RAMS for Site Clearance (UK) – Generate in Minutes
By the Riskora Editorial Team · Reviewed against our editorial standards · Last reviewed
Site clearance is often the first phase of a construction project — and one of the most unpredictable. Unknown ground conditions, contaminated materials, hidden services, and unstable structures all need documenting before work begins. Riskora generates structured RAMS for site clearance with relevant hazards built in.
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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Site Clearance Uncovers Risks That Weren't in the Plan
Site clearance work regularly exposes hazards that were not identified during the initial survey — buried asbestos, uncharted services, contaminated soil, unstable retaining walls, and unexpected voids. Workers are often the first people on site and face conditions that have not been assessed. Without a thorough RAMS covering the range of potential hazards, teams are working blind. Principal contractors expect site clearance RAMS to address contamination, services, structural stability, and waste segregation before the first machine arrives. Many contractors aren't sure what a RAMS document actually requires, which leads to submissions being rejected.
CDM 2015 requires that pre-construction information is gathered and shared before work begins. For site clearance, this includes information about existing structures, contamination, services, and any other hazards that may affect the safety of workers on site.
How Riskora Helps
Riskora generates site clearance RAMS covering vegetation removal, structure demolition, waste segregation, contaminated land procedures, and underground service avoidance. The system loads hazards specific to brownfield sites, greenfield preparation, and mixed-use clearance projects. If you're new to RAMS, our step-by-step guide to writing a RAMS explains the fundamentals before you start generating.
Who it's for
- Demolition contractors clearing brownfield sites for redevelopment
- Groundworks firms preparing greenfield sites for housing developments
- Environmental remediation teams clearing contaminated land
- Developers managing site clearance before principal contractor appointment
- Landscaping companies clearing overgrown or derelict sites
Understand the Fundamentals
Before you generate your document, these guides cover the knowledge that underpins every good RAMS, risk assessment, and method statement.
What Is a RAMS Document?
Understand the two components of a RAMS and why they're required before work begins on site.
How to Write a RAMS Document
A step-by-step guide to structuring your RAMS from project details through to sign-off.
UK Legal Requirements for Risk Assessments
What the law requires under MHSWR 1999 and CDM 2015, and what 'suitable and sufficient' means.
Who Needs a RAMS?
Find out whether your work requires a RAMS and who is responsible for producing one.
How to Write a RAMS (UK Guide)
A practical walkthrough of writing RAMS from scratch, covering structure, common mistakes, and what reviewers look for.
Construction Safety Documents Explained
An overview of the key safety documents required on UK construction sites and how they relate to each other.
Key Risks and Considerations
- •Asbestos-containing materials in existing structures or buried waste
- •Contaminated soil — hydrocarbons, heavy metals, or industrial chemicals
- •Uncharted underground services — electricity, gas, water, telecoms
- •Unstable structures — walls, basements, and retaining structures
- •Sharps, needles, and hazardous waste on neglected or derelict sites
- •Plant operations near site boundaries and public areas
- •Dust generation from demolition and earth-moving activities
- •Ecological hazards — protected species, nesting birds, Japanese knotweed
What UK Law Actually Says
Direct quotes from the named regulations, with plain-English explanations of what each one means in practice.
Regulation 4, Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012
“Every employer must take suitable and sufficient steps to identify the type, location and condition of any asbestos-containing materials in any non-domestic premises before any work liable to expose them to ACMs is carried out.”
CAR 2012 Reg 4 is why every site clearance on a structure built before 2000 needs a documented Refurbishment & Demolition (R&D) Survey. The RAMS must reference the survey report number, surveyor (UKAS-accredited), and the management of any positive findings.
Read the source on legislation.gov.uk →Regulation 4, CDM 2015 — Client duties
“A client must make suitable arrangements for managing a project, including allocating sufficient time and resources, and providing pre-construction information to designers and contractors.”
CDM 2015 Reg 4 puts the pre-construction information (PCI) duty on the client. Site-clearance contractors must demand the PCI pack — asbestos survey, contaminated-land report, services drawings — and reference it explicitly in the RAMS, otherwise the duty defaults back to the contractor.
Read the source on legislation.gov.uk →Regulation 22, Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015
“Where an excavation is liable to fall or dislodge material, suitable and sufficient steps shall be taken to prevent any person from being buried or trapped, including by underground services.”
