Method statement meaning is the how: the document that says how a task will be done, step by step, with the control from the risk assessment placed at the step where it applies. It exists because the assessment finds the controls and something has to say when and by whom each is put in place. It is written from the assessment, briefed to the crew, signed by them and approved by the site. The risk assessment and method statement tool on this site builds it from the assessment, free and without an account.
What it means for the crew
Steps they can follow with a finger on the page: set the exclusion zone, isolate and prove dead, erect the edge protection, then the work, then the reverse. The control at the step is the meaning of the document. The HSE's guidance, cited below, gives risk assessment as five steps: identify hazards, assess the risks, control the risks, record your findings, review the controls, and says that if you employ 5 or more people you must record your significant findings.
What it means for the site
Under CDM, cited below, a document to check against the construction phase plan before the task starts: the permits, the plant, the interfaces, the emergency arrangements. The crew works to the steps as written, and a step that cannot be followed is raised before the work moves on.
What it means for the record
The signed version in force on the day, which the investigation after an incident reads for whether the control was at a step. Regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, cited below, requires every employer to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to the health and safety of their employees, and regulation 3(6) requires an employer with five or more employees to record the significant findings and any group of employees especially at risk.
Kept
Signed, versioned, against the job with its assessment. DailyLogDesk Pro keeps it; the tool prints it. From the vendors' own pricing pages, cited below: SafetyCulture lists its Premium plan at $29 per seat per month billed monthly or $24 billed annually, with a free plan for small teams; Contractor Foreman lists its Basic plan at $49 per month for one user. DailyLogDesk Pro is $29 per month for the whole site team.
Questions people ask about method statement meaning
Is a method statement the same as a RAMS?
The RAMS is the assessment and the method together; the method statement is the second half.
Is it required by law?
Not by name; the assessment is, and managed sites require the method under their plan.
Is the tool free?
Yes, without an account.