Canada OH & S

Occupational Health and Safety Branch
Yukon Workers’ Compensation, Health and Safety Board
401 Strickland Street
Whitehorse YT Y1A 5N8
General Inquiries (867) 667-5645; 1-800-661-0443
http://wcb.yk.ca

Q. What is a JSA?

A. Job Safety Analysis (JSA) is one of the risk assessment tools used to identify and control workplace hazards.  A JSA is a second tier risk assessment with the aim of preventing personal injury to a person, or their colleagues, and any other person passing or working adjacent, above or below. JSAs are also known as Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) and Task Hazard Analysis (THA).

Q. What is a JSEA?

A. A Job Safety and Environmental Analysis (JSEA) is the same as a JSA or a SWMS but also considers the risks to the environment and control measures to minimise these risks. An example of a JSEA can be found here.

Q. What is the difference between a SWMS and a JSEA?

A. A Job Safety and Environmental Analysis (JSEA) is essentially the same as a Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS) but also considers the risks to the environment and control measures to minimise these risks. They all follow the following 3 basic elements:

Job step – what are you going to do?

Potential Hazard – What can go wrong or cause injury to persons or property

Hazard control measure – What are you going to do to make sure it doesn’t go wrong or cause injury.

Q. Does JSEAsy produce a SWMS or a JSEA?

A. The JSEAsy software produced a hybrid SWMS/ JSEA document. 
By inserting the steps that you are going to take, in the order that you are going to take them you are creating a Work Method Statement.
By identifying the potential hazards associated with each step and ways to control them you are creating a Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS) or a Job Safety and Analysis (JSA).
By identifying Environmental Hazards associated with each step and ways to control them you are creating a JOB Safety and Environmental Analysis (JSEA). 

JSEAsy wraps all this into one document.

Q. What is the Hazard Identification and Assessment Process?

 A. According to the Occupational Health and Safety legislation, employers are required to assess a work site for existing and potential hazards before work begins.

The Hazard Identification and Assessment process will impact many other elements of the Health and Safety Management System. As a result, it is important to take the time necessary to do the job thoroughly. Hazard assessment data can also be used to develop other elements of a Health and Safety Management System, including:

Incident Investigations: hazard assessment and control data can be used to help determine if a system failure was the cause of an incident

Emergency Response: use hazard assessments to help pinpoint areas that will require Emergency Response Plans.

Work Site Inspections: use hazard assessment data as the basis for inspection checklists.

Training and Orientation: use hazard assessment data to determine what worker training needs to be done, and to build the content of employee orientations and job-specific training.

Q. What is a Hazard?

A. A Hazard is something that has the potential to cause harm

Q. How do I identify Hazards?

A. Occupational hazards are divided into two categories:

Health Hazards: A health hazard may produce serious and immediate (acute) health effects or cause long-term (chronic) health problems. All or part of the body may be affected. Someone with an occupational illness may not recognize the symptoms immediately. For example, noise-induced hearing loss is often not noticed until it is well advanced.

Safety Hazards: A safety hazard is anything that could endanger the immediate safety of an employee, for example, a pinch point, crush, or burn hazard.

Hazard Categories Both health and safety hazards can be classified into the following categories:

Physical hazards, including lifting, repetitive motions, slipping, machinery, working at heights, loud noise, extreme temperatures, etc.

Chemical Hazards, including exposure to chemicals, dusts, fumes, mists and vapours.

Biological Hazards, including exposure to viruses, fungi, bacteria, moulds, body fluids, and sewage.

Psychological Hazards, including violence, stress and fatigue.

Q. What is the difference between Hazard and Risk?

A. The terms “hazard” and “risk” are often used interchangeably (and incorrectly). A hazard is a situation, condition, or behaviour that has the potential to cause an injury or loss. For example, ice on a walkway, oven mitts with burn holes, or an unlabelled bottle of liquid are hazards. In contrast, risk is the chance of injury, damage, or loss and is usually expressed as a probability. For example, the risk of slipping on the icy walkway is high.

Q. What is a Hazard Report Form used for?

A. A hazard report form is used when workers have identified a potential hazard that cannot be simply and immediately fixed.

Q. What is Imminent Danger?

A. Some hazards are significant enough to present a situation of imminent danger. The Occupational Health and Safety Act requires that workers stop performing work if they believe that an imminent danger to their health and safety exists. Imminent danger in relation to any occupation means a danger that is not normal for that occupation, or a danger under which a person engaged in that occupation would not normally carry out the work

Q. What are the sources of Hazards?

A. There are many sources of hazards in a workplace, however, the three most likely sources that should be considered are:

Workplace Environment: Factors such as facility layout, ventilation and lighting, walking surfaces, temperature and other variables can all be sources of hazards.

Equipment and Materials: Some equipment, tools and materials used in the job process are inherently hazardous, and others become hazardous over time due to inadequate maintenance, storage, or disposal.

People: Lack of training, poor communication, rushing, fatigue, and other factors may cause at-risk behaviours.