Groundworks 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
Groundworks method statement example
Digging a 1.2 m trench for strip footings and a drain
Beside a lived-in house, services located first, excavator then hand tools, trench sheets and props before anyone goes in.
What to change
- Company, people, site and dates
- Ground type and water
- Walls, boundaries and scaffolds near the trench
- How the sides are held
- Connection to a live sewer
- Test and building control notice
- Emergency arrangements
Sources
Checked
The same sheet as text
Worked example of a method statement. Change it to fit your job before you use it.
Digging a 1.2 m trench for strip footings and a drain
Job details
- CompanyHollins & Reed Groundworks Ltd
- Site and work area4 Bridge Road, M20
- Planned dates12 to 16 October 2026
- CustomerMr and Mrs Lowe
- In charge on siteDan Hollins
- TeamThree operatives: Dan Hollins leads and inspects the trench; Tom Ellis drives the excavator; Priya Shah is marshaller and holds the locator ticket.
- WorkDigging a 1.2 m trench for strip footings and a drain
- Risk assessmentDigging a 1.2 m trench for strip footings and a drain: worked example RAMS, a separate document
Work and boundaries
- Locate services, shallow excavate, backfill/compact. Areas: Side and rear of the house, trench 1.2 m deep and 14 m long
- Not our work: Pouring the footings and laying and testing the drain, which have their own method statements.
Working arrangement
- Access: the floor or ground.
- Excavation support: Trench sheets and props to a design.
- Other people will be using the area.
- The family stays at home; the side path is closed. Services are on plans, scanned with a CAT and genny, and marked before digging; trial holes by hand near them. No depth is safe unsupported: trench sheets and props go in before anyone enters, and nobody enters to set them without protection. Spoil stays back from the edge. The trench is more than 3 m from next door’s foundations and too shallow to meet the 6 m rule, so no party wall notice is needed. A ladder tied 1 m above the top. No plant near the sides. Quick hitch pin checked before the bucket goes on, nobody within the slew.
Emergency arrangements
- Trench collapse: stop plant. Nobody goes in to dig by hand. Priya Shah rings 999, says “trench collapse, 1.2 m deep”, gives 4 Bridge Road, M20, and meets the crew at the front; if she is the one hurt, Dan Hollins does it. Dan Hollins keeps everyone clear. Gas strike: everyone out, no ignition sources within 5 m, ring 0800 111 999. Cable hit: the driver stays in the cab, everyone clear, ring the network operator on the number on the site board. Trench flooding: everyone out. Sewer breach: wash, cover cuts, tell the householder. Excavator overturns: the driver stays in the cab, belted. First aider: Priya Shah, kit in the van.
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. Keep people clear of the workAgree how people get past or around the work while it is going on. Put barriers or signs where a route crosses the work. Do not leave open work unattended.
- 3. Get the service information firstAsk each owner for the current plan and status of services in the work area. Keep the plans and site records with the RAMS.
- 4. Give building control its noticeGive notice 2 days before the work starts, and 1 day before footings or drains are covered. Call building control to see the ground before any concrete goes in.
- 5. Find and isolate hidden servicesFind buried cables and pipes before anyone digs: plans first, then a locator. Plans only show roughly where things are. Mark what you find. Not sure what is there? Do not dig.
- 6. Carry the trench sheets, props and tools safelyPlan the route, clear it, and get help with anything long or heavy. Store materials close to the work so nobody carries further than they need to.
- 7. Keep spoil and plant off the edgePut spoil, materials and plant where their weight will not load the excavation edge. Keep the route beside the dig clear.
- 8. Separate people from the excavatorBarrier the excavator’s working area and agree the pedestrian route. Use a trained operator and a marshaller where the method needs one.
- 9. Watch for asbestos in the groundOld fill and demolition ground can hold asbestos cement sheet, fragments and old pipes. Ask for the site ground report or asbestos survey before you break ground. If you turn up cement sheet, rope lagging or anything you do not recognise, stop and cover it over.
- 10. Control changes in the groundDeal with water, made ground, nearby structures and traffic in the temporary works plan. Stop if the ground moves, water rises or a nearby structure is affected.
- 11. Use a trained locatorUse a locator only with the training and equipment instructions that apply to it. Check the signal generator and locator before the survey starts.
- 12. Survey and mark the whole areaSweep the whole work area and record the route of each indication. Mark the findings where the people who dig will see them.
- 13. Treat missing readings as unknownDo not call the ground clear because the locator found nothing. Flag plastic pipes and other services the equipment may not detect.
- 14. Hand over marks and recordsShow the dig team the marks, plans and places that were not scanned. Record any mismatch before the next team starts digging.
- 15. Set out the dig against service marksCheck the excavation line against the plans and marks before breaking the surface. Stop if the service information and the ground do not agree.
- 16. Dig to the marks, by hand near servicesDig trial holes by hand near services, with a safe digging method and the locator operator. Set spoil back from the edge and keep plant away from the sides. Nobody goes in until the sides are safe.
- 17. Barrier the open excavationPut a substantial barrier around edges where people could fall. Keep it in place when the team leaves the excavation.
- 18. Use the support named in this documentUse the excavation support named in this document. Nobody goes in until it is in, or to set it without protection. Do not change the support arrangement because the ground looks firm.
- 19. Inspect the excavation before workHave a competent person inspect the excavation and support at the start of each shift. Inspect again after rain, frost or anything that could affect stability. Where supports or battering are used, write the report within 24 hours.
- 20. Provide safe access before anyone goes inProvide the access and escape arrangement set for this excavation before entry. Keep engines and spoil away from the people inside.
- 21. Get the excavation releasedCheck the inspection, any building control visit and any record the work needs before anything goes back in. Stop if a defect or missing record remains.
- 22. Keep the plate off unprotected servicesDo not use a plate until the specified protective cover is in place. Use hand tools where the owner’s detail requires them.
- 23. Assess vibration from the plate compactorNote how long each person's hands are on each tool while it runs. Take the tool's vibration figure from the maker or HSE's table and check it fits how you use it. Points per hour times hours on the trigger, added up for the day, gives the exposure: 100 points is the action value, 400 is the limit. HSE's vibration calculator does the sum. Over 100, cut it with lower-vibration kit or less time, and never pass 400. Write the result down. Sharing the work does not replace this.
- 24. Keep dirty water and silt out of drainsKeep spoil and wash water away from drains and watercourses. Use the site’s agreed controls for pumping, silt and contaminated water.
- 25. Bed and cover services by handUse the owner’s bedding and cover detail around exposed pipes, ducts or cables. Keep hard or sharp fill away from the service, and put warning tape and tiles back above it.
- 26. Take the support out in the planned orderTake out the props and sheets in the planned order as the fill comes up. Nobody goes back in where the support has come out.
- 27. Compact each specified layerPlace the specified fill in the layers the job detail sets. Compact each layer to the required acceptance before adding the next.
- 28. 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 Groundworks 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.