Entrances and Storefronts AHA (Activity Hazard Analysis / Job Hazard Analysis)

Updated 2026-06-23

An Entrances and Storefronts AHA (Activity Hazard Analysis / Job Hazard Analysis) is the plan for installing the combined ground-level glazed entry system — the storefront glazed wall and the entrance doors within it — and its emphasis, compared to the facade family generally, is grade-level glass work: heavy glass doors and large lites handled at ground level in an opening the public will use. This AHA is about the glazed entry at street level.

Why entrances and storefronts needs its own AHA

An entrance and storefront system is the glazed wall and entry at the ground floor — an aluminum-framed storefront filled with large glass lites, incorporating the entrance doors (often glass or aluminum-and-glass doors) that people pass through. Compared to the curtain wall above it, this is primarily grade-level work, so the height hazard is lower — but the glass hazard is if anything sharper, because the lites are large and the entrance doors are heavy glass-and-metal assemblies handled at ground level, and the work happens in an opening that is or will be a public pedestrian entry. Three things shape it. First, large storefront lites: full-height glazing lites are big, heavy, and sharp, needing glazing equipment and careful handling. Second, heavy glass entrance doors: an entrance door in a storefront is often a heavy tempered-glass or aluminum-and-glass leaf with a closer and hardware, and hanging it is a heavy, awkward, glass-handling operation. Third, the public interface: storefronts go in publicly-accessible openings, so the work protects the public from the open glazed opening and from glass, and often happens in an occupied or soon-to-be-occupied building. So the defining hazards are the large-lite and glass-door handling and the public-accessible opening, with the grade-level glazing cut/breakage running through both.

Breaking entrances and storefronts into steps

The steps follow the grade-level glazed install:

• Confirm the storefront framing, lite sizes, and door types from the submittal
• Protect and control the public opening during the work
• Install and anchor the aluminum storefront framing
• Handle and set the large glass lites (glazing equipment)
• Hang the glass/aluminum entrance doors and hardware
• Glaze, seal, and adjust the door operation
• Verify the glazing, anchorage, and safe door operation

The hazards step by step

Large storefront lite handling

Full-height storefront lites are large, heavy panes with sharp edges, and handling them is the core glazing hazard. A big lite is beyond a safe hand-carry — it needs glazing suction cups and often a two- or more-person or mechanical handling — and a lite that's dropped or struck shatters into large, dangerous shards. Use glazing suction cups and handling equipment sized to the lite, handle with cut-rated gloves and arm protection, move the lite on a controlled path clear of obstructions, and set it into the framing without racking or pinching it. A large lite is heavy sharp glass — the two worst handling properties in one panel.

Heavy glass entrance doors

The entrance doors within the storefront are heavy — tempered-glass leaves or aluminum-and-glass assemblies with closers and hardware — and hanging them combines heavy-leaf handling with glass. A glass entrance door leaf is heavy and, being glass, both a cut hazard and a shatter risk if mishandled or dropped, and it's hung with the crush cautions of any heavy door plus the fragility of glass. Team-handle the glass doors with glass-handling protection, control the leaf during hanging (a heavy glass door dropped is broken glass plus a crush), and set the closers and pivots controlling the leaf. The glass entrance door is where the heavy-door and glass hazards combine at grade.

The public-accessible opening

Storefronts go in publicly-accessible entries, so the work happens in or creates an opening the public may approach, often in an occupied or nearly-occupied building. The hazards are the public walking into an open glazed opening, into the work area, or near glass being handled — and glazed openings and glass doors are hard to see, which is a hazard for the public and a reason temporary marking is used. Barricade and mark the opening and the work area, keep the public clear of glass handling and the open storefront, mark glazed openings and doors so people don't walk into them, and coordinate with the building's use. Protecting the public is part of this install in a way it isn't for upper-facade work.

Glazing sealants, eye, and edges

Glazing and sealing bring sealant chemistry (sealant cautions), the glass and metalwork throw debris and have sharp edges (eye protection, cut protection), and cut or broken glass is cleaned up immediately.

