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Cladding risk assessment and method statement
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Cladding RAMS template
A blank cladding RAMS to fill in: job details, method statement, risk assessment and briefing record.
Risk assessment and method statement
Cladding 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
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
Risk assessment
| Hazard | Who might be harmed and how | Controls in place | Further action |
|---|---|---|---|
Cladding RAMS example
The same RAMS, filled in for one job.
Risk assessment and method statement
Cladding, Unit 12, Valley Road Industrial Estate, Stockport: north gable
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 panel or its support pulls off because the wall cannot hold it
The team and people below later
Pull-test a fixing on doubtful walls. Stop and get the support design if the wall is not what the drawing says.
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.
Wind catches the panels or blows someone off balance at height
The team and people below
Agree a wind limit for this work and check the forecast before you start. Tie down or take in loose materials before you leave.
Panels falling onto people below
People below
Bring waste down by hand or in bags. Never throw it. Keep the exclusion zone up until the last item is down.
Falling from a scaffold that has been altered; materials falling from the scaffold
Anyone working on the lift, where a guardrail, board or tie has been taken out to get the work done. Anyone passing or working underneath, including the public where the scaffold is over a footpath.
Never remove boards, ties, guardrails or bracing; ask the scaffolding contractor to alter it. Report damage or a missing tag and keep off until it is checked. Fit brick guards or netting where materials could fall on people below.
A load falls from the hoist onto someone below
People below the hoist
Secure the panels before the lift. One person controls the lift and everyone can hear them.
Panels distort, loosen or leave gaps because the support is uneven or under-fixed
The team and the building's occupants
Check the line with a string or laser before panels go on. Do not pack or bend supports to hide a wall that is out.
A panel cracks, works loose or comes off in wind because it is under-fixed
The team now and people below later
Never leave a panel on one fixing overnight. Check each row is fixed before starting the next.
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.
Cladding, Unit 12, Valley Road Industrial Estate, Stockport: north gable
- Company
- Hollins & Reed Cladding Ltd
- Site and work area
- Unit 12, Valley Road Industrial Estate, Stockport: north gable
- Planned dates
- 12 to 14 October 2026
- In charge on site
- Dan Hollins
- Team
- Three fixers: Dan Hollins leads and checks the scaffold tag each morning; Priya Shah and Sam Okafor fix panels.
Method statement
- 1Set 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.
- 2Check the wall before fixingLook at the wall or frame where the support goes: it must be sound, dry and able to hold the fixings. Mark the fixing lines and check them against the drawing.
- 3Find 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.
- 4Check the weather before you startDo not lift or fix panels in strong wind. Stop in heavy rain, ice or lightning.
- 5Stop things falling on people belowKeep people out of the area below the work so nobody walks under the panels. Keep toe boards and guards in place on any platform, and lanyard tools where you can.
- 6Work from the scaffoldCheck the scaffold tag or handover shows an inspection within the last 7 days. Use only the lifts and access that were handed over. Keep materials within the loading the scaffold was built for. Keep off in high wind or ice, or when sheeting has come loose.
- 7Use the hoistCheck the hoist's thorough examination report is in date and it can take the weight. Keep people out from underneath while a load is up.
- 8Fit the battens or railsFix the battens or rails at the spacing in the panel maker's guide, plumb and in one flat plane. Use the fixings the guide names for the wall type and keep the cavity and any fire barriers as designed.
- 9Fit the panelsWork from the bottom up, fixing each panel on every support it touches with the screws or clips the guide names. Keep the ventilation path at the top and bottom open and fit trims and closers as you go.
- 10Clear 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 cladding RAMS covers
Setting out, lifting and fixing external panels to a checked wall, and taking panels off. Not covered: stone cladding.
- Fit external panels
- Remove external panels
Suggested steps and hazards for cladding
Suggested for fit external panels before any questions are answered.
Check the wall before fixing
- Look at the wall or frame where the support goes: it must be sound, dry and able to hold the fixings.
- Mark the fixing lines and check them against the drawing.
Hazard
A panel or its support pulls off because the wall cannot hold it
Who might be harmed and how
The team and people below later
Controls in place
- Pull-test a fixing on doubtful walls.
- Stop and get the support design if the wall is not what the drawing says.
Cladding failures start at the fixing into the wall, not at the panel.
HSE: Work at height Check the weather before you start
- Do not lift or fix panels in strong wind.
- Stop in heavy rain, ice or lightning.
- Rest in the shade in hot weather.
Hazard
Wind catches the panels 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 this work and check the forecast before you start.
- 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
- Keep people out of the area below the work so nobody walks under the panels.
- Keep toe boards and guards in place on any platform, and lanyard tools where you can.
Hazard
Panels falling onto people below
Who might be harmed and how
People below
Controls in place
- Bring waste down by hand or in bags. 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
What the builder asks about cladding
Your answers decide which steps, hazards and controls it suggests.
The job
- What are the panels?
- Is this a fire-rated or high-rise facade?
Where
- What is the wall or frame behind the panels like?
- Is the building older than the year 2000? Older buildings can have asbestos in them.
- What pipes or cables run behind or through the wall where the panels go?
How it’s done
- What will you stand on to reach the work?
- What happens to the panels you take off?
- How will the panels get to the work?
- Will you cut anything on site, and with what?
What your cladding 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.
The method statement and risk assessment in one A4 PDF. Your logo on Pro and Team.
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).
- 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).
HSE guidance: the steps to manage risk and what contractors must do under CDM. 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 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.