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Loading and unloading RAMS Builder
Loading and unloading risk assessment and method statement
Prepare RAMS for receiving and unloading deliveries, loading collections, and moving the loads by forklift, telehandler or goods hoist.
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Loading and unloading RAMS template
A blank loading and unloading RAMS to fill in: job details, method statement, risk assessment and briefing record.
Risk assessment and method statement
Loading and unloading 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
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- 3
- 4
- 5
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Risk assessment
| Hazard | Who might be harmed and how | Controls in place | Further action |
|---|---|---|---|
Loading and unloading RAMS example
The same RAMS, filled in for one job.
Risk assessment and method statement
Loading and unloading, 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
- 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 weather before you startStop handling loads when the wind is strong enough to catch them. Stop in heavy rain, ice or lightning, and rest in the shade in hot weather.
- 3Agree the delivery planConfirm the carrier, delivery time, receiving person and exact loading point. Agree who controls the move and what happens if the load is unsafe.
- 4Set up a clear loading areaUse a designated, lit area away from traffic and people not needed for the move. Keep the route to the set-down place clear.
- 5Check the load before openingLook from the ground for movement, damage or a load leaning against the restraint. Do not release a restraint if the load could move or fall.
- 6Make the vehicle stablePark on firm, level ground where the loading method allows it. Apply the brakes and use the vehicle or trailer stabilisers.
- 7Hold the vehicle until it is safeKeep the driver in the agreed safe place while loading or unloading. Do not let the vehicle move until the person in charge says the area is clear.
- 8Get on and off the bed safelyWork from the ground where you can and reach in rather than climbing on the load. Use the steps, ladder or tail lift; never jump down from the bed.
- 9Clear and hand back the areaRemove tools, waste and unused materials. Check the area is clean and ready to use. Tell the person in charge 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.
Wind catches the loads and blows them onto people nearby
The team and people nearby
Check the forecast each morning and agree when the wind stops the work. Tie down or take in loose materials before you leave.
People enter an unplanned loading area or the parties work to different instructions
The driver, site team and visitors
Exchange the route, loading method and site rules before arrival. Stop the delivery if a significant safety issue cannot be agreed.
A person is struck by the vehicle, machine or load during loading
The driver, loading team and pedestrians
Barrier or marshal the area before loading starts. Keep non-essential people and vehicles outside it.
A shifted load falls when a strap, door or tailboard is released
The driver and people loading or unloading
Ask the driver to keep clear while the load is checked. Agree a new safe method for a shifted or damaged load.
The vehicle or trailer moves or tips while a load is transferred
The driver and loading team
Keep the vehicle still until the person in charge releases it. Do not load or unload where the ground or deck cannot support the arrangement.
The vehicle drives away while a person or machine is still beside it
The driver, loading team and people nearby
Keep the keys or paperwork with the person in charge where needed. Use a clear handover signal before the vehicle moves.
A person falls from the vehicle bed or a load falls over the edge
The people loading or unloading
Nobody stands on top of a load to load or unload it. Keep feet and loads back from the open edge of a tail lift.
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.
What a Loading and unloading RAMS covers
Receiving and unloading deliveries or loading collections, and moving loads with a forklift, telehandler or installed hoist. Not covered: crane and lorry-loader lifts.
- Receive/unload
- Forklift use
- Telehandler interface
- Temporary hoist use
Suggested steps and hazards for Loading and unloading
Suggested for receive/unload before any questions are answered.
Agree the delivery plan
- Confirm the carrier, delivery time, receiving person and exact loading point.
- Agree who controls the move and what happens if the load is unsafe.
Hazard
People enter an unplanned loading area or the parties work to different instructions
Who might be harmed and how
The driver, site team and visitors
Controls in place
- Exchange the route, loading method and site rules before arrival.
- Stop the delivery if a significant safety issue cannot be agreed.
A shared delivery plan keeps the carrier and site team working to one arrangement.
HSE: Delivering safely Set up a clear loading area
- Use a designated, lit area away from traffic and people not needed for the move.
- Keep the route to the set-down place clear.
Hazard
A person is struck by the vehicle, machine or load during loading
Who might be harmed and how
The driver, loading team and pedestrians
Controls in place
- Barrier or marshal the area before loading starts.
- Keep non-essential people and vehicles outside it.
A controlled loading area keeps the vehicle, load and pedestrians apart.
HSE: Delivering safely Check the load before opening
- Look from the ground for movement, damage or a load leaning against the restraint.
- Do not release a restraint if the load could move or fall.
Hazard
A shifted load falls when a strap, door or tailboard is released
Who might be harmed and how
The driver and people loading or unloading
Controls in place
- Ask the driver to keep clear while the load is checked.
- Agree a new safe method for a shifted or damaged load.
Checking the load before opening prevents a shifted load falling on people.
HSE: Safe driving: loading and unloading
What the builder asks about Loading and unloading
Your answers decide which steps, hazards and controls it suggests.
The job
- Is this delivery coming in, going out, or both?
- How heavy and how big is it?
- What will the telehandler do?
- Which forklift and load arrangement will you use?
- What is coming to site?
Where
- Where will it land?
- Where will the vehicle and load be kept clear?
How it’s done
- What will you stand on to reach the work?
- Which machine, forks and load chart will you use?
- How will the landings and load be controlled?
- Can people and vehicles be kept clear?
- How will people be kept away from the truck?
- How will the loads come off or go on?
- Who will be about?
What your Loading and unloading 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.
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. 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 the PDF is made on your device.
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.