Most contractors looking for "RAMS examples" want the same thing: a real document they can copy the shape of, sense-check their own work against, or hand to a junior writing their first one. Below are seven worked examples from the trades most commonly asked for RAMS in the UK — scaffolding, electrical, groundworks, roofing, hot works, soft-strip demolition and lifting operations — each structured the way a principal contractor expects to see it.
Important caveat: these examples are illustrative. A RAMS is only valid when it reflects the actual site, the actual operatives, the actual plant and the actual sequence. Copying any of them word-for-word will get you rejected. Use them as scaffolding for your own document, not a substitute.
Editable Word UK-aligned 7 worked examples
What a good RAMS example looks like
Before the worked examples, here's the test reviewers apply. A good RAMS example, no matter which trade, has these features:
Named site. Full project address and PC name on the first page.
Defined scope. The exact package, not the whole project.
Specific hazards. Pulled from the work, not a stock library.
Scored risk. Likelihood × severity, with controls and residual risk.
Method that reads like someone has done the job. Step-by-step, with plant and people referenced.
Named operatives with current tickets and refresher dates.
Stop-work triggers that are measurable.
Trade-specific rescue plan.
Sign-off sheet. Briefing record with signatures and date.
Example 1·Scaffolding
Example 1 — Scaffolding
Scope: TG20:21 independent tied scaffold to 9 m on a 3-storey commercial extension, two-person CISRS-carded gang plus advanced supervisor.
Significant hazards
Falls from height during erection and dismantle
Falling tools and materials onto pedestrians
Manual handling of 6.4 m tubes (~20 kg)
Overhead 11 kV lines on the east boundary (7 m offset)
Method sequence: Site survey → drop zone barriered with Heras and signage → standards stepped 2.1 m → 4-board working platform with double guardrail and toe board to BS EN 12811-1 → ties every other lift, Class A1 (chemical) → handover certificate signed by advanced supervisor and PC.
Key controls & stop-work triggers
Stop-work if wind > 17 mph at platform height
Three-point harness rescue kit at platforms 3 and 5
Daily inspection logged on scaffold tag
Example 2·Electrical isolation
Example 2 — Electrical isolation
Scope: Safe isolation, replacement and re-energisation of a 3-phase 100 A distribution board in an occupied plant room. JIB-graded approved electrician, NICEIC contractor.
Significant hazards
Contact with live conductors during isolation
Arc flash during board removal
Loss of supply to cold rooms and IT equipment
Manual handling of board (~28 kg)
Method sequence: Notify occupier 48 h in advance → safe isolation procedure (HSG85) → lock-off and tag with personal padlock → prove dead with two-pole tester (test-prove-test) → remove and replace board → insulation resistance test → re-energise → handover certificate.
Key controls & stop-work triggers
Two-person rule for live work
Arc-rated PPE (ATPV 8 cal/cm² minimum)
Permit-to-work signed by the duty holder
Example 3·Groundworks & excavation
Example 3 — Groundworks & excavation
Scope: Excavation of foundations to 1.8 m depth, adjacent to a live 11 kV cable and a 100 mm gas main. 3T mini-excavator and two operatives.
Significant hazards
Strike on buried services
Collapse of unsupported excavation
Plant overrun / persons in the excavation
Vehicle / pedestrian interface at the gate
Method sequence: Service drawings reviewed → CAT/Genny scan → hand-dig trial holes within 500 mm of marked services → permit-to-dig signed → battered to 1:1 in cohesive ground or trench box for vertical sides → daily face inspection by works supervisor → backfill and reinstate to spec.
Key controls & stop-work triggers
Stop blocks for the mini-excavator
Edge protection within 2 m of the open face
Banksman in hi-vis for every plant movement near the excavation
Example 4·Roofing — working at height
Example 4 — Roofing — working at height
Scope: Strip and re-tile a 1930s domestic semi for a housing association. Edge-protected scaffold to eaves, two-person roofing gang.
Significant hazards
Falls from the eaves edge
Falling tiles onto pedestrians
Manual handling of tile bundles
Solar PV cabling — risk of live electrical contact
Method sequence: Confirm PV isolation with the homeowner's installer → erect edge-protected scaffold with double guardrail and toe board → drop zone barriered → strip tiles to designated waste chute → felt and batten → re-tile and ridge → scaffold dismantle to method statement.
