Drafting a JSA: best practice and common mistakes

A job safety analysis (JSA) breaks a task into steps, identifies the hazards in each step, and sets out the safest way to do the job. To draft one that works, write it with the people who do the task, list the steps in order, rate each hazard, choose controls that remove or reduce the risk, name who is responsible for each one, and update it when the job changes.

Most JSA problems come from the same few mistakes: rushing, writing steps that are too vague or too detailed, leaving out non-routine work, and relying on PPE alone. The sections below show how to avoid them.

What a JSA is for

A JSA is a practical way to show that you've looked ahead at a task and controlled its risks before anyone starts. It isn't a special legal form. The duty sits in the WHS Act: a person conducting a business or undertaking must ensure health and safety so far as is reasonably practicable (section 19). A JSA helps you meet that duty for a particular job.

Some people call it a job hazard analysis (JHA). The name varies between workplaces, but the method is the same. Whatever it's called, the goal is to find and control hazards before they cause harm.

A JSA covers one task or a short series of tasks. If the work is high-risk construction work, you need a SWMS for it instead, or as well.

Which tasks need a JSA

You don't need a JSA for every routine task, but you should have one for work that's more likely to cause serious harm. Prioritise:

• jobs with a history of injuries, near misses or frequent safety problems;
• jobs with the potential for severe or permanent injury, even if none have happened yet;
• new jobs, or jobs where the process, equipment or people have changed;
• jobs that involve dangerous chemicals, stored energy or equipment that can fail; and
• jobs that need specific PPE or a particular sequence of steps to be done safely.

If a worker raises a concern about a task, treat that as a reason to write or review the JSA, not as a reason to wait.

How to draft a JSA

1. Involve the people who do the work

The workers doing the job know where the hazards really are, and what gets skipped when the schedule is tight. Include experienced staff and new starters. Ask them to walk you through the task as they do it, not as the manual says it should be done.

Involving workers also makes them more likely to follow the result. A JSA they helped write is one they're more likely to use.

2. List the steps in order

Describe the job from start to finish, from preparation through to clean-up. Write each step as a single action, in plain language, so anyone on the crew can follow it. A short list is usually easier to use than a long one, so combine steps that don't carry separate hazards.

Include the non-routine parts too: setting up, checking equipment, handling a spill, and what to do if something goes wrong.

3. Identify the hazards in each step

For each step, ask what could go wrong and who could be hurt. Hazards can be physical (moving machinery, falls, sharp edges), environmental (noise, heat, slippery surfaces), chemical, biological or ergonomic (lifting, repetitive movement, awkward postures).

Look at what happens at each step, not just the task as a whole. A step that looks simple, such as moving a ladder, can carry a hazard that the overall task description hides.

4. Rate the risks

Work out how likely each hazard is to cause harm and how severe the harm could be. A simple risk matrix, with likelihood on one axis and severity on the other, is enough for most JSAs. It tells you which hazards need action first.

The risk assessment guide explains the method in more detail.

5. Choose the controls

Start at the top of the hierarchy of controls. Can the hazard be removed? If not, can the method or equipment be changed? Engineering controls, such as guards, barriers and mechanical lifts, come next. Procedures, training and supervision follow, and PPE is the last line of defence.

Write each control as something you can check. "Be careful" isn't a control. "Use a second person to hold the ladder and check the feet before climbing" is.

6. Assign responsibility

For each control, name the person who sets it up and the person who checks it. Without that, controls tend to be assumed rather than done.

7. Train the crew on it

A JSA only works if the people doing the task know what it says. Walk the crew through it before the job starts, and cover what to do in an emergency or if a hazard shows up that isn't on the list.

8. Record it and keep it current

Record who was involved, the date, the hazards, the controls and who is responsible. Keep the record with the job so the next person can see what was decided and why.

Review the JSA when the process, equipment or people change, after an incident or near miss, and on a regular schedule for jobs that repeat. Involve the workers in each review, since they'll notice what has changed.

An example

For a task such as cleaning a shopfront window from a step ladder, the JSA might look like this:

The example is short on purpose. A real JSA for a job like this would also cover the chemical used, the PPE for it, and what happens if the ladder is damaged.

Common mistakes

• Rushing it. A JSA written in five minutes at the start of the shift usually misses the hazards that matter. Give it time.
• Being too vague or too detailed. "Do the cleaning" hides the hazards. Forty micro-steps make it hard to follow. Aim for steps that each carry a distinct hazard.
• Ignoring the workers. The people doing the task know what the manual leaves out.
• Assuming the job is low risk. Simple jobs cause injuries too. A quick JSA is better than none.
• Leaving out non-routine work. Maintenance, start-up, shutdown and emergencies are where many incidents happen.
• Letting it go out of date. New equipment, a new crew or a changed site can make a JSA wrong without anyone noticing.
• Relying on PPE. PPE is essential, but it shouldn't be the only control. Remove the hazard or change the method first.
• Not training the crew. A JSA in a folder protects nobody. Workers need to know what's in it and why.

Keep the JSA useful

A JSA is only as good as its last review. Keep the document short enough that workers will read it, and store it where they can reach it on site, on a phone or on a clipboard at the job. If the crew can't find it, they'll work from memory. Our JSEA template gives you a layout to start from.

Common questions

Is a JSA a legal requirement? Not in itself. The legal duty is to manage risks so far as is reasonably practicable. A JSA is a practical way to show you've done that for a task. A SWMS is what the regulations require for high-risk construction work.

What's the difference between a JSA and a JSEA? In practice the terms are used for the same kind of document. Some workplaces use JSEA (job safety and environmental analysis) to include environmental risks. Use whichever name your workplace has agreed on, and make sure the content covers the same ground.

How long should a JSA be? Long enough to cover each step's hazards and controls, and short enough that the crew will read it. Most useful JSAs fit on one or two pages.

Should a JSA be signed? A signature shows that the crew has read it and understands the controls. Many workplaces ask for one, and it's good evidence if something goes wrong later.

This is general information, not legal advice. Check the current law with your WHS regulator.