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MEWP RAMS Builder
MEWP risk assessment and method statement
Prepare RAMS for routine use of a boom or scissor MEWP and its travel around the site. Name the machine, the operator and the task, edit the suggested steps and review the PDF draft.
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Prepare the MEWP RAMS
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Which areas are included?
More details
For example, reception, the first floor or the rear garden.
What a MEWP RAMS covers
MEWP use covers a boom or scissor platform put to a planned task: pre-use checks, working from the platform and moving the machine where the site allows.
Suggested steps and hazards for MEWP
What it offers for MEWP use before you have answered anything.
Stop things falling on people below
- Fence off the ground below the work so nobody walks under the tools and materials.
- Use toe boards, brick guards or netting on platforms and lanyard tools where you can.
Hazard
Tools and materials 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 Use a trained familiarised operator
- Use an operator trained for the MEWP category and familiar with the named make and model.
- Check the training and familiarisation records.
Hazard
An unfamiliar operator overturns, collides or becomes trapped.
Who might be harmed and how
The operator and people nearby
Controls in place
- Follow the machine manual and site traffic controls.
- Supervise an unfamiliar operator.
Category training and machine familiarisation support safe control of the MEWP.
Mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs) Check the MEWP before use
- Check the examination status, controls, tyres, alarms, guardrails, gate and emergency lowering system.
- Use only the named machine within its load and wind limits.
Hazard
A defect or overloaded MEWP fails, overturns or leaves someone stranded.
Who might be harmed and how
The operator and people nearby
Controls in place
- Remove a defective machine from use.
- Keep the manual and examination record available.
The pre-use check and examination status show whether the machine is fit to operate.
Mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs) Check ground and overhead hazards
- Use firm, level ground and check covers, trenches, holes and backfill.
- Check overhead structures, cables and entrapment points before elevating.
Hazard
Poor support or trapping against a structure overturns the machine or injures the operator.
Who might be harmed and how
The operator and people nearby
Controls in place
- Use outriggers and spreader plates only as the manual requires.
- Keep clear of overhead cables.
Ground support and overhead checks control overturning and entrapment hazards.
Mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs)
What the builder asks about MEWP
Your answers decide which steps, hazards and controls it suggests.
Where
- Is the MEWP position ready?
How it’s done
- How high is the work, and what is the ground like?
- Which MEWP will you use?
What you’ve been told
- How will someone be rescued from the MEWP?
What your MEWP 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.