Free tool

RAMS generator — risk assessment and method statement

A risk assessment and method statement (RAMS), built to a real risk assessment template — hazards, controls and the safe sequence of works, from one conversation.

RAMS generator

How it works

A conversation, then a checked RAMS

Describe the job in plain language and the desk asks back — one question at a time — until it has enough for a proper risk assessment and method statement: what the task is, where it's happening, who's doing it, and what's already known to be hazardous.

A RAMS only works if it's specific to the actual site and task — a generic template with the job name swapped in is the single commonest reason one gets turned away at the gate. What comes out of this conversation is a structured skeleton, not a finished, signed-off document: a competent person still checks it against the real site, adds anything only a site visit would catch, and signs it off before anyone works to it.

In order, the desk asks:

What's the job, in a sentence?
Where's it happening — site type, and is it live or occupied while you work?
What trades or activities does it involve?
Any hazards you already know about — height, hot works, hazardous substances, plant on site?
Who's doing the work — your own team, subcontractors, or both?
Do you already work to a house-style RAMS template, or starting from scratch?

What it covers

What a risk assessment and method statement actually contains

The risk assessment

The hazards specific to the task, who might be harmed, a risk rating before and after controls, and the control measures in the order the hierarchy of control asks for — remove the hazard first, PPE last, not first.

The method statement

The sequence of works in the order they'll actually happen: setting up, doing the task, and making the area safe again afterwards, with the plant, tools and materials named rather than implied.

PPE and permits

What's needed to do the job safely, and which permits-to-work or sign-offs it needs before anyone starts — a hot-works permit, a permit to dig, a confined-space entry.

Emergency arrangements and sign-off

The nearest first-aid point and assembly area for this specific site, and a briefing record every operative signs before they start — the page most RAMS are missing, and the one a site inspection asks for first.

Who it's for

Who needs a RAMS, and when it's asked for

Anyone carrying out work with a hazard to manage needs one — a fit-out, a shopfit, an installation, planned maintenance — and it usually has to exist before work starts, not get written up afterwards. Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, any employer with five or more staff has to record it in writing; on a construction site, CDM 2015 makes it the ordinary condition of getting through the gate.

A principal contractor or site manager asks a subcontractor for one before their team starts. A client or facilities manager asks a supplier for one before a live building gets worked on around its occupants. Either way, the person checking it is looking for the same thing: a document specific to this job, on this site — not a template with the address changed.

Where it goes wrong

Where RAMS go wrong on site

A generic RAMS with the job name swapped in

The commonest reason one gets turned away at a site gate: the wrong address, the wrong plant, or a hazard the actual site doesn't have.

No evidence anyone was briefed

A RAMS nobody signed is, in practice, treated as if it doesn't exist — worth building the briefing-record section in from the start, not bolting it on afterwards.

The written method and the real one drift apart

The task changes part-way through and the paperwork doesn't follow it — a live inspection failure, not a formality, and worth re-checking whenever the job itself changes.

Hazardous substances with no COSHH assessment attached

Anything involving a chemical, dust or fume needs its own COSHH assessment referenced alongside the RAMS, not folded into it as an afterthought.

What it won't do

Outside what a free RAMS generator can do

Outside what a free generator can do

Replace a competent person's review and sign-off — under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, a risk assessment only counts as 'suitable and sufficient' once someone who has actually seen the site or the task has checked it.
Decide which CDM 2015 duties apply on a project, or stand in for a principal contractor's approval — that judgement sits with the people running the job.
Carry out a COSHH assessment for a specific substance — that needs its own process, not a generated paragraph.
Certify anything to a client, an auditor or a regulator — it produces a structured draft, never a compliance record.

Questions

Risk assessment and method statement questions, answered

What does the acronym RAMS actually stand for?

Risk Assessment and Method Statement — sometimes shortened to just a RAMS template — two linked documents, usually combined into one, that a contractor produces before starting a task that carries a hazard to control.

Is a risk assessment template the same thing as a full RAMS?

Not quite. A risk assessment template covers half of it — the hazards, who's affected and the controls — while a full RAMS pairs that with a method statement template setting out how the work is actually carried out, step by step.

Who actually has to produce a RAMS?

Any contractor or subcontractor doing work with a hazard to control — construction, shopfitting, installation, maintenance — and most principal contractors or site managers ask to see one before work starts, under CDM 2015.

What has to be in a good risk assessment and method statement template?

Site and task details, the specific hazards for that job, a risk rating before and after controls, the safe sequence of work, PPE and permits required, emergency arrangements, and a record that every operative was briefed and signed it.

Why do RAMS get rejected at the site gate?

Almost always because they're generic — copied from a previous job with the site name changed, missing a hazard the actual site has, or carrying no evidence that anyone doing the work was briefed.

Can a generated RAMS be used on site straight away?

No — what comes out of this conversation is a structured starting skeleton built around the job you describe, and a competent person still needs to check it against the real site and sign it off first.

Does a RAMS need updating once work has started?

Yes — if the task, the site conditions or the people doing the work change part-way through, the risk assessment and method statement needs reviewing and re-briefing before work carries on, not left as it was written on day one.

A structured RAMS skeleton — risk assessment and method statement together — as a PDF, ready for a competent person to check, add site-specific detail to, and sign off. Never a finished, approved-for-site document on its own.

This document is generated automatically from the details you enter; no competent or qualified person at Farwinger Limited, trading as Hobfolk, has reviewed it. It is not a design, safety, compliance, customs or legal sign-off, and it does not replace one. You are responsible for checking it against your actual project, the applicable standards and current regulations before you rely on it or issue it to anyone else. Farwinger Limited accepts no liability for loss or damage arising from reliance on it, so far as the law allows.