Free RAMS template (Word download)
A RAMS — Risk Assessment and Method Statement — is the document a principal contractor or client will usually ask for before letting you start work on site. This template puts everything they expect into one editable Word file.
Download the RAMS template (.docx)
[DISCLAIMER — DRAFT, FOR SOLICITOR REVIEW] This template is a starting point only. You are responsible for assessing the risks of your own work, and for making sure any document you produce from it is suitable and sufficient for the task, the site and the people involved. It is not health and safety advice.
What's in the template
- Document control — company, client, site, revision and approval
- Scope of works
- Programme and working hours
- Personnel and competence — training and cards held
- Risk assessment — hazards, who could be harmed, controls and a scored rating
- Risk rating key — a 5 × 5 likelihood and severity grid
- Method statement — the step-by-step sequence of works
- PPE required
- Plant, equipment and tools
- Hazardous substances (COSHH)
- Permits and isolations
- Emergency arrangements
- Welfare
- Briefing record — sign-off sheet for everyone working to the RAMS
New to RAMS? Read what a RAMS document is and how to write one.
Risk assessment vs method statement
| Risk assessment | Method statement | |
|---|---|---|
| Answers | What could go wrong, and how likely and serious is it? | How exactly will the job be done safely, step by step? |
| Contains | Hazards, who is at risk, control measures, risk rating | Sequence of works, responsibilities, equipment, PPE |
| Basis | Required by law for employers and the self-employed | Not named in law, but routinely required by principal contractors |
Is a RAMS a legal requirement?
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require employers and the self-employed to carry out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment. If you employ five or more people, the significant findings must be written down. A method statement isn't named in the regulations, but under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 contractors must plan, manage and monitor their work — and most principal contractors make a RAMS a condition of site access.
How to fill it in
- Complete the document control and scope first, so the reader knows exactly what job the RAMS covers.
- Walk through the job and list every significant hazard in section 5. Score each one after your controls are in place.
- Anything still scoring High (15–25) needs more controls before work starts.
- Write the method statement as the actual order you'll do the work, and say who is responsible for each control.
- Brief everyone on site and get them to sign section 14 before starting.
- Review the RAMS if the job, site or team changes.
Answer a few questions about the job and get a completed RAMS in Word, ready to send.
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