Guide
Safety plan template
A safety plan template is a place to write how you will run health and safety, not the hazard lines for one task. Those lines belong in the risk assessment. The sequence belongs in the method statement.
What to put in it
Name who is responsible, how each job is assessed, what training the work needs, how plant is checked, where the safety data sheets are, what welfare exists on this site, and how someone stops the job. If you employ five or more people, regulation 5 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 requires the arrangements to be recorded.
A construction project may also need a construction phase plan under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. Do not use this sheet as that plan. The worked example below is a worktop fit, so you can see the sort of task a plan has to point at: silica dust, the weight of the top, adhesive, and sharp edges.
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.
Every hazard below is from the RAMSPack library and is marked draft – awaiting competent review. Change it for the site. It is not HSE approved.
Worked example: Worktop templating and fit
Template a kitchen for a rigid worktop and fit the finished top, including scribing and fixing. Cutting of silica-containing stone is not done on site with a dry blade.
Order of work
- Template from the installed units. Check appliances and taps against the drawing before the top is made.
- Plan the carry in. Remove doors on the route if needed. Use enough people or lifters for the weight.
- Set the top, scribe it, and fix it as the maker specifies. Make any on-site cut of timber or laminate with extraction.
- If the top is engineered stone, it should arrive cut. If a site cut is unavoidable, stop unless wet cutting and the right RPE are in place.
- Seal joints with the specified adhesive, clean off, and tell the occupier how long before it can be used.
Silica dust from cutting engineered stone
From the kitchen fitter library, task: Worktop templating and fit. Who might be harmed: Fitters and occupiers
Before controls: 20 High. After controls: 5 Low. These scores are a prompt. Score the job yourself.
- Default to factory cutting. Dry cutting on site is not the method.
- If a cut cannot be avoided, use water suppression, the correct RPE, and keep the occupier out. Stop if the water fails.
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; Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 (as amended 2022); Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981.
Crush injuries from a heavy worktop
From the kitchen fitter library, task: Worktop templating and fit. Who might be harmed: Fitters
Before controls: 16 High. After controls: 6 Low. These scores are a prompt. Score the job yourself.
- Know the weight. Use suction lifters and enough people.
- Clear the route. Put the top down flat, not on edge where it can fall.
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; Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992; Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 (as amended 2022); Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981.
Skin sensitisation from joint adhesive
From the kitchen fitter library, task: Worktop templating and fit. Who might be harmed: Fitters
Before controls: 6 Low. After controls: 4 Low. These scores are a prompt. Score the job yourself.
- Read the safety data sheet. Wear the stated gloves. Do not use adhesive in a closed room without ventilation.
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; Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 (as amended 2022); Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981.
Cuts from a sharp stone edge
From the kitchen fitter library, task: Worktop templating and fit. Who might be harmed: Fitters
Before controls: 6 Low. After controls: 4 Low. These scores are a prompt. Score the job yourself.
- Handle edges with gloves. Do not run a hand along a cut arris to 'feel' it.
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.
Generate the worktop RAMS this plan should point to