UK construction-safety guidance by the Riskora Editorial Team
Producing a proper method statement for groundwork is not optional — it is a legal and practical requirement for construction work in the UK. Whether you are a sole trader or managing a multi-phase project, documented risk management protects your workers, satisfies clients, and keeps you on the right side of HSE enforcement.
Example Method Statement
Method Statement for Groundwork
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A method statement for groundwork is expected by most principal contractors and clients as part of the RAMS package for construction projects. While not always a strict legal requirement, failure to provide one often results in denied site access.
A construction contractor in UK needs to produce a method statement for groundwork before starting work next week. The client has requested professional documentation as a condition of site access. Using Riskora, they select the relevant trade preset, review pre-populated hazards, adjust controls for their specific site, and generate a professional method statement in under 5 minutes — ready for review and sign-off.
CDM 2015 places the planning duty on the contractor, and for groundworks the specific technical duties sit alongside it: regulation 22 for excavations, HSG47 for buried services, and the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 for the breaker and compactor work that dominates the programme. Where five or more people are employed, the significant findings of the assessment behind the method statement must be recorded.
CDM Regulations 2015 · SI 2015/51
HSE
Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 · SI 2005/1093
HSE
COSHH Regulations 2002 (silica dust, wet cement) · SI 2002/2677
HSE
Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 · SI 1992/2793
HSE
Groundworks packages are usually rejected for being written as one activity when they are six: dig, services, drainage, sub-base, kerbing and concrete. Each has a different hazard profile and a different competent person, and a principal contractor reading the method statement is checking whether the sequencing between them has actually been thought through — particularly where the dig is open while drainage is being laid.
| Hazard | Control measure |
|---|---|
| Plant and pedestrian interface across an open groundworks site | Traffic management plan with one-way routes, physical segregation, marked crossing points, banksman for all reversing, and high-visibility clothing to the site standard. |
| Respirable crystalline silica from cutting kerbs, blocks and slabs | On-tool water suppression or class-H extraction as the primary control, RPE as the backup with face-fit records, task rotation, and no dry cutting anywhere on the site. |
| Hand-arm vibration from breakers, compactors and whackers | Exposure points calculated per tool against the 2.5 m/s² A(8) action value, daily trigger-time limits set per operative, low-vibration tools specified, and health surveillance for regular users. |
| Wet cement and concrete causing burns and dermatitis | Impervious gloves and long sleeves, eye protection when pouring or vibrating, immediate washing facilities on site, and a stated first-aid response for cement contact with skin or eyes. |
| Buried services encountered during reduced-level dig or drainage runs | Scan, mark and trial hole to HSG47 before mechanical dig; treat all unidentified services as live; permit to dig for any work near a known main. |
| Manual handling of kerbs, blocks and drainage components | Mechanical handling by kerb lifter or excavator with lifting attachment as the default; two-person lifts only where mechanical means are impracticable and the load is within assessed limits. |
The sequencing between sub-activities and the specific plant. It should name the dig depths and support, the service-avoidance regime, the drainage installation order, the compaction plant with HAVS trigger times, and the point at which each area is handed to the following trade.
Where exposure is likely to regularly exceed the 2.5 m/s² A(8) action value — which breaker and compactor work routinely does — the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 require health surveillance. The method statement should show the exposure calculation that determines this rather than asserting compliance.
By eliminating dry cutting entirely. Order cut-to-size where possible, then use water suppression or on-tool class-H extraction, with RPE as the backup rather than the control. HSE's construction dust guidance treats RPE-only cutting as a failure of control.
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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.