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Pre-Task Plan / Daily Safety Huddle Form

Fill in what the crew is doing today, the hazards of each task and the controls that go with them, then print the plan for the huddle or save it as a PDF. Controls are ordered the way OSHA orders them — elimination first, PPE last. Nothing you type is sent to our servers.

The person who runs the huddle and inspects the work area — 1926.20(b)(2).

Nothing you type is sent to our servers. A draft is kept in this browser until you clear it.

Template for informational purposes only. This document must be reviewed and adapted by a competent or qualified person for your specific jobsite, equipment, and applicable federal, state, and local requirements. It does not constitute legal, engineering, or safety advice and does not by itself establish compliance with OSHA or any other standard. SteelToeTools assumes no liability for its use. Nothing you type is sent to our servers.

How to run the huddle

  1. 1
    Walk the area first. The foreman or competent person looks at today's actual conditions before filling anything in — that walk is the “frequent and regular inspection” of 29 CFR 1926.20(b)(2), not the paperwork.
  2. 2
    Write the tasks with the crew, not for them. The people doing the work name the hazards; OSHA 3071 is explicit that involving employees is what makes a hazard analysis find things.
  3. 3
    Check the controls against the hierarchy. Can we remove the hazard, replace it, or engineer people away from it before we fall back on procedure and PPE?
  4. 4
    Confirm permits before the tools come out. Hot work, confined space, lockout/tagout, excavation and critical lifts each have their own document and their own authorizing person.
  5. 5
    Everyone signs, including anyone joining later. Then keep the plan on the job — in the gang box, on the wall of the trailer — not in a truck.
  6. 6
    Re-brief when something changes. New task, new crew, new weather, a trade working overhead: note it in the changes line and sign again.

The hierarchy of controls, in plain terms

OSHA's hierarchy of controls, most effective first
LevelWhat it meansJobsite example
EliminationPhysically remove the hazardAssemble the truss on the ground instead of at height
SubstitutionReplace the hazardUse a water-based product instead of a solvent-based one
Engineering controlsIsolate people from the hazardGuardrails at the leading edge; on-tool water for silica dust
Administrative controlsChange the way people workWork-rest cycles in heat; exclusion zone under the load
PPEProtect the worker with equipmentHarness and lanyard; hearing protection; respirator

Wording from OSHA's Recommended Practices for Safety and Health Programs. OSHA 3071 gives the same precedence for a job hazard analysis — engineering, then administrative, then PPE — and notes PPE is appropriate when engineering controls are not feasible, while they are being developed, when safe work practices do not give enough protection, and during emergencies.

Frequently asked questions

A short written plan the crew fills out before work starts: what we are doing today, what can hurt us doing it, what we are putting in place to stop that, and what we do if something goes wrong. It is the daily, task-level version of a job hazard analysis — OSHA 3071 describes the same task, hazard, control structure for the formal JHA.

Not as a form. Federal OSHA requires the employer to have accident prevention programs with frequent and regular inspections by competent persons (29 CFR 1926.20(b)(1)-(2)) and to instruct each employee in the recognition and avoidance of unsafe conditions (1926.21(b)(2)). Most general contractors and owners require a written daily plan by contract, and it is the usual way to show those requirements are being met on the ground.

A JHA is written once for a job or a process, reviewed periodically, and goes deep on each step. A pre-task plan is filled out by the crew each morning for today's actual conditions — this crew, this weather, this equipment, this part of the building. The JHA feeds the pre-task plan; the pre-task plan catches what changed today.

OSHA's hierarchy, most effective first: elimination (physically remove the hazard), substitution (replace it), engineering controls (isolate people from it), administrative controls (change the way people work), then PPE. OSHA 3071 gives the same precedence — engineering, administrative, then PPE — and notes PPE is appropriate when engineering controls are not feasible, while they are being developed, or during emergencies. If your only control for a serious hazard is PPE, that is the signal to look again.

The crew, led by the foreman or competent person — not the office. Every worker on the task signs on, which is what makes the plan a briefing rather than paperwork. If someone joins the crew mid-shift, they read it and sign before starting.

Stop and update the plan. A new task, new equipment, a change in weather, a different trade working overhead — each is a new hazard the morning plan did not cover. The form has a line for changes during the shift and a second signature for them.

No. The plan is built in your browser and the PDF is generated on your device. Nothing is transmitted to us or stored by us. A draft stays in this browser until you clear the form.

Sources & references

Content checked against these sources — last reviewed August 27, 2026.

By — Editorial team of SteelToeTools.com (published by LSEA SAS) Updated v1