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Strip out RAMS Builder
Strip out risk assessment and method statement
Prepare RAMS for non-structural strip-out and for sorting, storing and clearing the ordinary waste it makes.
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Pick everything this RAMS covers. The questions that follow are chosen from what you tick here.
Strip out RAMS template
A blank strip out RAMS to fill in: job details, method statement, risk assessment and briefing record.
Risk assessment and method statement
Strip out 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
Strip out RAMS example
The same RAMS, filled in for one job.
Risk assessment and method statement
Strip out, Second floor, Albion House, Manchester
- Company
- Hollins & Reed Strip-out Ltd
- Site and work area
- Second floor, Albion House, Manchester
- Planned dates
- 12 to 14 October 2026
- In charge on site
- Dan Hollins
- Team
- Two operatives: Dan Hollins leads and checks the area 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.
- 2Mark what comes out and staysMark the removal boundary on the drawing and in the work area. Stop if the actual building differs from the information.
- 3Check what is behind the surfaceOpen only after checking the drawings, survey and visible condition of the wall, ceiling or floor. Treat anything hidden, damaged or different from the information as a stop.
- 4Isolate services before disturbing themIdentify cables, pipes, gas, water and other services behind or within the work. Use written isolation information for the parts the work could damage.
- 5Remove stable pieces in orderSupport each section before its last fixing comes out. Remove manageable pieces and clear them before starting the next.
- 6Check for asbestos before you disturb anythingAsk for the asbestos survey or register before you start. Read what it says about walls, ceilings and fittings you are opening. No survey, or a material you do not recognise: stop and get it checked.
- 7Control dust before breaking or cuttingChoose water or vacuum extraction before dusty work starts. Keep others out and clean with a vacuum or wet method.
- 8Stop things falling on people belowFence off the ground below the work so nobody walks under the removed ceiling tiles and fittings. Use toe boards, brick guards or netting on platforms and lanyard tools where you can.
- 9Set up access equipmentUse access equipment suited to the task and work area. Check the equipment before use. Keep the area below the work controlled.
- 10Use the chosen removal methodUse the tool and sequence that match the material and the agreed scope. Keep hands clear and lower removed pieces instead of dropping them.
- 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.
The wrong element is removed and retained work or people are put at risk.
Strip-out workers and other building users
Use the agreed scope and sequence. Keep structural, glazed and live work out of this method.
Hidden structure, asbestos or services are disturbed during strip-out.
Strip-out workers, other trades and building users
Make a small controlled opening where the method allows it. Stop and get the information checked before widening the opening.
A live cable, gas pipe or water service is struck during strip-out.
Strip-out workers and people in the building
Mark the services and isolation points. Do not cut, drill or pull until the relevant service is safe.
A ceiling, partition or fitting falls onto workers or overloads the floor.
Workers and people below or nearby
Follow the agreed top-down sequence. Stop if the item is carrying load or is not what the plan shows.
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.
Workers and building users breathe harmful construction dust.
Workers, other trades and building users
Use the selected source control for the whole task. Stop if it is not controlling the dust.
Removed ceiling tiles and fittings 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.
An uncontrolled tool, piece or fixing strikes a worker or damages retained work.
Strip-out workers and people nearby
Support the piece before the last fixing comes out. Stop if the material or method is different from the plan.
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 Strip out RAMS covers
Removing non-structural ceilings, partitions, fittings and finishes, and segregating and clearing the non-hazardous waste. Not covered: taking down structure or anything holding it up.
- Nonstructural stripout
- Non-hazardous waste handling
Suggested steps and hazards for Strip out
Suggested for nonstructural stripout before any questions are answered.
Mark what comes out and stays
- Mark the removal boundary on the drawing and in the work area.
- Stop if the actual building differs from the information.
Hazard
The wrong element is removed and retained work or people are put at risk.
Who might be harmed and how
Strip-out workers and other building users
Controls in place
- Use the agreed scope and sequence.
- Keep structural, glazed and live work out of this method.
A marked boundary prevents the wrong part of the building being removed.
Check what is behind the surface
- Open only after checking the drawings, survey and visible condition of the wall, ceiling or floor.
- Treat anything hidden, damaged or different from the information as a stop.
Hazard
Hidden structure, asbestos or services are disturbed during strip-out.
Who might be harmed and how
Strip-out workers, other trades and building users
Controls in place
- Make a small controlled opening where the method allows it.
- Stop and get the information checked before widening the opening.
The surface can hide the thing that makes removal unsafe.
Electricity - Systems in buildings Isolate services before disturbing them
- Identify cables, pipes, gas, water and other services behind or within the work.
- Use written isolation information for the parts the work could damage.
Hazard
A live cable, gas pipe or water service is struck during strip-out.
Who might be harmed and how
Strip-out workers and people in the building
Controls in place
- Mark the services and isolation points.
- Do not cut, drill or pull until the relevant service is safe.
Services can be hidden and drawings may not show later alterations.
Electricity - Systems in buildings
What the builder asks about Strip out
Your answers decide which steps, hazards and controls it suggests.
The job
- What are you getting rid of?
Where
- What pipes or cables run the ground or building you will fix or disturb?
- 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?
- How do you know it is not holding anything up?
- How will it get to the skip?
What you’ve been told
- Who is taking the waste away?
What your Strip out 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.