What is a JSA?
Workplace safety requires a complete understanding of the hazards associated with each job or task, and implementation of the necessary precautions to eliminate or minimize these hazards. At its most basic level, a hazard is considered a condition or activity that, if left unrecognized or uncontrolled, can result in an injury, illness, or even death.
The Job Safety Analysis (JSA), also referred to by some including the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) as a Job Hazard Analysis (JHA), or by the Military as an Activity Hazard Analysis (AHA), is a proven and effective technique of focusing on the job or tasks to identify hazards and the controls necessary to eliminate or reduce hazards.
The JSA process consists of:
- Breaking the job or task into a sequence of logical steps;
- Identifying the hazards associated with each step;
- Understanding the consequences of these hazards if not properly controlled; and
- Identifying the necessary:
- Engineering controls (e.g., safety devices, special tools, structures, barriers, or baffling);
- Administrative controls (e.g., work or job safety procedures, safety practices, work permits);
- Personnel protective equipment (PPE), and/or
- Special training (e.g., electrical safety, respiratory safety, lock out/tag out) necessary to eliminate or minimize theses hazards.
JSABuilder enables safety professionals, managers, supervisors, foremen, and task leaders to easily perform a job safety analysis.