"Send me your RAMS" is the sentence that stops more small contractors starting on site than any other. Here is what the document is, what has to be in it, and what the person reading it looks at first.
RAMS = two documents stapled together
- RA — Risk Assessment. What could hurt someone on this job, how likely, how bad, and what you'll do about it.
- MS — Method Statement. The job written out in the order you'll do it, with the controls from the risk assessment built into each step.
They are asked for together because one without the other is useless: a risk assessment with no method is a list of worries; a method statement with no risk assessment is a to-do list.
The risk assessment — the five steps the HSE expects
- Identify the hazards. Walk the job in your head: height, excavation, dust, manual handling, plant, live services, public, weather.
- Decide who might be harmed and how. Your lads, other trades, the client's staff, the public, delivery drivers.
- Evaluate the risk and decide on controls. Likelihood × severity before controls, then what you'll do, then the residual risk. Follow the hierarchy: eliminate → substitute → engineering controls → safe systems of work → PPE last.
- Record it. In writing if you have five or more employees; in practice, always — nobody accepts a verbal RAMS.
- Review it. When the job changes, when something goes wrong, and at least annually.
A 5×5 or 6×6 matrix is the normal way to score step 3. The number matters less than showing the risk drops once your controls are applied — that's the thing reviewers look for.
The method statement — what it must contain
| section | what goes in it |
|---|---|
| Job details | client, site address, job description, dates, your company details, document number and revision |
| People | site supervisor, competent person, first aider, who's on the job |
| Sequence of work | numbered steps, in order, each with the control measures that apply to that step |
| Plant and equipment | what you're bringing, inspection/certification status (PAT, LOLER, harness checks) |
| Materials and COSHH | substances used and the COSHH assessment reference |
| PPE | per task, not a blanket list |
| Emergency arrangements | first aid, nearest A&E, fire, rescue from height or confined space if relevant |
| Welfare | where the toilets, water and rest area are |
| Sign-off | who wrote it, who approved it (competent person), date — and a briefing sheet the operatives sign |
What the main contractor checks first
- **Is it for this job?** Site address, dates and scope match the order. A RAMS for a different site is the fastest rejection there is.
- Is it trade-specific? "Working at height" for a roofer needs to say scaffold, edge protection, fragile roof procedure — not "care will be taken".
- Do the risk assessment and method statement agree? Every hazard in the RA should have a matching control in the MS sequence.
- Is it signed, dated and revision-numbered? Unsigned RAMS aren't RAMS.
- Has it been briefed? A signed briefing record is what turns a document into a safe system of work.
Common mistakes
- Copying a template and leaving another firm's name in it (it happens weekly).
- One giant "site works" RAMS for everything you do.
- Controls that are really PPE ("gloves and boots") when the hazard needed engineering out.
- No revision when the job changes — the Tuesday RAMS being used on the Thursday variation.
- No competent-person approval, so the person who wrote it is also the only person who checked it.
The short version
A RAMS is a trade-specific risk assessment plus a step-by-step method statement, dated, signed, revision-numbered, briefed to the people doing the work, and reviewed when the job changes. That's the whole standard.
PBS Policies drafts trade-specific RAMS from your job details — site, dates, activities — with a competent-person approval step, revision control, and Word or PDF output branded to your company. Unlimited documents, £600 a year.
Sources: HSE risk-assessment guidance; SSIP core criterion 10. Read 27 September 2026.
PBS Policies
PBS Policies — trade-specific RAMS, drafted from your job details, approved by your competent person, Word and PDF, £600/yr
PBS Policies produces the paperwork. It certifies nobody, and a competent person still approves every document before it is issued.
Sources and dates. HSE risk assessment guidance (the five steps; written record required at 5+ employees); SSIP core criterion 10 "Risk assessment leading to a safe system of work" (ssip.org.uk, 27 Sep 2026)
Scheme prices and criteria are set by the scheme, not by us, and they change. Check the scheme's own site before relying on any figure on this page.