What this is
What is a job safety analysis?
What is a job safety analysis?
A method of breaking a job into sequential steps, identifying the hazards associated with each step, and determining the controls needed for each. OSHA publication 3071 describes the approach, which is also called job hazard analysis.
How does it differ from a task risk assessment?
Mostly in emphasis. A JSA is structured around the sequence of steps and is usually developed with the people who perform the job. A task risk assessment typically adds explicit risk evaluation and formal acceptance. Both examine the same thing, and the useful question is whether either describes the job as actually performed.
Scope
When is a job safety analysis required?
This analyses a job by steps. It supports procedures and training rather than replacing risk assessment.
Use this template when
- Jobs with a history of injuries or near misses
- Jobs with potential for severe injury even without a history
- New jobs, or jobs changed by new equipment, materials or process
- Jobs performed infrequently, where nobody is practised
- Developing procedures, training content and pre-task briefings from a structured analysis
Do not use it for
- The formal risk assessment, where explicit risk evaluation and acceptance are required
- Pre-task or point-of-work checks, which confirm today's conditions against an existing analysis
- Method statements, which describe how the work will be done rather than what could go wrong
- Machine risk assessment, which addresses equipment design across its lifecycle
- Permit to work, which authorises specific high-risk activities
Compliance mapping
Which OSHA 3071 requirements does this satisfy?
Job safety analysis is a method rather than a regulatory requirement, supporting hazard identification duties.
| Clause | Requirement | Where it lands |
|---|---|---|
| OSHA 3071 | Job hazard analysis guidance: breaking jobs into steps, identifying hazards and determining preventive measures | Task steps |
| ISO 45001 cl.6.1.2 | Hazard identification covering routine and non-routine activities and human factors | Task steps |
| ISO 45001 cl.8.1.2 | Hierarchy of controls applied to hazards identified | Requirements |
| ISO 45001 cl.5.4 | Participation of workers in hazard identification, which the method depends on | Header |
| CSA Z1002 | Occupational health and safety hazard identification and elimination and risk assessment and control | Result |
| 29 CFR 1910.132(d) | Hazard assessment determining PPE, which a JSA can support | Requirements |
| 1926.20(b)(2) | Frequent and regular inspections of job sites, materials and equipment by competent persons | Related records |
| ISO 45001 cl.7.2 | Competence, where the JSA informs what training the job requires | Related records |
What it does not cover
- Formal risk assessment, where explicit evaluation and residual risk acceptance are required.
- Pre-task checks, confirming today's conditions against an existing analysis.
- Method statements, describing sequence and method rather than analysing hazard.
- Machine risk assessment, addressing equipment design across its lifecycle.
- Permit to work, authorising specified high-risk activities.
How to complete it
How to complete a job safety analysis, step by step
Choose the job deliberately, watch it, break it properly, and work down the hierarchy.
Jobs with injury or near miss history, jobs where an error could be severe even without a history, new or changed jobs, and jobs performed so rarely that nobody is practised. Analysing whichever job is easiest to schedule produces a shelf of documents about low-risk work.
Roughly ten steps for a typical job. Each step should be an action with a start and an end that you could watch someone perform. Fewer than about six usually means phases rather than steps; more than about fifteen usually means the analysis has descended into describing individual movements.
Fetching materials, positioning, isolating, gaining access, and afterwards cleaning up, reinstating guards, restoring energy and disposing of waste. These bracket steps carry a disproportionate share of injuries and are the ones most often omitted because the analysis starts when the productive work starts.
For each hazard: can the step be eliminated, done differently, done with different equipment, engineered out, or controlled by procedure, before reaching PPE. A JSA where every step concludes in personal protective equipment has documented hazards and skipped the part that reduces them.
What auditors find
Most common job safety analysis findings
JSA findings concentrate on granularity and on who was involved.
| Finding | Clause | What fixes it |
|---|---|---|
| Steps written as phases rather than actions. | OSHA 3071 | Break to the level of an action you could watch; hazards hide inside phases. |
| Developed at a desk without observing the job. | ISO 45001 cl.5.4 | Watch it and involve the people who do it; the procedure is not the job. |
| Set-up and clean-up steps omitted. | ISO 45001 cl.6.1.2 | Include the bracket steps; they carry a disproportionate share of injuries. |
| Controls default to PPE at every step. | ISO 45001 cl.8.1.2 | Apply the hierarchy per step and record why higher controls were rejected. |
| Jobs selected for analysis by convenience rather than risk. | OSHA 3071 | Prioritise by injury history, severity potential, change and infrequency. |
| JSA not revised after equipment, material or method change. | ISO 45001 cl.6.1.2 | Change alters the steps; the analysis should follow. |
| Analysis not used to inform training or procedures. | ISO 45001 cl.7.2 | The JSA is the natural source for both; otherwise it is a document with no consumer. |
| Workers who perform the job not named as contributors. | ISO 45001 cl.5.4 | Record who took part; participation is a requirement and a quality check. |
| Emergency and abnormal conditions not considered within steps. | OSHA 3071 | What happens if it jams, fails or has to be stopped mid-step. |
| JSA completed and never reviewed after an incident on that job. | ISO 45001 cl.10.2 | An incident is direct evidence the analysis was incomplete. |
Case in point
Case in point: four steps and everything hidden
A JSA for a blade change on a slicing machine listed four steps: isolate the machine, remove the old blade, fit the new blade, and return to service. Each step carried hazards of laceration and contact with moving parts, and controls of cut-resistant gloves and following the procedure.