Key controls & stop-work triggers
Permit-to-work for PV isolation
No work in winds > 17 mph
Rescue plan and trained operative on site for any harness use
Example 5·Hot works
Example 5 — Hot works
Scope: Soldering copper pipework on a fit-out in an occupied commercial building. Self-employed plumber with current hot-works permit training.
Significant hazards
Fire from blowtorch ignition of dust or stored materials
Burns from solder and torch
Smoke triggering the fire panel
Lone working out of hours
Method sequence: Hot-works permit issued by building manager → 1 m exclusion zone cleared and damped → fire blanket and extinguisher on station → fire watch maintained during work and for 60 minutes after → permit closed and signed by both parties.
Key controls & stop-work triggers
Detector head isolated and tagged at the fire panel
Lone-working check-in every 30 minutes
Heat-resistant pad behind the joint
Example 6·Soft-strip demolition
Example 6 — Soft-strip demolition
Scope: Soft-strip of a 1960s office floor prior to refurbishment — partitions, ceilings, raised floor, fixtures. Asbestos refurbishment survey complete, no presumed ACMs in scope.
Significant hazards
Discovery of ACMs not identified by the survey
Manual handling of partition panels and ceiling grid
Dust generation
Working alongside other trades on adjacent floors
Method sequence: Pre-start review of the asbestos survey → segregate working area with hoarding → strip ceiling and partitions to skip → daily housekeeping → STOP and call licensed contractor on discovery of any suspect material → final clean and handover.
Key controls & stop-work triggers
FFP3 masks for any dust-generating task
Damp-down for plasterboard removal
Toolbox talk every Monday on asbestos-discovery response
Example 7·Lifting operations
Example 7 — Lifting operations
Scope: 20T mobile crane lifting a packaged AHU onto a flat roof. CPCS-carded appointed person, slinger/signaller and operator.
Significant hazards
Crane overturn / outrigger failure
Load swing into the building
Person under suspended load
Overhead service lines on the lift path
Method sequence: Lift plan (BS 7121) by appointed person → site survey, ground bearing check, outrigger mat selection → exclusion zone barriered with marshalls → tag lines on the load → controlled lift with banksman in radio contact → load landed and de-rigged → de-mob.
Key controls & stop-work triggers
No personnel under the load — enforced exclusion zone
Stop the lift in winds > 25 mph (or per crane chart, whichever lower)
Daily pre-use check signed off by the operator
Skip the editing — generate a site-specific RAMS in 90 seconds
A worked example can help you understand the structure, but it still needs to be rewritten for the actual work. Riskora's RAMS generator is free for one lifetime safety document — pick a preset, answer questions about the job, and get an editable PDF for competent-person and principal-contractor review.
Common mistakes in template-based RAMS
Submitting a 40-page generic document for a half-day job — reviewers spot it in the first 30 seconds.
Leaving the previous site's address in the project block. Instant rejection on most CDM jobs.
Listing every possible hazard so the document looks thorough — reviewers want the ones that bite on this site.
'Wear PPE' as the only control for working at height. PPE is the last resort, not the first.
Method steps copied from a manufacturer brochure rather than describing your sequence.
No briefing record. Without a signed sign-on, the RAMS hasn't been delivered.
FAQs
Yes — every example downloads as a PDF with no signup beyond a working email so we can send you the file. The Riskora generator is also free for your first complete RAMS.
No. Every example here is a starting point. A RAMS is only valid when it reflects YOUR site, YOUR gang, YOUR plant and YOUR sequence. Use the example to see the shape of a good document, then rewrite the detail.
Site-specific detail, hazards drawn from the actual task, controls that follow the hierarchy (not 'wear PPE' as the only control), a method that reads like the job has been done before, measurable stop-work triggers, and a briefing record.
As long as the work demands. A scaffold sign-off can be two pages; a demolition RAMS might be twenty. Specific beats long.
Yes for anything site-specific. You can keep a master version per task type and adapt it — the adaptation is the whole point of a RAMS.