Can the Job Be Done as Planned?

Human Performance weekly series: lesson 24 of 52.

A 5–10 minute crew discussion, plus time to verify the actual controls. The crew talk and Word version are public. Separate supervisor and attendance records are included with free Safety & Systems membership.

Why this matters

A plan can list the right method while a needed resource is unavailable. Before exposure, compare one important step with what is ready to use. Resolve missing conditions through the approved process before affected work starts.

Learning objective

Check whether a planned step can be performed with the actual instructions, resources and protection, then resolve a specific gap.

Key hazards or failure points

Tools listed but unavailable; instructions that do not fit; inaccessible work position; a required role assigned elsewhere; time pressure that removes a check; an unofficial workaround hiding a recurring gap.

Practical controls

• Select a consequential step in the current plan. Identify its required starting conditions, tools, instructions, support and protection. Use actual requirements; do not invent staffing ratios or time limits.
• Ask the people doing the work what prevents the approved method from being practical today. Check availability and suitability separately. A delivered item may be wrong, defective or uninspected.
• Assign the missing condition to someone with authority and resources to resolve it. Obtain approval for changes to equipment, access or sequence. Keep affected work held until required conditions and checks are satisfied.

Verify It in the Field

• Walk through the selected step on paper or from a protected position. Compare each needed resource with actual availability at the time of use. Record the specific gap rather than a general answer that the crew is ready.
• For one important control, identify the governing criterion and required checker. Obtain its actual inspection or other approved verification evidence. Do not substitute a purchase order, staffing plan or promised delivery for a completed readiness check.
• After the gap is resolved, review the approved arrangement with affected workers. Confirm required resources, protection and safe access without operating equipment as a demonstration. Record the finding, verifier and time; identify what would invalidate readiness.

Stop and reassess

Hold when the method requires an unavailable resource, unverified protection or an unauthorized workaround. Notify the responsible leader and maintain the task’s safe state. Reassess a changed assignment or delayed support. Resume only after the required correction, rechecks and authorization—not a promise to catch up later.

Crew discussion questions

• Which requirement is hardest to provide for this step?
• What is actually available and verified now?
• Who can resolve the gap before anyone is exposed?

For each required control, record its acceptance source and criterion, safe verification method, responsible checker, actual result and time. Use VERIFIED, HOLD/NOT VERIFIED, or N/A with a reason. A tick alone is not evidence. Complete all applicable task inspections; do not enter danger or improvise a test to fill out a form.

Leader preparation and practical detail

The tool is on site but cannot yet be used

Illustrative situation: a required tool has arrived, but its configuration or inspection status is unresolved. Marking the resource available would conceal the remaining prerequisite. Identify the applicable instruction and responsible reviewer, then obtain the required decision and checks. Keep the affected step held. This exercise connects a specific job requirement to usable support; it does not invite the crew to select an improvised substitute.

Resolve the work condition without judging the person

The archived questionnaire mixes job conditions with personal characteristics and incentives. This new lesson uses a different approach: describe a concrete requirement and the support needed to meet it. Do not ask the crew to score an individual’s attitude, health, motives or personal limitations. Handle individual support needs through appropriate private channels. The practical output is a task gap with an owner and a safe resolution, not a score for a worker.

Keep the scope to one task’s feasibility

The Safety Capacity talk examines peak simultaneous demand across activities. Here, examine whether one selected step can be performed as approved, even when no other job is competing for resources. A missing instruction, unusable access point or unavailable specialist can prevent readiness on its own. Escalate recurring gaps into planning improvements or a fuller Learning Team; retain the immediate hold and required protection while that broader work continues.

Short supervisor field check

• Selected step and prerequisites match the current approved plan.
• Actual instructions, tools, access and required support are available.
• Suitability and verification are distinguished from delivery or scheduling.
• Gap has an authorized owner and affected work stays held.
• Resolved arrangement is checked, communicated and subject to recheck triggers.

Confirm the relevant trained/authorized people, unresolved items, interim protection, correction owner and recheck. Record required release authority and rebrief anyone affected. The separate sheet supports these records; it does not replace a specialist inspection, permit or engineering determination.

Attendance and follow-through

Use the separate attendance sheet for participants, roles, discussion concerns, actions and late-arrival rebriefs. Attendance is not proof of competence, functioning controls or authorization to work. Keep completed records private under employer procedures.

Source acknowledgment

This resource draws on the U.S. Department of Energy’s DOE-HDBK-1028-2009, Human Performance Improvement Handbook, Volume 2 (June 2009). Todd Jerome Jenkins makes no claim of authorship or copyright ownership in the original U.S. Government work. New explanations, examples, exercises and layouts are Todd Jerome Jenkins adaptations. No endorsement by DOE or the U.S. Government is implied. Third-party material credited in the handbook remains attributed to its source; this notice does not claim rights in that material.

Source excerpt: Volume 2/VOLUME 2 EMPLOYEE SURVEYS Job-site conditions Self-Assessment Questionnaire.pdf; Printed pp. 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127. The June 2009 handbook supplies concepts; this lesson uses original explanations and exercises.

Technical scope and references

References reviewed October 9, 2026. DOE human-performance tools and OSHA recommended practices support preparation and discussion; they do not establish universal technical acceptance criteria. Apply the current task procedure, manufacturer instructions, permit and required competent or qualified decisions. A successful exercise does not replace required training, technical verification or work authorization.

1. DOE-HDBK-1028-2009, Volume 2 — Job-Site Conditions Self-Assessment Questionnaire — June 2009, printed pages 122–127, inspected as reference-only topic context. The source expressly credits an INPO adaptation. No questionnaire items, categories, scoring, personal judgments or effectiveness claims are reproduced; the prerequisite-to-resource exercise is original.
2. OSHA — Management Leadership — Recommended practices, action item 3: allocate time, tools, information and other resources to operate the safety program.
3. OSHA — Hazard Prevention and Control — Recommended practices, action items 3 and 6: responsibility and checking actual implementation. No technical resource limits are invented.

Connect this discussion to your JHA/JSA

Use the JHA/JSA planning and field-verification worksheet to record the actual task steps, hazards, responsible roles and controls. No task-specific worked example is linked for this topic yet. Return to What Changed Today? when the plan or conditions change.

Related Todd Jerome Jenkins articles: How to Conduct a Job Safety Analysis and What Is Human and Organizational Performance?.

Related crew discussions

• Job-Site Review: Does the Place Match the Plan?
• Project Planning: Make Safe Work Achievable

Continue the weekly series

• Lesson 23: Observe the Work: Study Conditions Before Judging Actions
• Lesson 25: Safety Climate: What Do Our Everyday Responses Tell Us?

Put one check into practice

Use the free JHA/JSA planning and field-verification worksheet to record today’s change, the required protection and the evidence needed before exposure.