How to Do a JSA (Job Safety Analysis Guide)

What Is a JSA?

A Job Safety Analysis (JSA) is a structured process for identifying hazards and managing risks before work begins. You break the job into individual steps, identify what could go wrong at each step, assess the risk, and document the controls.

You might also hear it called a Job Hazard Analysis (JHA). Same process, different name.

Why It Matters

The JSA is one of the most widely used safety tools on Australian worksites. It is practical, straightforward, and genuinely useful when done properly.

The problem is that too many JSAs are filled out as a tick-and-flick exercise with no real thought behind them. That defeats the purpose and leaves you exposed if something goes wrong.

How a JSA Differs from a SWMS

This is one of the most common questions. Getting it wrong can leave you non-compliant on site.

A SWMS (Safe Work Method Statement) is a legal requirement under the WHS Regulations for any of the 19 defined high-risk construction work activities. These include working at heights above 2 metres, demolition, excavation deeper than 1.5 metres, and others.

A JSA is a general risk assessment tool that can be used for any type of work, not just high-risk construction. It is task-level - focused on the specific steps of a particular job.

When to Use Which

• The job involves one or more of the 19 high-risk construction activities - you need a SWMS. It is the law.
• The job is general construction or trade work that does not fall under the 19 high-risk categories - a JSA is the standard tool.
• Many principal contractors require both - a SWMS for high-risk elements and a JSA for everything else.
• For routine day-to-day work off major construction sites, a JSA is usually the appropriate document.

A JSA cannot replace a SWMS. If the work is high-risk construction work under the regulations, a SWMS is the legally mandated document. A JSA does not satisfy the SWMS requirement.

The 4 Steps of a JSA

Every JSA comes back to these four fundamentals.

Step 1: Break the Job Into Steps

Walk through the job from beginning to end. List every step in the order they will be performed. You are building a sequence of discrete tasks that together make up the whole job.

Aim for under 10 steps. If you end up with 15 or 20, you are breaking things down too finely. If you only have 3 steps, you are being too broad and will miss hazards.

Example - installing a split system air conditioner:

1. Set up work area, check for existing hazards, unpack equipment
2. Mark and drill mounting bracket holes for indoor unit
3. Fix indoor mounting bracket to wall
4. Core hole through external wall for pipework
5. Position and secure outdoor unit on mounting pad
6. Run and connect refrigerant pipework and drainage
7. Complete electrical connections and wiring
8. Vacuum, gas charge, and commission the system
9. Test operation, clean up work area, and pack down

Here is what a completed JSA might look like in practice:

Each step should describe a distinct activity. If a step involves different types of work with different hazards, split it up.

Step 2: Identify Hazards for Each Step

Go through each step and ask: what could go wrong? Think about every way someone could be injured or exposed to danger at that stage.

Common hazard categories:

• Falls - from ladders, roofs, platforms, or slips and trips at ground level
• Electrical - contact with live conductors, faulty equipment, overhead or underground services
• Struck by or caught between - falling tools, moving parts, swinging loads
• Manual handling - heavy or awkward lifting, sustained awkward postures, repetitive strain
• Noise and vibration - power tools, drilling, grinding, compaction equipment
• Heat and UV - heat stress from working in direct sun, dehydration, sunburn
• Dust and fumes - silica dust from cutting concrete, welding fumes, refrigerant gas
• Cuts and lacerations - sharp materials, cutting tools, sheet metal edges
• Other workers and the public - other trades in the area, pedestrians, vehicles

Be specific to the actual task. "Injury" is not a hazard. "Laceration to hands from handling cut sheet metal edges during bracket installation" is a hazard. The more specific you are, the more targeted your controls can be.

