Method Statements

[uksparks]

Hi,

In the domestic world (ok stop laughing, some of us have to do it), how often should you do method statements, I mean, you are not going to do it for an accessory change.

I was just wondering at what level would you think, yes ok i will do one?

I am just preparing / creating paper work for my assessment on Thursday and just wanted to know if im on the right track with these. I have done about 20 method statements for CU changes, rewires, extensions etc, not doing them for every job, I cannot see any need.

Also, risk assessments, presumably, don't do it for every job, but fling a few in for the bigger jobs?

 

[Richard Burns]

RAMS is a minefield of what is required and what is acceptable.
I remember I had a full set of risk assessments and methods statements in place and then when a totally unrelated problem occurred and the management were checking everything, they suddenly decided the RAMS were not up to scratch and need to be much more specific, all fine for years until....


No idea how NICEIC assess these but they are bound to be incompetent at it as they are not professional health and safety.
However nor are you.
You should have overarching method statements for general work, try to be as general as possible so as not to exclude things but not so general that is essentially only says "do the job right". Tailor the method statements to the things you actually do, there is no point in having broad and detailed method statements using data loggers and cherry pickers if you do not have this equipment.
Have a method statement for approaching out of the ordinary jobs so that the way you do them is consistent, this may involve preparing a method statement and risk assessment at the time or the one I always like, "dynamic risk assessments" i.e. non documented risk assessments, prepared at the point of work (look at the job and do it safely!!).
If there are areas of high risk such as ladder work or lofts then a specific method statement for these areas may be useful.

Once you have the method statements in outline then you can prepare the risk assessments for the general cases and reference them in the method statements, I also use the HSE advice sheets as in, according to method statement 001 work with ladder reference will be made to HSE guidance INDG455 and in accordance with the work at height regulations 2005. Saves a lot of typing but would not normally be accepted for commercial work.

Just a few thoughts.

 

[Besoeker]

Hi,

In the domestic world (ok stop laughing, some of us have to do it), how often should you do method statements, I mean, you are not going to do it for an accessory change.

I was just wondering at what level would you think, yes ok i will do one?

I work in the industrial field and we always do risk assessments and method statements.
And it's customer driven.

Other's may correct me on this but I don't think they are mandated by legislation. It's a matter of agreement between you and your customer. You may wish to initiate it so that there is a written agreement between you and your customer on what you are going to do and how you will go about it.

 

[gazj82]

The problem with RAMS is there is no standard way of doing them. What will be accepted by one company / main contractor will be thrown out ny another. It is a complete minefield, it's a case of submit them have them sent back to you with what they are not happy with and the re-submit with there little niggles changed.

I hate doing them, I reallly want to put this in my RAMS.

"Go to work, do a days work using common sense as to not put myself or others in danger, Go home"

 

[Lucien Nunes]

I have a simple, general set of RAMS for each main category of work I do. When I start a job, I do a mental checklist of aspects that might go beyond the scope of my general version, and if any of these hit a high enough risk score I do a bespoke set of RAMS for that job.

I don't do domestic work but I would be happy to present my general version to an inspector as applicable to domestic, with few changes if any. Powered access, confined spaces, incomplete structures / WAH would all get custom RAMS domestic or otherwise.