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Tarmac laying RAMS Builder
Tarmac laying risk assessment and method statement
Prepare RAMS for laying asphalt and resin-bound surfacing on roads, drives and car parks.
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Pick everything this RAMS covers. The questions that follow are chosen from what you tick here.
Tarmac laying RAMS template
A blank tarmac laying RAMS to fill in: job details, method statement, risk assessment and briefing record.
Risk assessment and method statement
Tarmac laying 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
Tarmac laying RAMS example
The same RAMS, filled in for one job.
Risk assessment and method statement
Tarmac laying, Canal Side Business Park, Stockport: main access road
- Company
- Hollins & Reed Surfacing Ltd
- Site and work area
- Canal Side Business Park, Stockport: main access road
- Planned dates
- 12 to 14 October 2026
- In charge on site
- Dan Hollins
- Team
- Four operatives: Dan Hollins leads as supervisor and runs the paver; Priya Shah rakes and checks levels; two more drivers and a banksman.
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.
- 3Check the weather before you startStop handling signs, covers and loose materials when the wind is strong enough to catch them. Stop in heavy rain, ice or lightning, and rest in the shade in hot weather.
- 4Keep the delivery route safeUse a firm, even route suitable for the delivery vehicle and the work area. Separate drivers, pedestrians and surfacing plant before hot material arrives.
- 5Carry the asphalt, aggregate and tools 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.
- 6Check and prepare the baseCheck the base, levels, drainage, cleanliness and moisture before asphalt is delivered. Do not lay on a wet, contaminated or damaged base; put it right or stop the job.
- 7Spread the specified asphalt courseLay the specified mix to the agreed line, level, thickness and course sequence. Keep the mat free from contamination and keep people clear of the paver and hot material.
- 8Control the paver and delivery gapKeep the paver, delivery vehicle and roller moving in the agreed sequence. Use clear signals and keep people out of the paver and reversing zones.
- 9Compact the asphalt in sequenceCompact uniformly with the agreed roller type, load and sequence while the mat is at the specified temperature. Keep the roller route separate from people and other plant.
- 10Cool, inspect and release the routeKeep vehicles and pedestrians off until the fresh surfacing has cooled and passed the project check. Remove barriers only after the named person accepts the route and defects are corrected.
- 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.
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.
Wind catches the signs, covers and loose materials and blows them onto people nearby
The team and people nearby
Check the forecast each morning and agree when the wind stops the work. Tie down or take in loose materials before you leave.
A vehicle or person slips, trips or is struck on the delivery route
Surfacing team, drivers and pedestrians
Use the agreed traffic plan and a trained vehicle marshal. Keep people out of the reversing and unloading area.
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.
A failed or uneven base leaves a defective surface and creates trips or skids
Surfacing team, drivers and people using the route
Record the base check before delivery. Keep rain and standing water out of the laying area.
Hot asphalt or moving plant injures someone, or the finished course is uneven
Surfacing team, drivers and people nearby
Have a competent supervisor control laying and finishing. Use the agreed plant route and exclusion area.
A delivery vehicle or paver strikes a person or stops the mat from being laid evenly
Surfacing team, drivers and pedestrians
Use one agreed marshal and visible signals. Stop plant before anyone enters its operating area.
Poor density, displaced asphalt or a roller strikes someone
Surfacing team and people near the plant
Use the approved trial or project compaction method. Use a trained operator and clear signals.
A road user enters fresh asphalt, is burned or damages an unfinished surface
Drivers, pedestrians and surfacing team
Keep the closure and diversion in place through cooling. Record the inspection and handover.
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 Tarmac laying RAMS covers
Laying hot asphalt over a prepared base, or resin-bound aggregate onto a sound sub-base, by hand or machine. Not covered: planing off the old surface and excavating the sub-base.
- Lay asphalt surfacing
- Lay resin-bound surfacing
Suggested steps and hazards for Tarmac laying
Suggested for lay asphalt surfacing before any questions are answered.
Keep the delivery route safe
- Use a firm, even route suitable for the delivery vehicle and the work area.
- Separate drivers, pedestrians and surfacing plant before hot material arrives.
Hazard
A vehicle or person slips, trips or is struck on the delivery route
Who might be harmed and how
Surfacing team, drivers and pedestrians
Controls in place
- Use the agreed traffic plan and a trained vehicle marshal.
- Keep people out of the reversing and unloading area.
A firm route and separated traffic reduce vehicle and pedestrian injuries around delivery.
Driving surfaces Check and prepare the base
- Check the base, levels, drainage, cleanliness and moisture before asphalt is delivered.
- Do not lay on a wet, contaminated or damaged base; put it right or stop the job.
Hazard
A failed or uneven base leaves a defective surface and creates trips or skids
Who might be harmed and how
Surfacing team, drivers and people using the route
Controls in place
- Record the base check before delivery.
- Keep rain and standing water out of the laying area.
Asphalt needs a suitable foundation, drainage and clean dry conditions to perform properly.
Driving surfaces Spread the specified asphalt course
- Lay the specified mix to the agreed line, level, thickness and course sequence.
- Keep the mat free from contamination and keep people clear of the paver and hot material.
Hazard
Hot asphalt or moving plant injures someone, or the finished course is uneven
Who might be harmed and how
Surfacing team, drivers and people nearby
Controls in place
- Have a competent supervisor control laying and finishing.
- Use the agreed plant route and exclusion area.
Controlled spreading gives the surface the specified profile while keeping people away from hot plant.
Specification 13: Marshall Asphalt for Airfields
What the builder asks about Tarmac laying
Your answers decide which steps, hazards and controls it suggests.
Where
- What is the base like before asphalt arrives?
- What is the base like before resin is mixed?
How it’s done
- What will you stand on to reach the work?
- How will you lay the asphalt?
- What resin-bound system are you using?
- How will the asphalt, aggregate and tools get to the work?
What you’ve been told
- How will the fresh asphalt be released to traffic?
- How will you keep people off the fresh resin?
What your Tarmac laying 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.