Step 3: Assess the Risk

For each hazard, rate the level of risk before you apply controls. Use a standard risk matrix combining:

• Likelihood - how probable is it that the hazard will cause harm? (Rare, Unlikely, Possible, Likely, Almost Certain)
• Consequence - if harm occurs, how severe could it be? (First aid, Medical treatment, Lost time injury, Serious injury/disability, Fatality)

Cross-reference these to get a risk rating: Low, Medium, High, or Extreme.

A hazard rated Extreme or High demands strong controls. It cannot be left with just a line about wearing PPE.

Step 4: Apply Control Measures

For each hazard, document the specific controls. Follow the hierarchy of controls, ranked from most effective to least:

1. Elimination - remove the hazard completely. Can you do the work from ground level instead of a ladder?
2. Substitution - replace the hazard with something less dangerous. Use a battery-powered tool instead of a 240V tool in a wet area.
3. Engineering controls - physically separate workers from the hazard. Install temporary barriers around penetrations. Use dust extraction on grinders.
4. Administrative controls - change the way work is organised. Schedule noisy work when other trades are away. Implement a buddy system for isolated work.
5. PPE - personal protective equipment as the last resort. Specify exactly what is required, such as "AS/NZS 1337.1 medium-impact safety glasses during drilling."

The hierarchy exists because controls at the top are more reliable. A guardrail doesn't depend on someone remembering to clip on a harness.

Write Controls That Are Specific

Instead of "take care when using ladder," write: "Use industrial-rated A-frame ladder on firm level ground, maintain three points of contact at all times, do not overreach - reposition ladder as needed."

Anyone reading the JSA should know exactly what to do.

Assess the Residual Risk

After listing controls, assess the residual risk - the level of risk remaining after controls are applied. If a hazard is still rated High or Extreme after your controls, you need stronger measures or a different approach.

Worker Involvement and Sign-Off

A JSA should not be written by one person in an office and handed to the crew on arrival. It is a collaborative process. The workers doing the job understand the practical realities better than anyone.

Before Work Starts

Walk through each step, the hazards, and the controls with the entire crew. Give workers the opportunity to raise concerns or suggest changes. If someone identifies a hazard you missed, add it.

Every Worker Signs

Each worker signs the JSA to confirm they:

• Have been briefed on the contents
• Understand the hazards and controls for each step
• Agree to follow the documented procedures

The supervisor or leading hand also signs off to confirm the JSA is adequate and the briefing has been completed.

Reviewing and Updating

A JSA is not a one-and-done document. Review it:

• After any incident, near miss, or safety concern - stop work, review, update, and re-brief before restarting
• When conditions change - weather turns, new equipment is introduced, different workers join the job
• At regular intervals on longer jobs - weekly review is common on extended projects
• When the scope of work changes - if the job evolves beyond the original plan, the JSA must reflect the new reality

When you update a JSA, get all workers to re-sign. Keep previous versions - they demonstrate a history of active risk management if you are ever audited.

Common Mistakes That Undermine Your JSA

• Generic hazards and controls - listing "slip, trip, fall" on every step with "maintain good housekeeping" adds nothing. Be specific.
• Writing the JSA after the work is done - a JSA is a planning tool. Filling it out after the job has zero value as a risk management document.
• No worker involvement - one person fills it out and everyone signs without discussion. This misses real hazards.
• Set and forget - the JSA was written on day one of a two-week job and never looked at again.
• Too many steps - cramming 20 steps in makes the document unwieldy. Keep it focused and under 10.
• PPE as the only control - if your control column is nothing but PPE for every hazard, you have not applied the hierarchy.

Keep It Practical

A JSA should be a useful tool, not a compliance exercise that gets filed and forgotten. A well-written single-page JSA covering key steps, hazards, and controls is more valuable than a 10-page document nobody reads.

Burgy makes JSAs fast and genuinely useful. Add your job steps, identify hazards with guided prompts, apply controls using the hierarchy framework, and get your crew to sign digitally on site.

The whole process takes minutes. It stays on everyone's phone for reference during the job and is stored for audits. No paper, no lost forms, no excuses.