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Chimneys RAMS Builder
Chimney work risk assessment and method statement
Prepare RAMS for repairing a chimney stack or taking one down. Set out the stack, the access and the drop zone, edit the suggested steps and review the PDF draft.
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Prepare the Chimneys RAMS
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What will you be doing?
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Pick everything this RAMS covers. The questions that follow are chosen from what you tick here.
What a Chimneys RAMS covers
Repointing, rebuilding and re-flaunching a stack in place, and dismantling a stack course by course with the rubble lowered, not dropped.
- Repair a chimney stack
- Dismantle a chimney stack
Suggested steps and hazards for Chimneys
What it offers for repair a chimney stack before you have answered anything.
Check the weather before you start
- Do not lift or fix bricks, pots and tools in strong wind; a large sheet is a sail.
- Stop in heavy rain, ice or lightning, and rest in the shade in hot weather.
Hazard
Wind catches the bricks, pots and tools or blows someone off balance at height
Who might be harmed and how
The team and people below
Controls in place
- Agree a wind limit for panels and platforms and check the forecast each morning.
- Tie down or take in loose materials before you leave.
Wind is the main weather cause of falls and dropped loads in outside work at height.
HSE: Work at height Stop things falling on people below
- Fence off the ground below the work so nobody walks under the bricks, pots and rubble.
- Use toe boards, brick guards or netting on platforms and lanyard tools where you can.
Hazard
Bricks, pots and rubble falling onto people below
Who might be harmed and how
People below, including the public
Controls in place
- Lower waste in bags or a chute, never throw it.
- Keep the exclusion zone up until the last item is down.
Falling objects are a leading cause of harm to the public near construction.
HSE: Protecting the public Check the stack and repair scope
- Inspect the stack, point out loose masonry and confirm the repair details before taking anything out.
- Stop if the stack or the agreed repair is different from what you find.
Hazard
Loose masonry falls or the repair damages the existing stack
Who might be harmed and how
Chimney masons and people below
Controls in place
- Use the agreed repair information and keep people below clear.
- Do not start until an unsafe defect has been dealt with.
A chimney can look sound from the ground but be loose or damaged at the roof line.
Department for Communities: Chimneys, flues and hearths
What the builder asks about Chimneys
Your answers decide which steps, hazards and controls it suggests.
The job
- What part of the chimney needs repair?
- What will be left above the roof?
Where
- Is the building older than the year 2000? Older buildings can have asbestos in them.
- What pipes or cables run inside or beside the chimney stack?
How it’s done
- What will you stand on to reach the work?
- What is happening to the flue or appliance?
- What is happening to the flue or appliance?
- How will the bricks, pots, mortar and rubble get to the work?
- Will you cut anything on site, and with what?
What your Chimneys RAMS includes
Method statement
The sequence of the work, step by step. The suggestions are a starting point; you write the method for the job as it will be done.
Risk assessment
Each hazard, who could be harmed, the controls in place and any further action. There is no risk score: you judge each row against the real site, and adding a hazard does not put its controls in place.
PDF draft for review
The document as you left it, for someone competent to check. A download is not approval and not permission to start work.