What is a RAMS pack?
If a Principal Contractor has asked you for your "RAMS" before you can start on site, and you are not sure exactly what they want, this guide explains it in plain English, what a good pack contains, and how to get one without building it from scratch.
RAMS, in plain English
RAMS stands for Risk Assessment and Method Statement. It is two documents that work together. The risk assessment lists the hazards in the work you are about to do, who could be harmed and how, and the control measures you will use to keep people safe. The method statement is the step by step description of how the job will actually be carried out safely, in the right order, with the right people, plant and equipment.
Put simply: the risk assessment says what could go wrong and how you will stop it, and the method statement says how you will do the job safely from start to finish.
Why Principal Contractors ask for a RAMS pack
On almost every commercial site in the UK you cannot lift a tool until your RAMS have been submitted and accepted. The Principal Contractor is legally responsible for coordinating health and safety under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM 2015), so they check your paperwork before they let you work. Weak or missing RAMS are one of the most common reasons a subcontractor gets turned away at the gate on day one.
What a good RAMS pack contains
A pack that passes first time usually includes:
- A task specific risk assessment with realistic hazards and control measures
- A clear, sequenced method statement for the actual work
- COSHH assessments for any hazardous substances used
- Details of plant, equipment and PPE
- Competence, training and supervision arrangements
- Emergency and first aid arrangements
- Sign off sheets so your operatives can confirm they have read and understood it
RAMS pack or Contractor Project Pack?
A RAMS pack covers the health and safety documentation for your task. A Contractor Project Pack goes further and includes the wider set of documents a Principal Contractor often asks a subcontractor to provide, such as insurances, policies and registers, all in one submission. If you are regularly asked for "the full pack", the Contractor Project Pack saves you assembling it every time.
Do you legally need RAMS?
The law does not use the word "RAMS", but it does require you to assess risk and plan work safely. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require a suitable and sufficient risk assessment, and CDM 2015 requires construction work to be planned, managed and monitored. A written RAMS pack is how you show, on paper, that you have done that. For any team of five or more, significant findings must be recorded anyway.
Getting a RAMS pack without starting from scratch
Writing RAMS from a blank page for every job is slow, and generic templates off a search engine rarely satisfy a Principal Contractor. Our packs are CDM 2015 aligned, written for specific trades, and supplied in editable Word format so you can drop in your project details and submit. Browse RAMS packs by trade, including scaffolding, roofing and groundworks, or see everything in the shop.
Still weighing up the paperwork? Read RAMS vs method statement for the difference explained simply.