Services located on a plan, not on the ground
As-builts are frequently wrong. Locating, potholing and proving by hand before the machine starts is the control that prevents strikes.
Excavation & Trenching JSA (NZ)
Service location before the bucket moves, ground assessed before anyone enters, and the two thresholds that turn an ordinary trench into notifiable work.
⚖️HSWA + GRWM Regs 5–7
👷Reviewed by OH Professionals
✏️Editable .docx
NZD 99
Instant DownloadInstant download · Editable .docx
A cubic metre of soil weighs well over a tonne, and collapse gives no warning — which is why an unsupported trench that looks stable is the most dangerous thing on most civil sites. The second risk is what is already buried in it. This JSA sequences both: services located and proven before mechanical excavation begins, ground assessed and supported before anyone enters, and the notification thresholds checked at planning rather than discovered mid-dig.
Battering and shoring decided by eye
Soil type, water, surcharge from spoil and plant, and previous disturbance all change what is stable. The template records the ground assessment behind the decision.
Two separate notification thresholds get confused
Work in a trench more than 1.5 metres deep and deeper than its width at the top is notifiable, and so separately is an excavation face over 5 metres at a steep slope. Both are checked here.
Who this is for
- Drainlayers and civil contractors
- Service trenches, connections and pipe laying.
- Earthworks and siteworks operators
- Bulk excavation, foundations and retaining.
- Utility and fibre installers
- Potholing, hydro excavation and road corridor work.
- Builders excavating footings
- Foundations and underpinning adjacent to existing structures.
Deep excavations frequently become confined spaces, and road corridor work needs traffic management approval before anything else happens.
What's inside the template
Word — 15 pages (pre-populated JSA + service check + forms) · Formats: DOCX
- Section 1 — Task and scopeLocation, dimensions, depth, duration, adjacent structures, ground water, and site history.
- Section 2 — Notification checkBoth thresholds — trench over 1.5m deep and deeper than its top width, and excavation face over 5m at a slope steeper than 1:2.
- Section 3 — Service locationPlans obtained, service owner notified, locating method, potholing by hand, marking, and what was actually found versus what the plan showed.
- Section 4 — Ground assessmentSoil type, water, previous disturbance, surcharge, weather, and who assessed it.
- Section 5 — Pre-populated step analysisSet up, locate and prove services, break out, excavate, support, enter, work, backfill and reinstate — each with hazards and controls drafted.grwm 5
- Section 6 — Collapse preventionBattering, benching, shoring or shielding selected against the ground assessment, with the reason recorded.grwm 6
- Section 7 — Access and egressLadder placement and travel distance, so exit is possible from anywhere in the trench.
- Section 8 — Spoil, plant and surchargeSet-back distances, plant positioning, and the loading a machine puts on an unsupported face.
- Section 9 — AtmosphereWhere a trench becomes a confined space, and the gases that accumulate in deep or contaminated ground.
- Section 10 — Water and dewateringIngress, pumping, and the effect of saturation on face stability.
- Section 11 — Public and traffic interfaceBarriers, plates, pedestrian routes, and the road controlling authority approval where the work is in the corridor.hswa 34
- Section 12 — Emergency responseCollapse and service strike response — including that entry rescue by workmates is how secondary casualties occur.
- Section 13 — Pre-start and crew sign-onDaily re-inspection after rain, plant movement or any change to the face.grwm 7
- Appendix A — Service location recordWhat was requested, received, located and proven, with dates.
- Appendix B — Daily excavation inspectionFace condition, water, support integrity, access, and spoil position.
Compliance checklist
HSWA 2015 ss.30, 34, 36 · GRWM Regulations 2016 regs 5–7
A Job Safety Analysis is not a named statutory document in New Zealand — unlike an Australian SWMS, no regulation requires one by that name. Its weight comes from the duties it discharges, and from the fact that main contractors and prequalification schemes treat it as the expected evidence that a high-risk task was thought through before it started.
- GRWM reg 5Identify hazards that could give rise to reasonably foreseeable risks to health and safety→ Step-by-step breakdown — hazards identified against each step rather than for the task as a whole
- GRWM reg 6Eliminate risks so far as is reasonably practicable; otherwise minimise by substitution, isolation, engineering, then administrative controls, then PPE→ Control column — every control declares its hierarchy level
- GRWM reg 7Ensure control measures are effective and maintained so they remain effective→ Verification and pre-start review sections
- HSWA s36Primary duty of care — ensure health and safety so far as is reasonably practicable→ Residual risk assessment and the sign-on record
- HSWA s34Consult, cooperate and coordinate with other PCBUs where duties overlap→ Interfacing trades section — who else is affected by this task and how it is coordinated
How this template compares
The most common alternative in New Zealand is an Australian SWMS with the branding changed. It is worth being precise about why that is a problem.
