Risk assessment
Construction risk assessments for strip-out, brickwork, and first fix
Small building jobs still kill people in collapses, falls, and asbestos strip-outs. A strip-out RAMS has to say what is loadbearing and what might be asbestos before anyone swings a bar. Brickwork and first fix add dust, noise, and openings.
Construction work is under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 as well as the general duties. Asbestos in a strip-out is the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012. A structural collapse is not an asbestos hazard, and the library does not pretend that it is. Temporary openings and stairwells are work at height.
No law requires a document called a RAMS. The duty is to assess risk under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, regulation 3, and to plan the work safely.
What to decide before the job
- A refurbishment survey, or a written reason why asbestos is not a foreseeable risk.
- Which walls and lintels stay, and who has said a wall can come out.
- Dust, noise, and how arisings leave the building without blocking the escape route.
- Edge protection at stairwells and scaffold for brickwork above shoulder height.
Every hazard below is from the RAMSPack library and is marked draft – awaiting competent review. Use it as a starting list, then change it for the site. It is not HSE approved.
Worked example: Internal strip-out
Strip finishes, fittings, and non-structural partitions inside an existing building before refurbishment. It excludes structural demolition and licensed asbestos removal.
Order of work
- Read the asbestos survey. If there is no survey and the building is old enough that asbestos is possible, stop intrusive work until there is information.
- Isolate services that are in the strip area, through a competent person for gas and electricity. Protect services that stay live.
- Confirm you are not removing structure. If a wall might be loadbearing, stop and get a design decision.
- Strip systematically from the top down. Keep a clear exit. Control dust.
- Segregate waste, including waste that may be hazardous, and transfer it under the duty of care.
Disturbing asbestos insulation board, coatings, or debris during strip-out
Who might be harmed: Operatives and other people in the building
Before controls: 20 High. After controls: 5 Low. These scores are a prompt. Score the job yourself.
- Work to the survey. Do not start because the programme is tight.
- Stop if you find suspect material that the survey did not identify. Leave it, seal the area as far as you can without disturbing it, and report it.
- Licensed asbestos work is a different contractor and a different assessment.
Regulations that fit this hazard: Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974; Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999; Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015; Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012; Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002; Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 (as amended 2022); Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981.
Electric shock or a gas escape from a live service in a wall
Who might be harmed: Operatives and other people in the building
Before controls: 15 High. After controls: 5 Low. These scores are a prompt. Score the job yourself.
- Have electricity and gas isolated by competent people before the strip reaches them.
- Treat unidentified cables as live. Do not cut a cable to 'see what happens'.
Regulations that fit this hazard: Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974; Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999; Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015; Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 (as amended 2022); Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981; Electricity at Work Regulations 1989; Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998.
Collapse from removing a loadbearing element by mistake
Who might be harmed: Operatives and other people in the building
Before controls: 10 Medium. After controls: 5 Low. These scores are a prompt. Score the job yourself.
- Strip finishes only, unless a design says a wall can go.
- Stop if a lintel, a beam, or unexpected masonry appears.
Regulations that fit this hazard: Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974; Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999; Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015; Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 (as amended 2022); Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981.
Dust, noise, and manual handling of arisings
Who might be harmed: Operatives
Before controls: 12 Medium. After controls: 6 Low. These scores are a prompt. Score the job yourself.
- Prefer hand tools. Where a breaker is needed, limit time, use extraction or suppression, and wear hearing protection.
- Barrow waste in small loads. Keep routes lit.
Regulations that fit this hazard: Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974; Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999; Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015; Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002; Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992; Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005; Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 (as amended 2022); Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981; Environmental Protection Act 1990, section 34 (duty of care for waste).
Start this internal strip-out RAMS
Other general builder tasks in the library
Brickwork and blockwork
Lay bricks or blocks for a small domestic extension or a repair, including mixing mortar and working from a hop-up or a scaffold provided by others.
- Cement burns and dermatitis. Keep mortar off skin. Change soaked gloves.
- Fall from a hop-up or a scaffold while laying above standing height. Use a hop-up or a guarded scaffold. Do not stand on a wall or an open trestle.
- Manual handling of blocks and cement bags. Use the lightest block that the design allows. Lift bags close to the body, one at a time.
- Entanglement or electric shock from the mixer. Guard stays on. Isolate before putting a hand in the drum.
First fix carpentry
Install stud partitions, door linings, and timber grounds in a refurbishment, including cutting timber and fixing to existing walls. It excludes structural alterations.
- Contact with a chop saw or a nail from a nail gun. Guard in place. Hands clear of the blade. Clamp short offcuts.
- Wood dust from cutting. On-tool extraction that is switched on. Replace full bags.
- Nailing or drilling into a live cable. Scan and look. Avoid fixing on the line of accessories.
- Cutting into asbestos insulation board used as a former lining. If the survey or the look of the board suggests asbestos, stop. Do not take a sample by sawing a piece off.