Environmental Health & Safety

What is a Job Safety Analysis (JSA) and how is it used?

JSA are documents that outline the steps necessary to complete a task, associated hazards, required training, relevant safety plans or references, precautions that must be taken while performing work, and personal protective equipment that must be worn. JSA are completed by employees and/or supervisors and must be reviewed by supervisors. JSA should be referenced before beginning a task, especially if an employee is unfamiliar with a task, to minimize potential injuries or exposure to hazardous conditions.  Work tasks which have JSA priority are those that:

  • Have procedures that have the potential to be immediately dangerous to life and health;
  • can or have been shown to cause injury or exposure;
  • require lockout/tagout, confined space entry, energized electrical work permit, and/or required personal protective equipment (PPE) to perform the task safely;
  • require the operation of a vehicle (other than an automobile), tool, or equipment capable of causing injury or exposure to an employee or bystanders;
  • involve two or more employees, special procedures, or unique processes in order to complete the task; and
  • may expose employees or bystanders to electrical arc exposure and electrical shock.

Additional information about JSA is outlined in the university’s Job Safety Analysis Guide.  Completed JSA can be retrieved on line at MyMason.gmu.edu:

  1. sign-in with user name and password (patriot pass)
  2. choose the ‘Organizations’ tab on the top right of the page
  3. Use the Organization Search field in the top left and search for Job Safety Analysis
  4. Select ‘Job Safety Analysis’ to join the organization and access JSA

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