RAMS and method statement for working at height

Working at height is the single largest cause of fatal injury on British construction sites, so a risk assessment and method statement for it gets read closely. A principal contractor will not take a generic document on trust here. They want to see that you understand the specific access being used, the specific edges being worked near, and how a person is protected at each step. This is a plain-English guide to what a working at height RAMS should cover on a UK site.

What a RAMS for working at height needs to cover

The document has to describe the actual task, not the idea of working at height in general. Roofing off a scaffold is a different job from changing a light on a mobile tower, and both are different from working off a MEWP over a live road. Name the access equipment, the height, the surface, the duration and the people, then build the hazards, controls and sequence around that. The Work at Height Regulations 2005 sit behind all of it, and CDM 2015 requires the risk to be planned and managed.

The main hazards of working at height

• Falls of people from edges, through openings, or off ladders, platforms and roofs.
• Fragile surfaces. Rooflights, old asbestos cement sheets and liner panels that will not bear weight.
• Dropped objects hitting people below, including tools, materials and debris.
• Unsuitable or poorly erected access. Overreaching from ladders, incomplete scaffold, untied towers.
• Weather. Wind that makes platforms or MEWPs unsafe, ice, and reduced grip in the wet.
• Overhead and buried services near the work zone, including live overhead power lines close to MEWPs and towers.
• Manual handling at height and fatigue from awkward, sustained postures.
• Public and traffic below the work where the site adjoins a road or footway.

The control measures a reviewer expects

Controls should follow the hierarchy in the regulations: avoid, prevent, then reduce. Tie each one back to a hazard above.

• Avoid the work at height where reasonably practicable, for example assembling at ground level then lifting into place.
• Prevent falls with collective measures first: a fully boarded scaffold with guardrails and toe boards, a MEWP with the correct guarding, or edge protection to an open edge, before relying on personal protection.
• Protect against fragile surfaces with staging, crawl boards, covers and clear marking. Never step on a rooflight.
• Stop dropped objects with toe boards, brick guards, netting, exclusion zones below and tool tethers.
• Use the right access, inspected. Scaffold handed over and tagged, towers built to the manufacturer sequence, ladders only for short low risk tasks with three points of contact.
• Manage weather. Set a wind speed limit for MEWPs and towers, and a stop rule for ice or high wind.
• Personal fall protection such as a harness and lanyard to a rated anchor only where collective measures are not reasonably practicable, with a rescue plan for a suspended person.
• Competence. Trained operators for MEWPs and tower assembly, and a plan for services and public protection where relevant.

The method statement sequence for working at height

1. Confirm the task, the access equipment and the weather forecast, and check the exclusion zone below is set.
2. Inspect and confirm the access is fit for use: scaffold tag current, tower complete and tied, MEWP pre-use checks done, ladder in good order.
3. Brief the team with a toolbox talk covering the edges, fragile surfaces, wind limit and the rescue plan.
4. Set up edge protection, covers to fragile areas and dropped object measures before anyone goes up.
5. Carry out the work, keeping tools tethered or contained and staying within the guarded area, not overreaching.
6. Monitor the weather and the exclusion zone throughout, and stop if conditions change.
7. Lower materials and tools in a controlled way, never drop or throw.
8. Clear the area, remove temporary access if it is being struck, and record the inspection and sign-off.

Where working at height RAMS usually get rejected

• Jumping straight to a harness without showing why collective protection was not reasonably practicable.
• No rescue plan for a worker left suspended in a harness after a fall.
• Fragile surfaces not identified or controlled, particularly on older roofs.
• No wind speed limit or stop rule for MEWPs and towers.
• Ladders proposed for work that clearly needs a platform.
• A generic sequence that could describe any job, with no set up, access check or exclusion zone.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a RAMS for working at height?

In practice yes. The Work at Height Regulations 2005 require work at height to be properly planned, supervised and carried out by competent people, and CDM 2015 requires the risks to be managed. A task specific RAMS is how most UK sites show that planning, and a principal contractor will usually ask for one before you start.

What counts as work at height?

Any work where a person could fall a distance liable to cause injury. That includes working on ladders, scaffolds, mobile towers, MEWPs, flat and pitched roofs, and near open edges or holes, whether the fall is above or below ground level.

What is the hierarchy for controlling falls?

Avoid the work at height where you can, then prevent falls using collective measures such as guardrails and working platforms before personal measures, and only then use measures that reduce the distance or consequences of a fall such as nets, airbags or a harness and lanyard.

Is this legal advice?

No. This is a plain-English working summary to support site teams. For the detail see the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and HSE guidance INDG401.

Related guides: RAMS for scaffolding, permit to work, and the CDM 2015 regulations explained pillar.