What is the difference between a risk assessment and a method statement?

SAFETY

PAUL MARSH Office manager SafetyAide

RISK ASSESSMENTS AND method statements are two types of safety document that are often referred to as RAMS. What’s the difference between them and are they both necessary?

When it comes to paperwork it’s essential to have clear, concise documents that are job specific. For most low-risk activities, a risk assessment will suffice, but in higher-risk tasks a separate safe system of work, or method statement, should be put in place.

What’s a risk assessment?

If you need help in completing risk assessment and safe working practices, Safety Aide is here to help. We offer a bespoke risk assessment and safe working practice service.

A risk assessment is a careful examination of anything in your workplace that could cause harm to people, via accidents or ill health. It’s a process that includes identifying who may be harmed and how, deciding on how likely and serious the harm may be, evaluating that risk and reducing it by implementing controls, recording your findings and reviewing them regularly.

What’s its purpose?

A well written risk assessment will help you decide if you are doing enough to protect your workforce and others from harm, such as whether you are providing enough training, the correct PPE etc. It will help meet your legal obligations as regulation 3 Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 requires you to assess the risks of any works being undertaken. A risk assessment will also help your business by reducing the possibility of costly accidents, giving you better operational performance without downtime for dealing with and investigating accidents; a reduced prosecution risk; and potentially lower insurance premiums.

What’s a method statement?

A method statement or safe working practices are a procedure which results from a systematic examination of the task to identify each separate step and to define the safest way of complet-