TRA task risk analysis: steps, example and who approves it

What is a TRA?

A TRA is a risk analysis at task level. Instead of assessing the whole organization or a whole site, you look at one task: what exactly are we going to do, in what order, what could go wrong and what do we do about it. The result is a document that the people doing the work can read, discuss and use on site.

The name differs per organization. Sometimes you see TRA, sometimes JSA (job safety analysis) or a work instruction with risks. The core is always the same: the task in steps, the hazards and measures per step, and a decision on whether the residual risk is acceptable.

When do you make a TRA?

A TRA is mainly worthwhile for work that is new, rare or higher risk. For work that is done the same way every day, a fixed work instruction that came out of an earlier TRA is often enough. Typical triggers are:

• A task that is new or where the method differs from the usual one.
• Work with a higher risk, such as working at height, lifting, hot work or work in a confined space.
• Work where several parties or crews are active in the same place at the same time.
• Work on or near installations that are running or under voltage or pressure.
• Work for which your client or a work permit asks for a TRA.

TRA, LMRA and RI&E: what is the difference?

Think of three layers with a different scope. The RI&E (risk inventory and evaluation) covers the whole organization and all risks of the work, and forms the basis of your occupational health and safety policy. The TRA zooms in on one task and turns it into a concrete approach. The LMRA is the last check on site, right before the start.

They reinforce each other. The RI&E shows which tasks deserve extra attention, the TRA works those tasks out and the LMRA tests whether the work area today still matches what the TRA assumed. An LMRA therefore never replaces a TRA, and a TRA never replaces looking at the work area itself.

The steps of a TRA

Ideally, make a TRA with the people who will do the work, together with someone who knows safety. Work in this order:

• Describe the task: what, where, when, with which equipment and with whom.
• Split the task into steps, from preparing and cordoning off to clearing up and restoring.
• Find the hazards per step and note what the consequence could be and who it affects.
• Estimate the risk with a fixed method, for example Kinney & Wiruth, so that steps can be compared with each other.
• Choose measures per hazard, starting with removing or reducing the cause.
• Determine the residual risk after the measures and decide whether it is acceptable.
• Have the TRA approved and discuss it with the crew before the work starts.

Finding hazards and choosing measures

The easiest way to find hazards is with a fixed list of guide words: energy (electrical, pressure, gravity), movement (machines, vehicles), substances, environment (weather, heat, confined space) and people (physical load, other crews). Go through them per task step and keep asking: what could go wrong here and who is affected?

With measures you work from the top down: first remove or replace the hazard, then secure it technically, then make organizational arrangements and only last use personal protective equipment. "Be careful" is not a measure. Make them concrete: who does what, with which means, before which moment.

Worked example: replacing an air duct above a production line

Suppose an installation company replaces an air duct at six meters, above a production line that is running. An aerial work platform and two fitters are scheduled. Below are the key steps with hazard and measure.

After the measures you assess the residual risk per step. For the work at height it stays higher than for the other steps, so that is the step you discuss with the crew in the most detail.

• Positioning the platform: risk of sinking and being hit by internal transport; measure: check the ground, cordon off the route and use a traffic marshal.
• Shielding the production line: risk of falling parts hitting people below; measure: cordon off the zone, stop the line and lock it out according to the procedure.
• Detaching the old duct: risk of falling and of sharp edges; measure: harness attached to the basket, gloves and a second person as watcher.
• Lowering the duct: risk of falling objects and heavy lifting; measure: use a lifting aid and secure tools with a lanyard.
• Fitting the new duct and clearing up: risk of tripping over leftover material; measure: remove waste immediately and release the line only after a check.

Who approves a TRA?

That is determined by your own procedure or the client's requirements, but a common starting point is the four-eyes principle: the author does not approve their own TRA. A second person with enough knowledge of the work and its risks checks whether the steps, hazards and measures are right.

Who that is depends on the organization and the risk. For ordinary work it is often the project manager or supervisor; for higher risk a safety professional or a manager with more authority joins in. Sometimes the client asks for approval. If the residual risk is high, have someone with the authority to accept it make the decision and record the reason. If the task or situation changes after approval, you adjust the TRA and have it assessed again.

Common mistakes with a TRA

A TRA made mainly to tick off a requirement protects nobody. These are the problems you see most often:

• The TRA is made at a desk, without the people who do the work.
• Task steps are too coarse, so hazards in the details go unnoticed.
• Measures are vague or consist only of personal protective equipment.
• The TRA is copied from a previous project without checking what is different.
• The crew never sees the TRA or signs it without a discussion.
• The TRA is not updated after a change or incident.

How BrydgeOne supports this

In the TRA module you put a task into steps and record the hazards, the risk, the measures and the residual risk per step. An adjustable approval route with the four-eyes principle handles the approval; the approved version is frozen and kept as evidence. For recurring work you use templates, and the AI suggests steps, hazards and measures that you assess yourself. Permits to work can require an approved TRA, the LMRA checks whether a valid TRA exists, and for the broader picture per process you use Risks & opportunities.