Purpose and Place
How a JSA differs from a general risk assessment and from a permit.
11 min
A job safety analysis (also job hazard analysis) breaks a specific job into sequential steps, identifies the hazards in each step, and states the control for each hazard. It sits between the general risk assessment and the point of work.
| Document | Scope | Timeframe |
|---|---|---|
| Risk assessment | An activity or area generally | Valid for months or years |
| JSA | This job, this equipment, this crew | This job or campaign |
| Permit to work | Authorisation and conditions for this shift | Hours |
| Last-minute risk assessment | Conditions found at the workface | Minutes |
When a JSA is worth doing
Non-routine work, high-consequence tasks, jobs with a history of incidents, work by an unfamiliar crew, and any job where several trades interact. Producing a JSA for a routine low-risk task consumes the credibility you need for the jobs that matter.