Production, Issue & Briefing of RAMS

ISO 9001:2015 Clause 8.5 · ISO 45001:2018 Clauses 6.1.2 & 8.1.2 — Operational planning and control; production of risk assessments and method statements

Procedure overview

A M Water Services produces task-specific Risk Assessments and Method Statements (RAMS) for every operational activity, building on the master risk assessments held in the Van Packs portal. The HSQE Consultant drafts each RAMS to current legislation, industry standards and best practice; the Directors review and approve before issue. Approved RAMS are delivered to the field team in hard copy or electronically, briefed face-to-face before work commences, and supplemented by a dynamic Point of Work Risk Assessment (PowRA) on first arrival at site. RAMS, briefing sheets and PowRAs are retained in the project file per SOP 4.7. The Van Packs portal serves as the operative-facing master copy of the standing risk assessments and method statements; client/project-specific RAMS produced under this SOP are bridged from those master documents.

Production, Issue & Briefing of RAMS — Process Flow

RAMS Producer

Sean Ashton (HSQE Consultant)

Draft

Draft Risk Assessments and Method Statements ensuring compliance with current legislation, industry standards and best practice

APP_07 OHS Hazard Assessment

Issue draft RAMS for review, comment and approval

Receive comments back; make changes and ensure all comments are incorporated from previous review cycles

RAMS Reviewer / Approver

Aaron Mason (MD)
Leanne Mason (Director)

Review & Approve

Review draft RAMS

RAMS approved?

Issue comments back to RAMS author for revision

Yes

Approve, sign and date RAMS confirming approved for issue

Issue approved RAMS to team(s) (hard copy or electronically via tablet)

Site Supervisor & Team Leader

Jason May (Supervisor)
Team Leaders · Operatives

Brief, PowRA & Retain

Receive approved RAMS (hard copy or via tablet)

Brief approved RAMS to all relevant site staff prior to work commencing; collect signatures on briefing sheet

Carry out dynamic Point of Work Risk Assessment (PowRA) on first arrival at site, before work starts

PowRA template

Retain approved RAMS, signed briefing sheets and PowRA in the project file (paper or electronic)

SOP 4.7 Control of Records

Process / Activity

Decision Point

Document / Cross-reference

Approve / Continue

Revise / On-site Reassessment

Point of Work Risk Assessment (PowRA) — mandatory before every site start

A pre-approved RAMS describes the planned conditions on site. The actual conditions on the day — weather, ground state, third-party works, traffic, presence of public, unexpected services, plant availability — will always differ. Every operative crew must complete a Point of Work Risk Assessment on first arrival at site, before any work commences, to verify the planned controls remain valid for the actual conditions. If the PowRA identifies any condition that materially changes the risk profile, work does not start until: (1) the issue is reported to the Site Supervisor; (2) revised controls are agreed; (3) the revised RAMS or supplementary briefing is delivered and acknowledged. PowRA records are retained alongside the master RAMS for the duration of the project plus 3 years per SOP 4.7.

Production, Issue & Briefing of RAMS

Production, Issue & Briefing of RAMS — Process Flow

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