SiteSorted
Bricklaying · United Kingdom

Method statement for blockwork

By SiteSortedBuilt from HSE guidance and CDM 2015 · How we write and check theseUpdated

You must assess the risks of blockwork and record the significant findings if you employ 5 or more people. On CDM sites the principal contractor will ask for RAMS before you start.

RAMS cover the hazards, who could be harmed and how, the controls and the safe sequence of work, and the crew is briefed and signs. The main hazards are silica dust from concrete, brick, stone and tiles, falling from height, being hit by mobile plant and impalement on rebar.

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RAMS example: blockwork

This is a complete RAMS for blockwork, with 6 job steps. Open it in the builder to add your site, crew and signatures, change anything, and download a PDF. Or download the free Word template below and fill it in by hand.

Risk Assessment and Method Statement (RAMS)
Blockwork wall · Bricklaying · Example
Document RAMS-001 · Rev 1

Risk assessment

#ActivityHazardsWho might be harmedRisk beforeControlsRisk after
1Check footing and starter bars, capping rebar
  • Impalement on rebar
WorkersHigh (12)
  • Cover or cap all exposed bar ends with approved caps or covers. Control (engineering)
  • Bend bars over where the design allows. Control (engineering)
  • Use edge protection near starter bars so nobody can fall onto them. Control (engineering)
  • Keep walkways clear of exposed bars and mark the hazard. Control (procedures)
  • Wear gloves, safety glasses and safety boots when handling bar. PPE
Low (4)
2Move blocks with plant or two people
  • Lifting and carrying heavy loads
  • Being hit by mobile plant
Workers, Visitors, PublicVery high (15)
  • Plan to avoid carrying: have materials delivered, and old items picked up, as close as possible to where they are used. Eliminate
  • Use lighter or smaller loads: order smaller bags and shorter lengths, and drain or break down old items before moving them. Reduce / substitute
  • Use trolleys, pallet jacks, hoists, vacuum lifters or plant instead of carrying by hand. Control (engineering)
  • Use a two-person lift for anything heavy, long or awkward. Plan the route first and clear it. Control (procedures)
  • Keep the load close, back straight and no twisting. Turn with your feet. Control (procedures)
  • Rotate tasks and take breaks on long lifting jobs. Control (procedures)
  • Wear gloves for grip and safety boots to protect your feet. PPE
  • Separate people and plant with barriers, exclusion zones and marked walkways. Isolate
  • Use plant with working reversing alarms, cameras and lights. Control (engineering)
  • Have a traffic management plan showing plant routes, loading areas and pedestrian paths. Control (procedures)
  • Use a spotter when reversing or working near people. Control (procedures)
  • Make eye contact with the operator before going near. Stay out of the swing radius. Control (procedures)
  • Operators hold a CPCS, NPORS or equal card for the plant they use. Control (procedures)
  • Do a pre-start check on each machine every day and record it. Control (procedures)
  • Wear hi-vis clothing and a hard hat. PPE
Medium (6)
3Cut blocks with water suppression
  • Silica dust from concrete, brick, stone and tiles
  • Saw cuts and kickback
  • Loud noise
Workers, People nearbyVery high (20)
  • Order materials cut to size, or use low-dust methods such as score and snap or a block splitter. Reduce / substitute
  • Cut outdoors or in a separate area, with other people well away and upwind. Isolate
  • Use water on the blade or on-tool dust extraction connected to an H-class vacuum. Control (engineering)
  • Clean up with a vacuum or wet methods. Never dry sweep or use compressed air. Control (procedures)
  • Do a COSHH assessment and keep exposure below the workplace exposure limit (0.1 mg/m3 respirable crystalline silica, 8 hours). Control (procedures)
  • Workers regularly exposed to silica dust get health surveillance (COSHH reg 11, HSE G404). Control (procedures)
  • Wear a fit-tested FFP3 mask. PPE
  • Keep blade guards fitted and working, and use the riving knife on table saws. Control (engineering)
  • Use push sticks and clamps, and support long pieces so they do not pinch the blade. Control (engineering)
  • Use a sharp, undamaged blade made for the material. Control (procedures)
  • Stand to one side of the blade line, out of the kickback path. Control (procedures)
  • Let the blade stop fully before reaching in or putting the saw down. Control (procedures)
  • Use quieter tools and methods, such as cut-to-size materials, low-noise machines and battery tools. Reduce / substitute
  • Keep noisy plant away from work areas, and use screens or distance between the noise and people. Isolate
  • Keep tools maintained and use mufflers on compressors and generators. Control (engineering)
  • Limit time on noisy tools and rotate workers. Control (procedures)
  • If you have to shout to be heard by someone 2 metres away, the noise is probably 85 dB(A) or more: wear hearing protection. Control (procedures)
  • Assess noise. At 85 dB(A) or more, hearing protection is required and the zone must be marked. Control (procedures)
Medium (8)
4Lay blocks from scaffold once above chest height
  • Falling from height
  • Repetitive work and awkward postures
Workers, People belowVery high (20)
  • Do the work from the ground where you can, for example pre-assemble on the ground or use extension poles. Eliminate
  • Install guardrails or edge protection on all open edges before work starts. Isolate
  • Use a scaffold, mobile tower or MEWP instead of working off a ladder. Control (engineering)
  • Where edge protection is not practical, use a fall restraint or fall arrest system on a rated anchor point. Control (engineering)
  • Have a rescue plan so a worker hanging in a harness can be brought down within minutes. Control (procedures)
  • Wear a full body harness with a shock-absorbing lanyard, clipped on at all times when using fall arrest. PPE
  • Use tools that cut the effort: powered screwdrivers, long-handled tools and extension poles for overhead work. Reduce / substitute
  • Set work up at waist height on benches or trestles where you can. Control (engineering)
  • Use light tools with good grips, and keep blades and bits sharp. Control (engineering)
  • Rotate tasks and take short breaks every hour on repetitive work. Control (procedures)
  • Warm up before heavy physical work and report aches and pains early. Control (procedures)
  • Wear knee pads for kneeling work and gloves for grip. PPE
Medium (6)
5Core fill with pump or mixer, propping walls as needed
  • Wet concrete and cement burns
  • Structural collapse during alterations
Workers, OccupantsHigh (10)
  • Use long-handled tools and pumps to cut down contact. Control (engineering)
  • Wash concrete off skin straight away with clean water. Control (procedures)
  • Have clean water and eye wash where concrete or mortar is mixed and used. Control (procedures)
  • Do a COSHH assessment for cement, lime and mortar, and check hands regularly for early signs of dermatitis. Control (procedures)
  • Wear waterproof gloves, long sleeves and waterproof boots with trousers worn over the top. PPE
  • Wear safety glasses or goggles to stop splashes. PPE
  • Get an engineer to check before removing any wall, beam, post or bracing that may be load-bearing. Eliminate
  • Keep everyone clear of the area under and next to the work. Isolate
  • Install temporary props, needles or shoring as designed before removing any support. Control (engineering)
  • Follow the engineer's sequence. Do not change it without approval. Control (procedures)
  • Check props daily. Do not remove them until the permanent support is in and approved. Control (procedures)
  • Wear a hard hat and safety boots. PPE
Medium (5)
6Clean up
  • Poor housekeeping and waste
Workers, VisitorsMedium (8)
  • Order materials to size and send packaging back where you can. Eliminate
  • Put skips and waste chutes close to the work. Control (engineering)
  • Clean as you go, and do a full clean up at the end of each day. Control (procedures)
  • Keep exits, stairs and walkways clear at all times. Control (procedures)
  • Stack materials neatly on level ground, away from edges. Control (procedures)
  • Use a registered waste carrier and keep waste transfer notes for at least 2 years. Keep hazardous waste such as asbestos separate, with consignment notes (special waste in Scotland). Control (procedures)
  • Wear gloves when handling waste. PPE
Low (4)

