Lorry loader 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
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- 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
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- 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
Lorry loader method statement example
Unloading a builders’ merchant delivery with a lorry loader
Packs of blocks and plasterboard landed on a small building site, on a standing lift plan reviewed for this site.
What to change
- Company, people, site and dates
- Domestic or trade customer: it changes who plans the lift
- Ground, cellars and drains under the set-down
- Overhead lines within 10 m
- Public footway or road
- Who slings
- Emergency arrangements
Sources
- HSE: co-operation on loading and unloading
- LOLER 1998, regulation 8: organising lifts
- HSE: planning lifting operations
- HSE GS6: avoiding danger from overhead power lines
Checked
The same sheet as text
Worked example of a method statement. Change it to fit your job before you use it.
Unloading a builders’ merchant delivery with a lorry loader
Job details
- CompanyHollins & Reed Builders Merchants Ltd
- Site and work areaPlot 3, Hawthorn Road, Stockport
- Planned dates12 October 2026 (one delivery)
- CustomerThornley Vale Estates Ltd
- In charge on siteTom Ellis
- TeamThree people: Dan Hollins, the merchant’s appointed person, planned the lift and is not on site; Tom Ellis, the merchant’s driver, operates the lorry loader and supervises the lift; Priya Shah, the site’s named banksman, is the trained slinger signaller. Anyone can stop the lift.
- WorkUnloading a builders’ merchant delivery with a lorry loader
- Risk assessmentUnloading a builders’ merchant delivery with a lorry loader: worked example RAMS, a separate document
Work and boundaries
- Lorry loader lift. Areas: Hardstanding beside Plot 3
Working arrangement
- Access: the floor or ground.
- Lift plan: merchant’s standing delivery plan, reviewed for this site.
- Other people will use parts of the area at times.
- Site staff only. The load is six packs of plasterboard and four packs of blocks, about 1.2 t a pack at most, weights from the delivery ticket, lifted with the loader’s pallet forks and landed on bearers on the hardstanding. Everything lifts off from the ground, by the remote control, so nobody goes on the bed. The merchant and the site agreed who does what before the day. The site confirmed the weight limits, access, ground, and that there are no cellars, voids or drains under the set-down and no overhead line within 10 m. The driver waits in the agreed safe place when not lifting.
Emergency arrangements
- The driver is a visitor: Priya Shah gives the assembly point, first aider and access on arrival, and the driver has the exact address and the merchant’s lone-working contact. Load stuck in the air: nobody goes under it; the operator lands it. Crushed by a stabiliser or the load: stop the crane, isolate the controls, ring 999. Overhead line contact: stay clear, ring 999 and ask for the line owner. Priya Shah rings 999 and meets the crew at the site gate; if she is the one hurt, the driver makes the call. Test the radios before lifting. Lose contact during a lift: stop. Load shifted or someone trapped: stop all movement, keep people clear, call 999. Do not release any more straps.
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. Work to the lift planEvery lift is planned before it starts by someone who knows this kind of lift. A routine lift the same crew does every day can run on one standing plan; anything different gets planned again. The plan gives the weight of the crane and everything on the hook, the radius, the slings, the load route, the landing point and the wind limit. No plan on site, no set-up. Read it with the crew on the day.
- 4. Delivery lift: the firm delivering plans and runs itThis delivery is planned and run by the firm delivering, under its own appointed person. The people named in the team carry out the roles in the plan, and anyone can stop the lift.
- 5. Everyone knows their job on the liftName the driver, the slinger signaller and the person supervising before the first lift. Only trained people drive the crane, sling loads or give signals. One person gives the signals at a time, and everyone knows who it is.
- 6. Know the weight before you hook onGet the real weight from the ticket, the drawing or the supplier; do not guess it. Work the weight against the crane chart at the radius you are actually lifting at, not the shortest one. Look at where the load balances, and add the weight of the slings, beam or frame.
- 7. Check the weather before you startStop handling big loads when the wind is strong enough to catch them. Stop in heavy rain, ice or lightning.
- 8. Keep people out from under the loadFence or tape off the area the load travels over and the area the crane slews over, before the first lift. Nobody stands under a suspended load or inside the swing of the crane. Carry the load over clear ground wherever you can, not over people or occupied buildings.
- 9. Bring the lorry in with a banksmanUse a banksman if the lorry has to reverse. Keep people out of the reversing area.
- 10. Park the lorry loader and set the stabilisers outPark on firm level ground, handbrake on, engine and PTO set as the machine needs, before anything comes off. Put the stabilisers fully out on pads, and know what the crane can lift with the spread you have got. Watch the stabiliser legs the whole time they move, and stand clear of them and the vehicle body.
- 11. Check the crane and the tackleLook at the crane report: lifting accessories get a thorough examination every 6 months, the crane every 12 months. Do the daily checks the machine needs and look over every sling, attachment, shackle and hook before it goes on. Everything on the hook is marked with what it can lift.
- 12. Check the forks or grab before every liftLook over the forks or grab for damage, and check it is marked with what it can lift. Check it suits the pack and can take the weight.
- 13. Loose bits and banded packsPut loose material in a proper lifting bin or net, never slung straight off the pack bands. Check banding is tight and unbroken; re-band or net anything that has been opened. Fill bins below the rim so nothing can bounce out in the air.
- 14. Check the load before the straps come offCheck how the load has shifted in transit before you release a strap, and stand clear when you do.
- 15. Seat the pack so it cannot slipSet the forks or grab fully under or around the pack so it sits level and cannot slide off. Lift it just clear of the ground, stop, and check it sits level and nothing has moved before it goes up.
- 16. Lift the load off the bed in the right orderUnload evenly from both sides so the lorry does not go lopsided as the bed empties. Unload from the ground if you can. Anyone who has to go on the bed needs proper access and something to stop them falling.
- 17. Land it before you unhook itHave the landing spot ready and packed with bearers before the load leaves the ground. Bring it down slow, land it fully, make sure it is stable on its own, then release it. Stack and tie what you land so it cannot topple once the crane has gone.
- 18. Stop the lift if anything changesStop for wind above the limit in the plan, for poor visibility, and for anyone walking into the zone. Stop if the load is not behaving, the crane makes a noise it should not, or a warning comes up. Land the load, or set it down where it is safe, before anyone goes to sort the problem out.
- 19. Stow everything before the lorry movesCheck nothing is loose. Bring the stabilisers fully in and stow the crane before the lorry moves.
- 20. 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 Lorry loader 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.