What Are RAMS Documents in Health and Safety?

When reviewing health and safety in your workplace or carrying out risk assessments, you might come across RAMS documents. RAMS stands for Risk Assessment Method Statement, and it outlines the steps for safely completing a specific task or project by identifying potential hazards, assessing the associated risks, and implementing control measures. These documents are often at the heart of the construction industry’s health and safety policies and procedures.

However, if you’re new to risk management or construction health and safety, you may not be familiar with these documents. So, what are RAMS documents? Why are they so important? And how are they used to improve workplace safety?

What Are RAMS?

RAMS stands for Risk Assessment Method Statement — an important health and safety document that is completed to identify the steps to be undertaken to carry out a specific activity or task in a safe manner. RAMS can be utilised in conjunction with the risk assessment process.

Risk assessments are used to record hazards identified in the workplace, assess the likelihood and severity of risks and to plan adequate control measures to eliminate or reduce those risks.

Method statements — also referred to as a “Safe System of Work” — build on the information outlined in risk assessments, expanding on hazard identification and management and control measures. They detail how specific activities can be carried out safely — describing control measures and safety precautions and how these can be implemented/what control equipment should be used.

Unlike risk assessments, which review the whole workplace for hazards, method statements are written for specific, high-risk work activities such as working from a height or using dangerous equipment. Tasks are broken down into steps, the hazards involved in each step are assessed, and then control measures are described in detail so that the resulting document can be easily followed by workers and contractors. It acts as a step-by-step guide to carrying out tasks safely.

Which Businesses Use RAMS?

RAMS can be used by any businesses to improve the health and safety of business operations. However, they’re predominantly used by businesses in the construction industry as everyday tasks in this sector can involve potentially dangerous activities. 

Many construction projects also rely on tendering goods and services, so RAMS can be used by contractors to demonstrate their safe work practices. Contractors’ health and safety policies and procedures can also be checked against your organisation’s RAMS documents to ensure effective risk mitigation across your supply chain. 

The Benefits of Using RAMS Documents

Using Risk Assessment Method Statements can help you make your workplace safer, improve your business operations and protect your business from the consequences of poor risk management.

• RAMS Support Safe Decision Making
  Workers will often have to make decisions about how to complete certain tasks or overcome project roadblocks. Sometimes, decisions need to be made quickly and without formal approval. Method Statements can offer the answers workers need and support safe decision making.
• Clear Method Statements Prevent Misunderstandings
  In construction, misunderstanding how a task should be completed can lead to serious accidents and injuries. RAMS lay out processes step-by-step, leaving no room for confusion.  
• Improve Productivity and Efficiency
  With clear instructions on completing tasks safely, there’s no need for hesitation or experimental approaches to work activities. Instead, RAMS make it possible for any qualified, trained worker to complete work tasks efficiently. 
• Reduce Absence Due to Sickness
  Method Statements can help you manage risks and ensure the health and safety of workers. This can reduce absence due to sickness and help you cut back on the costs associated with employee absence — such as sick pay, cover and potentially even compensation.
  
• Reduce the Risk of Fines and Other Legal Penalties
  By helping you improve workplace health and safety and ensuring compliance with risk management legislation, RAMS reduce the risk of your business being fined or facing other legal penalties.
• Safeguard Your Business’s Reputation
  RAMS should effectively protect people from harm while business operations are being carried out. This can help you avoid the reputational damage that would inevitably come from poor risk management. 

RAMS in health and safety are essential documents that combine detailed risk assessments with practical, step-by-step instructions for completing specific tasks safely. Especially in high-risk industries like construction, RAMS help businesses manage risks, protect workers, and demonstrate compliance. Using RAMS, you create a safer, more efficient workplace and show clients, contractors, and regulators that your business takes health and safety seriously.

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