Ladder method statement example
Finished method statements for common jobs: the steps in order, who does each, and the emergency arrangements. Read one, download it, or build your own.
Build your ownChoose a job
- Electrical second fix and testing in a house refurbishmentLived-in 1970s house, accessories and consumer unit fitted, one circuit dead at a time, tested dead then live before handover.4 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Hot works: cutting and welding in an occupied warehouseSteel brackets cut out and replaced on a live bay, with a permit for each shift and a separate fire watcher.4 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Erecting an independent tied scaffold on a two-storey houseIndependent tube and fitting scaffold to a TG20 compliance sheet, family at home, rescue kit on the wagon.3 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Stripping and re-tiling a pitched roof from a scaffoldLived-in house, tiles, battens and underlay off, one section made weathertight each day.4 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Digging a 1.2 m trench for strip footings and a drainBeside a lived-in house, services located first, excavator then hand tools, trench sheets and props before anyone goes in.4 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Repainting occupied officesWater-based paint from a podium, walls filled and sanded first, one bay screened off at a time while staff work on.3 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Bathroom first and second fix in a lived-in houseOnly bathroom replaced, press-fit pipework under the floor and in a duct, tested before anyone closes it up, suite fitted after tiling.5 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Tarmac resurfacing on a car park that stays partly openOld surface tested and planed off, private retail car park, laid bay block by bay block with shoppers around.3 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Unloading a builders’ merchant delivery with a lorry loaderPacks of blocks and plasterboard landed on a small building site, on a standing lift plan reviewed for this site.4 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Cleaning the outside of a two-storey office with a water-fed poleAll from the ground, in an open office set back behind its own car park, on cold November mornings.3 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- MIG welding a pump frame in a plant roomMIG welding bare mild steel at floor level in a closed plant room, with on-torch extraction, while the retail park keeps trading.3 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Stripping out a vacant single-storey workshopOffice ceiling, partitions, carpet and benches out by hand, building empty, every service including the fire alarm disconnected on a certificate, lit by roof lights and a 110 V string.4 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Skimming and patching walls in an occupied houseGround floor living room of a 2006 house, family at home, plaster mixed in the room with the door shut, from a hop-up.3 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Building a garden wall in blockwork and facing brickA 5 m long, 1 m high wall, one brick thick, on a foundation already in, laid from the ground.4 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Core drilling a flue hole through a cavity blockwork wallOne 125 mm wet core, rig fixed to the inner leaf, through an external wall of a single-storey extension, with the core caught outside.3 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Replacing damaged ceiling tiles and grid in an occupied office, out of hoursLike-for-like tiles and tees on the existing hangers, from a podium, with the offices empty and the fire alarm left live.3 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Clearing gutters on a bungalow from a ladderEight ladder positions of under 15 minutes each, one hand on the ladder, with a stand-off keeping it clear of the gutter.3 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Laying a block paved patio in a lived-in gardenDug out by hand to 250 mm, sub-base compacted, blocks laid on sand and cut wet, family at home.4 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Hanging office doors in existing linings, out of hours in a working buildingSix heavy non-fire meeting room doors, trimmed and routed on trestles after the staff have gone.3 pages, checked 2 November 2026
Ladder method statement example
Clearing gutters on a bungalow from a ladder
Eight ladder positions of under 15 minutes each, one hand on the ladder, with a stand-off keeping it clear of the gutter.
What to change
- Company, people, site and dates
- How long at each position, and what comes down
- What the ladder rests on, and how the stand-off sits
- How the ladder is secured: tying comes first
- Whether a pole vacuum from the ground would do the job
- Overhead lines near the ladder
- Who is in the building
- Emergency arrangements
Sources
- HSE and Ladder Association: safe use of ladders and stepladders (LA455)
- HSE: using ladders safely
- HSE: securing ladders
- Work at Height Regulations, schedule 6: ladders
- Work at Height Regulations, regulation 6: avoid work at height
- HSE: leptospirosis on construction sites
Checked
The same sheet as text
Worked example of a method statement. Change it to fit your job before you use it.
Clearing gutters on a bungalow from a ladder
Job details
- CompanyHollins & Reed Property Services Ltd
- Site and work area14 Larch Close, Stockport: rear elevation
- Planned dates26 November 2026 (one morning)
- CustomerThornley Vale Estates Ltd
- In charge on siteDan Hollins
- TeamTwo people, both trained in ladder use: Dan Hollins works from the ladder; Priya Shah foots it and does nothing else while he is on it. They carry it between positions together.
- WorkClearing gutters on a bungalow from a ladder
- Risk assessmentClearing gutters on a bungalow from a ladder: worked example RAMS, a separate document
Work and boundaries
- Clear leaves and silt from one run of plastic gutter by hand. Areas: Rear gutter and the paving below it; Side path to the street, kept clear
Working arrangement
- Working height: gutter at about 2.4 m, from a 2.4 m single-section ladder; feet no higher than about 1.2 m, hands at the gutter just above the ladder top.
- Ground or floor: level concrete paving, swept clean before the ladder goes up.
