Guide
Risk assessment software that stays on the job
Risk assessment software should record who might be harmed and what you will do about it, for this task. RAMSPack is built for that record, plus the method statement that puts the controls in order.
Safety management software is a wider job
People also search for safety management software. A safety management system usually covers policy, training records, inspections, incidents, and audits, not only the assessment for one task. RAMSPack does not do all of that. It drafts and stores the RAMS. A separate health and safety audit checklist is a free sheet for looking at a site. It is not a software module.
If you employ five or more people, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require your arrangements to be recorded. A pile of RAMS is not those arrangements by itself.
A worked example: brickwork and blockwork
Wet cement, a fall from a hop-up, the weight of blocks, and the mixer are four different problems. The scores below are the library prompts. Change them for the wall you are building.
No law requires a document called a RAMS. The duty is to assess risk under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, regulation 3, and to plan the work safely.
Every hazard below is from the RAMSPack library and is marked draft – awaiting competent review. Change it for the site. It is not HSE approved.
Worked example: Brickwork and blockwork
Lay bricks or blocks for a small domestic extension or a repair, including mixing mortar and working from a hop-up or a scaffold provided by others.
Order of work
- Check the setting-out and that the foundation or starter course is ready. Do not build on frozen or contaminated material.
- Set the mixer on firm ground, with the guard in place. Store bags so they cannot collapse.
- Lay to line. Keep the working platform clear of offcuts.
- Protect fresh work from rain and frost as the specification requires.
- Wash tools in a designated place. Do not let cement slurry enter a drain or a watercourse.
Cement burns and dermatitis
From the general builder library, task: Brickwork and blockwork. Who might be harmed: Bricklayers and labourers
Before controls: 12 Medium. After controls: 4 Low. These scores are a prompt. Score the job yourself.
- Keep mortar off skin. Change soaked gloves.
- Provide washing water on the site, as CDM 2015 Schedule 2 requires welfare on construction work.
Regulations that fit this hazard: Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974; Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999; Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015; Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002; Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 (as amended 2022); Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981.
Fall from a hop-up or a scaffold while laying above standing height
From the general builder library, task: Brickwork and blockwork. Who might be harmed: Bricklayers
Before controls: 12 Medium. After controls: 4 Low. These scores are a prompt. Score the job yourself.
- Use a hop-up or a guarded scaffold. Do not stand on a wall or an open trestle.
- Do not remove scaffold ties or guard rails to 'get the line in'.
Regulations that fit this hazard: Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974; Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999; Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015; Work at Height Regulations 2005; Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998; Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 (as amended 2022); Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981.
Manual handling of blocks and cement bags
From the general builder library, task: Brickwork and blockwork. Who might be harmed: Operatives
Before controls: 12 Medium. After controls: 4 Low. These scores are a prompt. Score the job yourself.
- Use the lightest block that the design allows. Lift bags close to the body, one at a time.
- Raise spot boards so the bricklayer is not constantly bending.
Regulations that fit this hazard: Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974; Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999; Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015; Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002; Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992; Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 (as amended 2022); Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981.
Entanglement or electric shock from the mixer
From the general builder library, task: Brickwork and blockwork. Who might be harmed: Labourers
Before controls: 8 Medium. After controls: 4 Low. These scores are a prompt. Score the job yourself.
- Guard stays on. Isolate before putting a hand in the drum.
- Use a mixer and lead that are safe for outdoor use. Do not run the motor in standing water.
Regulations that fit this hazard: Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974; Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999; Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015; Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998; Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 (as amended 2022); Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981; Electricity at Work Regulations 1989.
Start a brickwork risk assessment