A safety method statement is a method statement; the word safety is what the document is for and adds nothing to its name. It is the how of a task: the steps in order, with the control from the risk assessment placed at the step where it applies, and the plant, the permits, the PPE and the emergency arrangements around them. It is written from the assessment, briefed to the crew, signed by them and kept against the job. The risk assessment and method statement tool on this site builds it from the assessment, free and without an account.
What it holds
The setting-up steps that put the controls in place, the doing steps with each control named where it applies, the making-safe and clearing steps, and around them the plant with its inspection status, the permits, the PPE per step and the emergency arrangements including the rescue plan for height. 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.
How it pairs with the assessment
The assessment finds the hazards and the controls; the method applies them. Each hazard is numbered in the assessment and referenced at the step in the method, so a reviewer can see every control applied. 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.
Who reads it
The crew, at the briefing, following the steps; the site manager, at approval under CDM, checking the permits and plant exist; an inspector, later, reading the signed version that applied on the day. It is written as steps for the first reader.
Keeping it
Signed, in its version, against the job, with the review date and any incident report that triggers a review. 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 safety method statement
Is a safety method statement different from a RAMS?
The RAMS is the assessment and the method in one document; the safety method statement is the method half.
Is it a legal requirement?
Not by name; the risk assessment is. Managed sites require the method under their site rules.
Is the tool free?
Yes, without an account.