Posted on by Barry Spud

An Introduction To JSA (Job Safety Analysis)

An Introduction To JSA (Job Safety Analysis)

Guest Post

For all types of work operations, safety is always considered important and top priority. One of the methods implemented to ensure that all necessary safety practices are followed is JSA or Job Safety Analysis. Basically, this is a process that identifies all the hazards and risks of a job in all the tasks carried out for that job, as well as the many ways of controlling or completely eliminating these hazards for effective illness or injury prevention.

A Job Safety Analysis is often described as being several steps ahead of the actual carrying out of work tasks, so all potential dangers of operations, along with their causes and consequences, can be addressed and prevented from occurring. The premier value of JSA is that it allows businesses to modify and elevate many aspects of their standard procedures to promote safe and smooth operations at all times. In securing these, companies automatically do away with detrimental situations that can impede both productivity and profitability. Other vital benefits of conducting Job Safety Analysis are fewer absences of employees, an improved training process for new members of the company, better productivity and income, higher morale of workers, and reduced worker’s compensation costs.

Managers (and their select “helpers”), with the guidance or leadership of an agency safety officer or coordinator, are required to carry JSA out. They need to communicate well with employees that can provide them valuable and valid information, and at the same time, they must observe operations keenly to ensure correct implementation of practices determined to address all identified safety issues. It’s important to point out that analysis is not limited to specific jobs which are known to be high risk; managers must identify all hazards, causes of hazards, and solutions – yes, including seemingly safe office tasks. In identifying hazard situations, agency safety officers share the following important variables to take note of:

· The environment or where the risks or hazards normally occur

· The exposure or people affected by these risks

· The cause or trigger

· The consequences

· Other identifiable factors

JSA is not just a “single sweep” effort; it’s a continuous process because there’s typically a multitude of “dormant dangers” in the workplace – risks that only become identifiable after somebody’s been exposed to them. Also, it’s imperative to organise or classify all gathered data, so greater focus can be directed to the tasks that present the highest risk of injury.

To conclude, JSA is a complete imperative – and while it demands additional work and can cause both big and small changes, operations only have everything to gain from this process.

Barry Spud

Barry Spud

Safety Crusader, Zero Harm Zealot and Compliance Controller at Everything Safety
Barry Spud

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Barry Spud
What is a Safety Spud? Lets look at a few more spud head activities in risk and safety: 1. Coming on to site saying there is a safety issue when in fact there’s no such thing, it’s a political issue. 2. ‘Falling apart’ when people make choices that we think are stupid because they won’t do as we ‘tell’ them. Then we put on the angry face and think that overpowering others creates ownership. 3. Putting on the zero harm face, presenting statistics, knowing it has nothing to do with culture, risk or safety. 4. Putting on the superman (hazardman) suit and pretending to be the saviour of everything, this is good spud head cynic stuff. 5. Thinking that everyone else is a spud head except me. 6. Thinking there’s such a thing as ‘common’ sense and using such mythology to blame and label others. 7. Accepting safety policies and processes that dehumanize others. 8. Blaming, ego-seeking, grandstanding and territory protecting behind the mask of safety. 9. Thinking that risk and safety is simple when in fact it is a wicked problem. Denying complexity and putting your spud head in the sand. 10. Continually repeating the nonsense language and discourse of risk aversion that misdirect people about risk, safety, learning and imagination.

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