Join the waitlist
Join the waitlist

RAMS FOR DRYLINING AND FITOUT CONTRACTORS

RAMS template for drylining and fitout contractors

Most principal contractors won't let you start on site until they've seen your RAMS. And a generic one, with someone else's hazards and no mention of the site, is one of the quickest ways to get it sent back.

Our Drylining Business Operations Kit has a combined RAMS template written for drylining and fitout work, in a short form and a full form. Each comes with a filled-in demo, so you can see what a finished one looks like before you write your own.

Get the Operations Kit for £39.99

What RAMS means

RAMS stands for risk assessment and method statement. The risk assessment lists the hazards in your work and how you'll control them. The method statement sets out how you'll do the job, step by step, and who's responsible for what.

For most drylining packages the two go in one combined document. That's the format most principal contractors expect.

Is RAMS a legal requirement?

A risk assessment is. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require the risks of the work to be assessed. If you employ five or more people, you have to record the significant findings.

A written method statement isn't named in the law. But it's an accepted way of showing your work will be done safely, and in practice principal contractors ask for both before you start.

What a drylining RAMS should cover

  • Project, site address and the principal contractor

  • The scope of your package: partitions, MF ceilings, suspended grid ceilings or wall lining

  • The hazards for each activity, with the controls you'll use

  • The method, step by step, for each activity

  • Plant and equipment, including tools and access equipment

  • Who supervises on site

  • First aid: the first aider, where the kit is and the nearest A&E

  • Emergency procedures and incident reporting

  • Environmental controls: waste, noise and dust

  • A sign-off table for each operative briefed on it

Hazards to cover on a drylining job

  • Manual handling. Plasterboard sheets, bags of compound and overhead work on ceilings. Controls include board lifters, team lifts, loading out at the working height and rotating tasks.

  • Dust. Gypsum dust from cutting and sanding, and silica dust if you're cutting into masonry or concrete. Use on-tool extraction, and RPE where it's needed, face-fit tested.

  • Working at height. Ceilings and high wall lining. Podium steps or mobile towers put up by a trained person, inspected and tagged before use. Ladders for access, not for sustained work.

  • Substances. Jointing compounds, adhesives and sealants come under COSHH, so the data sheets should back up your controls.

Why RAMS get rejected

The most common reason is that they're obviously generic. No project name, no site details, and hazard lists with no real controls against them.

Before you send yours:

  • Put in the project, the site and your actual scope of works.

  • Delete the activities you aren't doing on this job.

  • Check the access equipment, the welfare arrangements and the first aid details match this site.

  • Brief your operatives and get their signatures before work starts.

The instruction sheet in the kit walks through adapting the template for each job. You can use it alongside our free pre-start checklist.

What's in the Operations Kit

  • Combined RAMS: short form and full form, covering partitions, MF ceilings, suspended grid ceilings and wall lining

  • Subcontractor agreement

  • Site handover certificate

  • Defects and snagging notice

  • Material order form and material order log

  • Weekly job planner

  • Contractor comms swipe file

Each comes with a filled-in demo, and there's an instruction sheet. They're Word files (.docx), with the material order log also in Excel, and they open in Microsoft Word or Google Docs.

£39.99, instant download.

Get the Operations Kit for £39.99

Common questions

Can I just use a generic RAMS template?

Only as a starting point. A risk assessment has to be suitable and sufficient for the actual job, so a template needs adapting to the site, the task and your team before you use it.

Do I need a separate risk assessment and method statement?

Usually not. A combined RAMS covers most drylining and fitout work. Some principal contractors ask for them separately on larger projects, so check what the site wants.

Who needs to sign the RAMS?

Everyone carrying out the work, once they've been briefed on it. The sign-off table records who was briefed and when.

This page is general information, not legal or health and safety advice. A RAMS template must be adapted to the specific site, task and workforce by a competent person before use.

We're building QFitout, drylining quoting software that works out materials and waste from your measurements and turns them into a quote.

Join the waitlist to hear first when early access opens.

Join the waitlist

Sources