TA-IN-08 · Insulation
Spray Foam and Blow-in Insulation Task Analysis
Application of spray polyurethane foam (SPF) and blow-in cellulose or glasswool insulation in walls, ceilings and underfloors.
What you get
One editable Word document covering spray foam and blow-in insulation for Insulation: the task broken into steps, the hazards at each step, the controls, and a 5 by 5 risk matrix with residual ratings. Site fields and a crew sign-on are built in.
A Task Analysis is also known as a JSA (Job Safety Analysis) or JSEA. It covers each step of the job, the hazards and the controls.
The steps and hazards it covers
| Step | Hazards |
|---|---|
| Plan, prepare and confirm competency | Workers without the required training, competence or authorisation performing the task - incidents arising from lack of skill, competency or authorityDefective or unsafe plant, powered equipment, leads or attachments failing in useWorking on other people's sites, occupied premises or around the public |
| Assess the job, substrate and voids | Unassessed voids with live wiring, asbestos or clearance hazards before application |
| Apply spray polyurethane foam (SPF) | Isocyanate (MDI) vapour and aerosol causing respiratory sensitisation and occupational asthma - career-ending and potentially fatal on re-exposureOccupants and following trades exposed to curing isocyanate vapours before safe re-occupancyExothermic reaction and flammable cure causing foam fires within wall and ceiling cavities |
| Operate the blow-in machine and apply loose-fill | Entanglement at the hopper and dust at the blower operating the blow-in machineFibre and product dust inhalation in confined voids during blow-in application |
| Work in hot roof voids and underfloor confined spaces | Fall-through, heat stress and electrical contact working in confined, restricted and hot roof voidsConfined subfloor entry and contact with services during underfloor application |
| Verify clearances around fittings | Fire from foam or loose-fill insulation covering downlights, flues or transformers |
| Manage hoses, generators, waste and demobilise | Pressure release, trips and generator hazards from heated hoses and the proportionerReactive A-side and B-side chemicals and overspray waste harming people and the environment |
Each hazard comes with its control measures, an initial and residual risk rating and the person responsible, ready to check against your job.
How to use it
Read it against the actual job. Delete the hazards that are not there, add the ones that are, fill the site fields, then brief the crew and get every name on the sign-on. A document nobody has read is a piece of paper. One the crew helped finish supports worker consultation and records the agreed work method. Engagement under HSWA ss58 to 59 is an ongoing process of seeking and considering workers’ views, so the signed page is evidence of part of it rather than the whole duty.
About Insulation Task Analysis
This is one of the Task Analysis documents written for Insulation crews. The trade covers ceiling, wall and underfloor insulation, restricted roof spaces, clearances to electrical fittings, heat stress.
See every Insulation document, or the whole pack for $199.99. Need 5 or more templates from this trade? The pack costs less than buying them individually, and saves $49.96 at 5.
Where it sits in the law
New Zealand does not require a document of this name. The duty is to manage risk so far as is reasonably practicable (HSWA s36) and to engage workers on it (ss58 to 59). Use a Task Analysis to plan the work, identify the hazards and communicate the controls to your crew. That is also how you evidence both duties.
WorkSafe names “a task analysis, safe work method statement (SWMS), job safety analysis or equivalent planning document” as the same thing done under different headings, and Site Safe titles one of its own SSSP forms “Task Analysis (TA) and Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS)”. So if the paperwork you have been sent asks for a TA, a SWMS or a JSA, this is the document it means, written to the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015. Only the name changes; the hazards, controls and ratings are the same either way.
Where this sits in your SSSP
A Site-Specific Safety Plan (SSSP) covers the whole job: who is on site, how hazards get reported, what happens in an emergency. A Task Analysis covers one task inside it. They are not the same document. Site Safe’s SSSP pack runs to ten forms, and the Task Analysis is Form 10, filed behind the plan itself.
So a main contractor who asks which SSSP pack you are using, and then asks for a TA covering spray foam and blow-in insulation, has asked you for two separate things. This is the second one. Keep it with your SSSP for the job and bring it to the pre-start briefing, because the value is in the crew having read it before the work starts.