Practical RAMS checklist
A practical checklist for writing or reviewing site-specific RAMS and SSRAMS, from the first project brief to review, briefing and controlled changes.
Request a RAMS quotePegasus editorial team · Reviewed 10 October 2026
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Download the RAMS project-brief checklist (plain text). No signup needed. It helps you prepare a brief; it is not a completed risk assessment.
Who this helps
Useful when
The position
RAMS combines a risk assessment with a method statement. SSRAMS is used here for site-specific risk assessments and method statements; check the requesting client's terminology. To make the pack useful, trace each stage of the job to its hazards, controls, responsible people and conditions for starting. Use the checklist below to find information gaps before submission, then check that the agreed arrangements can actually be delivered on site.
Identify what is missing before sending RAMS for review
Connect each work stage to a control and a responsible person
Prepare a clearer brief for writing or review support
Scope
Every engagement is scoped around authority, operating context, available evidence and the decision that must be made.
Name the work package, location, limits and interfaces. Check the drawing revisions, access route and neighbouring activities. A reviewer should be able to distinguish this job from another similar job. Record which conditions have been confirmed and which still need checking.
For each stage, consider who could be affected and how, including other trades, occupants and the public. Include relevant health exposures as well as immediate injury risks. Check that controls address the hazard and can be provided in the actual working area.
Write the proposed order from arrival and preparation through completion and handover. Connect the controls to the stage where they are needed. Identify checks before starting, dependencies on other teams and hold points where work must wait for an authorised decision.
Identify the supervisor and who confirms critical prerequisites. Check the planned people, competence, equipment and materials against what will be available. State the applicable permit, isolation, access and emergency arrangements, with specialist plans referenced where needed.
Check that the method and risk assessment agree. Record missing evidence, assumptions and reviewer comments with an owner for each action. A signature should not conceal an unresolved issue. Make the current revision and the route for accepting amendments easy to identify.
Use the briefing to check understanding of the sequence, controls, interfaces and stop points. Invite workers to flag anything impractical. If the task, site or equipment changes, reassess the affected work and arrange the necessary revision and briefing before continuing.
Method
Decision points, responsibilities and verification stay visible from the start.
Bring together the scope, site information, current drawings, client requirements and any existing RAMS or comments.
Build the task sequence and connect its hazards, controls and prerequisites. Record questions instead of inventing missing detail.
Ask the delivery team whether the method matches the planned resources and site. Assign unresolved points to people who can verify them.
Follow the project's authorised review route, identify the current revision and brief the people carrying out the work.
Compare the working conditions with the agreed method. Escalate changes, update the affected content and re-brief as required.
Outputs
Project brief: activity, site, work limits and target review date
Input register: current drawings, site rules, existing RAMS and client comments
Open questions: missing information, responsible person and required decision
Document control: revision, review status and changes to be briefed
Professional boundaries
Questions answered
The duties concern assessing and controlling risk, with specific requirements depending on the work. HSE says employers with five or more people must record significant risk-assessment findings. Written arrangements are required before demolition, dismantling or structural alteration; method statements are a usual way to record them. HSE also describes method statements as useful for many other construction activities. Check the applicable duties and client requirements for your work.
A template can provide a structure, but its contents must be checked against the actual activity and site. HSE warns against copying an example assessment and simply changing the company name. Remove irrelevant material, investigate missing information and make sure each control describes what will actually happen.
A phrase such as 'use suitable equipment' leaves the reader unable to verify the arrangement. The pack should identify the equipment or agreed selection criteria, the checks required and who is responsible. Detail must come from the job and competent planning, rather than assumptions added to make a document look complete.
No. The construction phase plan covers the project's health and safety arrangements; task RAMS addresses the specified activity. HSE sets out who must prepare the plan and explains that contractors must follow the parts relevant to their work. Check the documents and site arrangements together.
Review when controls may be ineffective or a change could create new risk. HSE also highlights worker concerns, accidents and near misses as reasons to consider a review. On a live job, resolve the affected activity, document changes and communicate the current method through the agreed site process.
Request writing support if there is no suitable starting document or the job has materially changed. Request a review if you have a pack and need its gaps or client comments worked through. The RAMS writing and review service linked below explains the information needed and the outputs that can be agreed.
Authoritative references
External references support context; they do not imply endorsement of Pegasus.
Start the conversation
If you need writing or review support, start with the activity, site, available documents and review date. Mention any client comments or missing information in a non-confidential enquiry.
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