A simple Entrances and Storefronts AHA structure

Where the glass handling and the public opening meet

The two defining hazards intersect in the public setting: large sharp lites and heavy glass doors are handled in an opening the public can approach, so a dropped or broken lite is a hazard not just to the crew but to bystanders, and the open glazed storefront is something a passerby can walk into. The control that addresses both is controlling the opening and the public around the glass work: with the area barricaded, marked, and the public kept clear, the crew can handle the large lites and glass doors without a bystander in the shatter zone or walking into the open storefront. At grade level, the public is part of the hazard picture in a way it never is up the facade.

From the field: what actually goes wrong

The entrance-and-storefront failures are the dropped lite and the public conflict. The lite: a large storefront pane is handled without adequate glazing equipment or crew, it's dropped or struck, and it shatters — a laceration hazard to the handler and flying glass in a ground-level public area. The glass door: a heavy tempered-glass entrance leaf is hung shorthanded and gets away, breaking (glass everywhere) or crushing a hand. And the public one: an open storefront or a newly-hung glass door in an occupied building, unmarked, and someone walks into the glazed opening or the work area. All are grade-level glass hazards amplified by the public setting. Handle the glass with the right equipment and crew, and control the opening and the public around it.

The bottom line

An Entrances and Storefronts AHA is a grade-level glass-and-public plan. Large heavy storefront lites and heavy glass entrance doors are handled at ground level in a publicly-accessible opening, so the controls are handling the large lites and glass doors with glazing equipment, adequate crew, and cut protection; controlling and marking the public opening and keeping bystanders clear of glass work; and cleaning up broken glass immediately. Respect that the glass is large, sharp, and heavy and the setting is public, and the storefront installs safely.

Frequently asked questions

What's the main hazard installing a storefront?

The glass. Full-height storefront lites are large, heavy panes with sharp edges, handled at ground level, and a dropped or struck lite shatters into large dangerous shards — a laceration hazard to the handler and flying glass in a public area. Use glazing suction cups and handling equipment sized to the lite, handle with cut-rated gloves and arm protection, move on a controlled path, and set into the framing without racking. Large storefront glass is the two worst handling properties — heavy and sharp — in one panel.

What's different about hanging a glass entrance door?

It combines heavy-leaf handling with glass. A storefront entrance door is often a heavy tempered-glass or aluminum-and-glass leaf with a closer and hardware, so hanging it is both a crush hazard (heavy leaf) and a shatter/cut hazard (it's glass). Team-handle the glass doors with glass-handling protection, control the leaf during hanging so it isn't dropped (which means broken glass plus a crush), and set the closers and pivots with the leaf controlled.

Why does the public factor into a storefront install?

Because storefronts go in publicly-accessible entries, often in occupied or nearly-occupied buildings, so the work happens where the public can approach — and a dropped lite endangers bystanders while an open glazed storefront or unmarked glass door is something a passerby can walk into. Barricade and mark the opening and work area, keep the public clear of glass handling, and mark glazed openings and doors so people don't walk into them.

How is this different from a curtain wall?

A storefront is grade-level glazed work with the public nearby; a curtain wall climbs the full building face as high-rise exterior work. The storefront's emphasis is heavy grade-level glass handling and the public interface; the curtain wall's is full-facade height and unitized crane picks. They share the glass hazard but differ in where the work happens and what the second hazard is — public at grade versus height up the facade.

Related AHAs and JHAs

• Entrances Storefronts and Curtain Walls AHA — the facade-glazing family fundamentals
• Storefronts AHA — the storefront detail
• Aluminum-Framed Entrances and Storefronts AHA — the aluminum-framed systems
• Glass and Glazing Installation JHA — the glass-handling fundamentals

Written by Mustafa Tok, CSP, ASP, CHST — OSHA Authorized Outreach Trainer with 14+ years of international construction safety experience across federal, heavy civil, and industrial projects.