How to Write a RAMS
A step-by-step guide — the way principal contractors expect to read one.
A RAMS that gets handed back is almost always the same RAMS: a generic template with the site name dropped in, hazards that could belong to any job, and a method statement that reads like a description rather than a sequence. This is how to write one that stands up — the structure, the scoring, the sequence, and the bits reviewers actually look for.
What a RAMS is
A RAMS is two documents bound together: the Risk Assessment that health and safety law requires, and the Method Statement that turns it into a safe sequence of work. The hazards identified in the assessment flow straight into the method, so a reviewer can see both the controls and how they’ll actually be applied. For the deeper background on what the HSE expects from the method statement side, read the HSE method statements explainer.
Before you start
You can’t write a site-specific RAMS from a desk in isolation. Gather the job information first — the document is only as specific as the inputs you put into it:
- Scope of works — what the job is, what it isn't, and where it stops
- Site address, principal contractor, client and contract reference
- Personnel on site, their roles and the tickets they hold
- Plant, tools and equipment you'll be using
- Services on or near the work — overhead lines, buried cables, gas, water
- Sequence — the order the work will actually happen, start to finish
If any of these aren’t pinned down yet, get them pinned down. A vague RAMS reads as vague, every time.
The nine steps
In the order a competent reviewer reads them.
Define the scope
Write what the job is in one paragraph. Address, task, who the work is for, where it stops. A reviewer should know from this alone whether the rest of the document is even relevant to the work in front of them.
Identify the hazards
Walk the job in your head from start to finish and list every hazard. Site-specific, not generic — buried services on this footway, traffic on this road, the live overhead at this address. If your hazard list could belong to any job, you haven't done this step yet.
Score with a 5×5 matrix
Score each hazard Likelihood × Severity (1–5 on each axis). 1–6 low, 8–12 medium, 15–25 high. This is the initial score — the risk with no controls in place. Write it next to the hazard so the working shows.
Apply the hierarchy of control
Work down the hierarchy for every hazard: eliminate, substitute, engineering controls, administrative controls, then PPE. PPE is the last line, not the first. If you can design the hazard out, do that instead of issuing more gloves.
Re-score to ALARP
With the controls in place, score the residual risk the same way. The aim is As Low As Reasonably Practicable — not zero. If a residual score is still high, the controls aren't enough and you go back round.
Write the method as a sequence
Start to finish, in the order the work will happen on site. Numbered steps, plain language. Embed HOLD POINTs at the moments that matter — services proven dead, exclusion zones set, permits issued, sign-off before high-risk activities begin.
State PPE and competencies
Name the PPE with BS/EN codes — hi-vis to BS EN ISO 20471, hard hats to BS EN 397, safety footwear to BS EN ISO 20345, and so on. Name the tickets each role needs — SSSTS, SMSTS, CSCS, NPORS/CPCS, NEBOSH where relevant. Generic statements aren't enough.
Emergency arrangements
Nearest A&E with address, on-site first aider by name, RV point, out-of-hours contacts, and what to do if a service is struck. Specific to this site, not a copy-paste of the last one.
Brief the team and record sign-off
Before work starts, walk the team through methodology, hazards, controls and emergency procedures. Every operative signs the briefing register confirming they've understood. No signature, no work.
Worked example — utility excavation in a public footway
One hazard, scored before and after controls. One method step, with a HOLD POINT. That’s the shape of every row in the document.
Hazard
Striking a buried live electricity cable during machine excavation in the public footway.
Initial score
Likelihood 4 × Severity 5 = 20 (High)
Residual score
Likelihood 2 × Severity 5 = 10 (Medium — ALARP)
Controls applied
- Obtain and review utility drawings from all known service owners before mobilisation
- CAT & Genny scan of the full excavation footprint, marked up on site
- Trial holes at suspected service crossings to prove position visually
- Hand-dig within 500mm of any indicated service in line with HSG47
- Permit to dig issued and signed before any machine excavation
- Banksman in attendance with the machine operator at all times
Method step (extract)
Step 4 of 11 — Confirm services dead before machine excavation
On completion of CAT & Genny scanning and trial holes, the site supervisor verifies all identified services against the utility drawings. Any live service crossing the excavation is isolated by the asset owner and proven dead at the point of work. The permit to dig is then signed by the supervisor and the machine operator.
HOLD POINT — no machine excavation until services are confirmed dead and the permit to dig is signed by the supervisor.
Why a RAMS gets rejected
Almost every rejected RAMS fails for one of the same reasons. If yours has any of these, expect it back:
- Generic, copy-paste content that could apply to any job
- Hazards listed but not specific to this site or this task
- Initial scores shown but no residual scores after controls
- Method statement reads like a description, not a sequence — no HOLD POINTs
- PPE listed without BS/EN codes; competencies without ticket names
- Emergency arrangements obviously lifted from another job
- No briefing register, no operative sign-off
Want to start from a template?
If you’d rather write it yourself, the free RAMS template gives you the structure to fill in — document control, 5×5 risk register, method sequence, PPE, personnel, emergency arrangements and the briefing register. Blank cells, in the right order. You bring the site-specific content.
Or have it written for you
Briefkit writes the whole RAMS — risk assessment and method statement — specific to your job and site, scored, sequenced, with HOLD POINTs and sign-off, ready to review in minutes. One job, one fee — £30.