Free Risk Assessment and Method Statement (RAMS) Template

• Every employer and relevant self-employed person must make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks of their work (MHSWR 1999 reg 3(1) and (2)).
• If you employ 5 or more people, you must record the significant findings and any group of employees identified as especially at risk (reg 3(6)).
• On construction projects, contractors must plan, manage and monitor their work and give workers information on the risks identified by that assessment (CDM 2015 reg 15(2) and 15(9)).
• Arrangements for demolition, dismantling or structural alteration must be recorded in writing before the work begins; HSE says this is usually done with a method statement.
• Principal contractors commonly ask for RAMS before work starts so the work can fit the construction phase plan; contractors must follow the parts of that plan relevant to their work (reg 15(3)).

1. Visit the site and read the principal contractor's pre-start information and site rules.
2. Write the scope in one or two lines so it is clear what the RAMS covers and what it does not.
3. Work through the HSE five steps: identify hazards, decide who might be harmed and how, and rate each risk.
4. Write controls for each hazard, most effective first, and rate the risk again with the controls in place.
5. Write the method statement as numbered steps in the order the work happens, naming the equipment and the controls used at each step.
6. Add people, competence, plant inspections, emergency arrangements and welfare.
7. Have it approved, send it to the principal contractor, and brief the crew before work starts. Get signatures.
8. Review it if anything significant changes and record the revision.

A method statement is the "how" part of RAMS. It sets out, in the order the job is done, each step, the equipment used and the controls in place at that point. HSE describes it as drawing together the hazards and controls from the risk assessment and setting out in a logical sequence exactly how the job is carried out.

You need one in writing before demolition, dismantling or structural alteration. For other work it is not required by law, but principal contractors ask for it on most jobs, and it is the easiest way to brief a crew. Diagrams help. Revise it when the job or the site changes.

The risk assessment is the legal core. MHSWR reg 3 requires every employer and relevant self-employed person to assess the risks of their work; with 5 or more employees, the significant findings must be written down.

HSE sets out five steps: identify the hazards, decide who might be harmed and how, assess the risk and decide on controls, record your findings, and review the controls. The template columns follow those steps: hazard, who is at risk and how, risk before, controls, risk after, and who does what. Use it on its own for simple jobs; pair it with a method statement when a principal contractor or the task needs one.

• 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.