Roofing RAMS
Risk assessment and method statements for pitched roofing.
Roofing is, by definition, working at height — and it's the trade where a weak RAMS is most likely to get someone hurt and most likely to be rejected on the spot. The slope, the access, the fragile surfaces underneath and the weather are all hazards in their own right. Here's what a pitched roofing RAMS actually has to account for, so you know what good looks like before you hand one over.
Why a roofing RAMS gets read more carefully than most
Falls from height are the biggest single cause of death in construction, and roofing is where most of them happen. A principal contractor or building owner knows that, so a roofing RAMS gets more scrutiny than almost any other trade's. A generic document that waves at "working at height" without dealing with the specifics of this roof, this access and these edges won't survive that read — and rightly so.
Pitched roofing work
Sloping roofs — tiling, slating, battening, felting, leadwork to valleys and chimneys. The slope itself is the constant hazard, and the work breaks down roughly as:
- Strip and tear-off — removing old covering, where weight, debris and exposed weak decking all come into play at once.
- Battening and felting — preparing the deck, working across the slope before the new covering is on.
- Covering — loading and laying tiles or slates, the heavy repetitive phase at full height.
- Detailing — leadwork, flashings, valleys, ridges and around chimneys, the fiddly close work at the most awkward points of the roof.
The risks that run through all pitched roofing
- Falls from the edge and ridge — working on an incline where a slip carries you toward an unprotected edge; edge protection and access have to be right before anyone goes up.
- Falls through the roof — fragile or partially stripped decking, rotten timbers and hidden rooflights that won't take a person's weight. This is the single biggest killer in roofing specifically.
- Asbestos — older roofs may hide asbestos cement sheets, underlay or flashing; if it's suspected, work stops until it's checked.
- Weather — wind, rain, ice and heat all turn a roof from workable to dangerous, and the RAMS has to say when work stops.
- Material handling at height — getting tiles, slates, battens and lead up and waste down safely, without overloading the roof or scaffold.
- Falling materials and tools — protecting everyone below from anything coming off the roof, especially over public areas.
- Tools and power — site tools off 110v through a transformer or cordless batteries; managing leads and any gas bottles up on the roof.
What a roofing RAMS that passes scrutiny looks like
- treats working at height and fragile surfaces as the core of the document, not a line item
- is specific to the roof — its height, pitch, access, edges and what's underneath — not a generic roofing document
- works through the job in sequence — strip, batten, cover, detail — and the hazards of each
- says clearly what weather conditions stop the work
- addresses asbestos where an older roof might hide it
- sets out how people get up, down and along the roof safely
- names the competencies, PPE (including fall protection) and emergency arrangements — including rescue from height
- is reviewed by a competent person and briefed to everyone on the roof
"Specific to the roof" is the whole thing — a downloaded template doesn't know your access, your edges, or what's under the surface.
Get a roofing RAMS written for your job
Briefkit writes the whole thing — the access and fall protection, the strip-to-detail sequence, the cross-cutting height and weather risks, specific to your actual roof, ready to review and sign off — in minutes, for £30. One job, one fee.