Demolition JSA

Demolition reverses construction without the drawings. The building's load paths are partly unknown, its materials may be hazardous, and every cut changes the structure for everyone still inside it. OSHA therefore front-loads the requirements: before a wall comes down, a written engineering survey by a competent person must address the structure and the possibility of unplanned collapse.

A demolition JSA that does not reference the survey and the utility disconnections is missing its own foundation. The hazards below assume both exist.

What the work involves

• Engineering survey and hazardous material assessment before entry
• Locating, shutting off and capping utilities
• Removing or abating asbestos, lead and other hazardous materials
• Mechanical or manual demolition in the planned sequence
• Debris removal, chutes, openings and site housekeeping

Hazards and controls

Controls are listed in hierarchy order — the further down the list a control sits, the less it should be carrying on its own.

1. Unplanned structural collapse

• Administrative: a written engineering survey by a competent person before work starts, covering the condition of the framing, floors and walls and the possibility of unplanned collapse — demolition does not begin without it.
• Engineering: shoring or bracing of adjacent structures and any wall or floor left in place.
• Administrative: demolish in the planned sequence, top down unless the engineered plan says otherwise; re-survey when anything unexpected appears.

29 CFR 1926.850(a) requires an engineering survey by a competent person of the structure, in writing, before demolition begins, including the condition of the framing, floors and walls and the possibility of unplanned collapse.

2. Energized or charged utilities inside the structure

• Eliminate: electric, gas, water, steam, sewer and other service lines shut off, capped or otherwise controlled outside the building line before work starts.
• Administrative: written confirmation from each utility; where a service must stay live, it is marked and protected and the crew is told.
• Administrative: re-check after any change — a line assumed dead because the meter is gone has killed people.

29 CFR 1926.850(b) requires all electric, gas, water, steam, sewer and other service lines to be shut off, capped or otherwise controlled outside the building line before demolition starts.

3. Asbestos, lead or other hazardous material disturbed

• Administrative: survey for hazardous materials before demolition and abate them under the applicable standard before general demolition proceeds.
• Engineering: containment, negative pressure and wet methods during abatement; HEPA filtration.
• Administrative: licensed abatement contractor; exposure monitoring; decontamination and waste handling as the standard requires.

29 CFR 1926.1101 is the construction asbestos standard, which governs demolition and renovation where asbestos-containing material is present, including exposure assessment, controls and competent-person requirements. 29 CFR 1926.62 is the construction lead standard, which applies to demolition and salvage of structures where lead or lead-containing materials are present.

4. Fall through a floor opening or from an unprotected edge

• Engineering: floor openings not used for material drops covered and secured; openings used for drops barricaded on all exposed sides.
• Engineering: guardrails at perimeter edges where walls have been removed; fall arrest where guardrails cannot stand.
• Administrative: inspect floor integrity before each shift — demolition weakens what people are standing on.

29 CFR 1926.852(a) prohibits dropping material to any point outside the exterior walls of the structure unless the area is effectively protected. 29 CFR 1926.501(b)(1) requires fall protection at unprotected sides and edges 6 feet or more above a lower level.

5. Struck by debris, or by the demolition machine itself

• Eliminate: mechanical demolition with no one in the fall zone or the machine's working radius.
• Engineering: enclosed chutes for dropping debris more than 20 feet; protected walkways where people must pass.
• Administrative: exclusion zones sized for the drop height and the machine reach, barricaded and signed; a spotter in contact with the operator.
• PPE: hard hats, eye protection, high-visibility clothing.

29 CFR 1926.252(a) requires an enclosed chute for dropping material more than 20 feet to any exterior point of a building. 29 CFR 1926.601(b)(4) requires motor vehicles with obstructed rear view to have a reverse signal alarm or to be backed only when an observer signals that it is safe.

A worked example row

This is how one line of the finished JSA reads, with the risk bands scored on the same 4-band matrix the generator prints:

Related work activities

• Asbestos Abatement JSA
• Silica Dust JSA
• Working Around Heavy Equipment JSA