Free UK construction RAMS guide
How to Prepare Site-Specific RAMS for Construction Work
Risk assessments and method statements help plan safer construction work when they reflect the real job. This guide sets out a practical review process for UK subcontractors, including plasterers, renderers and dry liners.
This is educational information, not a completed risk assessment, a ready-to-use method statement or confirmation of legal compliance. A competent person must assess the work and conditions on the actual site.
1. Understand the difference between risk assessments and method statements
Risk assessment
Identifies hazards, considers who could be harmed and how, and sets out the measures needed to control risks. It should be reviewed as the work or working environment changes.
Method statement
Explains the safe sequence of work and the control measures to be followed. HSE says method statements are useful for construction activities; a separate written method is not generally a legal requirement for every job, although specific work such as demolition or structural alteration has additional requirements.
RAMS is a common name for these documents together. A document is only useful if the people doing the work understand it and the agreed controls are put into practice.
2. Assess risk in five practical steps
Following the HSE approach helps keep the assessment proportionate to the actual risks, including long-term health risks rather than just obvious accidents.
Identify the hazards
Walk the job and consider the work activity, equipment, substances, environment and other site operations. Consider non-routine tasks as well as the planned installation.
Identify who could be harmed
Include operatives, other trades, visitors and members of the public, as relevant. Think about how and when the work could expose them to harm.
Evaluate and control the risks
Use the control hierarchy: first consider eliminating the hazard or changing the process, then other effective controls. PPE alone should not replace better practicable controls.
Record what matters
Make clear what hazards, precautions, responsible people and outstanding actions apply. Employers with five or more employees must record their significant risk assessment findings.
Review as work changes
Check controls actually work in practice. Reassess after material changes to people, access, equipment, methods or site conditions, and after relevant incidents or concerns.
3. Explain how the work will be carried out
A useful method statement describes the intended task and the arrangements to carry it out safely. Tailor the sequence to the actual site; do not simply paste generic text from a previous job.
- 1.Describe the project, location, work scope and who is responsible for supervising the activity.
- 2.Record the drawing or specification being followed and any site rules, permits or coordination requirements.
- 3.Set out the actual sequence: site arrival, unloading, preparation, access, installation, clearing and handover.
- 4.Identify required competence, equipment, materials, inspections and site-specific control measures at each stage.
- 5.Explain how to prevent risks to other trades and the public, and how work would be stopped or escalated if conditions become unsafe.
- 6.Record how the workforce will be briefed and when the document will be checked, amended or reissued.
4. Review hazards specific to the trade and site
The topics below are examples to investigate, not complete assessments or prescribed controls. The appropriate precautions depend on the real task, people, equipment and circumstances.
Plastering
Assess manual handling of bags and boards, mixing activities, ventilation and dust exposure, access to ceilings and any electrical or other site interfaces. Confirm controls for the actual materials and tasks.
Rendering and EWI
Consider work at height, condition and inspection of access arrangements, weather exposure, materials handling, protection of others, dust and wet-product contact. Coordinate with the scaffold provider and site management.
Dry lining
Consider board storage and handling, work at height, cutting dust, fixings and tools, work above head height, services and the effects of partition or ceiling installation on other trades.
Other specialist work
Use the same approach for each trade: assess the real hazards and site, verify appropriate controls and follow competent advice and the applicable technical requirements. Avoid carrying forward irrelevant hazards from other jobs.
5. Check and brief before starting work
Before a RAMS pack is approved or issued, someone competent should confirm the assessment, safe method, site details and controls are suitable. Brief the workforce and review when conditions change.
- Does the document identify the correct site, project, scope and work dates?
- Have current access conditions, other trades and the public been considered?
- Are hazards and controls connected to specific work activities rather than copied from a generic list?
- Has the competent reviewer checked substance, equipment, height and health risks as applicable?
- Is the planned sequence understandable to the people carrying out the work?
- Are responsible persons, communication arrangements and change controls clear?
- Can workers access the current version and have they been briefed on what affects their work?
Official HSE guidance
Use the Health and Safety Executive's guidance as a starting point, alongside the legislation, project requirements and competent advice appropriate to your work.
HSE: Managing risks and risk assessment
Official steps for identifying hazards, assessing risk, selecting controls, recording findings and review.
HSE: Construction method statements
Explains the role of method statements and when written methods are necessary for particular activities.
HSE: Assessing work at height
Guidance on assessing, planning and managing construction work-at-height risks.
HSE: Managing construction health risks
Guidance on planning, preventing, controlling and monitoring construction health risks.
Keep RAMS with the correct SubCon project
SubCon Systems helps UK subcontractors draft, review and organise RAMS against the relevant project record. The software structures the paperwork; the contractor remains responsible for assessing site-specific risks and applying the controls in practice.