A free method statement and RAMS template, written by people who've stood on site.
A method statement sets out how a job will be done safely, step by step, in the right order. On most construction work you'll be asked for it alongside a risk assessment, and the two together are RAMS. This page explains what each part has to contain, and gives you a free construction template to start from.
Two documents, one purpose. People mix them up, so here's the difference.
A principal contractor or client asks for RAMS because they need to see both: that you understand the risks, and that you've planned the work to manage them. A method statement with no risk assessment behind it is just a plan with no safety logic. A risk assessment with no method statement leaves the actual sequence of work unexplained.
Answers "what could go wrong here, and what do we do about it?" It lists the hazards, who's at risk, and the control measures that keep them safe.
Answers "how do we do this job safely from start to finish?" It's a sequence: the steps, the equipment, the people, and the controls applied at each stage.
Risk Assessment and Method Statement together. On most construction jobs you'll be asked for both as a pair, not a method statement on its own.
What a usable method statement covers.
The sequence of work is the heart of it, but a method statement a principal contractor will accept covers all of this:
Who's doing the work, where, and what the job is.
A clear description of the task the statement covers.
The steps, in order, with the safe method for each. This is the heart of it.
What's being used, and any specific safety requirements that go with it.
Permits, exclusion zones, traffic management and working-at-height arrangements: the things that depend on this particular site.
What's required, by whom, and at which stage of the work.
Who's doing the work, their roles, and the training or tickets they need to do it.
First aid, raising the alarm, and what to do if something goes wrong on site.
Evidence the operatives were briefed and understood the method before they started.
The template gets you the structure. Your site gets you the risk.
The free template gives you a sound, professional layout that a principal contractor will recognise. What it can't do is write the safe sequence for your actual task on your actual site. Generic RAMS get rejected at the gate, or worse, they get accepted and then bear no relation to how the work really happens, which is exactly where people get hurt. Good RAMS describe the job in front of you: this scaffold, this excavation, this lift, this access constraint. That's the part that takes a site-literate eye.
A template gets you started. Getting it right is the hard part.
A generic form won't know your site, your sequence or your access constraints. Your named Spectra consultant writes RAMS that stand up when a principal contractor, a client or the HSE asks, written by people who've stood on site.
Common method statement and RAMS questions
What is the difference between a method statement and RAMS?
Are RAMS a legal requirement?
Who writes the method statement?
Why do my RAMS keep getting rejected?
Do I need a separate method statement for every job?
The risk assessment that sits behind your method statements — twelve hazards, HSE scoring, a worked example. Free 30-minute review.
A template gets you started. Getting it right is the hard part.
Book a free review and we'll tell you what's missing. Your named Spectra consultant writes RAMS that stand up when a principal contractor, a client or the HSE asks, written by people who've stood on site.