, using the JHA as its reference.
Who signs a pre-task plan?
The crew leader and every crew member doing the work, after they talk it through; anyone who joins later reads it and signs before starting. Layton's form has lines for each crew member and the supervisor.
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This page is published by Winding AI, Inc., the company that makes Dozer, one of the tools named here. We earn nothing from links to other tools, and links to Dozer carry a tag so Dozer can count visits from this page. If a fact here is wrong, write to support@winding.ai and we'll fix it.