Watching the job produced eleven steps. Two of them involved reaching past a guard to reach a retaining bolt, one involved supporting the blade one-handed while releasing the last fastener, and one involved a stored-energy spring that had to be relieved in a specific order.
None of those appeared in the four-step version, because each was inside remove the old blade. The controls that mattered, a blade handling jig and a change to the fastener sequence, could not have come out of an analysis at that level.
The template
The template, field by field
The form exactly as it installs. Every field, option, score and conditional rule is editable, and the links to other templates come with it.
5 sections
- Reference
- SAF-058
- Archetype
- Assessment
- Record ID
- JSA-2026-000
- Scoring
- Risk per step, worst case overall
- Direction
- High is bad
- Singleton
- No
- Basis
- OSHA 3071, CSA Z1002
- Links
- Links Job, Risk Assessment, Training
- Tags
- Risk, Task, Leading
- Sections
- 5
- Fields
- 49
- Follow up fields
- 3
- Repeating sections
- 1
- Links out
- 7
Header
15 fieldsJSA ID*
Auto sequence. Format JSA-2026-0000.
The record's own ID. Other templates point at this value.
Status*
Drives who this goes to next.
- Planned2 pts
- In progress2 pts
- Complete3 pts
- Deferred0 pts
- Open0 pts
- Closed3 pts
- Overdue0 pts
Case ID
Copy from the record that triggered this work.
Thread key. Every record in this chain carries this value
Parent Type
What kind of record this follows.
Parent ID
The reference of that record.
Immediate predecessor record
Raised Date*
Site*
Site ID*
Format SITE-000.
Links to FDN-001 Site ID
Task*
Job ID*
Format JOB-000.
Links to FDN-004 Job Task ID
Written By The People Who Do It
A JSA written in an office is a document. A JSA written with the crew is a control. Include at least one person who performs this task.
Crew Members Involved*
Everyone who contributed. This is what makes it credible.
Task Frequency*
- Pass2 pts
- Partial1 pt
- Fail0 pts
- N/Aexcluded from denominator
Typical Crew Size*
Task Duration
Task steps
Repeats14 fieldsStep Number*
Step Description*
Hazards In This Step*
Who Could Be Harmed*
Likelihood*
- Rare3 pts
- Possible1 pt
- Likely0 pts
Severity*
- Minor3 pts
- Moderate1 pt
- Serious0 pts
Risk Band*
- Acceptable4 pts
- Investigate2 pts
- Change soon1 pt
- Change now0 pts
Controls For This Step*
Highest Control Level Applied*
- Eliminate4 pts
- Substitute4 pts
- Engineer3 pts
- Separate or isolate3 pts
- Administrative1 pt
- PPE0 pts
Critical Control Involved*
Critical Control
Control ID
Format CCTRL-000.
Links to FDN-011 Control ID
Residual Risk Band*
- Pass2 pts
- Partial1 pt
- Fail0 pts
- N/Aexcluded from denominator
Step Photo
Requirements
6 fieldsPPE Required*
Permits Required
Training Required
Course ID
Links to FDN-007 Course ID
Governing Procedure
Document ID
Format DOC-0000.
Links to FDN-008 Document ID
Related records
1 fieldRisk ID
The wider assessment this job analysis sits under.
Links to FDN-012 Risk ID
Result
13 fieldsSteps Assessed*
Highest Residual Band*
- Pass2 pts
- Partial1 pt
- Fail0 pts
- N/Aexcluded from denominator
Any Step Above Tolerance*
- No3 pts
- Yes0 pts
Action Required*
Raise the action record, then enter its reference here.
- No2 pts
- Yes0 pts
Priority
- High0 pts
- Medium1 pt
- Low3 pts
CAPA ID
Format CAPA-2026-00000.
Links to FDN-014 CAPA ID
Action Owner
Review Frequency*
- Quarterly3 pts
- Annually3 pts
- Every 2 years1 pt
- None set0 pts
Next Review Due*
Supervisor*
Signature*
Worker Representative*
Second Signature*
SAF-058 · record IDs look like JSA-2026-000 · Links Job, Risk Assessment, Training
Open in KnowellaRun it with agents
From a document you fill in to a programme that runs itself
The analysis breaks a job into steps. What fails is steps written as phases and an analysis nobody watched.
