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Lintel installation risk assessment and method statement
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Lintels RAMS template
A blank lintels RAMS to fill in: job details, method statement, risk assessment and briefing record.
Risk assessment and method statement
Lintels 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
Lintels RAMS example
The same RAMS, filled in for one job.
Risk assessment and method statement
Lintels, Rear extension, 22 Hawthorn Road, 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.
Wrong lintel failing or being forced into position
Installers and people below
Stop if the schedule, opening or bearing details do not match.
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 lintels and loose materials 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.
Lintels, masonry and tools 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 the access equipment; tools or materials falling from the platform
The person on the platform, if it is set up on an unsuitable surface and shifts under them. Anyone passing or working underneath.
Place access equipment on a firm, level surface. Keep tools and materials secure while working above ground.
Back and shoulder injury from carrying heavy or long items
Everyone handling materials
Use a trolley or sack truck on the flat where the load suits one. Where the work is up a level, hand items up or hoist them. Never carry them up a ladder.
Silica dust from cutting brick, block or concrete scarring the lungs
The person cutting and anyone nearby
Cut in one spot away from other trades and keep people out of the dust. Collect any slurry while it is wet. Clear any dry dust with an H or M Class vacuum, not a brush.
Collapse or falling material during load transfer
Installers and people nearby
Follow the support plan. Stop if the support is not suitable or stable.
Struck-by injury or unstable bearing
Installers and people nearby
Keep the route clear and use the planned handling method.
Lintel damage, dropped load or trapped hands
Installers and people below
Use the planned handling method and keep people out of the drop zone.
Premature collapse after installation
Installers and people below
Record the point at which support may be removed.
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.
Lintels, Rear extension, 22 Hawthorn Road, Stockport
- Company
- Hollins & Reed Building Ltd
- Site and work area
- Rear extension, 22 Hawthorn Road, Stockport
- Planned dates
- 12 to 14 October 2026
- In charge on site
- Dan Hollins
- Team
- Two bricklayers: Dan Hollins leads and sets the props; Priya Shah works with him.
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 lintel and openingConfirm the lintel matches the manufacturer schedule and the opening before moving it. Check the bearing details before bringing it to the opening.
- 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 lintels and loose materials 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 lintels, masonry and tools. Keep toe boards and guards in place on any platform, and lanyard tools where you can.
- 6Set up access equipmentUse access equipment suited to the task and work area. Check the equipment before use. Keep the area below the work controlled.
- 7Carry the lintels safelyPlan the route, clear it, and get help with anything long or heavy. Store materials close to the work so nobody carries further than they need to.
- 8Keep the dust down when you cut outCut brick, block or concrete with water on the blade or on-tool extraction, never dry in the open. Wear an FFP3 mask that has been face-fitted to you while you cut or chase.
- 9Set up temporary supportInstall the agreed temporary support before disturbing the opening or transferring any load.
- 10Prepare the bearing pointsClear and check the bearing points and route before bringing the lintel to the opening. Keep hands out of pinch points while the lintel is moved.
- 11Place the lintel gentlyMove the lintel into its stated position without shock loading or sideways loading.
- 12Keep support until the load can transferKeep temporary support in place until the agreed build sequence says the lintel can take the load. Do not remove support because the lintel looks settled.
- 13Clear 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 lintels RAMS covers
Fitting a lintel into a new opening, or replacing a failed one with temporary support in place. Not covered: forming or widening a structural opening.
- Fit a lintel
- Replace a lintel
Suggested steps and hazards for lintels
Suggested for fit a lintel before any questions are answered.
Check the lintel and opening
- Confirm the lintel matches the manufacturer schedule and the opening before moving it.
- Check the bearing details before bringing it to the opening.
Hazard
Wrong lintel failing or being forced into position
Who might be harmed and how
Installers and people below
Controls in place
- Stop if the schedule, opening or bearing details do not match.
The schedule and opening check confirms that the specified lintel can be installed as planned.
Lintel installation guidance Check the weather before you start
- Do not lift or fix lintels and loose materials in strong wind.
- Stop in heavy rain, ice or lightning.
- Rest in the shade in hot weather.
Hazard
Wind catches the lintels and loose materials 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 lintels, masonry and tools.
- Keep toe boards and guards in place on any platform, and lanyard tools where you can.
Hazard
Lintels, masonry and tools 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 lintels
Your answers decide which steps, hazards and controls it suggests.
The job
- What information do you have for the lintel and opening?
- How much of the old lintel can you see?
Where
- Is the temporary support in place and checked?
- Is the building older than the year 2000? Older buildings can have asbestos in them.
- What pipes or cables run around or above the opening?
How it’s done
- What will you stand on to reach the work?
- What will be built on the lintel later?
- How will the lintels get to the work?
What your lintels 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.