Free RAMS Template for UK Contractors (2026)

A Risk Assessment and Method Statement (RAMS) is the single most requested document on a UK job site. Main contractors won't let a subcontractor through the gate without one, and CDM 2015 makes it a legal requirement for any construction activity with foreseeable risk.

This guide gives you a free RAMS template you can copy, plus a walk-through of every section so your document actually passes a principal contractor's review — not just ticks a box.

What a UK RAMS must contain

A RAMS is really two documents stapled together:

1. Risk Assessment — what could go wrong, how likely, how severe, and what you're doing about it.
2. Method Statement — the safe sequence of work, step by step, that puts those controls into practice.

HSE guidance and CDM 2015 Regulation 15 expect the following sections as a minimum:

• Project and site details (address, principal contractor, dates)
• Scope of works being assessed
• Personnel involved and their competencies (CSCS, CPCS, IPAF, PASMA)
• Hazards identified, with likelihood × severity scoring
• Control measures (elimination, substitution, engineering, admin, PPE)
• Sequence of work — the actual method
• PPE required
• Emergency arrangements and first aid
• Sign-off by author, reviewer, and every operative on the job

Free RAMS template

Here's a lean template that covers CDM 2015 without turning into a 40-page PDF nobody reads. Copy it into Word, Google Docs, or straight into SiteClick's H&S module.

1. Project details

• Project:
• Site address:
• Principal contractor:
• RAMS reference:
• Date issued / review date:
• Prepared by / signature:

2. Scope of works

One paragraph describing exactly what activity this RAMS covers. Be specific — "First-fix electrical to plot 12, ground and first floor" is useful. "Electrical works" is not.

3. Personnel & competencies

List every operative expected on the task, their role, and the tickets they hold (CSCS card colour and number, plant tickets, IPAF, PASMA, asbestos awareness, etc.).

4. Hazard register

| Hazard | Who's at risk | Likelihood (1-5) | Severity (1-5) | Score | Controls | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Working at height | Operatives, others below | 3 | 5 | 15 | Tower scaffold, harness, exclusion zone | | Manual handling | Operatives | 4 | 3 | 12 | Two-person lift over 25kg, trolley | | Dust inhalation | Operatives | 4 | 4 | 16 | H-class vac, FFP3 mask, wet-cut |

Anything scoring 15 or above should have a specific method-statement step tied to it.

5. Method — sequence of work

Break the job into numbered steps. Each step should reference the controls from Section 4.

1. Toolbox talk with all operatives; confirm competencies and RAMS understanding.
2. Establish exclusion zone with barriers and signage.
3. Erect tower scaffold per PASMA guidance; second operative to spot.
4. …

6. PPE

Hard hat, hi-vis, safety boots (S3 minimum), gloves, eye protection, hearing protection where noise exceeds 80 dB(A), FFP3 where dust is present.

7. Emergency arrangements

• Nearest A&E:
• Site first aider(s):
• Fire assembly point:
• Nearest defibrillator:

8. Sign-off

Every operative on the job signs to say they've read, understood, and will follow the RAMS. This is the bit that gets missed and the bit that hangs you if HSE turn up.

Common reasons a RAMS gets rejected

• Generic hazards copy-pasted from another job. Principal contractors spot this instantly.
• No named individuals or competencies.
• Method statement doesn't match the sequence workers actually follow.
• Missing review date, so nobody knows if it's current.
• Signatures from the office team but nothing from the crew on the tools.

Automating RAMS with SiteClick

SiteClick's H&S module ships with structured RAMS, toolbox talk, site induction, hot-works permit, plant check, and incident templates. Fill in the fields once, workers sign digitally on their phones with printed name, role and timestamp, and the whole audit trail lives against the project — no chasing paper.

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