Guide

What is a RAMS document?

A RAMS document is a risk assessment and method statement for a particular job. UK clients and main contractors often ask for one before they let a trade on site. This page explains what people usually mean, what a pack contains, and how a worked example is put together. It is not a statement that any document is approved or sufficient.

Risk assessment and method statement are two parts of one pack

The risk assessment lists what could hurt someone, who might be harmed, and the controls you will use. The method statement is the sequence of work: the order you will do it so those controls actually happen. Together they are called a RAMS. A tidy PDF with a company logo is not, by itself, evidence that the job has been thought through.

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. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require a suitable and sufficient assessment of risks to employees and others affected by the work. The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 sets the broader duties. For construction work, the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 add duties for contractors, including planning, managing and monitoring the work. A RAMS is one way contractors record that planning. It does not replace those duties, and the Health and Safety Executive does not approve RAMS documents.

When a client asks for one

A domestic customer may never use the word RAMS. A principal contractor on a larger job often will, and may refuse access until they have a job-specific pack rather than a generic template with the address changed. The useful question is whether the document describes this task, this site, and the people doing the work.

A pack that a site manager can read quickly usually includes:

• Who is doing the work, and their relevant qualifications or cards.
• The address, dates, site contact, nearest A&E, and welfare (toilets, washing, drinking water, a place to rest).
• Hazards for that task, with controls, and a likelihood × severity rating before and after the controls.
• The sequence of work.
• PPE, plant, hazardous substances (COSHH), emergency arrangements, and training.
• A sign-off so operatives can record that they have read it.

If the site changes — a fragile roof, a live board that cannot be isolated, suspected asbestos — the RAMS has to change too. A document written for a different job should not be reused unchanged.

Ratings are a prompt, not a certificate

RAMSPack uses a 5 × 5 matrix. Likelihood and severity are each scored from 1 to 5. The score is the two numbers multiplied. 1–6 is low, 8–12 is medium, and 15–25 is high. A high score means that part of the work should not start until the risk has been reduced. Severity often stays high after controls: a fall can still kill someone. What should fall is the likelihood, if the controls are real.

Worked example: replacing a consumer unit

This example is taken from the RAMSPack hazard library for an electrician replacing a consumer unit. Every entry is status draft – awaiting competent review. No reviewer is named and no review date is set. Do not treat it as a finished assessment for a real installation.

Replace a consumer unit in an occupied dwelling or similar premises, including safe isolation, reconnection of existing final circuits, inspection and test, and a handover to the occupier.

Sequence used for that task

1. Agree the scope, the circuit schedule, and how long the power will be off. Warn the occupier and identify medical or alarm equipment that must not lose power unexpectedly.
2. Look for asbestos and other concealed hazards before opening the installation. Stop if asbestos may be disturbed.
3. Prove the voltage indicator, isolate the supply, lock it off, post notices, and prove dead at the point of work.
4. Remove the existing consumer unit only after it is proved dead. Identify and label conductors before disconnection.
5. Fit the replacement consumer unit, dress the cables, and reconnect the final circuits to the agreed schedule.
6. Inspect and test before re-energising. Record the results and correct defects found by the tests.
7. Re-energise, carry out functional checks, label the installation, and explain the new arrangement to the occupier.
8. Remove waste under the duty of care and leave the work area safe.

Regulations that show up in this example include the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 where older boards may conceal asbestos, and the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992. BS 7671 is a British Standard, not a statute. Industry guidance is labelled as guidance.

What the generator will and will not do

The RAMSPack generator starts from the library entry for the trade and task you pick. You can untick hazards that do not apply and add ones that do. The method statement, PPE, plant, COSHH, emergency, and training text are drafted only from those selected entries plus the site details and operatives you enter. You have to open every section before export is enabled. The free plan exports a watermarked PDF. A paid document can be exported without the watermark.

Related guides

• RAMS software
• Risk assessment software
• RAMS generator
• Lone working
• Working at height
• Method statement
• Toolbox talk template
• Toolbox talks
• Safety plan
• Construction phase plan
• Event risk assessment
• Permit to work
• Ladder inspection
• Site-specific assessment
• Audit checklist

If you need a decision about whether a particular job is safe, or whether an incident is reportable, ask a competent person. This page is an explanation of the document, not advice on your site.