What is the difference between a JSA and a JHA?

Nothing that matters in practice. Job safety analysis, job hazard analysis and job safety risk assessment are names for the same method: break a job into steps, find the hazards at each step and set controls. Some companies use JSA for the form and JHA for the process, but the content is the same.

Who should fill in a job safety analysis, and when is one needed?

The people who do the job, with their supervisor and someone from safety: they know the shortcuts and the awkward steps that a desk review misses. Do one before a new job, a new machine or a changed process, for non-routine work such as maintenance, for jobs with a history of injuries, and again after any incident on the job.

What is the hierarchy of controls?

An order for choosing controls, from the strongest to the weakest: eliminate the hazard, substitute something less hazardous, engineering controls such as guards, administrative controls such as procedures and training, and PPE. Try the top of the list first.

How is the risk score worked out?

Severity times likelihood, each scored from 1 to 5, gives a score from 1 to 25. This template bands it as low (1 to 4), medium (5 to 9), high (10 to 16) and very high (20 to 25). Use your company's own scale and bands if it has them.

Is a JSA required by law?

There is no single US rule that every job needs a JSA. OSHA publishes a guide to the method (Job Hazard Analysis, OSHA 3071), and some standards require a hazard assessment or a written procedure for specific work, such as the workplace hazard assessment for PPE in 29 CFR 1910.132(d) and lockout procedures in 1910.147. Many companies and customers require a JSA anyway. Check the rules for your site, state or country.

Free template

Updated November 11, 2026

Job safety analysis (JSA) template

A job safety analysis, also called a job hazard analysis, breaks one job into steps, lists the hazards at each step and records the controls that make the step safe. You fill it in before the work starts, with the people who do the job. The same method goes by several names: job hazard analysis (JHA), job safety risk assessment (JSRA) or task risk assessment. The names are used interchangeably, and the sheet is the same. This template scores each hazard for severity and likelihood from 1 to 5 before the controls, asks for controls from the top of the hierarchy (eliminate, substitute, engineer, administrative controls, then PPE), and scores the risk again with the controls in place. Page 2 has more rows, the PPE for the job, the rating guide and a sign-off for the people briefed on it, and page 3 is a filled-in example of six steps. The Excel version works out both risk scores and their bands, flags any step still high after the controls and has the same example on its own sheet. The Word version has the blank sheet as tables you can type in.

Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.

Page 1 of the job safety analysis template — Job steps and hazardsSix-step worked exampleRisk before: severity × likelihoodControls by the hierarchyRisk afterPPE for the jobRating guideBriefing sign-off

Filled-in Job safety analysis (JSA) template: changing the coil on a stamping press, six steps — The same sheet filled in with the worked example (page 3 of the PDF, illustrative numbers). Open full size (opens the picture in a new tab)

When to use it

When to use a job safety analysis

Before a new job, a new machine or a changed process goes live.
For jobs with a history of injuries or near misses, and for jobs where a mistake could be serious.
For non-routine work such as maintenance, cleaning inside machines or working at height.
To train a new starter on how a job is done safely, step by step.
Before work that also needs its own procedure or permit, such as lockout, confined-space entry, hot work or work at height: the JSA comes first and does not replace them.

How to fill it in

1
Pick the job and the team
One job per sheet. Fill it in with the people who do the job, not only the safety lead.
2
Break it into steps
Watch the job and write the steps in order, in a few words each. Most jobs have five to twelve steps.
3
List the hazards at each step
What could go wrong and who could be hurt: caught in, struck by, cut, lifting strain, a fall, a chemical, noise.
4
Score the risk before controls
Severity (the worst credible outcome) times likelihood, each from 1 to 5, using the guide on page 2.
5
Choose controls, strongest first
Remove the hazard if you can, then substitute, then engineering controls such as guards, then procedures and training, and PPE last. Circle the type.
6
Score again and sign off
Score the risk with the controls in place, list the PPE, and brief the people who do the job before they start.

What is in the download

Every page and every sheet of the Job safety analysis (JSA) template

3 PDF pages and 3 Excel sheets, as they come. The Word file has the same pages as the PDF, as tables you can type in. The worked examples use made-up numbers.

PDF, 3 pages

Open full size (opens the picture in a new tab)
Page 1: header and steps 1 to 8
Open full size (opens the picture in a new tab)
Page 2: steps 9 to 13, PPE, rating guide, sign-off
Open full size (opens the picture in a new tab)
Page 3: a filled-in example

Excel, 3 sheets

The pictures show the top of each sheet with the formulas worked out; the file keeps every row.

Open full size (opens the picture in a new tab)
Sheet 1: JSA
Open full size (opens the picture in a new tab)
Sheet 2: Worked example
Open full size (opens the picture in a new tab)
Sheet 3: Rating guide

The example in full

The coil-change JSA, step by step

Every row of the worked example: the hazard at each step, the risk scored before the controls, the controls with their type, and the risk scored again.

