Risk and method statement is the shortened name for a risk assessment and method statement, and the shortening drops the word that matters: assessment. The document is not a statement of risks; it is an assessment of them, with controls, followed by the method that applies the controls step by 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. The risk assessment and method statement tool on this site prints the full document from your task's figures, free and without an account.
The assessment, not a list
A list of risks is what a generic document offers; an assessment says who is at risk from each hazard, how likely and how serious, what control reduces it and what risk remains. 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 method that applies the controls
The steps of the task in order, each naming the control from the assessment at the point it is applied, with plant, permits, PPE and emergency arrangements. The tool on this site builds the steps from the assessment's controls so none is left out.
One document, one header, one sign-on
Job, site, task, dates, author, reviewer at the top; the assessment rows; the method steps; the emergency arrangements; the crew's signatures at the end. That is the file a principal contractor approves under CDM, cited below, and the record an inspector reads.
Keeping it
Against the job, in the version signed, with the review date and any incident report that triggers a review. DailyLogDesk Pro keeps it there; the free 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 risk and method statement
Is a risk and method statement the same as a RAMS?
Yes; the initials stand for risk assessment and method statement.
Do I need one for a one-day job?
The risk assessment, yes; the method statement whenever the site or the client expects it, which on any managed site is always.
Is the tool free?
Yes, without an account.