Safety Tools: Safe Plan of Action

What is SPA? Safe Plan of Action, or SPA, is an easy to follow system that is designed to reduce injuries by providing a method for analyzing the task at hand, and then making a safe plan that eliminates the potential safety hazards associated with that work to be performed.

Before starting any job, you should always take a few minutes to plan your work, survey the surrounding areas for potential safety issues, select the right tools, and be sure you have the correct Personal Protection Equipment (PPE). The SPA provides a way to help prepare for a safe workplace and only takes a few minutes to complete.
SPAs are used on SSOE managed work sites, and you are highly encouraged to use SPA for work travel and personal use. A quality SPA must answer the three following questions:

What am I about to do (steps of task)? Conduct a walk around of the area you will be working. Consider how the surrounding equipment or environment might provide a safety hazard for your work. List the main steps that are part of completing the work task.

How could I get hurt (hazard / reaction to change)? Consider all the known safety hazards and look to find all of the potential safety hazards for each step . Be on the lookout for slips, falls, cuts, or changes during the task. Identify all hazards so that they can be addressed and be eliminated by your safe plan.

What am I going to do to prevent injury (safe plan)? The SPA will detail the actions taken to eliminate the possibility of injury from the identified safety hazards. List any resources needed to safely complete the task. Some of those resources might include proper PPE, the right tools for the job, safe ladders, good lighting, instruction manuals, or another person to help with the task.