- The work area will be kept clear of other people.
- The tenant stays in and uses the front door until we finish. Why a ladder: this is 10 m of gutter holding leaves and wet silt, under 15 minutes at each of eight positions, one hand on the ladder and the other on a scoop. A pole vacuum from the ground would not show the joints and outlets, which the landlord wants looked at, so we go up. The ladder rests on the brick wall under the soffit through a stand-off from the ladder’s maker, never on the gutter, which is plastic. The plastic gutter and thin soffit will not take a tie, the landlord will have no fixings in the brick or the paving, the ladder’s maker approves no stability device with this stand-off, and open paving gives nothing to wedge the feet against. So Priya Shah foots the ladder, the last resort, whenever Dan Hollins is on it. Packed silt that a scoop will not lift, or a split gutter, is a different job: he comes down and we go back with a tower. No overhead line is within 10 m. The bungalow was built in 2004.
Emergency arrangements
- Fall from the ladder: Priya Shah rings 999 at once, says the casualty is at the back of 14 Larch Close, and stays with him. Nobody moves him unless he is in more danger where he lies. If Priya is the one hurt, Dan Hollins rings. Priya Shah is the first aider, and the kit is in the van on the drive. The tenant meets the crew at the front gate and walks them down the side path, which stays clear and unlocked. Both phones are checked for signal on arrival. Fire: leave by the side path and meet on the pavement outside number 14.
Planned method
- 1. Set up the work areaConfirm the work area and scope before starting. Keep other people outside the active work area. Keep entrances and escape routes clear.
- 2. Check the ladder before useCheck the stiles, the feet, the rungs and any locking parts, at the start of the day and whenever the ladder has been moved from dirty ground. Check its detailed inspection record is up to date. Take a damaged ladder out of use.
- 3. Fit the stand-offFit the stand-off to the ladder on the ground, as its maker’s instructions say. Its pads go on the brick wall under the soffit, and the ladder stops just under the gutter without touching it.
- 4. Set the ladder against the wallStand it on firm, level, clean ground, with no packing under the feet. Set it at 1 in 4: one unit out for every four up. Rest the top on something strong. Never rest it on a plastic gutter or glazing. Do not work off the top three rungs, and try to make sure the ladder extends at least 1 m (three rungs) above where you are working.
- 5. Secure the ladderKeep a second person at the foot for as long as anyone is on the ladder. They do nothing else. Tying comes first, then a stability device, then wedging. Footing is the last resort.
- 6. Keep people out from under the ladderPut cones around the foot of the ladder so nobody walks under it or into it. Keep what you need in a tool belt. Nothing is carried up by hand.
- 7. Climb facing the ladderFace the rungs while climbing and keep three points of contact. Tool belt on, so both hands are free for the rungs.
- 8. Keep each spell on the ladder shortCome down within 30 minutes at any position. A task that needs longer needs other equipment. Let go of the ladder only for a moment. Bring the ladder down if the wind picks up, or if rain or ice makes it unsafe.
- 9. Keep the task within reachUse only light tools and materials. Keep one hand on the ladder while you work. Both hands needed for more than a moment: use a tower or platform. Stay off the top three rungs and keep your belt buckle within the stiles. Descend before moving the ladder.
- 10. Clear the gutterTake the scoop and the bucket cord up in your belt, then pull the empty bucket up and hook it to the ladder. Stand with your feet no higher than the rung about 1.2 m up. Keep one hand on the ladder and scoop with the other, with your belt buckle within the stiles. Fill the 10 litre bucket no more than a third, about 5 kg. Lower it on its cord inside the cones, to the side away from Priya Shah, then climb down with both hands free and empty it. Look over each joint and outlet as you go. At each new position, set the ladder and stand-off again and check the pads before anyone climbs.
- 11. Clear and hand back the areaRemove tools, waste and unused materials. Check the area is clean and ready to use. Tell the customer or whoever runs the site when the work is complete.
What a finished method statement says
- The job and its boundariesWhat is being done, where, and what is not your work.
- How the work area is set upAccess, shared spaces and who else is around.
- The steps, in the order they happenOne action to a step, from arrival to sign-off.
- Who does each stepThe people in charge and the skills each step needs.
- What happens if something goes wrongWho to call, where to go and how help gets in.
Method statement or risk assessment: which one is this?
This is the method statement: how the job is done, step by step. The risk assessment says what could go wrong and what controls it.
Method statement example questions
Are these real jobs?
No. Every job, company, person and address here is made up, and every page says so.
Can I send one as it is?
No. Your site, your people and your emergency arrangements will be different. Change it to fit your job first.
Where is the risk assessment that goes with it?
In the Ladder RAMS example. The method statement names it on page one.
Word or PDF?
Both. Word if you will change the wording yourself, PDF to read or print. Or press Use this and edit it in the builder.
Does a method statement need a risk assessment?
A method statement names the risk assessment it rests on. CDM 2015 does not set a form for either document.
Where is the blank?
On the method statement template page. These examples are all filled in.