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Painting and decorating RAMS Builder
Painting and decorating risk assessment and method statement
Prepare RAMS for brush and roller work, surface preparation, hanging wallpaper, refinishing woodwork and ordinary spray painting.
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Pick everything this RAMS covers. The questions that follow are chosen from what you tick here.
Painting and decorating RAMS template
A blank painting and decorating RAMS to fill in: job details, method statement, risk assessment and briefing record.
Risk assessment and method statement
Painting and decorating 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
Painting and decorating RAMS example
The same RAMS, filled in for one job.
Risk assessment and method statement
Painting and decorating, Second floor offices, 14 Mill Street, Stockport
- Company
- Hollins & Reed Decorating Ltd
- Site and work area
- Second floor offices, 14 Mill Street, Stockport
- Planned dates
- 12 to 14 October 2026
- In charge on site
- Dan Hollins
- Team
- Two decorators: Dan Hollins leads and agrees each room with the office manager; 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.
- 2Keep people clear of the workAgree how people get past or around the work while it is going on. Put barriers or signs where a route crosses the work. Do not leave open work unattended.
- 3Set up access equipmentUse access equipment suited to the task and work area. Check the equipment before use. Keep the area below the work controlled.
- 4Check the paint informationRead each label and safety data sheet before opening or mixing paint. Keep the product names with the RAMS.
- 5Set fresh air before paintingOpen doors and windows where the site allows it. Use the ventilation named by the product assessment.
- 6Keep paint tins closedClose tins and containers when they are not being used. Clean spills with the agreed waste method.
- 7Apply the specified paintUse the specified brush or roller and follow the product order and drying instructions. Keep the handle and tray secure while working.
- 8Keep people away from wet paintMark or barrier wet areas and protect floors and fittings. Only hand the area back when the product allows it.
- 9Wash before leaving the jobWash hands after painting and before eating, drinking or smoking. Change contaminated clothing where the assessment requires it.
- 10Clear 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.
People using the building or passing by walking into the work or over what it leaves
Occupants, visitors, members of the public and workers
Keep the barriers and signs up while the work is active. Give people a clear way round where their normal route is blocked.
Falling from the access equipment; tools or materials falling from the platform
The person on the platform, if it is set up on soft or sloping ground 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.
Unknown paint hazards causing skin, eye or breathing exposure
Decorators and people nearby
Use the product-specific controls. Stop if the label or safety data is missing or unclear.
Paint or solvent vapour building up in the room
Decorators and occupants
Keep non-essential people out while vapour remains. Do not paint in a room that cannot be ventilated.
Unnecessary vapour, spills and fire load from open containers
Decorators and people nearby
Keep products in labelled, suitable containers. Keep ignition sources away from flammable products.
Splashes, drips and strain from repeated or overhead painting
Decorators and occupants
Use the product gloves and eye protection. Do not overreach from access equipment.
People contact wet paint or slip on drips
Decorators, occupants and visitors
Keep signs and barriers up while paint is wet. Clean drips and spills promptly.
Paint or solvent being swallowed from contaminated hands or clothing
Decorators
Provide washing facilities. Do not use solvent to clean paint from skin.
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 Painting and decorating RAMS covers
Preparation, priming, painting by brush, roller or ordinary spray, wallpapering and refinishing woodwork. Not covered: spraying two-pack or isocyanate coatings.
- Brush/roller
- Surface preparation
- Wallpaper
- Wood refinishing
- Ordinary spray
Suggested steps and hazards for Painting and decorating
Suggested for brush/roller before any questions are answered.
Check the paint information
- Read each label and safety data sheet before opening or mixing paint.
- Keep the product names with the RAMS.
Hazard
Unknown paint hazards causing skin, eye or breathing exposure
Who might be harmed and how
Decorators and people nearby
Controls in place
- Use the product-specific controls.
- Stop if the label or safety data is missing or unclear.
The label and safety data identify the controls before the paint is used.
Paint and coatings Set fresh air before painting
- Open doors and windows where the site allows it.
- Use the ventilation named by the product assessment.
Hazard
Paint or solvent vapour building up in the room
Who might be harmed and how
Decorators and occupants
Controls in place
- Keep non-essential people out while vapour remains.
- Do not paint in a room that cannot be ventilated.
Fresh air limits paint and solvent vapour while the coating is applied.
Paint and coatings Keep paint tins closed
- Close tins and containers when they are not being used.
- Clean spills with the agreed waste method.
Hazard
Unnecessary vapour, spills and fire load from open containers
Who might be harmed and how
Decorators and people nearby
Controls in place
- Keep products in labelled, suitable containers.
- Keep ignition sources away from flammable products.
Closed tins limit vapour, spills and the fire load around the work.
Paint and coatings
What the builder asks about Painting and decorating
Your answers decide which steps, hazards and controls it suggests.
The job
- What sort of wallpaper are you hanging?
- What condition is the old wood finish in?
Where
- How will you keep spray mist contained?
- Is the building older than the year 2000? Older buildings can have asbestos in them.
- What pipes or cables run behind or around walls, sockets and switches?
How it’s done
- What will you stand on to reach the work?
- What sort of paint are you using?
- What will you do to prepare the surface?
- What spray equipment will you use?
- What are you painting?
- What will you do with the old wallpaper?
- What finish will you put on the wood?
- How will you prepare the wood?
What you’ve been told
- What do you know about the old paint or coating?
What your Painting and decorating 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.