Method statement: sequence of work

  1. Check footing and starter bars, capping rebar
  2. Move blocks with plant or two people
  3. Cut blocks with water suppression
  4. Lay blocks from scaffold once above chest height
  5. Core fill with pump or mixer, propping walls as needed
  6. Clean up

PPE

Safety bootsSafety helmetChemical-resistant glovesSafety glassesFFP3 dust maskEar defendersRigger glovesHi-vis vestHalf-mask respirator (P3 filters)Knee padsSafety goggles

Plant and equipment

Tube and fitting or system scaffold: CISRS scaffolder card to erect, alter or dismantleCement mixerCut-off saw (Stihl saw)Concrete pumpTelehandler: CPCS or NPORS telehandler card

Emergency

Call 999. Add the nearest A&E, the assembly point and the first aider for your site.

Sign-off

Supervisor and every worker sign to confirm they have read and understood this RAMS.

Free RAMS template for blockwork

Word (.docx) and PDF, A4 landscape, no email needed. Fill in your site details, then print or send it.

Word template (.docx)PDF template

Make yours in 2 minutes

Same document, filled in for your job. Answer a few yes or no questions, the crew signs on the phone, and you send the PDF.

Start this RAMS

Pre-start checklist for blockwork

Tick these off before work starts. They come from the hazards, permits and equipment in this job.

