Demolition RAMS Builder

Risk assessment and method statement

Demolition, Rear garden, 9 Orchard Road, Stockport: detached garage

Company

Hollins & Reed Demolition Ltd

Site and work area

Rear garden, 9 Orchard Road, Stockport: detached garage

Planned dates

12 to 14 October 2026

In charge on site

Dan Hollins

Team

Three operatives: Dan Hollins leads and supervises the take-down sequence; Priya Shah and Sam Okafor work with him.

Method statement

1. 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.
2. 2Get the demolition plan before anything movesA competent person must write the demolition method down before work starts, for this structure and this site. Read the take-down order in it: what comes out first, what holds the rest up, and where it changes. Building control must have been given notice at least 6 weeks before demolition starts.
3. 3Get the demolition asbestos survey firstAsk for the refurbishment or demolition survey, not the normal register; it is the client's job to give it to you. Asbestos must be taken out as far as is reasonably practicable before major refurbishment or demolition. Anything you find that is not in the survey: stop, keep people out and get it checked.
4. 4Get the services cut off and proved deadGet gas, electric, water, drainage and telecoms cut off at the main by the supplier, and get it in writing. Ask for the drawings of anything live below ground in the work area before you dig or track a machine over it. Scan and mark what the drawings show, then prove it dead on the day before you break into it.
5. 5Brief the gang every morningSay what comes down today, in what order, where the exclusion zone is and who is in charge of it. Agree the word or signal that stops everything, and make sure everyone can hear it over the plant. Nobody works on their own inside the demolition area.
6. 6Check the weather before you startDo not lift or fix sheets and loose material in strong wind. Stop in heavy rain, ice or lightning.
7. 7Stop things falling on people belowKeep people out of the area below the work so nobody walks under the materials. Keep toe boards and guards in place on any platform, and lanyard tools where you can.
8. 8Use the mobile towerFollow the supplier instructions for any build or change. Check the tower before first use and after it is moved. Lock the wheels before using the platform. Climb using the internal access provided. Keep the toe boards on and tools and materials inside the guardrails.
9. 9Set the exclusion zone and keep debris in itMark the safe working zone, the exclusion zone and the debris zone on the ground with barriers or hoarding. The size comes from the method, the space around the structure and how far debris can fall; the plan says what it is. If it collapses, deliberately or not, the debris must stay inside that zone and must not breach the site boundary. The zone changes as the work changes, so move the barriers with it.
10. 10Keep the dust downUse water suppression or on-tool extraction on every task where it is possible. Wear RPE with an assigned protection factor of 20, such as an FFP3 mask or a half mask with a P3 filter. Tight-fitting masks need a face-fit test and a clean-shaven face; for over an hour at a time consider powered RPE. Open up the work area for natural ventilation, and keep other people out of the dust.
11. 11Control the dust when cuttingNever cut dry in the open. Wear an APF 20 mask (FFP3 or P3) when you cut: fit tested and clean-shaven. Keep other people out of the dust.
12. 12Wet cuttingThis job is wet cutting: keep water on and collect the slurry.
13. 13Limit noise and vibrationWear ear defenders when cutting. Note 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. Keep the tools maintained.
14. 14Take it down in the right orderTake out what is holding nothing up first, then work towards the stiff parts like braced cores and lift shafts. Watch for arches, overhangs, cantilevers and hanging floors; they go in the order the engineer set, not when it suits. Do not let debris pile up on a floor that is still standing. Never leave a free-standing wall or a part-demolished section standing at the end of the shift.
15. 15Taking a wall down by handWork from the top down, course by course, so what is left is always lower than what has gone. Never stand or work off the thing you are taking down; work from a scaffold, tower or platform beside it. Do not undercut, and do not pull a wall over onto the ground by hand. Drop material inside the building or into the marked zone, never over the boundary.
16. 16Handle the waste as you goKeep the site clear as you work; do not let waste build up where people walk or on a floor that is still standing. Keep anything suspect, such as insulation or lagging, separate and bagged until it has been checked. Load out with a licensed carrier and keep the waste transfer notes.
17. 17Clear 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.

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.

• Work starts without a written method, so nobody knows what is holding the structure up

  The whole gang and anyone near the site

  Work to the written order; if the building is not what the plan says, stop and get it looked at again. Keep the plan on site where the gang can read it.

• Breathing asbestos fibres released by breaking up boards, sheets, lagging or floor tiles

  The gang, other trades and anyone downwind

  No refurbishment or demolition survey: do not break anything open. Licensed asbestos work is a separate job by a licensed contractor before you start.

• Breaking into a live cable, gas pipe or water main causes shock, fire, flooding or explosion

  The gang, the neighbours and anyone on the supply

  A supply that has not been proved dead is treated as live. Keep the disconnection paperwork on site with the plan.

• Someone works to yesterday's plan and walks into today's drop zone

  The gang and anyone visiting the site

  One person is in charge of the take-down and everybody knows who it is. Anyone new gets the brief before they set foot past the barrier.

• Wind catches the sheets and loose material 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.

• Materials falling onto people below

  People below

  Bring waste down by hand, in bags or by the chute. Never throw it. Keep the exclusion zone up until the last item is down.

• Falling from the tower platform; the tower overturning; tools or materials dropped from the platform

  The person on the platform, where a guardrail or toe board is missing or was never fitted. Anyone on or beside the tower, if it is moved with people or materials on it, or built without its stabilisers. Anyone passing or working underneath.

  Fit the required guardrails, braces and stabilisers. Move the tower only with nobody and nothing on it. Keep the area around the tower controlled.

• Someone is inside the area where the structure or its debris can land

  The gang, other trades, neighbours and the public

  Nobody inside the exclusion zone while the work is going on. No room for the debris to land inside the site: stop and get the method changed.

• Silica, plaster, wood and old dust from breaking up a building damage the lungs for life

  Everyone breaking out and anyone downwind

  Damp down before and while you break, not after. Clear up with a vacuum or wet sweep, never a dry brush.

• Silica and board dust from power cutting damage the lungs

  The person cutting and anyone downwind

  Use the kit that fits the tool. Cut in one place, away from other trades. Collect any slurry while it is wet. Clear any dry dust with an H or M Class vacuum, not a brush.

• Silica dust if the water stops, and slipping on slurry

  The person cutting and anyone nearby

  Stop cutting if the water stops.

• Hearing damage and hand-arm vibration from power tools

  The person cutting

  Use sharp blades and discs, which cut faster with less vibration. Warn people nearby before you start cutting.

• Removing the wrong element first brings the rest down without warning

  The gang and anyone near the structure

  If the structure moves, cracks or sounds different, everybody out and get the engineer. Changed fabric partway up: stop, the method may need changing too.

• A wall or section collapses onto the person taking it down, or onto the platform they are on

  The person on the tools and anyone below

  Stop and get the engineer if the wall moves, bulges or is thinner than expected. A standard scaffold does not hold a building up; it is access only.

• Trips, hidden nails and spikes, and waste that turns out to be hazardous

  The gang, the plant operators and the waste crew

  Flatten or knock over protruding nails and bend back sharp metal as you go. Never throw waste from height; drop it into a chute or lower it.

• 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.