Smart Job Safety / Hazard Analysis (JSA) Process

Smart Job Safety / Hazard Analysis (JSA) Process
Technical Paper—August 08 ,2014 | By Kevin Moses, Director of Operations of LDARtools, Inc.
T
here are a lot of things that are
unique to the LDAR industry.
The data-centric nature of the
LDAR process means that the LDAR
Technician is one of the few contractor
employees who is required by the nature of her work to carry and use a
powerful handheld computer such as
an Archer™, Archer 2™, Janam™,
Symbol™ or Intermec™. The purpose
of this PDA is to enable the Technician
to identify components to be monitored
and then record readings for those
monitoring events. The computerized
infrastructure then allows for the
seamless, automated transfer of that
data directly into the LDAR database
on the customer’s server or network.
organized assessment of the hazards
and risks that she is likely to encounter
in the area where she would be working and the tasks that she would be
performing.
Pretty simple. But the possibilities
generated by the presence of that
PDA in the Technician’s hands means
that a wide variety of the things that
It is a remarkable tool when it is emthe Technician is required to do can be ployed properly. When done haphazautomated, improved and enhanced.
ardly, it is less worthwhile and might
even be counterproductive.
Consider this example: the daily JSA
process. Most sites have a routine Job “A variety of the things that
Safety / Hazard Analysis process: a
the Technician is required
review of a wide array of work factors
to do can be automated,
and considerations, then documented
improved and enhanced
on the JSA form. The form catalogs
the Technician’s disciplined and
with the PDA.”
These are the factors that many safety professionals believe are essential for the proper completion of
a JSA process:
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The JSA should be conducted by the person who is named as the worker
(not by her supervisor or another employee).
The JSA should be completed before the work is performed (not at the end of the day).
The JSA should be completed in the area where the work is going to be performed (not in the
break room).
The JSA should be completed under the same conditions that the Technician will be working in.
An adequate amount of time should be spent in completing the JSA
(if the assessment is completed in less than 30 seconds, the time spent is NOT adequate).
The JSA should be reviewed and updated throughout the day if and when circumstances change.
The JSA should be reviewed at the end of the day and feedback should be given to the Technician about the manner in which it was completed.
How many of these criteria are being
satisfied in your JSA process? Imagine
how much more beneficial your JSA
program would be if you could review
a report at the end of each day that
detailed the following:
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The name of each Technician
What time she started working on
her JSA
What time she completed the JSA
How many minutes she spent
completing the JSA
Where she was when she
completed the JSA (based on
GPS coordinates)
How many times during the day
she updated the JSA
And what she recorded at the time
of these updates
Kevin Moses has
been an integral
part of LDARtools
since 2003 as the
Director of Operations with over 10
years of experience
in the LDAR
industry.
Once your LDAR Technician started
carrying a PDA to support her monitoring efforts, the question is no longer
“What do we have to do to enhance
our JSA process to achieve this
result.” The question becomes “Why
haven’t we already achieved this
result?”
With the right software, the PDA
becomes not just an effective data
gathering tool, it becomes the most
powerful safety tool any of us have
ever seen.
LDARtools

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