# Confined space RAMS Builder > Confined space RAMS builder for chamber, pit, tank, vessel, duct and void entry. Answer a few questions, or download a free RAMS template or example as a PDF. > Web page: https://complyonsite.com/tools/rams-builder?job=confined-space Confined space risk assessment and method statement ## RAMS review [Check a RAMS](https://complyonsite.com/tools/rams-review) ![A RAMS page with passages highlighted and numbered review comments beside them](https://complyonsite.com/art/rams-review-highlight.webp) ## Confined space RAMS template A blank confined space RAMS to fill in: job details, method statement, risk assessment and briefing record. Risk assessment and method statement Confined space RAMS - **Company**: left blank to fill in - **Site and work area**: left blank to fill in - **Planned dates**: left blank to fill in - **In charge on site**: left blank to fill in - **Team**: left blank to fill in Method statement 1. 1 2. 2 3. 3 4. 4 5. 5 6. 6 Risk assessment | Hazard | Who might be harmed and how | Controls in place | Further action | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | [Download the templatePDF, 4 pages](https://complyonsite.com/rams/samples/confined-space-rams-template.pdf) ## Confined space RAMS example The same RAMS, filled in for one job. Risk assessment and method statement Confined space, Unit 3, Canal Side Business Park, Stockport Risk assessment - People entering the work area or tripping over materials Workers, occupants and visitors Mark or barrier the active work area. Store tools and materials away from access routes. - A person is exposed to bad air, drowning, fire or being trapped only because they went inside Everyone who enters and anyone who would go in after them Agree with the client what can be done from outside before the day. Write down why entry is needed. - People enter before the isolations, testing or rescue are actually in place The entrants, the top man and the supervisor One person is in charge at the hole and stays there while anyone is inside. Nobody enters without being named on the permit. - Someone panics, collapses or cannot get back out through the opening The entrants and whoever would have to get them out Keep the training cards on site with the permit. Nobody goes in alone with nobody outside. - Hitting a live cable or gas pipe causes shock, fire or gas escape The person doing the work and everyone nearby Check again wherever the work moves. If you hit something, stop, keep clear and report it. - Someone falls into the open chamber, or a vehicle hits the crew working at it The crew, site workers and the public Put the cover back and secure it whenever you leave. Wear hi-vis and keep a lookout where vehicles pass. - Plant starts up, or liquid or gas comes in through a pipe while someone is inside Everyone inside the space The person doing the isolating signs the permit for it. One lock each, kept by the people inside. - Bad air stays in the space, or engine exhaust is drawn in and poisons the people inside Everyone inside the space Retest the air after ventilating, not just before. If the ventilation stops, everyone comes out. - Low oxygen, poisonous gas or flammable vapour that cannot be seen or smelled The entrants and anyone who would climb in after them Only someone trained uses the detector, and it must be in calibration. Bump test the meter on the day before you use it. - Hydrogen sulphide knocks a person out in seconds, and sewage carries leptospirosis and hepatitis Everyone inside and anyone handling the kit afterwards Never trust your nose; hydrogen sulphide stops you smelling it. Carry a card saying you work with sewage. - The air reads clean at the opening and is still deadly at the bottom Everyone inside the space Test at every depth, not just at the top. Keep the fan running the whole time people are inside. - A man is left inside because there is no way to get him out, or a mate climbs in and dies too The entrants and anyone tempted to go in after them Nobody enters to rescue without breathing kit and training. Ring 999 as well, but do not wait for them. - The rescue gear is not rigged or not in date when it is suddenly needed The entrants and the rescue team One person at the winch who does nothing else while people are inside. Do not unclip inside the space. - Someone goes down inside and nobody outside knows or can raise the alarm The entrants and the top man The top man has the phone, the site address and the emergency numbers. He does not go in, whatever happens. - Electric shock in a wet metal space, or a spark setting off vapour Everyone inside the space Keep transformers, generators and leads outside the space. Check the leads for damage before they go in. - Carrying on after the conditions have changed from what the permit was written for Everyone inside the space Anybody can call the stop, not just the supervisor. Tell the top man before you move to a different part of the space. - Water rises in the chamber and the person inside cannot get out in time Everyone inside the chamber Nobody enters a chamber that is already flooded. Keep the top man watching the level, not the work. - Debris, tools or unfinished work left in the area Workers, occupants and visitors Remove waste by the agreed route. Record and protect any unfinished work. Confined space, Unit 3, Canal Side Business Park, Stockport - **Company**: Hollins & Reed Contracting Ltd - **Site and work area**: Unit 3, Canal Side Business Park, Stockport - **Planned dates**: 12 to 14 October 2026 - **In charge on site**: Dan Hollins - **Team**: Two operatives: Dan Hollins leads and checks the area each morning; Priya Shah works with him. Method statement 1. 