What’s Inside a RAMS Pack

Risk Assessments and Method Statements (RAMS) are the mechanism that translates project risk into an agreed, auditable system of work. In landscaping, RAMS matter not only for safe construction delivery but also because external works frequently interface with live operations, public access, underground services, drainage assets, and multiple concurrent trades.

A RAMS pack is therefore not “paperwork”; it is governance. It provides the documented controls that allow Principal Contractors, clients, and auditors to confirm: the risks were identified, the method was planned, and the controls were briefed and implemented.

A typical RAMS pack includes:

• Activity-specific risk assessments aligned to the actual site environment
• Step-by-step method statements, including sequencing and hold points
• Plant and equipment controls (suitability, inspections, exclusion zones)
• Underground services interface controls (permits, scans, hand-dig zones)
• Traffic and pedestrian segregation arrangements
• COSHH assessments and material handling requirements
• Emergency arrangements and escalation contacts
• Briefing records and toolbox talk sign-off for traceability

RAMS in live and phased environments

On schools, healthcare sites, occupied housing, or public realm works, RAMS also governs operational risk. This includes safeguarding expectations, controlled delivery routes, working-hour constraints, secure storage, boundary controls, and maintaining predictable access for building users.

RAMS should be reviewed and reissued when conditions change — for example, where new work fronts open, site access routes alter, sequencing is revised, or other trades create new interface risks. That review process is a key part of maintaining control on live sites.