JSA vs SWMS

Job Safety Analysis (JSA)

A Job Safety Analysis (JSA), (sometimes referred to as a Job Hazard Analysis (JHA)) is a tool used to identify a task that may contain hazards in the workplace.  They can be used to identify areas of concern and assess the task prior to starting work.  They are used for workplaces to comply with their duty of care under the Work Health and Safety Act WA (Part 2, Subdivision 2, Division 2, Section 19). 

WorkSafe WA defines that a JSA should be completed when:

“A JSA should be developed for a job that:

• has a high potential risk of injury;
• has a previous record of accident, injury and near miss;
• is new or has been modified as a result of adopting new processes or equipment;
• requires multi-steps to complete;
• involves repetitive motion;
• will be carried out in a new environment;
• has been rarely performed or where new people are performing them;
• performed under ‘Permit to Work’ conditions;
• may be a routine task that requires frequent safety checks; and
• requires a high level of safety precaution, for example, involving fire, explosions, chemical spills and creation of toxic or an oxygen deficient atmosphere.

Permit to work: formal written authority for persons usually trade-persons, to carry out work including maintenance on plant, a building or an item of equipment.”

Safe Work Method Statements (SWMS)

A Safe Work Method Statement is used to in high-risk construction industries and is a requirement to be used in certain situations under the Work Health and Safety Regulations 2022.  It should be developed and used as a tool to help supervisors and workers control risks in the workplace.  The SWMS is designed to be more of a hazard tool than a full procedure. 

SWMS must be in writing and, as far as practicable, set out:

• • each high-risk construction work activity that is or includes a hazard
  • the risk of injury or harm to a person resulting from any such hazards
  • the safety measures to be implemented to reduce the risk, including the control measures which are genuinely based on the hierarchy of controls
  • a description of the equipment to be used in the work activity
  • the qualifications and training (if any) required for persons doing the work.

Some of the risks with SWMS were identified by CISAC, and the findings were as below:

The Construction Industry Safety Advisory Committee (CISAC), a tripartite committee of the Western Australian Commission for Occupational Safety and Health, has been made aware of alleged non-compliance relating to the development and use of Safe Work Method Statements (SWMS), as follows:

• SWMS are being prepared by persons who are not in a position to assess the high risk work carried out, that is, ‘back office staff’
• generic SWMS are not being reviewed and updated for each specific task.
• main contractors are not reviewing the content of subcontractor SWMS before work commences. 
• on-site employees are not receiving instruction and training in SWMS. –
• on-site employees are not reading SWMS before signing them. 
• if the work is not complying with the SWMS, main contractors are not stopping the work.