A RAMS template is judged by the person who has to approve it before work starts, usually the principal contractor's site manager, and they read it in a fixed order. The job and site, the task, the hazards with who is at risk and how, the controls and the residual risk, then the method step by step with the controls applied, the PPE and permits, the emergency arrangements, and the sign-on sheet that shows the crew read it. 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. The risk assessment and method statement tool on this site prints that template sized to your task, free.
Header and task
Contractor, client, site address, job reference, the task in a sentence, the dates, the people, the author and the reviewer. A RAMS with no job reference cannot be filed against the job, and one with no reviewer has not been checked. The tool on this site carries the header from the job.
The risk assessment section
One row per hazard: the hazard, who is at risk, how, the likelihood and severity, the control, the residual risk. Site-specific, because the approver knows their site. Five hazards well assessed beat twenty copied. The tool counts the hazards and controls and prints the rows.
The method statement section
The work step by step, in order, with the control from the assessment named at the step where it applies: the exclusion zone set before the lift, the harness clipped before the edge, the isolation proved before the cut. Plant, materials, permits and PPE listed against the steps that use them.
Emergency, sign-on, review
What happens if it goes wrong: first aid, the nearest hospital, the rescue plan for work at height, who to call. Then the sign-on sheet the crew signs after the briefing, and the review date. DailyLogDesk Pro keeps the signed RAMS against the job; 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 rams template
Does every job need a RAMS?
Every task with significant risk on a site where someone else is in control expects one, and the risk assessment part is a legal requirement regardless.
How long should a RAMS be?
As long as the task's hazards and steps. A RAMS the crew will not read protects nobody; the tool prints the reading time.
Is the template free?
Yes, without an account. Keeping the signed RAMS against each job is the paid product.