What is a Job Safety Analysis?

It is an organised look at what, in your work activities and workplace, could cause harm to people. This will allow you to weigh up whether you have taken adequate precautions or should do more to avoid harm. The important things you need to decide are whether a hazard is significant and whether you have covered it by satisfactory precautions so that the risk is acceptably low.

What do the terms 'hazard' and 'risk' mean?

A Job Safety Analysis is the systematic identification of potential hazards in the work place by personnel as a first step to controlling the possible risks involved.

• A hazard is anything that has the potential to cause harm.
• A risk is the likelihood of someone being exposed to that hazard and harmed as a result.

Job Safety Analysis should assess the risk that may be present in all work activities, and may identify particular areas for more detailed 'specific' assessments.

Important points to note:

• it may not be possible to eradicate problems completely
• in assessing risk the phrase used is "reasonably practicable"
• Job Safety Analysis relates to the long-term health of individuals as well as the management of the safety of such individuals, which focuses on the prevention of injuries.
• risks to health, such as occupational stress or infectious diseases are considered as well as the more obvious safety illnesses, such as those which relate to manual handling, chemical contact or fire safety.
• a person with special needs (such as people with physical or learning difficulties, young persons and pregnant women) will require an assessment of their activities which take their special needs into account.

Only US$199