Online Risk Assessment Tool — For UK Contractors & Site Managers
By the Riskora Editorial Team · Reviewed against our editorial standards · Last reviewed
A structured online risk assessment tool built for workplace health & safety on UK construction sites — not online-safety, not Ofcom compliance. Pre-loaded hazards, practical controls, and a professional output your principal contractor will accept.
UK (RAMS) example document — Two-Storey Rear Extension — 14 Birchwood Lane, Reading. Client: Mr & Mrs A. Whitfield (Private Client). Site: 14 Birchwood Lane, Reading, RG1 5JT. Scope: Construction of a two-storey rear extension (6.4m × 4.2m) to an existing semi-detached dwelling. Works comprise breaking out of existing rear elevation, trench-fill foundations to 1.0m, traditional cavity blockwork to first floor, pre-stressed concrete lintels, timber roof structure with natural slate finish, plus alterations to existing rear wall to form structural opening with rolled steel joist (RSJ 203×102 UB23). Works programmed over 9 weeks with a peak site team of 6 operatives. Hazards assessed: Manual handling — blocks, lintels, plasterboard, Working at height — independent scaffold & roof structure, Buried services strike during excavation, Collapse of excavation / trench wall, Hand-arm vibration (HAVS) — breaking out, drilling, Silica dust — cutting blocks, brick, concrete, Vehicle/pedestrian segregation — narrow domestic street.
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Why Most 'Online Risk Assessment Tools' Don't Fit Construction
Search for an online risk assessment tool and you'll find a confusing mix — HSE's generic templates, EU OSHA's OiRA, Ofcom's Online Safety Act tool, NSPCC's online-harm guidance for schools. None of them produce a site-ready document a UK principal contractor will sign off. Generic spreadsheets miss trade-specific hazards; safeguarding tools answer a different question entirely. If you're a contractor, site manager, or subcontractor, you need a builder that understands what a workplace risk assessment actually requires under MHSWR 1999 and CDM 2015.
HSE statistics consistently show construction as the sector with the highest number of workplace fatalities in the UK — suitable and sufficient risk assessment is a legal requirement under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, reinforced by the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM 2015) and the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
How Riskora Helps
Riskora is an online risk assessment tool purpose-built for UK construction and trades. Pick your work type, review pre-loaded hazards and control measures, add site-specific details, and download a professional PDF document in under five minutes. Want just the risk assessment? Use the risk assessment generator. Need a full RAMS with method statement? The RAMS builder handles both in one document.
Who it's for
- Contractors producing site-specific risk assessments for principal contractor approval
- Site managers documenting hazards before work commences
- Subcontractors generating task-specific assessments in minutes
- Self-employed tradespeople meeting CDM 2015 documentation duties
Understand the Fundamentals
Before you generate your document, these guides cover the knowledge that underpins every good RAMS, risk assessment, and method statement.
Risk Assessment Generator
Standalone risk assessment builder when you don't need a full method statement.
RAMS Generator (UK)
Combined risk assessment + method statement in one document — what most principal contractors want.
Method Statement Generator
Step-by-step method statement when the risk assessment already exists.
What Is a RAMS Document?
The two components, why they're required, and how risk assessment fits in.
UK Legal Requirements for Risk Assessments
What MHSWR 1999 and CDM 2015 require, and what 'suitable and sufficient' means in practice.
How to Write a RAMS Document
Step-by-step structure from project details through sign-off.
Key Risks and Considerations
- •Falls from height — the single largest cause of fatal injuries in UK construction (HSE annual statistics)
- •Struck by moving or falling objects — plant, materials, tools dropped from above
- •Electrical contact — overhead power lines, buried cables, faulty site equipment
- •Manual handling injuries — lifting, carrying, repetitive strain on site
- •Hazardous substance exposure — silica dust, solvents, asbestos in refurbishment (COSHH 2002)
- •Slips, trips and falls on the level — wet surfaces, cables, uneven ground
- •Confined space entry — oxygen deficiency, toxic atmospheres in tanks and excavations
Key Features
- Pre-loaded hazard libraries by trade (construction, utilities, landscaping, archaeology)
- 5×5 risk matrix with severity and likelihood scoring
- Edit any hazard, control, or method step before downloading
- Professional PDF output accepted by UK principal contractors
- Company logo on every document
- Version history and re-issue when site conditions change
Example Structure (UK Standard)
- Project details — site address, client, principal contractor, dates, scope of works
- Persons at risk — operatives, other trades, visitors, members of the public
- Hazard identification — pre-loaded by trade, edited for site-specific conditions
- Risk scoring — 5×5 matrix with severity × likelihood before and after controls
- Control measures — elimination, substitution, engineering, admin, PPE (hierarchy of control)
- Residual risk — what remains after controls and how it's monitored
- Sign-off — competent person, date, version, distribution list
Common Questions Before Getting Started
Will this take long?