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. 2 See if you can do it without going inTry a camera on a pole, a rod, a jetting hose, a vac unit or working through an open hatch first. Only go in when the job genuinely cannot be done from outside. 3. 3 Get the entry permit signed before anyone inThe permit names who authorised it, what work is allowed, the isolations, the gas tests and the rescue plan. It names who is in charge at the hole and who is allowed inside. It has a time on it. When the time runs out, everyone comes out and it is signed off. 4. 4 Check the people are right for the jobEntrants and the top man need confined space training for this type of space and this kit. Check nobody is going in who is unwell, claustrophobic or not fit to wear breathing kit. Check the build of the person against the size of the opening and what they will wear. 5. 5 Find and isolate hidden servicesFind cables and pipes before you disturb anything: drawings, then a detector. Mark what you find. Not sure what is there? Turn the supply off, or do not start. Have cables and gas isolated by the right person and prove them dead before you start. 6. 6 Guard the open chamber and the trafficBarrier the open cover on all sides before you lift it, and put signs and cones out for traffic. Lift covers with the proper keys or a lifter, with two people, and lay them flat clear of the hole. Never leave an open chamber unattended, even for a minute. 7. 7 Lock off everything that feeds the spaceLock off and tag the pumps, valves, mixers, augers, fans and power that could start up or feed it. Blank or physically disconnect pipes that could let gas, fume or liquid in; a shut valve on its own is not enough. Prove the isolation before anyone goes in and keep the keys at the hole. 8. 8 Ventilate it and keep it ventilatedOpen every lid and hatch you can to get air moving right through the space. Use a blower ducted to the bottom or the far end where the bad air sits, and run it before and during the work. Never use a petrol engine inside or near the opening, and keep generator exhausts well away from the fan intake. 9. 9 Test the air before anyone goes inTest down through the opening with the hose first: oxygen, flammable gas, carbon monoxide and hydrogen sulphide. Test at the top, the middle and the bottom. Heavy gases sit low and the top can read clean. Keep a meter running on the person inside and treat any alarm as a get-out. 10. 10 Sewage: watch for gas and wash your handsTest for hydrogen sulphide and methane before entry and keep the meter on the person inside. Cover cuts, wear gloves and overalls, and wash hands before eating or smoking. Tell the team the signs of leptospirosis and to see a doctor about flu symptoms after this work. 11. 11 Airing it off may not be enoughOpening the lids only moves the air near the opening; the far end and the bottom stay as they were. Get a blower and ducting to the deep end, then retest before anyone goes in. If the air still will not come right, it is breathing apparatus or no entry. 12. 12 Have your own rescue ready before entryRig the rescue kit before anyone goes in: harness, line back to a point outside, tripod and winch where it fits. Have trained rescuers with breathing kit ready, not just a phone. Practise the rescue so you know the person actually comes out through that opening. 13. 13 Set the tripod and winch up before entrySet the tripod on firm level ground over the opening with the legs chained. Check the inspection date on the winch, the lines and the harnesses. Everyone inside wears a full body harness with the line running back to the winch outside. Keep the line short enough that nobody has slack to fall on and clear of the tools going in. 14. 14 Keep a top man outside the whole timeOne person stays at the opening while anyone is inside and never leaves to do something else. Agree how you talk: voice, radio, or a tug on the line, and check it works before entry. He counts everyone in and counts everyone out. 15. 15 Use safe lights and tools insideUse 110 V or battery tools, and in a metal tank use extra low voltage, typically under 25 V, with an RCD. Use protected lighting, and non-sparking tools where flammable vapour could be present. Each person carries their own torch as well as the main light. 16. 16 Get out if anything changesAny meter alarm, any smell, any dizziness or headache, any water coming in: everybody out straight away. Come out if the fan stops, the light fails or you lose contact with the top man. Do not go back in until it has been tested again and the permit is re-signed. 17. 17 Watch the water level in the chamberCheck upstream and the weather before entry; a chamber can fill from a storm or a pump starting. Have the flow stopped, over-pumped or diverted, and agreed with whoever controls it. Watch the level the whole time and come out if it rises. 18. 18 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. [Download the examplePDF, 6 pages](https://complyonsite.com/rams/samples/confined-space-rams-example.pdf) ## What a confined space RAMS covers Entering chambers, pits, tanks, vessels, ducts and voids where bad air, flooding, fire or entrapment is a risk. Not covered: open trenches and excavations. - Chamber and pit entry - Tank and vessel entry - Duct and void entry ## Suggested steps and hazards for confined space Suggested for chamber and pit entry before any questions are answered. 