Construction JSA Template

It keeps the JSA structure — the steps, the hazards, the controls, the score — with the construction steps fixed in: the ground bearing, the excavation support, the lift, the working at height, the housekeeping. Fill it in for the task, score the steps, sign it, and carry it on the job. The worked example is a foundation pour with the excavation and the concrete steps worked through.

How to use the template

1. Set the header — the task, the location, the date, the crew, the permit
2. Work the fixed construction steps — the ground, the excavation, the lift, the height, the housekeeping
3. Add the task-specific steps around them, one clear action each
4. Score each step; the excavation and the lift are the high steps
5. Sign it, brief the crew at the toolbox talk, carry it on the job, and file it

Worked example

A foundation pour JSA: step 1 set out and mark (the marker, the survey), step 2 excavate (the collapse, 3×5=15, the support and the daily inspection, residual 2×4=8), step 3 check the base and the blinding (the water, the access), step 4 place the concrete (the pump, the manual handling of the line), step 5 backfill and make good (the reinstatement, the housekeeping). Five steps, the excavation is the high one, the sign-off by the site supervisor.

Standard & legal context

The construction JSA carries the OSHA construction standards (1926) in the US — the excavation 1926 Subpart P, the crane 1926.1420, the fall protection 1926 Subpart M — and the UK construction practice under the CDM Regulations and the Work at Height Regulations 2005. The 5×5 scoring per step is the ACoP L80 convention, and the template is the JSA with the construction sequence built in for the site job.

Common mistakes

1. Skipping the ground and the excavation steps — the site hazard is the environment, and the collapse is the high step the template carries
2. No daily inspection of the excavation — the ground changes, and the inspection is the step that catches it
3. The lift without the plan — the crane step is the companion to the lifting plan, and the JSA carries the reference
4. No toolbox talk before the job — the construction JSA is briefed to the crew, and the unsigned, unbriefed form is the one the investigation questions