Under 5 minutes. Select your trade, pick hazards, download.
Is it complicated?
No training needed. The guided builder walks you through every step.
Do I need experience?
If you know what work you're doing, you can use Riskora.
Is it free to try?
Yes. The Free plan needs no card — generate, review and download one free PDF. Upgrade any time for branding, DOCX, sign-off and higher limits.
Create your RAMS in under 5 minutes
No onboarding or setup needed — start generating documents instantly
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All documents generated by Riskora should be reviewed by a competent person before use on site. Riskora provides structured templates — professional judgement is always required.
What your RAMS actually contains
Riskora builds a structured, client-facing document — not a generic AI paragraph. Every section is shaped around your job, your site and your team.
Hazards
Task-specific hazards for the job, captured row by row — not a generic list pulled from an old RAMS.
Controls
Control measures mapped to each hazard with residual risk scoring after controls are applied.
PPE
PPE requirements tied to the activity and site, ready to brief to the team.
Method steps
Step-by-step method statement structured around how the work is actually sequenced on site.
Emergency arrangements
First aid, rescue plan, emergency contacts and site-specific escalation routes.
COSHH prompts
Substance prompts when the work involves chemicals, dusts, fumes or sealants — flagged early, not missed at review.
Sign-off
Operative sign-off captured against the document — names, dates and acknowledgement of the brief.
Version history
Every change tracked so you can show what was issued, when, and which version the team signed.
Approval status
Clear approval state on every document — draft, in review, approved, issued — visible across the team.
Audit trail
Who created it, who reviewed it, who signed it. A complete trail you can hand to a principal contractor or auditor.
From copied-and-pasted to site-specific
The reason RAMS get rejected is rarely the format — it's that the document is obviously generic. Riskora rebuilds it around this job, this site and this task.
Generic template copied from an old job.
- • Hazards and controls that don't match this site or task.
- • Method steps written for a different sequence of work.
- • No emergency arrangements specific to the location.
- • Client flags it as generic and asks for a rewrite.
Site-specific document structured around this job, site and task.
- • Hazards captured from the actual scope you pasted in.
- • Method steps sequenced for how the work runs on site.
- • Emergency arrangements and rescue plan tied to the location.
- • Approved internally, briefed to the team, signed off and stored.
From job details to signed-off document
A four-step workflow used by contractors, consultants and safety teams to turn informal job details into client-ready safety paperwork.
- 1Paste job details
Drop in a client email, a WhatsApp from the site manager, a scope of works or a tender note. Anything that describes the job.
- 2Riskora structures the document
Riskora turns your brief into hazards, controls, method steps, PPE, emergency arrangements and COSHH prompts.
- 3Review, edit and download
You stay in control of every section. Tweak anything, then download a clean PDF or share a link.
- 4Brief the team and record sign-off
Brief operatives, capture their sign-off and keep a full audit trail of who signed which version.
Built by people who've written this paperwork on real sites
Riskora is built by a founder with hands-on site and document experience — designed for contractors, consultants and safety teams who need to issue, brief and prove safety paperwork without losing a day to admin.
- Built for contractors, consultants and teams
Solo trades, principal contractors and in-house safety teams all run on the same workflow. - Supports multiple countries
UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, US and Canada — wording and document types match the local standard. - Not just documents
Sign-off, approvals, version history and an audit trail — the management workflow around the paperwork.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ready? It takes less than 5 minutes.
No training. No complex setup. Just select your trade and go.
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References & Further Reading
Primary UK sources covering the legal and practical framework behind RAMS, risk assessments and method statements.
Create your RAMS free — preview before sign-up
Generate a preview first. Sign up only when you want to save, edit or export.
Final RAMS must be reviewed and approved by a competent person before use.
Riskora is an assistive document preparation tool. All documents generated must be reviewed, verified, and approved by a competent person before use on site. Riskora does not replace professional safety judgment, and no output should be treated as a legal compliance guarantee.