Applications, Shortcomings, and New Advances of Job Safety Analysis (JSA): Findings from a Systematic Review

BACKGROUND: Job safety analysis (JSA) is a popular technique for hazard identification and risk assessment in workplaces that has been applied across a wide range of industries. This systematic review was conducted to answer four main questions regarding JSA: (1) which sectors and areas have used JSA? (2) What has been the aim of employing JSA? (3) What are the shortcomings of JSA? (4) What are the new advances in the field of JSA? METHODS: Three main international databases were searched: SCOPUS, Web of Science, and PubMed. After screening and eligibility assessment, 49 articles were included. RESULTS: Construction industries have used JSA the most, followed by process industries and healthcare settings. Hazard identification is the main aim of JSA, but it has been used for other purposes as well. Being time-consuming, the lack of an initial list of hazards, the lack of a universal risk assessment method, ignoring hazards from the surrounding activities, ambiguities regarding the team implementing JSA, and ignorance of the hierarchy of controls were the main shortcomings of JSA based on previous studies. CONCLUSION: In recent years, there have been interesting advances in JSA making attempts to solve shortcomings of the technique. A seven-step JSA was recommended to cover most shortcomings reported by studies.