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Scaffolding risk assessment and method statement
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Scaffolding RAMS template
A blank scaffolding RAMS to fill in: job details, method statement, risk assessment and briefing record.
Risk assessment and method statement
Scaffolding 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
Scaffolding RAMS example
The same RAMS, filled in for one job.
Risk assessment and method statement
Scaffolding, 14 Hawthorn Road, Stockport
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.
A scaffold built outside its design can collapse or expose the gang to falls
Scaffolders and people near the build
Use a supervisor who knows the type and size of scaffold. Stop if the scaffold or site does not match the sheet or design.
People or vehicles enter the scaffold work area or a tube reaches a live line
Scaffolders, other workers, the public and drivers
Use barriers, signs and a banksman where the site needs them. Keep the agreed clearance from overhead lines.
Breathing asbestos fibres from old boards, sheets, sealants or insulation
The team and anyone in the building
Do not cut, drill or break any material until it is confirmed asbestos free. Licensed work is not for this method; hand it to a licensed contractor.
Hitting a live cable or gas pipe causes shock, fire or gas escape
The person doing the work and everyone nearby
Check again wherever the work moves. If you hit something, stop, keep clear and report it.
Wind catches the scaffold and loose materials or blows someone off balance at height
The team and people below
Agree a wind limit for this work and check the forecast before you start. Tie down or take in loose materials before you leave.
Tubes, boards, fittings and tools falling onto people below
People below
Bring waste down by hand or in bags. Never throw it. Keep the exclusion zone up until the last item is down.
Back and shoulder injury from carrying heavy or long items
Everyone handling materials
Use a trolley or sack truck on the flat where the load suits one. Where the work is up a level, hand items up or hoist them. Never carry them up a ladder.
Tubes or boards fall on someone, or the wagon reverses into them
Scaffolders and the public
Use a banksman if the wagon reverses. Nothing passes over people.
Settlement or overturning from a weak, uneven or undermined base
Scaffolders and people nearby
Provide extra support where the ground or structure cannot carry the scaffold and its loads. Keep the base safe from vehicles and excavations.
A scaffolder falls while the next lift is being built
Scaffolders
Use collective protection first. Do not free climb or step onto an unprotected lift.
The fall-protection method is not used as the scaffold rises
Scaffolders
Stop if this job's system is not available or suitable. Never replace collective protection with free climbing.
The scaffold moves or collapses before it is stable
Scaffolders and people below
Do not build beyond the last permitted tie. Keep incomplete lifts out of use.
Someone climbs the scaffold out of hours, or falls using a loose ladder
Scaffolders, users and members of the public
Check the ladder is removed or boarded before anyone leaves site.
A fall from an unprotected lift, or from climbing the frame to reach it
The scaffolders
Do not free climb. Finish one lift before starting the next.
Someone walks onto an unfinished lift
Other trades and anyone on site overnight
Keep incomplete lifts out of use.
Other trades use an incomplete or unsuitable scaffold
Scaffold users and people below
Keep it closed until the inspection is passed. Correct defects before other trades use it.
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.
Scaffolding, 14 Hawthorn Road, Stockport
- Company
- Hollins & Reed Contracting Ltd
- Site and work area
- 14 Hawthorn Road, Stockport
- Planned dates
- 12 to 14 October 2026
- In charge on site
- Dan Hollins
- Team
- Three scaffolders: Dan Hollins leads and checks the scaffold before handover; Priya Shah and Tom Reed work 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 sheet or design firstKeep the TG20 sheet, maker instructions or design on site. Brief the gang on the build order and how they will stay protected.
- 3Set the boundary before work startsFence off the base and the area below the work. Protect any public route, traffic route or overhead line beside it.
- 4Check for asbestos before you disturb anythingCheck the asbestos survey covers exactly what you will disturb, to the full depth. Register only, or nothing: get a refurbishment survey or a sample first. Read what it says about old boards, soffits, sealants or insulation where ties and fixings go. No survey, or a material you do not recognise: stop and get it checked.
- 5Find and isolate hidden servicesFind cables and pipes before you disturb anything: drawings, then a detector. Mark what you find. Not sure what is there? Turn the supply off, or do not start. Have cables and gas isolated by the right person and prove them dead before you start.
- 6Check the weather before you startDo not lift or fix scaffold and loose materials in strong wind. Stop in heavy rain, ice or lightning.
- 7Stop things falling on people belowKeep people out of the area below the work so nobody walks under the tubes, boards, fittings and tools. Keep toe boards and guards in place on any platform, and lanyard tools where you can.