1. ### See if you can do it without going in - Try a camera on a pole, a rod, a jetting hose, a vac unit or working through an open hatch first. - Only go in when the job genuinely cannot be done from outside. Hazard A person is exposed to bad air, drowning, fire or being trapped only because they went inside Who might be harmed and how Everyone who enters and anyone who would go in after them Controls in place - Agree with the client what can be done from outside before the day. - Write down why entry is needed. The law says avoid entering a confined space if the work can be done another way. [HSE: Confined spaces](https://www.hse.gov.uk/confinedspace/) 2. ### Get the entry permit signed before anyone in - The permit names who authorised it, what work is allowed, the isolations, the gas tests and the rescue plan. - It names who is in charge at the hole and who is allowed inside. - It has a time on it. When the time runs out, everyone comes out and it is signed off. Hazard People enter before the isolations, testing or rescue are actually in place Who might be harmed and how The entrants, the top man and the supervisor Controls in place - One person is in charge at the hole and stays there while anyone is inside. - Nobody enters without being named on the permit. The permit is the formal check that every part of the safe system is really ready. 3. ### Check the people are right for the job - Entrants and the top man need confined space training for this type of space and this kit. - Check nobody is going in who is unwell, claustrophobic or not fit to wear breathing kit. - Check the build of the person against the size of the opening and what they will wear. Hazard Someone panics, collapses or cannot get back out through the opening Who might be harmed and how The entrants and whoever would have to get them out Controls in place - Keep the training cards on site with the permit. - Nobody goes in alone with nobody outside. Training and fitness are what the person relies on when the air or the light goes. [HSE: Introduction to working in confined spaces](https://www.hse.gov.uk/confinedspace/introduction.htm) ## What the builder asks about confined space Your answers decide which steps, hazards and controls it suggests. The job - What are you going in to do? - What has been in the space? Where - What pipes or cables run into the space or right next to the way in? How it’s done - What will you stand on to reach the work? - What gas detector are you using? - How will you get fresh air in? - How do you get someone out if they go down? - Who signs the entry permit? ## What your confined space RAMS includes ### Method statement The work in order, step by step. ### Risk assessment Each hazard, who could be harmed, the controls in place and any further action. ### PDF The method statement and risk assessment in one A4 PDF. Your logo on Pro and Team. - ### [Asbestos removal RAMS](https://complyonsite.com/tools/rams-builder?job=asbestos-removal) - [All trades and tasks](https://complyonsite.com/tools/rams-builder) ## What the law asks for ### What a RAMS is A risk assessment and method statement. The risk assessment records what could cause harm on the job, who could be harmed and how, and the controls that keep the risk down. The method statement sets out how the work will be done, step by step, in the order it happens. A client or main contractor will usually ask for one before you start. RAMS is a site term, not a legal one: the law asks for the risk assessment and for the work to be planned, and a method statement is the usual way to show that plan for one job. ### What the law asks for - Employers, and self-employed people doing construction work, must make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to their own people and to anyone else affected by the work ([Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, regulation 3](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1999/3242/regulation/3)). - An employer with five or more employees must record the significant findings and any group of employees it finds especially at risk. The assessment must be reviewed if there is reason to think it is no longer valid, or the work has changed significantly. - Every contractor must plan, manage and monitor its work so that, so far as is reasonably practicable, it is done without risks to health and safety, and must give its workers the information and instructions they need, including the hazards the risk assessment found ([Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, regulation 15](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/51/regulation/15)). HSE guidance: [the steps to manage risk](https://www.hse.gov.uk/simple-health-safety/risk/steps-needed-to-manage-risk.htm) and [what contractors must do under CDM](https://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/cdm/2015/contractors.htm). This is the law in Great Britain; Northern Ireland has its own equivalent regulations. ### What the builder does You choose the work and answer questions about how the job will be done, such as what you will stand on and what else is going on nearby. Your answers decide which steps, hazards and controls it suggests. Many suggestions link to the HSE guidance they draw on. Your work is kept in this browser and, signed in, on your account with its photos; the PDF is made on your device. A briefing you send to phones goes through your account. ### Separate documents A COSHH assessment, lifting plan, permit to work, asbestos survey and the principal contractor’s construction phase plan are separate from the RAMS. ### Reviewing a RAMS before work starts [RAMS review](https://complyonsite.com/tools/rams-review) reads a RAMS PDF, yours before you send it or one a subcontractor sends you, and lists the points to raise, each marked on the page it comes from. Quick reviews are free.