RAMS template for groundworkers
Groundworker RAMS should follow the planned sequence for service locating, breaking ground, excavation, drainage or concrete work, backfilling and reinstatement. Buried utilities, trench collapse, moving plant, open edges, contaminated soil, wet cement, groundwater and temporary works can create severe risk. The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 require work to be planned and excavations made safe, with competent inspection and coordination. Current service plans must be supported by scanning, marking and safe digging; assumed depths are unsafe. Keep plant and spoil away from edges by distances justified for the ground, segregate people from slewing and reversing zones, and provide safe access. Stop work if soil, water, structures or services differ from the design information.
- ✓Typical groundworker tasks: Excavation and trench work, Working near buried or overhead services, Temporary workplace traffic management, Lifting operation with mechanical lifting equipment
- ✓Sequence of works, plant, permits and PPE
- ✓Editable Word and print-ready PDF
In short
A RAMS (risk assessment and method statement) is a combined document that identifies the hazards of a specific job, the controls that reduce the risk, and the step-by-step safe method of work. UK law requires a suitable and sufficient risk assessment; main contractors usually require a RAMS before you start on site.
What it must include
- ✓Scope of works, site address, dates and who is involved
- ✓Hazards, who could be harmed and how
- ✓Control measures and the risk rating before and after
- ✓Sequence of works from preparation to completion
- ✓Plant, tools, permits and PPE
- ✓Competence, supervision and emergency arrangements
- ✓Briefing and sign-off by the people doing the work
You stay the duty holder: review the document for your site before work starts. SitePaper is a drafting tool, not a consultancy.