The safe sequence of work

  1. Check footing and starter bars, capping rebar
  2. Move blocks with plant or two people
  3. Cut blocks with water suppression
  4. Lay blocks from scaffold once above chest height
  5. Core fill with pump or mixer, propping walls as needed
  6. Clean up

Hazards to watch on blockwork

The hazards most specific to this job, and the step where each one comes up.

Step 1Impalement on rebarA worker falls or trips onto exposed rebar or starter bars and is impaled or badly cut.
Step 5Wet concrete and cement burnsWet concrete, mortar and cement burn skin and eyes. Burns can be deep and are often not felt until later.
Step 5Structural collapse during alterationsRemoving a wall, beam, post or bracing makes part of the building fall on workers.
Step 2Being hit by mobile plantExcavators, loaders, telehandlers and trucks run over or crush workers, especially when reversing or slewing.
Step 3Saw cuts and kickbackCircular saws, drop saws and table saws cut fingers and hands or throw material back at the user.
Step 4Repetitive work and awkward posturesDoing the same movement for hours, kneeling or working overhead causes long-term damage to joints, muscles and tendons.
Very likelyLikelyPossibleUnlikelyVery unlikelyHow bad it could be: Negligible to FatalBA
Highest risk on blockwork: Very high before controls (B), down to Medium after controls (A), on the United Kingdom 5 by 5 risk matrix (likely and fatal becomes unlikely and major injury).

What changes on your site

This example covers the job itself. Your site may add more. Add controls for any of these that apply (the builder asks you these as yes or no questions):

  • Will anyone work at height, anywhere a fall could hurt them?
  • Will anyone use a ladder or stepladder?
  • Will anyone work on a roof?
  • Is there a fragile roof, skylight or clear roof sheet?
  • Will you use a scaffold or mobile tower?

Licences and legal requirements in United Kingdom

Equipment on this job that needs a licence, ticket or training:

  • Tube and fitting or system scaffold: CISRS scaffolder card to erect, alter or dismantle
  • Telehandler: CPCS or NPORS telehandler card

Employers must assess the risks of their work and record the significant findings (required where you employ 5 or more people). On CDM projects, contractors give their RAMS to the principal contractor before starting, and brief the workers on it.

Rules that apply: Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992; CDM Regulations 2015 and PUWER 1998; COSHH Regulations 2002; Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER); Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005; Work at Height Regulations 2005; CDM Regulations 2015, regulation 19 (stability of structures).

Why RAMS get rejected

Principal contractors send documents back for these reasons. This example avoids them, but check yours too.

  • The method statement is only a list of headings that repeats the risk table and never says how the work is done.
  • The method sequence does not match the risk assessment, for example the method strips the roof before the scaffold is handed over.
  • Residual risk is still High after controls with no extra measures or explanation.
  • It reads as copied: another firm, another address, or wording that does not fit UK sites. HSE warns that copying an example and adding your name does not satisfy the law.
  • Work on an older building with no reference to an asbestos survey.
  • Plant and access equipment listed with no inspection, thorough examination or competence evidence.
  • No briefing record, no revision history, or no named supervisor.

Questions

Do I need RAMS for blockwork?

You must assess the risks of blockwork and record the significant findings if you employ 5 or more people. On CDM sites the principal contractor will ask for RAMS before you start.

Who signs the RAMS?

The person who wrote it and the person who approved it sign and date it. Every worker signs the briefing register after it is explained to them, and the principal contractor reviews and accepts it before you start.

How long do I keep it?

Keep this RAMS, every revision and the signed briefing register with the site file for the length of the job, and keep a copy in your records afterwards.

What PPE is needed for blockwork?

Usually Safety boots, Safety helmet, Chemical-resistant gloves, Safety glasses, FFP3 dust mask, Ear defenders, Rigger gloves, Hi-vis vest, Half-mask respirator (P3 filters), Knee pads, Safety goggles. The site rules may add more, so check with the principal contractor.

More bricklaying RAMS

RAMSBrickwork10 stepsRAMSRepointing4 stepsRAMSGarden Wall Construction5 stepsRAMSCrack Stitching5 stepsRAMSBrick Cleaning5 steps

Related jobs in other trades

DemolitionSoft StripAlso involves structural collapse during alterationsRoofingRe-RoofingAlso involves structural collapse during alterationsElectricalConsumer Unit ReplacementAlso involves repetitive work and awkward posturesScaffoldingScaffold ErectionAlso involves falling from height

Toolbox talks for this job

Toolbox talkWorking at HeightToolbox talkSilica DustToolbox talkHearing Protection and NoiseToolbox talkMobile Plant and Spotters

Blank RAMS template: free RAMS templates. Also for other countries: Australia (SWMS) · United States (JHA) · Canada (FLHA)

Sources