Job Safety Analysis Made Simple: Step #2 — Identify the Hazards

Job Hazard Analysis Made Simple: Step #2One of the inherent “hazards” of not exercising due diligence with a Job Safety Analysis is our tendency to ignore all but the most obvious hazards of the job. We tend to focus on what comes to mind first and foremost, and then downplay or ignore the “lesser” hazards.  But that approach is problematic because it suggests a level of complacency about the way we do the job that makes us much more prone to accidents. [content_protector password=”jsa-2″ identifier=”jsa-2″]

JSA Step #2: Identify the Hazards

The first step of a Job Safety Analysis, as we saw in our last issue, is to identify the high-level steps (or stages) of a job. There we emphasized the value in slowing things down, thinking it through, and accurately breaking that activity down into concrete steps or stages.  Only when we’ve identified all the steps of a job can we accurately identify all the hazards that may get us into trouble.

The second step of a JSA is to identify the hazards of each job step.  We’ll continue with our job of “mowing the lawn” (the example we introduced last time), and we’ll focus our attention on the first step of that job (pre-job maintenance — something we identified in the first JSA step last issue).  What are the hazards of that job step?

Pre-job maintenance hazards could include things like: 10 Things You Absolutely MUST KNOW About Reinforcing Your Safety Culture By Building EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

  • Spills from fuel, oil or other fluids from a topping-off activity
  • Cuts or lacerations from cleaning the blades
  • Hand contusions from sharpening the blade or tightening screws and bolts

There are, of course, many more hazards we could identify for this job step.  But these should suffice to work through this example of a JSA.

The point is, just as we took our time to identify all the steps of the job, we should likewise take our time to identify the hazards of each step.  If we take care to think through this step, we ultimately put ourselves in a much better position to think though how we’ll control those hazards in the final step of a JSA.

fctc-online-bannerAnd we’ll take an in-depth look at that final step next time, as well as offer some closing thoughts on how to use these effectively.  But that’s it for this edition of Recordable INSIGHTS.  Be sure to view the associated video below to learn more about the second step of a Job Safety Analysis.  Until next time.

~ES

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About the Author

Eric Svendsen
Eric Svendsen, Ph.D., is Principal and lead change agent for safetyBUILT-IN, a safety-leadership learning and development organization. He has over 20 years experience in creating and executing outcomes-based leadership development and culture change initiatives aligned to organizational goals, and he personally led the safety-culture initiatives of a number of client organizations that resulted in “best ever safety performance” years for those companies.