The task-level safety document · UK

What is a method statement? The document that gets you on site.

A method statement is the step-by-step description of how a specific piece of work will be carried out safely: the sequence, the plant, the people and the controls, written for one task on one site. Principal contractors read it before they let you start. It almost always travels with its risk assessment as a RAMS, which is exactly what SITEPAPERS writes: the full document, reviewed by an SMSTS qualified site professional, back in 24 hours.

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§ 01

What a method statement is and what goes in it

A safe system of work for one task: scope, sequence of operations, plant and equipment, operative competence, supervision and emergency arrangements
Step-by-step order of work with the controls embedded in each step, so an operative can follow it on site, not a policy essay
Written per package of work: the roofing method statement does not cover the electrician, and a principal contractor will ask for each
The legal footing, stated honestly: the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 requires safe systems of work and the Management Regulations 1999 require risk assessment; the method statement is the industry-standard way that is evidenced and communicated
Also answers to: work method statement, job method statement, task method statement, safe system of work statement; in UK construction they are the same document
Paired with the risk assessment as RAMS: the risk assessment identifies hazards and controls, the method statement puts them in working order

Written to: HSWA 1974 section 2, Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 regulation 3, CDM 2015 contractor and principal contractor duties. Every document is job-specific; padding is what gets paperwork rejected.

§ 02

How it works

Order and tell us the task

£89 fixed, paid securely by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. Then a ten-question intake: the job, the site, your crew and plant, anything unusual.

5 minutes

Written, then signed off

Your RAMS, method statement included, is written for that exact task and reviewed by an SMSTS qualified professional with years running live UK sites.

Within 24h

Send it, get approved, start

Branded PDF plus editable Word, one revision round included. If the principal contractor comments, we turn the revision around.

PDF + DOCX

§ 03

Questions, answered

Is a method statement a legal requirement?

The phrase does not appear in the regulations. What the law requires is risk assessment and a safe system of work; a method statement is the recognised way of evidencing both for a construction task, and principal contractors treat it as mandatory before work starts.

Who is supposed to write it?

The contractor carrying out the work, because it describes how that contractor will do the job. It can be prepared for you, which is this service, provided it reflects your actual task and your crew sign on to it.

How long should a method statement be?

Long enough that an operative could carry out the task from it and a reviewer can see every significant hazard is controlled. For a standard trade task that is typically several pages inside a RAMS, written for the job rather than padded.

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Your method statement is inside a full RAMS, back within 24h of your completed intake.

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Also available: the construction phase plan £199 and the full site pack £349