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Staircase installation RAMS Builder
Staircase installation risk assessment and method statement
Prepare RAMS for installing a stair flight or altering and repairing an existing staircase.
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Staircase installation RAMS template
A blank staircase installation RAMS to fill in: job details, method statement, risk assessment and briefing record.
Risk assessment and method statement
Staircase installation 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
Staircase installation RAMS example
The same RAMS, filled in for one job.
Risk assessment and method statement
Staircase installation, 31 Chester Road, Hale: hallway and first floor landing
- Company
- Hollins & Reed Joinery Ltd
- Site and work area
- 31 Chester Road, Hale: hallway and first floor landing
- Planned dates
- 12 to 14 October 2026
- In charge on site
- Dan Hollins
- Team
- Two joiners: Dan Hollins leads and checks the opening each morning; 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.
- 2Stop things falling on people belowFence off the ground below the work so nobody walks under the stair components. Use toe boards, brick guards or netting on platforms and lanyard tools where you can.
- 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.
- 4Protect the stair componentsKeep the flight and its parts dry and protected until they are ready to install. Keep the route to the opening clear and dry.
- 5Use the ladder or stepsCheck the ladder or steps before use. Place them on firm, level ground. Keep three points of contact while climbing. Reposition them instead of overreaching. Do not carry loose tools or tins up; hand them up or use a belt.
- 6Carry the stair flight safelyPlan the route, clear it, and carry long items upright with two people. Store materials close to the work so nobody carries further than they need to.
- 7Check the opening and supportsCheck the opening, landing and supports match the stair information before it is lifted. Stop if the sizes, levels or supports do not match.
- 8Secure the flight before letting goKeep the flight supported until the specified fixings and temporary supports are in place. Check the fixings are tight before removing the lifting help.
- 9Fit and check the handrailFit the specified handrail and check its height, continuity and fixings. Keep the stair closed until the handrail is checked.
- 10Check the guardingCheck the guarding is secure and that openings are safe before people use the stair. Keep the stair closed until the check is complete.
- 11Clear 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.
Stair components falling onto people below
People below, including the public
Lower waste in bags or a chute, never throw it. Keep the exclusion zone up until the last item is down.
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.
Damage, slips or failed components from poor storage
Stair installers and people nearby
Store components as the maker says and keep them off wet ground. Do not use damaged parts without checking them.
Falling from the ladder or steps; tools or tins dropped on people below
The person working from it, if the feet slip or they overreach to one side. Anyone passing or working under the ladder while it is in use.
Secure the equipment where it could move. Keep the base and area below clear.
Back and shoulder injury from carrying heavy or long items
Everyone handling materials
Use a trolley or sack truck on the flat. Never carry up a ladder; hand items up or hoist them.
An unstable stair or failed installation
Stair installers and people below
Use the current installation information for the named stair. Do not make up a support or fixing detail on site.
The flight moves, falls or traps hands during installation
The installation team and people nearby
Keep hands clear of pinch points while the flight is being set down. Keep people out of the opening until the stair is secure.
Someone falls because the handrail is missing or loose
Stair users and installers
Use the approved dimensions and fixing details. Raise any loose fixing or unsafe gap before handover.
A person falls or a child becomes trapped in the guarding
Stair users and installers
Check every fixing and opening against the approved details. Raise any gap or loose part for correction.
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 Staircase installation RAMS covers
Fitting a new flight into its opening, and altering or repairing treads, strings, newels and balustrades. Not covered: forming a new stair opening in a floor.
- Install a stair flight
- Alter or repair stairs
Suggested steps and hazards for Staircase installation
Suggested for install a stair flight before any questions are answered.
Stop things falling on people below
- Fence off the ground below the work so nobody walks under the stair components.
- Use toe boards, brick guards or netting on platforms and lanyard tools where you can.
Hazard
Stair components 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 Protect the stair components
- Keep the flight and its parts dry and protected until they are ready to install.
- Keep the route to the opening clear and dry.
Hazard
Damage, slips or failed components from poor storage
Who might be harmed and how
Stair installers and people nearby
Controls in place
- Store components as the maker says and keep them off wet ground.
- Do not use damaged parts without checking them.
Poor storage can damage a stair before it is fitted and make the route unsafe.
Timber staircase installation Check the opening and supports
- Check the opening, landing and supports match the stair information before it is lifted.
- Stop if the sizes, levels or supports do not match.
Hazard
An unstable stair or failed installation
Who might be harmed and how
Stair installers and people below
Controls in place
- Use the current installation information for the named stair.
- Do not make up a support or fixing detail on site.
The opening and supports must suit the stair before its weight is put on them.
Timber staircase installation
What the builder asks about Staircase installation
Your answers decide which steps, hazards and controls it suggests.
The job
- What stair system are you installing?
- What is being repaired or altered?
- What parts are in the stair package?
Where
- How will people avoid the stair while you work?
- What pipes or cables run in the walls, floors or stair opening?
- Is the building older than the year 2000? Older buildings can have asbestos in them.
How it’s done
- What will you stand on to reach the work?
- Is the bit holding the stair up affected?
- How will the stair flight get to the work?
- Will you cut anything on site, and with what?
What your Staircase installation 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.