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Free to download and adapt. A blank template is a starting point, not evidence that work is safe. Adapt it to the actual site and task and put the controls in place before work begins.
Check the assessment, sequence and controls against your actual site before use.
What is a rams template?
RAMS is a common name for a document that brings a risk assessment and method statement together. The first component explains what could cause harm and how it will be controlled. The second describes, in working order, who will do the job, with what equipment and precautions, including what happens if conditions change. This entry owns the combined document format. Use the separate risk assessment template for a standalone hazard-and-control form and the existing method statement template for a standalone sequence-of-work document.
Who needs one?
Use a combined RAMS where a client, site or employer wants one coherent document connecting an assessed hazard to the step that controls it. Construction contractors often use this format for task planning and communication. The 1974 Act, 1999 Regulations and CDM 2015 cited here apply in Great Britain; Northern Ireland has separate health and safety legislation and HSENI guidance. The duty is to assess and control the work properly; a generic file with a RAMS title is not a statutory shortcut. A simple job may need a concise, clear document, while complex work may need specialist plans and permits alongside it.
UK legal basis
- SSCurrent legislation: Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, regulation 3, requires a suitable and sufficient assessment of risks arising from work. Employers with five or more employees must record significant findings.
- SSCurrent legislation: Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, section 2, sets the general employer duty to protect employees so far as reasonably practicable.
- SSCurrent legislation: Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 require contractors to plan, manage and monitor the construction work they control, so far as reasonably practicable, and coordinate with others.
- SSHSE guidance: Method statements are useful ways to communicate a safe sequence. HSE says they are not a universal standalone legal form for all construction activities; specific operations, such as demolition and structural alteration, do require written arrangements.
- SSIndustry practice: The combined label RAMS and this document layout help clients and site teams review the work. A customer's contract or site rule may also require a RAMS, separately from statutory duties.
Key sections to include
Worked example
Common mistakes
- !Combining a generic hazard table with a method copied from an unrelated job.
- !Describing a work sequence that does not actually apply the stated controls.
- !Calling a document RAMS while omitting either the risk assessment or the method statement.
- !Treating a low risk score or a signature as proof that a control is in place.
- !Ignoring simultaneous site activities, permits or a change in conditions.
FAQ
What does RAMS mean?+
Risk Assessment and Method Statement. One part identifies hazards and controls; the other describes how the work will be carried out using those controls.
Is a RAMS document itself required by law?+
The law requires suitable assessment and safe planning and control of work. RAMS is a common combined format, not one universally prescribed statutory form. Some activities have specific written-arrangement duties, and contracts or site rules may require a RAMS.
Can I use only the risk assessment part?+
If you need a standalone hazard-and-control record, use the risk assessment template. If you need a work sequence, use the method statement template. This page is for readers who need both in one document.
Does a downloaded RAMS template make my work compliant?+
No. Adapt both components to the actual site and task, confirm the controls are in place, brief the people doing the work and review the document when conditions change.
Where can I generate a site-specific RAMS?+
Visit the Complys RAMS page for its document workflow. Check the generated content against the real site, the work, current guidance and any client requirements before use.
Official sources
Related
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