Holds the analysis by step with hazards and controls per step, and prompts inclusion of set-up and clean-up activities.
Prioritises which jobs to analyse from injury, near miss and change data rather than from whoever requests it.
Derives training content and procedure steps from the analysis, so the JSA has a consumer beyond the file.
Connects analyses of maintenance jobs to the assets and isolation points involved, where access and stored energy dominate.
This template lives in KnowSafe — safety and compliance. Incidents, hazards, permits, inspections and the critical controls behind them.
Meet KnowSafe→Glossary
Job Safety Analysis definitions and key terms
- Job safety analysis
- A method breaking a job into steps and identifying hazards and controls for each. Also called job hazard analysis.
- Step
- An action with a clear beginning and end that could be observed, as distinct from a phase of the job.
- Bracket steps
- The set-up and clean-up activities at the start and end of a job, which carry disproportionate injury and are often omitted.
- Granularity
- The level of decomposition, which determines whether hazards are specific enough to control.
- Hierarchy of controls
- The ranked sequence applied per step: elimination, substitution, engineering, administrative, PPE.
- Participation
- Involvement of the people who perform the job, both a requirement and the main quality control on the analysis.
- Abnormal condition
- What happens when a step does not go as intended, which is where most injuries occur and which analyses often omit.
- Job selection
- Prioritising which jobs to analyse, by injury history, severity potential, change and infrequency.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about job safety analysis
How many steps should a JSA have?+
Roughly ten for a typical job, as a rule of thumb rather than a rule. Substantially fewer usually means the steps are phases with hazards hidden inside them. Substantially more usually means the analysis has drifted into describing individual movements, which produces length without insight.
How do we know the steps are right?+
If you could write a step's hazards without watching the job, it is too broad. A properly decomposed step has one or two specific hazards that arise from that particular action, and it produces controls specific enough to implement. Generic hazards attached to broad steps produce generic controls.
Which jobs should we analyse?+
Those with injury or near miss history, those where an error could be severe even without a history, those newly introduced or changed, and those performed rarely enough that nobody is practised at them. That last category is consistently under-analysed because infrequent jobs do not generate recurring pressure to look at them.
Why do set-up and clean-up matter so much?+
Because they involve access, isolation, positioning, reinstatement and disposal, which is where guards are opened and energy is present. Analyses tend to start when the productive work starts and finish when it finishes, which omits precisely the parts where people put their hands into places the equipment was designed to keep them out of.
What should come out of a JSA?+
Controls worked down the hierarchy per step, and inputs to the procedure and the training for that job. A JSA that produces a document and nothing else has no consumer. Where it concludes with personal protective equipment at every step, it has identified hazards and stopped before doing anything about them.
Keep going
Related templates and programmes
Industries this is written for
Programmes this belongs to
Used together in Critical Control and Fatal Risk
Bow Tie Analysis Record
Maps threats, the top event, consequences and the barriers on each side for a major hazard
Barrier Health Review
Reviews whether the barriers relied on in a bow tie are actually in place and working
Critical Control Register
Lists the controls that stand between your people and a fatal or catastrophic event, with an owner and a required check frequency for each
Risk Assessment
The single risk assessment used across the whole business
Serious Potential Incident Report
Used when an event could have killed or seriously injured someone, whatever the actual outcome
Pre-Task Risk Assessment
A short check done by the crew right before work starts, covering what has changed today
More in Risk Studies
Pre-Task Risk Assessment
A short check done by the crew right before work starts, covering what has changed today
Task Risk Assessment
A fuller assessment of a task, its hazards and its controls, using the shared risk method
Hazard Identification Study
A structured search for hazards across an area, process or new installation
Bowtie Analysis
Maps a major hazard from its causes through to its consequences, and shows which barriers sit in between
What If Study
A guided team discussion asking what could go wrong at each stage of a process
Change Risk Review
Assesses the risk created by a proposed change before it goes ahead
Written and reviewed by
Siddarth Singh
Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Knowella
Certified Safety Professional and industrial and systems engineer with more than a decade inside food supply chain, freight and manufacturing operations. This page was written against the current text of the standards it cites, not against secondary summaries of them.
- Certified Safety Professional (CSP), Board of Certified Safety Professionals
- MBA, University of Chicago Booth School of Business
- MS and BS, The Ohio State University, Industrial and Systems Engineering
- Six Sigma Black Belt
Sources and last review. Reviewed 16 August 2026 against:
- OSHA publication 3071, job hazard analysis
- ISO 45001:2018 clauses 6.1.2, 8.1.2 and 5.4
- CSA Z1002, occupational health and safety hazard identification and risk assessment and control
- 29 CFR 1910.132(d), hazard assessment for personal protective equipment, OSHA
- 29 CFR 1926.20(b)(2), accident prevention responsibilities, OSHA
This page is general guidance, not legal advice. Confirm requirements with your jurisdiction’s regulator.