What is method statement is answered in a sentence: it is the document that says how a task will be done, step by step, with the controls from the risk assessment applied at the step where they matter. It exists because a risk assessment finds the controls and something has to say when and by whom each is put in place. It is written by the contractor, briefed to and signed by the crew, and approved by the site manager on a managed site. The risk assessment and method statement tool on this site builds one from the assessment, free and without an account.
What it contains
The task and site; the steps in order, from setting up through the work to making safe; the control at each step, referenced to the assessment's hazard; the plant with its inspection status; the permits; the PPE; the emergency and rescue arrangements; the sign-on sheet. 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.
Who writes it and who reads it
The contractor's competent person writes it, from the assessment, with the crew who will do the work. The crew reads it at the briefing and follows it. The principal contractor's site manager reads it at approval, under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 cited below. An inspector reads the signed version later.
Why it exists
Because a control that is not placed at a step is done from memory, and memory is what fails on a Friday afternoon. The method is the assessment's controls turned into a sequence someone can follow with a finger on the page.
Is it required
Not by name in the regulations; the risk assessment is. Managed sites require a method statement for tasks with significant risk as a matter of site rules, which in practice means always. DailyLogDesk Pro keeps the signed method against the job; the tool prints it.
Questions people ask about what is method statement
What is the difference between a method statement and a risk assessment?
The assessment finds the hazards and controls; the method says how the work is done with the controls applied. Together they are the RAMS.
How long is a method statement?
As long as the task's steps; the tool prints the reading time as the check.
Is the tool free?
Yes, without an account.