- 8Carry the scaffold materials safelyPlan the route, clear it, and get help with anything long or heavy. Store materials close to the work so nobody carries further than they need to.
- 9Unload and stack on the agreed areaTake nothing off the wagon until the boundary is up. Stack it on the agreed area and protect the pavement.
- 10Set a firm, level basePut sole boards and base plates under every standard where the ground needs support. Check the ground or supporting structure before building up.
- 11Build the base lift with fall protectionNobody steps onto a new lift until the fall method in this document is in place. Board the lift and fit guardrails and toe boards before it is used. Anyone within 1 m of an unprotected edge clips on.
- 12Use advance guardrailsFit the advance guardrail from the lift below before anyone steps onto the new lift. Keep it in place until the lift is boarded and its own guardrails are in.
- 13Tie and brace the base liftInstall the planned ties and bracing in the order shown on the sheet or design. Keep every tie within its stated safe working load.
- 14Fit the access ladder and secure itFit it once the base lift is tied, before anyone works from that lift. It goes 1 m above the landing, at 65 to 75 degrees, and is tied. Out of hours, remove the bottom ladder or board it off.
- 15Repeat for each liftFor every lift, raise the materials by the agreed route, fit the fall protection, board it, then tie and brace it. Take the ladder up with the build, so nobody climbs the frame.
- 16Block off what is not finishedMark any part that is not finished and physically block the way onto it. Do this before leaving site, as well as during the work.
- 17Inspect before handing it overCheck the finished scaffold, access, boards, guardrails, ties, toe boards and loading arrangements. Record the inspection and hand it over with the current tag or record visible.
- 18Clear and hand back the areaRemove tools, waste and unused materials. Check the area is clean and ready to use. Tell the customer or whoever runs the site when the work is complete.
What a scaffolding RAMS covers
Erecting, altering and dismantling a scaffold. Not covered: other trades working from a scaffold that is already up.
Falls from height caused 97 of 186 construction worker deaths in five years (HSE, 2021/22–2025/26p). See the figures
- Erecting
- Altering
- Dismantling
Suggested steps and hazards for scaffolding
Suggested for erecting before any questions are answered.
Check the sheet or design first
- Keep the TG20 sheet, maker instructions or design on site.
- Brief the gang on the build order and how they will stay protected.
Hazard
A scaffold built outside its design can collapse or expose the gang to falls
Who might be harmed and how
Scaffolders and people near the build
Controls in place
- Use a supervisor who knows the type and size of scaffold.
- Stop if the scaffold or site does not match the sheet or design.
The sheet or design sets the safe build order and limits.
HSE: Scaffolding Set the boundary before work starts
- Fence off the base and the area below the work.
- Protect any public route, traffic route or overhead line beside it.
Hazard
People or vehicles enter the scaffold work area or a tube reaches a live line
Who might be harmed and how
Scaffolders, other workers, the public and drivers
Controls in place
- Use barriers, signs and a banksman where the site needs them.
- Keep the agreed clearance from overhead lines.
A clear boundary separates scaffold work from people, vehicles and power lines.
HSE: Overhead power lines Check the weather before you start
- Do not lift or fix scaffold and loose materials in strong wind.
- Stop in heavy rain, ice or lightning.
- Rest in the shade in hot weather.
Hazard
Wind catches the scaffold and loose materials or blows someone off balance at height
Who might be harmed and how
The team and people below
Controls in place
- Agree a wind limit for this work and check the forecast before you start.
- Tie down or take in loose materials before you leave.
Wind is the main weather cause of falls and dropped loads in outside work at height.
HSE: Work at height
What the builder asks about scaffolding
Your answers decide which steps, hazards and controls it suggests.
The job
- What sort of scaffold is it?
- What will you build it to?
- What are you changing?
- What condition is the scaffold in?
- Is the change covered by the current sheet or design?
Where
- Is the building older than the year 2000? Older buildings can have asbestos in them.
- What pipes or cables run in the wall, roof or ground where ties, fixings and bases go?
How it’s done
- How will the gang stop falls while building?
- How will the gang stop falls while taking it down?
- How will the scaffold materials get to the work?
What you’ve been told
- Who can use it while you change it?
What your scaffolding 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. Your logo on Pro and Team.
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 and any group of employees it finds especially at risk. 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, signed in, on your account with its photos; the PDF is made on your device. A briefing you send to phones goes through your account.
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.
Reviewing a RAMS before work starts
RAMS review reads a RAMS PDF, yours before you send it or one a subcontractor sends you, and lists the points to raise, each marked on the page it comes from. Quick reviews are free.