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Bricklaying RAMS Builder
Bricklaying risk assessment and method statement
Prepare RAMS for laying bricks and blocks, mixing mortar, repointing, local repairs and plastering or rendering. Add the site, the wall and the access, edit the suggested steps and review the PDF draft.
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Prepare the Bricklaying RAMS
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What will you be doing?
More details
Pick everything this RAMS covers. The questions that follow are chosen from what you tick here.
What a Bricklaying RAMS covers
Laying bricks and blocks to the agreed sequence, mixing mortar, repointing and local repairs, and plastering or rendering the finished wall.
- Lay units
- Mix mortar
- Repoint
- Local repair
- Plaster/render
Suggested steps and hazards for Bricklaying
What it offers for lay units before you have answered anything.
Stop things falling on people below
- Fence off the ground below the work so nobody walks under the bricks, plaster and tools.
- Use toe boards, brick guards or netting on platforms and lanyard tools where you can.
Hazard
Bricks, plaster and tools 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 Confirm the wall support
- Check the current drawing, set-out and receiving support before laying the first course.
- Keep the temporary works or restraint arrangement on site.
Hazard
Collapse or movement when masonry is built without the designed support or sequence
Who might be harmed and how
Bricklayers and everyone near the wall
Controls in place
- Stop if the drawing, support or wall base is missing or different.
- Use the agreed build sequence and do not remove restraint early.
The wall needs its designed support and sequence before the first course is laid.
HSE: Temporary Works Set down units close to the wall
- Put packs on firm level ground near the point of use.
- Keep the route and working area clear before moving the next pack.
Hazard
Strains, trips and falling packs while bricks or blocks are moved around the site
Who might be harmed and how
Bricklayers, labourers and people using the route
Controls in place
- Use pallet trucks or sack trucks where possible.
- Keep packs stable and do not double stack unless the site arrangement allows it.
Putting units close to the work reduces avoidable carrying and keeps the route clear.
HSE: Blocks and masonry units
What the builder asks about Bricklaying
Your answers decide which steps, hazards and controls it suggests.
The job
- What are you building?
- How is the material supplied?
- What is the existing wall and mortar?
- What are you replacing?
- What are you putting on, and on to what?
- What is the background like?
- What work will receive this mix?
Where
- Is the building older than the year 2000? Older buildings can have asbestos in them.
- What pipes or cables run the wall or background where you will cut, rake or fix?
How it’s done
- What will you stand on to reach the work?
- What holds the wall steady as it rises?
- How will you mix it?
- How will you get the old mortar out?
- Is anything resting on the part you will remove?
What your Bricklaying 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.