A RAMS document is one pack containing two things, and the reason firms find them hard to write is that they try to write them as a single narrative. They are not. The risk assessment is a table of judgements; the method statement is a sequence of instructions. This page sets out the sections a reviewer expects to find, what belongs in each, and the two sections that are almost always thin because they are the ones nobody enjoys writing.
The front of the pack: scope, site and people
Who the contractor is, what work this pack covers and, just as importantly, what it does not, at which site and over what period. Then the people: who supervises, how many operatives, what competence each role needs and how it is evidenced. A reviewer reads this first because it tells them whether the rest of the document is even about the right job, and a pack whose scope is vague usually stays vague.
The risk assessment half: hazards, harm, controls, residual
One row per hazard, naming who might be harmed and how, what is already in place, what further action is needed with an owner and a date, and what risk remains after the controls. The residual column is where honesty shows: a pack in which every risk is reduced to the lowest band after controls is describing an ideal world, and reviewers notice. Where a genuine residual risk remains, saying so and explaining how it is managed is stronger than pretending it is gone.
The method statement half: sequence, resources, controls in place before each stage
What happens first, second and third, with the equipment and the people for each stage, and the precondition that has to be satisfied before the next stage starts. The best method statements read like instructions a competent stranger could follow; the worst read like a description of the trade in general. If your sequence would be identical on any site, it is not a method statement, it is a capability statement.
The two sections that are always thin
Emergency arrangements and the stop trigger. What happens if something goes wrong here, who is called, where the muster point is, how the emergency services get to this part of this site, and what specifically must cause the work to stop. These are the sections written last and shortest, and they are the ones read most carefully after an incident. Write them first and the rest of the pack tends to improve.
Questions people ask about rams document
What is a RAMS document?
A single pack combining a risk assessment and a method statement for a specific piece of work at a specific site, issued to a client or principal contractor before work begins and revised when the job or the site changes.
What is a RAMS statement?
The same thing under a slightly redundant name; people say RAMS statement to mean the pack or, sometimes, the method statement half of it. If you are asked for one, ask which they want: some clients mean the full pack and some mean the method statement to accompany an assessment they already hold.
How long should a RAMS document be?
As long as the job needs and no longer. A short pack that names this site, this sequence and these people beats a long one assembled from a library, and reviewers who read packs daily can tell the difference in under a minute.