What Are RAMS in Construction? A Plain-English Guide
If you work in UK construction, you've heard the term RAMS. Principal contractors ask for them before you start. Clients mention them in tender requirements. HSE inspectors expect to see them on site. But what exactly are they, and what's the minimum standard for getting them right?
This guide explains what RAMS are, why they exist, what goes in them, and when you legally need them.
What does RAMS stand for?
RAMS stands for Risk Assessment and Method Statement. It's a package of two documents that together describe:
- The hazards present in a piece of work and how you'll control them (the risk assessment)
- The step-by-step method for carrying out the work safely (the method statement)
The two documents serve different but complementary purposes. The risk assessment is analytical — it identifies what could go wrong. The method statement is procedural — it describes how the work will actually be done, with the control measures built into each step.
On most UK construction sites, RAMS are submitted as a single package, reviewed by the principal contractor or client before work begins.
When do you need RAMS?
The legal position
There is no single regulation that says "you must produce a document called RAMS." But several regulations create duties that RAMS fulfil:
Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, Regulation 3 requires every employer and self-employed person to make a "suitable and sufficient assessment" of the risks to workers and others affected by their work. Employers with five or more employees must record the significant findings in writing.
CDM 2015, Regulation 15 requires every contractor to plan, manage, and monitor construction work so that it is carried out without risks to health and safety, so far as is reasonably practicable. A risk assessment and method statement is the standard way to demonstrate that planning.
CDM 2015, Regulation 15(10) requires the contractor on a single-contractor project to draw up a construction phase plan. RAMS form part of that plan.
The practical position
Whatever the regulations say about document names, the practical reality is:
- Every principal contractor requires RAMS from subcontractors before allowing them on site
- Most commercial clients require RAMS as part of the tender or pre-start process
- Many domestic clients are beginning to ask for them, particularly on larger projects
- HSE inspectors expect to see written risk assessments and will ask to review them during site visits
If you're doing construction work in the UK and you don't have RAMS, you're either not getting on managed sites or you're taking an enforcement risk.
Not sure exactly which documents your project requires? Our RAMS Requirements Checker helps you work it out based on your trade and project type.
What goes in a risk assessment?
The risk assessment is the "what could go wrong" document. HSE's five-step framework (from INDG163) provides the structure:
1. Identify the hazards — What on this site, in this work, could cause harm? Walk the site (not your kitchen table). Look at access, the work area, existing services, other trades, the condition of the building.
2. Decide who might be harmed and how — Your operatives, other trades, the public, building occupants. Be specific about the type of harm: not just "injury" but "fall from height," "electric shock," "silicosis from silica dust."
3. Evaluate the risks and decide on precautions — For each hazard, assess likelihood and severity. Apply the hierarchy of controls: eliminate, substitute, engineering controls, administrative controls, PPE (in that order). PPE is the last resort, not the first line.
4. Record your significant findings — Who's at risk, what you're doing about it. Specific enough that a competent person unfamiliar with the site could read it and understand the plan.
5. Review and update — When conditions change, after incidents, at regular intervals. Date each review.
For a full walkthrough of what to include and common mistakes, see our construction risk assessment template guide.
What goes in a method statement?
The method statement is the "how we'll do it" document. It describes the work in chronological sequence, with safety measures built into each step.
A method statement should include:
- Project details — site, client, your company, dates, document reference
- Scope of works — what this method statement covers
- Sequence of operations — numbered steps in chronological order, each describing the activity, the safety measures in place, the equipment used, and who's responsible
- Resources — number and competence of operatives, relevant qualifications
- Plant and equipment — everything you'll bring to site
- Emergency procedures — what happens if something goes wrong
- Permits to work — any permits required (hot works, electrical isolation, confined space)
- Communication — how operatives will be briefed, toolbox talk records
The key difference between a good method statement and a poor one is specificity. "Install pipework" is not a method statement step. "Step 4: Install LTHW flow and return from boiler to manifold. Copper pipework brazed — hot works permit obtained before brazing. CO2 extinguisher and fire blanket within 2m. Fire watch 60 minutes after final joint" is a method statement step.
For trade-specific examples, see our method statement examples by trade.
How risk assessments and method statements work together
The risk assessment identifies the hazards and specifies the controls. The method statement takes those controls and weaves them into the work sequence.
