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The question of whether a Job Safety Analysis was robust enough is asked very quickly after a workplace incident. Investigators want to know if the Job Safety Analysis identified the hazard that led to the injury, and if it assessed the severity of the risk and the controls needed to address it appropriately. And in worker’s compensation cases, Job Safety Analysis can often be key pieces of evidence. For all of these reasons, you don’t want to wait until a workplace incident happens before you investigate how well your JSAs are working.

Let’s take a look at some of the ways you can ensure you are getting maximum protection out of your Job Safety Analysis.

What Makes a Job Safety Analysis “Strong?”

More facilities have come to recognize the value of Job Safety Analysis, and OSHA has published guidelines for their effective use. In general, effective Job Safety Analysis have the following characteristics, they:

  • Break the job down into tasks and identify all tasks necessary to complete the job. This includes frequently missed steps like set-up and clean-up.
  • Consider and identify the hazards associated with each task, including factors like pinch points, chemical use/exposure, cut/laceration risks, ergonomic strains, and other categories of risks. This can be done most effectively by watching performance of the job tasks, taking note of all the places where risks of injury may exist.
  • Identify controls for each hazard identified, and also establish a hierarchy of controls, with elimination or substitution used whenever possible (because they eliminate the risk) as a preference over engineering, administrative, or PPE controls, which just create barriers to risks.
  • Are easy and clear to read and understand. If it’s not clear what hazards correspond to which tasks, or which controls correspond to which tasks, then the Job Safety Analysis fails its primary duty, and may not adequately prepare employees to understand and avoid risks. When it comes to communicating hazards, we want to remove as much ambiguity as possible.
  • Were written with the direct involvement of the employee(s) who do the job. It’s good to not only codify this as standard practice, but also to think about how to document it. Job Safety Analysis that fail often do so because there wasn’t enough input from the actual operators, as common-sense as it seems to involve them, and therefore the Job Safety Analysis didn’t correctly identify all steps in the job or the hazards. Lack of participation by the operators also can create a widespread view among employees that the Job Safety Analysis lack validity, which can hamper workforce participation in EHS.

IMEC Technologies provides Safety Management Software to increase worker safety and aid compliance. IMEC’s Safety Management Software will manage inspections and audits, provides hazard identificationincident reporting, management of corrective and preventative actions from generation to closure. IMEC provides lock out tag out software solutions that will allow users to create lockout tagout procedures using an intuitive Mobile App and Manage Lockout Tagout Procedures, also the Review and Execution of those Lockout Tagout Procedures using the Mobile App. Annual Lockout Tagout Procedures audits are conducted using a Mobile App. The Mobile Inspection App allow users to perform inspections and audits, for example the system can be used as a Fire Extinguisher Barcode Inspection Software system to manage monthly fire extinguisher inspections and general fire safety inspections and also to record safety observations and manage corrective actions, anywhere and anytime. The solution can be used as a fire extinguisher barcode inspection software system or life safety inspection system to aid compliance in Higher Education, Healthcare, Industrial and Commercial Organizations. Benefits from a Fire Extinguisher Barcode System include the elimination of paperwork and reducing the burden of compliance with regulations such as NFPA, The Joint Commission. The Incident Reporting App allows users to easily and quickly report incidents, hazards and near-misses, these are then sent to the appropriate people for action and are managed to closure.  Web Apps provide features such as, setup, management, scheduling tools, analysis, reporting and dashboards etc with the ability to report incidents to government bodies such as OSHA and RIDDORHazMat T&T is a hazardous waste management software solution designed for Environmental Service Companies and companies who generate a large quantity of hazardous waste. The solution tracks hazardous waste from cradle to grave aiding compliance, providing accurate waste inventory, increasing waste handling efficiency, reducing risk and also helps manage waste costs. HazMat T&T Hazardous Waste Management Software can be deployed in a number of deployment scenarios, from Large Hazardous Waste Generators, tracking their hazardous waste at their site to Environmental Service and Waste Management Companies using it track and manage hazardous waste at transfer and disposal sites. For more information visit our website www.imectechnologies.com