Job Safety Analysis (JSA) Meaning Explained

Having a robust safety culture is non-negotiable in manufacturing. Every day, frontline workers face risks if hazards go unnoticed. That’s why identifying and addressing those dangers before they happen is crucial.

A job safety analysis (JSA), also known as a job hazard analysis (JHA), is a proactive, systematic process of breaking a specific task down into steps, identifying and conducting a thorough assessment of the potential hazards at every step, and determining measures to mitigate or eliminate the risks, before they can do harm.

Why is a JSA so important in manufacturing? 

Key Benefits of Implementing a Job Safety Analysis (JSA) in Manufacturing

A job safety analysis isn’t a process that’s exclusive to manufacturing, but it’s a common practice particularly on production lines where potential hazards are plentiful.

Here are just a few examples of potential hazards on the manufacturing plant floor and where JSAs play an important role: 

Hazard:	Falling Objects	Airborne Contaminants	Machinery Sparks
Sample Measure from a JSA:	Require workers to wear the right form of personal protective equipment (PPE) for specific jobs.	Recommend appropriate respirators.	Determine the best guarding requirements for equipment.

When manufacturers have an effective job safety analysis approach in place, benefits include:

• Fewer Worker Accidents and Injuries: Effective job safety analysis can significantly boost safety on the plant floor by proactively identifying and addressing potential hazards through control measures. This leads to fewer accidents and worker injuries, creating a safer work environment for employees.
• Improved Compliance: Job safety analysis helps ensure compliance with industry laws and standards around safety, reducing the risk of fines and penalties. OSHA doesn’t enact enforcement of JSAs; however, its standards mandate employers to maintain a workplace that’s free from recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious injury. The nature of JSAs, which systematically deconstruct job tasks and analyze potential hazards before they cause harm, therefore makes them a valuable tool.
• Increased Productivity and Efficiency: Frontline manufacturers whose employers use JSA as part of a robust safety culture and in safety communications are more likely to feel safe at work and valued by their employer, leading to increased employee morale and reduced turnover. Having resources to guide and instruct on safety measures also boosts workforce productivity.
• Cost Savings: Reducing accidents and injuries can lead to significant cost savings in terms of regulatory fines, workers’ compensation claims, medical expenses, and lost productivity through downtime.

Learn how to use a JSA to write safety inspection questions.

Steps to Conduct a Job Safety Analysis

Now that you know what’s in a job safety analysis and the benefits it brings, here’s a step-by-step guide to conducting one in manufacturing:

Step 1: Break Down the Job

First, observe workers carrying out the chosen tasks from start to end. As you witness the actions involved in performing the task, deconstruct the job into smaller, individual steps.

The steps should be listed in chronological order. Five to 10 steps is a good number. The steps should be written in a clear and concise manner; include all the most relevant details in each step, but not with so much nuance that your descriptions overwhelm the analysis.

Step 2: Identify Hazards in Each Task

For each smaller step, you can identify potential hazards by analyzing where there’s potential for something to go wrong, how it could happen, and the potential harm.

It’s important to consider all the different forms of potential hazards found in a manufacturing environment, ranging from: 

• Physical hazards (e.g., falls, slips and trips, cuts)
• Chemical hazards (e.g., exposure to airborne containments, corrosive materials, explosives)
• Ergonomic hazards (e.g., repetitive movements, lifting, workstation design)
• Environmental hazards (e.g., vibrations, extreme temperatures, loud noises)

Step 3: Assess Risk Levels

Every potential hazard carries a different level of risk. A common method for assessing risk is a risk matrix, which combines ratings for:

• Risk likelihood (e.g., rare, unlikely, possible, likely, highly likely)
• Risk severity (e.g., would cause a minor injury requiring first aid/limited downtime, major injury requiring hospitalization/significant downtime, fatality)

The risk is then categorized as low, medium, or high.

Step 4: Determine and Implement Control Measures

Safeguards are developed and implemented to eliminate or mitigate the identified potential hazards. Control options include:

• Elimination (e.g., remove a toxic chemical)
• Substitution (e.g., use automated machinery to replace a hazardous manual task)
• Engineering (e.g., set up certain operations remotely)
• Administrative (e.g., provide employee trainings)
• Protection (e.g., use personal protective equipment)

This hierarchy of controls is a method introduced at this step to rank safety controls by their ability to protect workers from harm. 

Step 5: Review Safety Communications

Accessing and examining former accident reports could surface recurring issues that require updates or provide insights into the most effective safety measures for each step or task.

The final JSA should be documented in a central management system and used in safety communications and training.

Afterward, it’s important to routinely evaluate the JSA (and update as necessary) to account for any shifts. This should happen regularly and systematically or be prompted by changes like new machines or technology and/or new processes, as well as near misses and/or actual incidents.

The Role of Practical Tools in JSA Effectiveness

As well as following the right procedural steps, other factors that impact job hazard analysis effectiveness include the use of practical tools and management systems.

Practical tools like downloadable checklists support proactive safety procedures because they’re easy to understand – any employee can refer to them before carrying out a job, improving awareness of the potential hazards and safety measures to follow.

Visual aids like posters and signs can serve as helpful reminders of potential hazards and safety measures on the factory floor. Visual aids in online training can improve content engagement and worker understanding of the safety communications and instructions. This is helpful especially for newer workers, but tenured employees with years of industrial skills can still learn new safety approaches.

The Role of EQMS in Enhancing JSA Efficiency

Additionally, electronic quality management systems (EQMS), which enable quality teams to centrally manage and monitor their quality and compliance documentation, can be integrated with and support job safety analysis:

• Streamlines JSA Processes: EQMS automates JSA workflows, providing tools to assess identified potential hazards and their risk level, and prioritize mitigation efforts.
• Fosters Collaboration: EQMS provides real-time updates and notifications on JSAs, fostering safety communications among relevant team members and stakeholders.
• Enables Audit Readiness: EQMS maintains real-time audit logs, which aid in preparation for audits and inspections.
• Supports Continuous Improvement: EQMS data analytics and reporting helps companies spot patterns around hazards, assess the effectiveness of preventative measures, and improve workplace safety and content on training management systems on an ongoing basis. 

Best Practices for Implementing JSAs and EQMS

To get the most from integrating EQMS with job hazard analysis, here are a few considerations:

• Configure dashboards to generate reports for real-time status updates, to make it easier to identify when a job hazard analysis needs to be updated.
• Use EQMS tools to schedule reminders to systematically analyze job safety analysis processes, supporting continuous improvement without the busy work.
• Integrate EQMS with your learning management system to make it easier to reflect updates to JSAs in mandated training. 

By adopting these steps, systems, and best practices, manufacturers can bolster their JSA procedures, ensuring JSA contributes to better workplace safety and compliance.