Job safety analysis (JSA) template

Short answer

A job safety analysis (JSA, in Norwegian sikker jobbanalyse or SJA) is a review of one specific job before it starts: what is to be done, what can go wrong, and what you do to avoid it. The name is not in the law, but the law requires risk assessment and a written instruction for work involving particular danger, and a JSA is a common way to meet that.

What is a JSA?

A job safety analysis is a risk assessment for one particular job. You take one task, for example replacing a window on the third floor or working in a trench, break it into steps and assess what can go wrong in each step. It is done just before the job and by the people who will do it.

We did not find the term “job safety analysis” in the Working Environment Act or on the Labour Inspection Authority’s page on risk assessment. It is a method used in many industries, not a legal requirement under that name. What the law does require is set out below.

Which legal requirements do you have to meet?

Risk assessment. The employer must map hazards and assess risk as part of the systematic HSE work (section 3-1). See the guide on risk assessment.
A written instruction for work involving particular danger. If work is to be carried out that may involve particular danger to life or health, a written instruction must be drawn up on how the work is to be done and which safety measures are to be put in place (section 3-2, third paragraph).

The risk assessment covers the whole business and is updated regularly. The JSA covers the individual job, and can be part of the basis for the written instruction.

When do you use a JSA?

There is no fixed list in the law. Common cases are work that is not done daily, work where several parties operate at the same time, work at height, in trenches or involving heat, and jobs where something has changed since last time. What you need a JSA for should be stated in the company’s procedures.

Seven steps

This is a suggested way of working:

Describe the job. What is to be done, where, and by whom?
Break it into steps. Write the steps in the order they are carried out.
Find the hazards in each step. What could hurt someone, and how?
Assess the risk. How likely and how serious? Use the same simple scale as in the risk assessment.
Set measures. What removes or reduces the hazard, and who makes sure it happens?
Review and sign. Everyone taking part reads the analysis and signs before the work starts.
Do it, and evaluate. After the job: was the analysis right? Anything to change next time? Were there deviations?

A simple template

This is a suggestion for fields:

Job, place, date and who takes part.
Who is responsible for the job.
For each step: description, hazards, risk, measures and who carries out the measure.
Protective equipment, approvals and training needed.
What do we do if something goes wrong? Contact persons and emergency arrangements.
Signature from all participants before the start.
Evaluation after the job.

Common mistakes

The JSA is filled in after the job has been done.
One person writes it and the others do not read it.
The measures have no owner and are not followed up.
The lessons are not brought into the next risk assessment. See also the guide on deviations.

How the portal helps

In the HSE system you can create risk analyses and job safety analyses (JSA) from ready-made templates. The JSA can be signed before the work starts. You also have tasks with an owner and a deadline.

Read about the HSE system

Sources

The rules change. Always check the current text with the sources below. Most sources are in Norwegian. This guide is general information and not legal advice.

Job safety analysis (JSA): template and how to do it