For example:
| Risk assessment says... | Method statement says... |
|---|---|
| Working at height from scaffold — fall risk. Control: double guardrail, mid-rail, and toe board to all open edges. | Step 3: Before commencing work at first-floor level, confirm scaffold inspection tag is current and edge protection is complete — double guardrail at 950mm with mid-rail and toe board on all open edges. |
| Silica dust from wall chasing — respiratory risk. Control: water suppression and on-tool extraction. | Step 5: Chase walls for cable routes using SDS-max rotary hammer with water suppression attachment. Ensure on-tool dust extraction connected and running. RPE (FFP3) worn during all chasing operations. |
| Electrical isolation — shock risk. Control: safe isolation procedure per BS 7671 and GS38. | Step 1: Isolate circuits at consumer unit. Lock off with personal padlock. Prove dead using GS38-compliant voltage indicator. Test at point of work. Prove tester again using proving unit. |
A risk assessment without a method statement identifies problems without describing how they're managed in practice. A method statement without a risk assessment describes a process without demonstrating that hazards have been considered. Principal contractors expect both.
Common RAMS mistakes
Using the same RAMS for every job
A risk assessment must be "suitable and sufficient" under Regulation 3 of MHSWR 1999. That means it must reflect the specific hazards of the specific work on the specific site. A document that could apply anywhere isn't suitable for anywhere in particular. Principal contractors spot recycled RAMS immediately — they've seen the same templates submitted by other contractors.
Listing hazards that don't exist on your job
"Crane operations" in an electrician's RAMS for a domestic rewire. "Excavation" in a painter's RAMS for an internal redecoration. If the hazard doesn't apply, don't include it. Padding the document with irrelevant hazards doesn't demonstrate thoroughness — it demonstrates copy-paste.
Vague control measures
"Appropriate PPE will be worn" tells nobody anything. Which PPE? For which hazard? To which standard? "RPE: FFP3 disposable mask, face-fit tested, for silica dust during chasing" — that's a control measure.
No COSHH assessments
If your work involves hazardous substances — adhesives, solvents, dust, flux — your RAMS should reference COSHH assessments for those substances. Saying "follow manufacturer's instructions" without a COSHH assessment attached doesn't meet the requirements of the COSHH Regulations 2002.
Never reviewing the document
A RAMS package written three months ago for a site that's changed twice since isn't current. Review dates, version numbers, and notes on what changed — these show the document is alive, not filed and forgotten.
What does a simple RAMS package look like?
To make this concrete, here's a simplified example for a plasterer's first RAMS on a domestic project — a skim coat in a 1990s semi-detached house:
Risk assessment extract:
| Hazard | Who's at risk | Controls | Residual risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dust from sanding old plaster | Operative, occupants | RPE (FFP2 minimum) during sanding. Dust sheets sealed over doorways. HEPA vacuum for clean-up. | Low |
| Manual handling — 25kg bags of plaster | Operative | Maximum 2 bags carried per trip. Plaster mixed at work height (on hop-up platform, not floor). Route from van to work area cleared. | Low |
| Working from hop-up/stepladder for ceiling work | Operative | Hop-up platform (max 600mm) for ceiling areas. Three points of contact on any stepladder. No over-reaching. | Medium |
| COSHH — plaster dust, PVA adhesive | Operative | SDS obtained for plaster and PVA. Nitrile gloves during mixing. Ventilation via open window. Eye wash available. | Low |
Method statement extract:
- Prepare surfaces — hack off loose plaster, brush down. RPE worn during preparation.
- Apply PVA bonding coat. Allow to go tacky (30-60 mins).
- Mix plaster in batches at hop-up height. Apply base coat to walls, feather at edges.
- Apply skim coat once base coat has pulled. Flatten and trowel finish.
- Clean tools and area. HEPA vacuum dust. Remove dust sheets.
That's a RAMS package in miniature — hazards identified, controls specified, method sequenced. The real document would include project details, emergency procedures, review dates, and competence evidence, but the core is this: what could go wrong, what you're doing about it, and how you'll do the work.
Do subcontractors need their own RAMS?
Yes. Under CDM 2015, every contractor has duties under Regulation 15 to plan, manage, and monitor their own work. The principal contractor's RAMS cover site-wide coordination, but each subcontractor must assess the risks specific to their own activities.
We've covered this in detail in our guide on whether subcontractors need their own RAMS.
Making RAMS practical
The purpose of RAMS isn't to produce a stack of paper. It's to think through how work will be done safely, communicate that plan to everyone involved, and create a record that demonstrates the thinking happened.
If you're spending hours assembling documents from scratch for every job, something's broken. The thinking should take time — that's the valuable part. Turning that thinking into a structured, compliant document shouldn't.
TradeRAMS is built to handle the document side. You provide the project details and site observations, and it produces RAMS that reflect your actual work — not a template with blanks filled in. We're opening access through a waitlist. Join the waitlist to get early access.