Free JSA template (job safety analysis)
A JSA template with the three columns that matter — job steps, hazards, controls — plus the header fields auditors look for. Download the print-ready PDF below, see every field explained, and copy a filled example for a real task. No form, no email gate.
What does a JSA template include?
A job safety analysis (also called a job hazard analysis, or JHA) breaks one task into ordered steps, names the hazards at each step, and assigns a control to each hazard. The template is a header block plus a three-column table — everything else is discipline in filling it out.
Job / task description
One task per JSA. “Saw-cut interior slab, Level 1” — not “concrete work.”
Date and JSA number
JSAs get referenced after incidents and in audits; make them findable.
Project / location
The same task carries different hazards on different sites.
Prepared by / reviewed by
The supervisor preparing it and whoever reviews it both sign. Accountability is the point.
Required PPE
Listed once at the top so the crew can gear-check before step one.
Crew sign-on
Everyone performing the task signs that they reviewed it. This is the line auditors check first.
Job steps
The task in order, 5–10 steps, each starting with an action verb.
Hazards
What can go wrong at each step — named concretely, with the energy source.
Controls
One control per hazard, engineering first, PPE last.
A filled example: saw-cutting an interior concrete slab
Here is the template filled out for one common task, with controls tied to the OSHA standards they come from. Notice the shape: concrete hazards (“blade contact with embedded conduit”), and controls that change the work — the PPE shows up last, not first.
Task: Saw-cut interior slab, Level 1
Date / JSA #: Jul 6 · JSA-041
Location: Bldg A, gridline C3–C5
Prepared by: Site super
Reviewed by: Safety manager
Required PPE: Glasses, gloves, hearing, boots
| Job steps | Hazards | Controls |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Stage saw, water supply, and cords; inspect equipment | Damaged cord or blade; trip hazards from hoses and cords across walkways | Pre-use inspection of blade, guard, and cord; tag out defects; route cords and hoses along walls, off paths of travel |
| 2. Locate embedded utilities in the cut line | Striking live electrical conduit or water line embedded in the slab | Scan the slab (GPR) and review as-builts before cutting; treat unknown lines as live; de-energize and verify circuits in the cut zone |
| 3. Wet-cut the slab along the marked line | Respirable silica dust; rotating blade contact; noise; electric shock in wet conditions | Integrated water delivery per OSHA silica Table 1 (29 CFR 1926.1153); blade guard in place; hearing protection; GFCI-protected circuit (29 CFR 1926.404(b)(1)) |
| 4. Break out and remove cut sections | Manual-lifting strain; pinch points; sharp edges | Two-person lifts or material cart for heavy sections; cut-resistant gloves; clear the removal path before lifting |
| 5. Clean up slurry and dust | Slips on wet slurry; silica exposure from dried residue | Wet-vac slurry before it dries — no dry sweeping; barricade wet areas until dry |
How do you write a JSA?
Break the task into steps, name the hazard at each step, and assign a control for every hazard — then review it with the crew at the work area and collect signatures. Five steps, in the order that keeps the document honest:
- 1
Pick a task worth analyzing
Prioritize tasks that are new to the crew, went wrong before, or carry serious energy — heights, excavation, live systems, heavy loads. A JSA for “walk to the gang box” teaches crews the form is theater.
- 2
Break the task into 5–10 steps
Walk the task in order, as the crew will actually do it. Too few steps hide hazards inside vague verbs (“install the unit”); too many turn the JSA into a novel nobody reads. Start each step with an action verb.
- 3
Name the hazards for each step
For every step ask: what can go wrong here, and what energy is present? Gravity, electricity, rotation, pressure, chemicals, dust. Write hazards concretely — “blade contact with embedded conduit,” not “electrical hazard.”
- 4
Assign a control for every hazard
Follow the hierarchy: eliminate or engineer the hazard first (wet cutting, guards, ventilation), then administrative controls (sequencing, barricades), then PPE as the last layer. A JSA whose every control is “wear PPE” has skipped the actual thinking.
- 5
Review it with the crew that does the work
Read it at the work area, take corrections — the crew knows the step you missed — and collect signatures. Re-review whenever conditions change: new crew member, weather turn, different equipment.
Running a safety meeting alongside the JSA? The toolbox talk library has twelve ready-to-run 5-minute talks with verified OSHA references, and the daily report template keeps the rest of the day’s record.
Run this as a live form in Sympl · Project
The same JSA structure, as a form the crew fills on a phone — signatures captured in the field, every completed JSA attached to the project record next to the daily log and inspections.
- Crew signs on the device — no wet-ink sheets to chase
- Completed JSAs filed to the project automatically
- Toolbox talks and inspections on the same forms engine
Frequently asked questions
What is a JSA?
A JSA (job safety analysis) is a one-page document that breaks a specific task into ordered steps, names the hazards at each step, and assigns a control to each hazard. The crew reviews it at the work area and signs on before starting the task.
What is the difference between a JSA and a JHA?
In practice, nothing — JSA (job safety analysis) and JHA (job hazard analysis) are two names for the same steps-hazards-controls document. OSHA’s guidance uses “job hazard analysis”; most jobsites say JSA. Use whichever term your client’s safety program uses.
Is a JSA required by OSHA?
No federal OSHA construction standard requires a document called a JSA. OSHA publishes job hazard analysis guidance and recommends the practice, individual standards require hazard-specific planning and training, and many owners and general contractors require signed JSAs contractually — which is why the crew sign-on block matters.
When should you write a JSA?
Before tasks that are new to the crew, have caused incidents before, or involve serious energy — work at height, excavation, live electrical, heavy rigging, hot work. High-hazard, routine tasks deserve a standing JSA that gets re-reviewed when crew, equipment, or conditions change.
Who should fill out the JSA?
The supervisor who owns the task drafts it, and the crew performing the work reviews and corrects it at the work area before signing. A JSA written alone at a desk misses the step the crew knows about and the writer doesn’t.