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RAMS: what to include in risk assessments and method statements

Clients ask for them, inspectors ask for them, and a poor one is worse than none. Here is what RAMS are, what to put in them, and how to approve other people's.

Written for UK contractors · Updated October 2026

What RAMS means

RAMS stands for risk assessments and method statements. The two documents do different jobs. The risk assessment identifies what could harm people and what you will do about it. The method statement sets out, step by step, how the work will be done safely. Many contractors combine them into one document, and clients often ask for them together before work starts.

The law requires a suitable and sufficient risk assessment (Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999). It does not use the term RAMS or require a method statement by name, but for most construction work a written method statement is the normal way to show how the controls will be applied, and most principal contractors will not let you start without one.

How to write a risk assessment

HSE describes five steps, and they work for construction as they do anywhere else.

1. Identify the hazards. Walk the area and think through each task. What could cause harm?
2. Decide who might be harmed and how. Your own workers, other trades, the public and visitors, including people who might be especially at risk.
3. Evaluate the risks and decide on precautions. Remove the hazard if you can, otherwise reduce the risk, and use PPE as the last line, not the first.
4. Record your findings and put them into practice. Write them down and make sure the controls are actually in place on site.
5. Review. Update it when the work, the site or the people change, or after an incident.

Employers with five or more employees must record the significant findings in writing. In practice, for construction, write it down whatever your size, because a client or principal contractor will ask for it.

What to include in RAMS

• Project and task details. Site address, client, description of the work, start date and duration.
• Who prepared it and who approved it. Names, roles, date and version number.
• The people involved. Number of operatives, supervision, and any competence or training needed, such as specific tickets or cards.
• Plant, equipment and materials. Including anything hazardous, and the inspection or certification it needs.
• Hazards, who is at risk, and the controls. The core of the risk assessment, with a risk rating before and after controls if you use one.
• The sequence of work. Numbered steps in the order the work will actually be done.
• Emergency arrangements. Rescue plans for work at height or in confined spaces, first aid, fire and who to call.
• Permits and coordination. Any permits needed, and how the work interacts with other trades.
• PPE and welfare. What is required and where welfare facilities are.
• Sign-off by the operatives. Each person doing the work confirms they have read and understood it.

Common mistakes

• Too long. A 40-page document nobody reads protects nobody. Cover the real risks of the real task.
• Vague controls. "Take care" is not a control. Say what will be done, by whom and with what equipment.
• The sequence does not match what happens. If the method statement describes one order of work and the gang does another, it is worse than none.
• Nobody briefed the gang. The people doing the work need to read it and sign it before they start.
• Old versions in circulation. If the method changes, the old version must not stay in use, and everyone who signed it needs to sign the revised one. Otherwise people are signed off against content they never read.
• Not reviewed after a change. A change in conditions, scope or equipment means a fresh look.

Approving subcontractor RAMS

If you are the principal contractor, you will receive RAMS from subcontractors and need to review them before they start. Check that:

• It is for this site and this task.
• The controls are realistic and match your own site rules and construction phase plan.
• It does not clash with other work going on at the same time.
• The people named have the competence and cards needed.
• It is signed by the operatives, and you hold the approved version, with the date you approved it.

Keep the record of who approved what and when. If there is an accident, the version of the RAMS in force on the day and who had briefed it will be among the first things you are asked for.

If you are not sure how your own process would stand up, the free 3-minute assessment asks a few questions about how you handle inductions and site records, and shows where the gaps are.

This guide is general information for contractors, not legal advice. Your duties depend on your role and your project, so check the HSE guidance or take advice from a health and safety consultant.