Reviewed by OH Professionals
Written and reviewed by the occupational health and safety team at OH Consultant. These are drafted as New Zealand Job Safety Analyses, not as Australian SWMS with the terminology swapped. That distinction is substantive: a SWMS is an instrument created by Australian WHS regulation for high-risk construction work, with prescribed content and a statutory trigger. New Zealand has no equivalent provision, so a document presented as a "NZ SWMS" is citing a requirement that does not exist here.
Legislation referenced
- Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 — Section 30 — Management of risks ↗
- Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 — Section 34 — Duty of PCBUs to consult, cooperate, and coordinate ↗
- Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 — Section 36 — Primary duty of care ↗
- Health and Safety at Work (General Risk and Workplace Management) Regulations 2016 — Regulation 5 — Duty to identify hazards ↗
- Health and Safety at Work (General Risk and Workplace Management) Regulations 2016 — Regulation 6 — Hierarchy of control measures ↗
- Health and Safety at Work (General Risk and Workplace Management) Regulations 2016 — Regulation 7 — Duty to maintain control measures ↗
Frequently asked
When does excavation work become notifiable to WorkSafe?+
Two of the listed particular hazardous work categories are relevant. Work in a pit, shaft, trench or other excavation where a person is required to work in a space more than 1.5 metres deep and having a depth greater than the horizontal width at the top is notifiable. Separately, work in an excavation where any face has a vertical height of more than 5 metres and an average slope steeper than 1 horizontal to 2 vertical is notifiable. Either requires at least 24 hours notice.
Do I need shoring for a shallow trench?+
The depth alone does not answer it. Soil type, ground water, previous disturbance, surcharge from spoil and plant, and vibration all affect stability, and people have been killed in trenches well under two metres. Section 4 records the ground assessment so the support decision has a documented basis rather than resting on how the face looked that morning.
Is locating services on the plan sufficient?+
No. As-built records are frequently inaccurate, particularly for older services and in areas that have been repeatedly excavated. The sequence is plans, then electronic locating, then careful hand or hydro potholing to physically prove position and depth before mechanical excavation. Section 3 records what the plan showed against what was actually found.
When does a trench become a confined space?+
When it meets the confined space definition — restricted entry or exit and a hazardous atmosphere, or the potential for one. Deep trenches, contaminated ground and work near gas services can all produce that. Section 9 flags the point at which the confined space entry permit applies in addition to this JSA.
Is a JSA the same as a SWMS?+
In substance they do the same job — break a task into steps and assign hazards and controls to each. In law they are not the same. A SWMS is an Australian instrument required by Australian WHS regulation for high-risk construction work, with prescribed content. New Zealand has no equivalent provision, which is why the NZ convention is Job Safety Analysis or Task Analysis. If a supplier is selling you a "New Zealand SWMS", they are selling you an Australian document.
Is a JSA legally required in New Zealand?+
Not by name. What is required is that you identify hazards under GRWM Regulation 5, apply controls in the hierarchy order under Regulation 6, and keep them effective under Regulation 7. A JSA is how those duties are discharged at task level, and main contractors and prequalification schemes ask for it as a matter of course.
How does this relate to my SSSP?+
The SSSP is the project-level plan covering how health and safety is managed across the whole site. Job Safety Analyses sit underneath it — one per higher-risk task. On a typical job you have one SSSP and several JSAs, and the SSSP indexes them.
Who should complete and sign it?+
Someone competent in the work, with the crew who will actually do the task involved in developing it rather than handed a finished document. The sign-on section records that involvement, which is the part that distinguishes a JSA that was used from one that was filed.
How often does it need reviewing?+
Before each use, at minimum as a pre-start check for anything that has changed — different site conditions, different plant, different crew, weather. The pre-start section exists for that. A full review is warranted after any incident involving the task, or when the method or equipment changes.
Can I edit it for my business?+
Yes — it ships as an editable .docx with a single-buyer licence covering use across your own business and its projects. It is a starting point that reflects standard practice for the task, not a substitute for assessing the specific job in front of you. It is not licensed for resale or redistribution as your own template product.