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Construction compliance guide

What is RAMS?

A builder’s guide to Risk Assessments and Method Statements. What they are, when you need them, what goes in them, and the mistakes that catch people out.

What is RAMS?

RAMS stands for Risk Assessment and Method Statement. It is actually two documents combined into one, and it is one of the most commonly requested pieces of paperwork in UK construction.

The risk assessment part identifies the hazards associated with a piece of work, evaluates the likelihood and severity of harm, and sets out the control measures you will put in place to manage those risks. It answers the question: “What could go wrong, and what are we doing to prevent it?”

The method statement part describes the step-by-step process for carrying out the work safely. It incorporates the control measures from the risk assessment and lays out the sequence of operations, the equipment to be used, the PPE required, and the emergency procedures in place. It answers the question: “How exactly are we going to do this work safely?”

Together, these two documents form a complete safety plan for a specific piece of work, as outlined in the HSE’s guidance on risk assessment. Principal contractors will often ask to see your RAMS before they allow you on site, and clients increasingly expect them even on domestic jobs.

When do you need RAMS?

You need a RAMS for any construction activity that involves significant risk. In practice, that covers the vast majority of trade work. Here are some common examples:

  • Working at height — roofing, scaffolding, ladder work, loft access
  • Demolition and structural alterations
  • Excavation and groundworks
  • Electrical work, especially near live circuits
  • Hot works — welding, cutting, use of blowtorches
  • Working with or near asbestos-containing materials
  • Handling hazardous substances — adhesives, solvents, cement, silica dust
  • Confined space entry
  • Lifting operations with cranes or hoists
  • Working near underground or overhead services

If you are asked for a RAMS by a principal contractor, client, or site manager, you should provide one. Even if the specific activity is not high-risk, having a RAMS demonstrates professionalism and shows you have thought about safety before starting work.

What goes in a RAMS?

A good RAMS covers several key areas. Here is what you should include:

Hazard identification

List every hazard associated with the work. Be specific — do not just write ‘working at height.’ Describe the actual scenario: ‘installing roof tiles at 6m height on a pitched roof with limited edge protection.’ The more specific you are, the more useful the assessment becomes.

Risk rating

For each hazard, assess the likelihood of harm occurring and the potential severity. Most RAMS use a simple matrix: likelihood (1–5) multiplied by severity (1–5) gives a risk rating. This helps you prioritise which risks need the most attention and the strongest controls.

Control measures

For each hazard, describe the measures you will put in place to reduce the risk. Follow the hierarchy of controls: eliminate the hazard if possible, substitute for something less dangerous, use engineering controls, then administrative controls, and finally PPE as a last resort. Be specific about what you will actually do.

Method of work

Describe the step-by-step process for carrying out the work safely. This is the method statement part. Include the sequence of operations, the tools and equipment to be used, and any specific precautions at each stage.

PPE requirements

List the personal protective equipment required for the work. Be specific: hard hat, safety boots with ankle support, hi-vis vest, safety glasses, hearing protection, dust mask (FFP3 for silica), gloves. Do not just write ‘appropriate PPE’ — name the items.

Emergency procedures

Describe what to do if something goes wrong. This should cover first aid arrangements, the location of the nearest A&E, the fire assembly point, how to report an incident, and any specific emergency procedures for the work (such as rescue from height).

Common mistakes builders make with RAMS

We see the same problems come up again and again come up again and again. Here are the most common mistakes and how to avoid them:

Using a generic template without tailoring it

The single biggest mistake. You download a template from the internet, put your company name at the top, and send it out. The problem is that a generic template does not cover the specific hazards on your specific site. If there is an incident and the HSE investigates, a generic RAMS will not demonstrate that you assessed the actual risks. Every RAMS must be site-specific.

Not reviewing or updating the RAMS

You wrote the RAMS before you started, and now it is three weeks later and the site conditions have changed. New hazards have appeared, a subcontractor has turned up with equipment you did not expect, and the weather has made the ground conditions worse. If your RAMS does not reflect the current reality on site, it is not meeting the legal standard.

Writing it after the work is done

This happens more often than anyone wants to admit. The principal contractor asks for your RAMS, and you write it retrospectively. Apart from being dishonest, this completely defeats the purpose. A risk assessment is meant to be done before the work starts, so you can identify hazards and put controls in place. Writing it afterwards provides no safety benefit whatsoever.