Job: Change the coil on stamping press 4
JSA no. and area: JSA-04, Rev 0. Stamping, press 4
Prepared by, reviewed by: Press team, Area manager. 4 operators briefed
Tools and PPE: Forklift with coil cradle, strip guide, hook tool, strap cutter. Safety shoes, cut-resistant gloves and sleeves, glasses, face shield for strap cutting

Six steps of Change the coil on stamping press 4: the hazard, the risk before the controls as severity times likelihood, the controls, and the risk after
#	Job step	Hazard	Risk before	Controls, strongest first	Control type	Risk after	Who makes sure
1	Lock out the press and the uncoiler	Press or uncoiler moves while hands are in the work area; stored energy	10 High5 x 2	Lock out and verify zero energy with the lockout procedure for press 4, each person with their own lock	Engineering	5 Medium5 x 1	Press operator
2	Lift the new coil onto the uncoiler	Coil rolls or drops onto a foot; person struck by the coil	12 High4 x 3	Coil cradle on the forklift; marked no-go zone while the coil is lifted	Engineering	4 Low4 x 1	Press supervisor
3	Cut the banding straps	Cut strap snaps back into the hands or face	12 High3 x 4	Long-handled strap cutter, hold the strap end, face shield and cut-resistant gloves	Engineering	6 Medium3 x 2	Press operator
4	Thread the strip into the feeder	Cuts to the hands from the strip edge	12 High3 x 4	Cut-resistant gloves and sleeves	PPE	6 Medium3 x 2	Press operator
5	Clear a misfeed	Hand caught in the die area	15 High5 x 3	Lock out the press; use the hook tool, never a hand	Engineering	5 Medium5 x 1	Press operator
6	Start the press and run the first parts	Pinch points and unexpected movement at restart; noise	8 Medium4 x 2	All guards back on; light curtain checked before the first stroke; clear the area, then start; hearing protection	Engineering	4 Low4 x 1	Press supervisor

Risk is severity times likelihood on a 5 by 5 scale, banded 1 to 4 low, 5 to 9 medium, 10 to 16 high and 20 to 25 very high. These are example bands: use your company's own.

A filled-in example

Illustrative, not a benchmark

An example: a JSA for changing the coil on a stamping press, six steps, filled in by the press team (illustrative scores). The PDF page 3 and the Excel Worked example sheet hold the same JSA.

The example's risks, before and after controls

Low (1 to 4)
Medium (5 to 9)
High (10 to 16)
Very high (20 to 25)

Lock out the press and the uncoiler. Before controls 5 × 2 = 10 (high), after 5 × 1 = 5 (medium).
Lift the new coil onto the uncoiler. Before controls 4 × 3 = 12 (high), after 4 × 1 = 4 (low).
Cut the banding straps. Before controls 3 × 4 = 12 (high), after 3 × 2 = 6 (medium).
Thread the strip into the feeder. Before controls 3 × 4 = 12 (high), after 3 × 2 = 6 (medium).
Clear a misfeed. Before controls 5 × 3 = 15 (high), after 5 × 1 = 5 (medium).
Start the press and run the first parts. Before controls 4 × 2 = 8 (medium), after 4 × 1 = 4 (low).

Controls lower the likelihood; the severity of the worst outcome stays. Outlined marker: before controls. Filled marker: after.

Step 1, lock out the press and the uncoiler. Hazard: the press or uncoiler moves while hands are in the work area. Before: severity 5, likelihood 2, risk 10 (high). Control: lock out and verify zero energy, each person with their own lock. After: 5 × 1 = 5 (medium).
Step 2, lift the new coil onto the uncoiler. Hazard: the coil rolls or drops onto a foot. Before: 4 × 3 = 12 (high). Controls: a coil cradle on the forklift and a marked no-go zone while lifting. After: 4 × 1 = 4 (low).
Steps 3 and 4, cut the banding straps and thread the strip into the feeder. A cut strap can snap back into the hands or face and the strip edge cuts hands. Both are 3 × 4 = 12 before. A long-handled cutter, a face shield and cut-resistant gloves and sleeves bring both to 3 × 2 = 6 (medium).
Step 5, clear a misfeed: a hand caught in the die area, 5 × 3 = 15 before. Lock out the press and use the hook tool, never a hand: 5 × 1 = 5. Step 6, start the press and run the first parts: 4 × 2 = 8 before and 4 × 1 = 4 after.

Five of the six steps were high before the controls and none after. Four steps still score medium (5 or 6). The team signed the JSA at the start of the next shift, and the medium risk on threading went on the list for an engineering fix: a strip guide that keeps hands away from the edge.

To score a hazard before and after its controls, the free Risk matrix calculator gives the score and the band on a 3x3, 4x4 or 5x5 grid.

Common mistakes

Writing it at a desk
A JSA written without watching the job misses the real hazards. Go to the job with the people who do it.
Steps too broad
"Run the machine" hides the hazards. Break it down until each step is one action.
PPE as the first answer
PPE is the last line of defense. Look for a way to remove or guard the hazard first.
Filed and forgotten
Review the JSA when the job, the equipment or the people change, and after any incident on that job.
Never shown to the crew
A JSA only helps if the people doing the job have been through it. Brief them and have them sign.

Download the template

Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.

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In LeanSuite safety procedures start from marketplace templates, including risk assessments; anyone reports a hazard as a tag from a QR code, and a serious hazard can become a CAPA project with root cause analysis.

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