Site clearance often involves grubbing-up foundations and exposing buried services. Reg 22 requires the RAMS to document service detection (CAT & Genny + trial holes) before any mechanical excavation — the same standard as utility excavation.
Read the source on legislation.gov.uk →The Numbers Behind the Risk
Why this matters — the most recent published figures from the Health and Safety Executive and ONS.
5,000+ asbestos deaths per year
HSE confirms around 5,000 UK deaths per year from past asbestos exposure (mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer) — many traced to construction and demolition workers who disturbed ACMs decades earlier without a survey.
Source: HSE — Asbestos-related disease statistics →13 demolition deaths per year
HSE construction sector reports show demolition and site clearance accounts for an outsized share of fatalities relative to hours worked — typically 10–15 deaths per year, with structural collapse and falls as the leading causes.
Source: HSE — Construction industry statistics →Common Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)
1. No R&D survey before any mechanical works
Why it fails: Even minor mechanical disturbance of a pre-2000 structure (sheds, garages, hardstanding, painted soffits) can release asbestos fibres. CAR 2012 Reg 4 makes the R&D survey a precondition, not a desirable.
Fix: Reference the R&D survey report number on the RAMS front sheet, list every ACM finding with location, and specify the licensed contractor for any removal before clearance starts.
2. Treating contaminated land as 'discover and react'
Why it fails: On brownfield sites with industrial history, the RAMS must assume contamination until a Phase 2 ground investigation proves otherwise. Workers exposed to lead, hydrocarbons, or heavy metals through inadequate PPE drive enforcement action.
Fix: Reference the Phase 1 desk study and Phase 2 GI report; specify the unexpected-find procedure (stop work, set zone, sample, dispose under EWC code) before machine clearance.
3. Ecology not assessed before vegetation strip
Why it fails: Clearing nesting birds (Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981), bat roosts (Habitats Regulations 2017), or Japanese knotweed (Environmental Protection Act 1990) without survey is a criminal offence — and triggers project-stop notices.
Fix: Reference the ecology walkover (PEA) report and any protected-species licence numbers. Specify the seasonal window for vegetation strip (typically outside Mar–Aug for nesting birds).
Pre-Clearance Survey Stack — UK Quick Reference
Before any plant arrives on site, the RAMS must reference the complete pre-clearance survey pack. Missing one survey is the most common reason site-clearance RAMS are rejected by principal contractors and the most common cause of HSE notices once work starts.
| Survey | Trigger | Regulation | Competent person |
|---|---|---|---|
| Refurbishment & Demolition (R&D) asbestos survey | Any structure built pre-2000 | CAR 2012 Reg 4 | UKAS-accredited surveyor (P402 / BOHS) |
| Phase 1 / Phase 2 ground investigation | Industrial / brownfield history | Environmental Protection Act 1990 Part IIA | Chartered geo-environmental engineer |
| Utility drawing pack + CAT scan | Any excavation or grubbing | CDM 2015 Reg 22; HSG47 | PAS 128 utility surveyor |
| Preliminary Ecological Appraisal (PEA) | Vegetated or derelict site | Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981; Habitats Regs 2017 | CIEEM-registered ecologist |
| Structural appraisal | Demolition / soft-strip of existing structure | BS 6187:2011; CDM 2015 Reg 19 | Chartered structural engineer |
Sources: CAR 2012; CDM 2015; BS 6187:2011 (Code of practice for full and partial demolition); HSE HSG47; CIEEM Guidelines for Preliminary Ecological Appraisal. Original synthesis — confirm scope with the project CDM Principal Designer.
Key Features
- Site clearance hazard presets for brownfield and greenfield sites
- Contaminated land risk sections
- Asbestos survey integration prompts
- Waste segregation and disposal templates
- Underground service avoidance procedures
- Download to PDF
Example Structure (UK Standard)
- Project Details and Site Clearance Scope
- Pre-Clearance Survey Findings
- Risk Assessment — Contamination, Services, Structures, Ecology
- Asbestos Management and Refurbishment/Demolition Survey
- Underground Service Identification and Avoidance
- Method Statement — Vegetation, Structures, Hardstanding, Soil
- Waste Segregation and Disposal Procedures
- Plant and Vehicle Management
- Dust and Noise Control Measures
- PPE Requirements
- Emergency Procedures
- Sign-Off
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
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References & Further Reading
Primary UK sources covering the legal and practical framework behind RAMS, risk assessments and method statements.
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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.