Making it too vague

Phrases like ‘appropriate PPE will be worn’ or ‘all necessary precautions will be taken’ are meaningless. Your RAMS should be specific enough that someone unfamiliar with the job could read it and understand exactly what hazards exist and what controls are in place. Name the PPE. Describe the controls. Be precise.

Not sharing it with the workers

A RAMS that sits in a filing cabinet or in your email inbox is not protecting anyone. The people doing the work need to know what the hazards are and what controls are in place. Brief your team on the RAMS before work starts, and make sure everyone has access to it.

How The Site Book creates site-specific RAMS

The Site Book takes a different approach to RAMS. Instead of handing you a blank template, it asks you to describe your job in plain English — or just talk into your phone. It then extracts the relevant details and pre-fills your RAMS with site-specific information.

The guided wizard takes you through six steps: project basics, site information, personnel, works description, hazards, and a final review. At each stage, it suggests hazards, control measures, and method steps based on the type of work you are doing and the site conditions you have described.

The result is a RAMS that is genuinely tailored to your project — not a generic template with your name at the top. It names your site, describes your actual working conditions, lists the real hazards you will encounter, and sets out the controls you are actually going to use. You review everything before creating, so you are always in control of the final document.

The output is a professionally formatted, company-branded PDF that you can download, print, share with your principal contractor, or hand to a client. It looks the part and meets the legal standard — without you spending hours wrestling with a Word document.

Frequently asked questions

Common questions builders ask about RAMS.

Is RAMS a legal requirement?

The term ‘RAMS’ is not explicitly used in UK health and safety legislation. However, the underlying requirements are clear. Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, every employer (including sole traders) must carry out a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to workers and anyone else affected by their work. For construction work, CDM 2015 reinforces this by requiring contractors to plan, manage, and monitor work to ensure it is carried out safely. In practice, RAMS is the standard format the construction industry uses to meet these legal obligations. If you are doing construction work with significant risks — which covers the vast majority of trade work — you should have a RAMS.

What’s the difference between a risk assessment and a method statement?

A risk assessment identifies the hazards associated with a piece of work, evaluates how likely someone is to be harmed and how severe that harm could be, and sets out the control measures you will put in place to reduce the risk to an acceptable level. A method statement describes the step-by-step process for carrying out the work safely, incorporating the control measures identified in the risk assessment. Think of the risk assessment as the ‘what could go wrong and how do we prevent it’ part, and the method statement as the ‘here is exactly how we will do the work’ part. In practice, they are almost always combined into a single document — your RAMS.

Do I need RAMS for every job?

You need a risk assessment for any work that involves significant risk, and in construction, that covers the vast majority of jobs. Working at height, using power tools, handling hazardous materials, working near live services, demolition, excavation, hot works — all of these require a risk assessment at minimum. For very low-risk activities, you can use a generic assessment, but it must still be reviewed and confirmed as relevant to the specific site. In practice, if you are doing any kind of construction or trade work on a building site, you should have a RAMS. It protects your workers, demonstrates your competence to clients and principal contractors, and provides evidence of due diligence if anything goes wrong.

Can I use a generic RAMS template?

Using a completely generic template is not recommended and may not meet the legal standard of being ‘suitable and sufficient.’ Your risk assessment must reflect the actual risks on the actual site where you are working. A template for ‘general roofing work’ will not cover the specific hazards at 14 Acacia Avenue — the fragile roof light, the overhead power line, the narrow access. That said, there is nothing wrong with starting from a template and tailoring it. The key is that the final document must be site-specific: it should name the site, describe the actual conditions, identify the real hazards, and set out the controls you are actually going to use. The Site Book solves this by creating your RAMS from your project description, so it is site-specific from the start.

How often should RAMS be reviewed?

Your RAMS should be reviewed before each new phase of work, after any incident or near miss, when site conditions change significantly (for example, new hazards are introduced or weather conditions change the risk profile), when new workers or subcontractors join the project, and at regular intervals on longer projects. A RAMS that was written on day one and never updated is not meeting the legal requirement. If you discover a new risk on site that was not in your original assessment, you need to update the RAMS before continuing work. The review does not need to be a formal process — it can be as simple as reading through the document at the start of each week and confirming it still reflects reality.

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A plain-English guide to CPPs for UK builders.

Site Inductions Guide

What to cover, how to run one, and why digital beats paper.

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