RAMS Explained: How to Write Risk Assessments and Method Statements

If you have worked on a UK construction site for any length of time, you will have been asked to “read and sign the RAMS”. For a lot of workers that is a signature on the last page and nothing more. For supervisors and managers, though, RAMS are among the most important documents on the job. They are where hazards get identified, controls get agreed and safe working gets written down so that everyone follows the same plan.

This guide uses a walkthrough of building a set of RAMS for first and second fix electrical work on a new build. It covers what goes into each document, how risk ranking works and how to make sure the people doing the job actually read what has been written.

What RAMS Actually Are

RAMS is short for Risk Assessments and Method Statements. They are two separate documents that work together:

• The risk assessment answers what could go wrong? It lists the hazards of the task, who could be harmed, how likely and how serious that harm is, and the controls that reduce the risk.
• The method statement answers how will we do this safely? It is a step-by-step account of how the work will be carried out, with the controls from the risk assessment built into the sequence.

The legal duty to assess risk comes from the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA) and, more specifically, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. Under CDM 2015, principal contractors expect contractors to submit RAMS before starting work so that the risks of each trade can be managed and coordinated across the site.

Start With the Project Details

Good RAMS are specific to the job. A generic document reused for every site does not count as “suitable and sufficient”. Before you touch the hazards, set out the basics:

• Project name and a description of the work, such as first and second fix electrical, new build
• Start date and expected duration
• Client and main contractor details, with a named contact
• Site address
• Emergency contacts, including the nearest hospital and its phone number

Next, add risk assessment notes. These are the site rules that everyone on the job must follow. In the walkthrough, the examples included attending the site induction, signing in and out every day, keeping to set working hours and wearing PPE at all times. As the presenter put it:

“Your employees and contractors will read that off your risk assessment and they know exactly what they’ve got to do.”

That is the whole point. If a rule matters on this site, it belongs in the document.

Identify Who Is Affected

Every risk assessment needs to record persons affected. That will always include your own workforce, but think wider:

• Your direct employees
• Subcontractors working under you
• Other trades working nearby
• Visitors, delivery drivers and members of the public, where relevant

Grouping people this way makes it clearer who needs briefing and who needs protecting. Your own operatives and a member of the public walking past the site boundary may need quite different controls.

List the Hazards and Their Controls

This is the core of the risk assessment. Work through the task and list every significant hazard. For electrical work on a new build, that could include live electrical systems, working at height, manual handling of cable drums, power tools, dust and slips and trips.

Be honest about what the job really involves. In the walkthrough, stepladders had been left out of the template. Because the job would use them, they had to go back in. If your team will be on stepladders, put stepladders on the risk assessment. A missing hazard means a missing control.

For each hazard, record the control measures: the specific steps that reduce the risk. Apply the hierarchy of control. Eliminate the hazard if you can, then substitute, use engineering controls, then administrative controls, with PPE as the last line of defence. For stepladders, controls might include:

• Only using ladders for short-duration, low-risk work, as required by the Work at Height Regulations 2005
• Pre-use inspection before every shift
• Keeping three points of contact and not overreaching
• Using a podium step or mobile tower for longer tasks

Where a task involves hazardous substances, refer to COSHH assessments. Where it involves lifting, refer to the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992.

Get the Risk Ranking Right

Most RAMS use a 5x5 risk matrix. Each hazard is scored for probability (1 to 5) and severity (1 to 5), and the two numbers are multiplied to give a rating out of 25.

The walkthrough showed one useful habit. When a new hazard was added, its score defaulted to 5 × 5, the worst case. Starting at the maximum makes you justify every reduction against the controls you have actually put in place. It stops you from assuming a risk is low.

Keep severity realistic. A fall from a ladder can cause serious injury or death, so the severity score should stay high. What your controls reduce is the probability. If the remaining risk is still too high, you need better controls or a different method, not a lower number on the form.

Record PPE Requirements

List the PPE needed for the task. For electrical first and second fix, that is typically a safety helmet, safety boots, hi-vis, eye protection and suitable gloves. You may add hearing protection or RPE depending on the tools and materials used. Be specific: “eye protection when drilling” tells people more than just “goggles”.

Build the Method Statement

Once the risk assessment is done, the method statement turns it into a working plan. A well-organised method statement will typically include:

1. Responsible persons: who is in charge of the work and their contact details
2. Emergency arrangements: first aiders, the nearest hospital and how to report incidents
3. Relevant safety topics: such as electrical safety, working at height and safe isolation
4. Task sequence: a numbered, step-by-step guide to how the job will be done

The walkthrough split the job into separate sequences for first fix and second fix electrical installation. Each one was reviewed and edited before going into the document. That editing step matters. A template is a starting point, and the person in charge should check every step against how the work will actually be done on this site.

Remember RIDDOR as well. Your emergency arrangements should make clear how accidents, dangerous occurrences and reportable injuries are recorded and reported.

Get It Read, Signed and Kept Up to Date

RAMS only work if the people doing the job understand them. Both documents should end with a sign-off sheet for the workforce. Better still, brief the RAMS to the team before work starts rather than just handing them over.

Digital systems now let you email RAMS straight to operatives, who can read and sign them electronically before arriving on site. However you do it, the principles stay the same:

• Everyone doing the task reads and signs before starting
• Re-brief and re-sign whenever the RAMS are revised
• Review the RAMS when conditions change, such as a new method, new equipment or an incident
• If you copy RAMS for a similar job, check every detail and do not just change the dates and address

Supervisors holding a gold Supervisor CSCS card, and managers with a black Manager card, are expected to understand all of this. If you are not sure which card your role needs, see our guide to CSCS card types.

Why This Matters for Your Training

RAMS are a recurring topic in CITB site-safety training. If you are stepping up to supervise, our guide to the SSSTS course explains how supervisors are expected to put risk assessments into practice. For managers, our SMSTS study guide covers how RAMS fit into wider site management under CDM 2015.

How CSCS Mastery Fits Into This

If you are preparing for SSSTS or SMSTS, or you just want to get more confident with RAMS, try the SiteSafetyPlus app on our site safety page. It has more than 900 SSSTS and SMSTS practice questions covering risk assessments, method statements, CDM 2015, RIDDOR, permits and site induction. Every answer comes with a detailed explanation so you understand the reasoning, and full mock tests let you check you are ready before your course assessment.

SiteSafetyPlus also includes practical tools for site work: a risk-matrix calculator for scoring hazards, plus F10 notification, permit-to-work and RIDDOR tools. They help you use what you have learned on site, not just in the exam room. Visit the site safety page to get started.