Friday 25 August 2017

Effective Ways To Conduct Job Safety Analysis Procedures

By Helen Watson


Job safety analysis is also commonly abbreviated JSA. Depending on the place you work, job safety analysis procedures may also be called Job Handling Analysis or JHA, Job Safety and Environment Analysis or JSEA, Job Hazard Breakdown, Task Risk Assessment and so on.

Whatever your company calls it, JSA is an important part of a safety program for preventing workplace accidents. It is about critically looking at every step of the specific job to identify, assess, and document hazards and safe work practices. It is to help make sure the appropriate controls are in place so that the job is done safely.

How effective a JSA would be varies greatly depending on the understanding and experience of the crew completing it and the standard of the JSA processes. There are training available that can make one improve on the consistency and quality of JSA at the place of work.

Just filling the JSA form does not make people safe during the work. It would be of almost no value to bring out hazard and develop controls if the most critical hazards are not looked at. The controls should always be appropriate, the controls should be in place and maintained and what is required should be properly communicated.

The JSA procedure is more than just a piece of paper containing discussed processes. One that is well developed and properly used is an excellent tool. On the other hand, JSA that time is not taken to developed will not just be unable to prevent injury, but can itself be a hazard.

A poor JSA may give the impression that all appropriate controls have been put in place and the job is safe. As a result, team members may relax, become less cautious and fall into the trap of unidentified and uncontrolled hazards that are waiting for them.

A JSA ought to be organized by a team familiar with the task. The team should include workers familiar with the job, workers who are going to do the job and if applicable supervisors or other relevant specialist. A team leader should be nominated who is responsible for ensuring that an appropriate JSA procedure is followed.

The team leader should be competent in developing, facilitating and writing JSAs. The team leader does not necessarily have to be familiar with the task under analysis if the selected team members are. The team should involve those who are doing the job and not those who happen to be available at the time.

By involving a group of people who know the job well and take active part in the task during JSA, the possibility of skipping a step or overlooking a hazard is decreased. The likelihood of effective and efficient controls would be increased. Workers who are active in the job know how to use protective devices, and identify unsafe shortcuts.

It is best to make sure all teams members put in a contribution at JSA meetings. It is one of the best ways to ensure workers participate in controlling risk and identifying hazards. Doing so is also one of the perfect ways to promote compliance with rules and a culture of understanding.




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