COSS Job Safety Analysis (JSA) 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which criterion should be used FIRST when prioritizing which jobs to analyze with a JSA?
- Jobs with the highest injury or illness frequency (Correct answer)
- Jobs performed most often by new employees
- Jobs that are most time-consuming to complete
- Jobs requiring the most expensive equipment
Correct answer: Jobs with the highest injury or illness frequency
Jobs with the highest injury or illness frequency should be prioritized first to address the greatest risk exposure.
Question 2: In a JSA, what does 'potential hazard' mean in the context of each job step?
- Any condition or act that could cause injury, illness, or property damage (Correct answer)
- A violation of OSHA standards documented by an inspector
- Equipment malfunction recorded in maintenance logs
- A hazard that has already caused at least one incident
Correct answer: Any condition or act that could cause injury, illness, or property damage
A potential hazard is any condition or act in a job step that could foreseeably cause harm, even if no incident has occurred yet.
Question 3: When conducting a JSA, who should ideally be involved in the process besides the safety professional?
- The workers who actually perform the job (Correct answer)
- Only supervisors and managers
- Human resources and legal personnel
- Equipment manufacturers' representatives
Correct answer: The workers who actually perform the job
Workers who perform the job have firsthand knowledge of actual hazards and should be actively involved in the JSA process.
Question 4: What is the primary purpose of breaking a job into sequential steps during a JSA?
- To identify hazards associated with each specific action in the task (Correct answer)
- To measure how long each task takes for scheduling purposes
- To assign individual accountability for each step
- To document equipment requirements for procurement
Correct answer: To identify hazards associated with each specific action in the task
Breaking a job into steps allows analysts to associate specific hazards with each discrete action, making hazard identification more thorough.
Question 5: A JSA reveals that a worker must lift a 75-pound box from floor level. Which control should be recommended FIRST under the hierarchy of controls?
- Engineering control such as a mechanical lift or conveyor
- Administrative control such as a two-person lift policy
- PPE such as a back support belt
- Substitution with a lighter material (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Substitution with a lighter material
Substitution (replacing the heavy box with a lighter material or smaller units) is preferred over engineering controls because it eliminates the hazard at the source.
Question 6: How many job steps is generally considered optimal for a single JSA?
- No fixed number; enough to capture all distinct hazard-creating actions (Correct answer)
- Exactly 10 steps for standardization
- No more than 3 steps to keep it simple
- Between 25 and 30 steps for comprehensive coverage
Correct answer: No fixed number; enough to capture all distinct hazard-creating actions
There is no fixed optimal number; steps should be defined as needed to capture every distinct action that could present a hazard without being so narrow that the JSA becomes unmanageable.
Question 7: After a serious near-miss incident, when should the affected job's JSA be reviewed and updated?
- Immediately, before the job is performed again (Correct answer)
- At the next scheduled annual review
- Within 90 days as required by OSHA
- Only if the near-miss resulted in property damage
Correct answer: Immediately, before the job is performed again
A near-miss indicates an uncontrolled hazard and the JSA should be reviewed and updated immediately before the job is repeated.
