Site-specific RAMS without two hours a job: working from a master template

To write RAMS quickly, keep one master risk assessment and method statement for each task you repeat, and write only a one-page site sheet per job: address, access, hazards particular to that site, people and emergency details. HSE says a method statement for a repeated task "will be similar from job to job". Done this way, a site-specific RAMS takes about 20 minutes, not two hours.

What has to be in a RAMS by law?

The law asks for a risk assessment. A method statement is required in writing only for some work. "RAMS" is the industry's name for putting the two together, and main contractors usually ask for one before you start.

Every employer must assess the risks to staff and anyone affected by the work. If you employ five or more people, you must record the significant findings: the hazards, who might be harmed and how, and what you're doing to control the risks. HSE's construction pages say written method statements are a legal requirement for demolition, dismantling or structural alteration, and recommend them for other work as a way to plan and brief the job.

With fewer than five staff, you still have to assess the risks. Writing them down is how you prove it when a main contractor, a council or an inspector asks.

Why do RAMS take two hours a job?

Because most people start from a blank page or the last job's document, and rewrite all of it. The task steps, PPE list, training records and standard controls for a 30-metre fence line are identical in Bracknell and Basingstoke. Only the site changes.

That builder was writing RAMS and construction phase plans from scratch for each job as he moved into council work. The same goes for a firm whose commercial clients ask for RAMS on every site, often at short notice: each one can eat an evening.

How do you split a RAMS into a master and a site sheet?

Divide every heading into one of two piles: things that are true every time you do this task, and things that depend on where you're doing it. The first pile is the master. The second is the site sheet.

MASTER (write once per task, review yearly)
1. Task: e.g. Laying block paving driveway up to 100 m²
2. Scope: what this master covers and what it doesn't e.g. excludes excavation deeper than 1.2 m
3. Sequence of work: numbered steps from setting out to handover
4. Hazards for each step, who could be harmed, and how
5. Standard controls for each hazard (eliminate, reduce, isolate, PPE)
6. Plant and tools, with inspection checks before use
7. Hazardous substances and COSHH controls e.g. cement, cutting dust: wet cutting, extraction, FFP3 masks
8. PPE required for the task
9. Training and cards required e.g. CSCS, CPCS for plant, abrasive wheels
10. Welfare arrangements (standard)
11. Waste and housekeeping
12. Version number, date, author, review date

SITE SHEET (one page per job)
A. Site address, client, main contractor and site contact
B. Dates and working hours
C. Who's on site from your firm, with cards held
D. Access, parking, deliveries and storage
E. Site-specific hazards not in the master e.g. overhead power line, school next door, slope, shared drive
F. Extra controls for those hazards
G. Services: located how, and by whom e.g. CAT scan, utility drawings
H. Asbestos: survey seen? Results shared?
I. Nearest A&E, first aider, first aid kit location
J. Emergency and fire arrangements on this site
K. Client or main contractor site rules
L. Signed by everyone briefed, with date

The master is where you put the effort. Write it with your team, against the HSE guidance for the task, and keep it in one place with a version number. The site sheet is what makes the RAMS site-specific, and it's the part a main contractor will read first.

How much time does a master template save?

On a firm writing a RAMS for most jobs, it adds up to weeks a year.

Fifty-odd hours is more than a working week, and it usually comes out of evenings.

When must you change the master, not only the site sheet?

When the task itself changes. HSE says a method statement for a repeated operation will be similar from job to job, but where circumstances change markedly it should be revised for each job. A new piece of plant, a new material, a different sequence or a lesson from an incident all mean updating the master and its version number.

1. After any accident or near miss.

   Find what the master missed and add the control.

2. When you change how you do the task.

   New plant, materials or sequence.

3. When guidance changes.

   HSE updates its pages; check yearly.

4. When the site doesn't fit the master.

   Demolition, structural alteration, confined spaces or deep excavation need their own full RAMS, not a site sheet.

5. Once a year anyway.

   Review the date, the training list and the cards.

For roof work, HSE's guidance is blunt: all work on roofs is highly dangerous, even if a job only takes a few minutes, and must be planned. Treat every roof as fragile until a competent person says otherwise. That belongs in the master for any roofing task, and the edge protection for each house belongs on the site sheet.

How does this fit with a construction phase plan?

On most small jobs you need both. The construction phase plan covers the whole job: who's on site, welfare, the main dangers and how they're controlled. The RAMS covers each task in detail. Your masters can feed straight into the plan's "main dangers" section. See our construction phase plan template, and the free RAMS template if you want a starting layout for the master.

If you're unsure whether a task needs specialist controls, such as asbestos, confined spaces or structural work, get a competent health and safety adviser to write or check that master. One heating and air conditioning firm we spoke to pays a health and safety consultant £135 a month for this kind of support.

Common questions