job safety analysis form – What’s Next?
Once a job safety analysis form is in hand, what should be done with it? Like any other form, a JSA can be completed, filed away, and never used. If that is the way it is handled, it is obviously of no practical value. The paragraphs that follow contain some basic guidance on development and effective use of the JSA.
Let’s start with the form. The header should contain identifying information formatted in a way that is useful within the organization. It should identify the work center, preparation date, etc. The body of the form consists of sections listing the steps involved in completing a task, potential hazards associated with each task, and how to eliminate or control each of those hazards.
For the document to be meaningful, it should contain instructions on hazard control methods that are brief but specific. For example, if describing how to operate a motor vehicle safely, instructions should be more detailed than simply saying “use caution”. A driver could travel at 100 miles per hour and still feel that he or she was using caution. A better way would be to instruct the operator to obey the speed limit, stay 3-6 seconds behind the car in front of you, and obey traffic lights.
Operations in which personal protective equipment is indicated should identify specifically what should be used. This ensures that only PPE compatible with the task at hand is utilized. A JSA, therefore, is a training tool.
The fourth element in an effective JSA is not one that is actually on the form. Instead, it is an action plan to further eliminate the identified hazards. If the listed controls are administrative in nature, an action item can be to remove the hazard through engineering controls. They are less susceptible to failure due to human error.
Organizations may find it beneficial to cross reference the JSA on incident investigation report forms. Doing so will aid in determining if a contributing factor to the incident cause was failure to follow established procedures.