Method Statement
By the Riskora Editorial Team · Last reviewed
A method statement is a written description of how a specific task will be carried out safely, step by step, on a specific site.
Method statements describe the sequence of work, the plant and equipment used, the people involved and the controls in place at each stage. They are written for a specific job, not as a general procedure.
Method statements are not directly named in primary UK health and safety law, but Regulation 13 of CDM 2015 requires the principal contractor to plan, manage and monitor construction work — which in practice means written method statements for any non-trivial activity.
A method statement should never be reused unedited. The single biggest reason documents are rejected by H&S teams at induction is a method statement that clearly describes a previous job.
Why it matters
The method statement is the contractor's written promise of how the work will be done. If the work on site does not match the document, the work stops — and the contractor is in a difficult position with both the principal contractor and any HSE inspector who turns up.