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Power tools RAMS Builder

Power tools risk assessment and method statement

Prepare RAMS for handheld drilling, chasing and cutting into masonry, and for diamond core drilling on a stand or by hand. Enter the site, edit the planner's suggestions and look over the PDF draft.

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  • Questions follow HSE guidance
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Prepare the Power tools RAMS

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Power tools RAMS

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 Power tools RAMS covers

Work with drills, chasers, cutters and core rigs on masonry and concrete: fixing holes, chases for cable and pipe, cuts through block, and cores for services.

  • Handheld drill/chase/cut
  • Core drill

Suggested steps and hazards for Power tools

What it offers for core drill before you have answered anything.

  1. Stop things falling on people below

    • Fence off the ground below the work so nobody walks under the boards, tiles, cores and tools.
    • Use toe boards, brick guards or netting on platforms and lanyard tools where you can.

    Hazard

    Boards, tiles, cores 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
  2. Protect the far side before coring

    • Check the other side before drilling and keep people out where the bit or core can emerge.
    • Plan how the core will be held before the hole breaks through.

    Hazard

    The core or bit breaks through onto a person or occupied area

    Who might be harmed and how

    The driller and people on either side

    Controls in place

    • Barrier the far side and below the work.
    • Do not rely on somebody waiting below to catch the core.

    The far side needs protection before the bit or core can break through.

    PUB_5501754_000.pdf
  3. Secure the stand or machine

    • Fix the stand or set the handheld machine exactly as its current manual requires.
    • Check it cannot move before starting.

    Hazard

    The machine rotates, tips or pulls out of its support

    Who might be harmed and how

    The driller and people nearby

    Controls in place

    • Use an anchor suited to the base material and check the fixing.
    • Do not use an unapproved overhead vacuum fixing.

    The machine must not move when its support takes the drilling torque.

    HSE: Temporary Works

What the builder asks about Power tools

Your answers decide which steps, hazards and controls it suggests.

The job

  • What will you use the tool for?
  • How is the coring machine held?
  • What are you drilling or cutting into?
  • Which way does the hole go?

Where

  • Is the building older than the year 2000? Older buildings can have asbestos in them.
  • What pipes or cables run behind or through the wall, floor or ceiling?

How it’s done

  • What will you stand on to reach the work?
  • How will you keep the dust down?
  • How will you control the water or dust?
  • Will you cut anything on site, and with what?
  • How will the boards and drilling equipment get to the work?

What your Power tools 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.