A RAMS is a Risk Assessment and Method Statement pair. The risk assessment identifies the hazards of a cleaning task and how the risk is controlled; the method statement sets out the safe, step-by-step system of work. Together they show a client and the HSE that the work has been planned to be carried out safely.
What is the difference between a risk assessment and a method statement?
A risk assessment identifies what could cause harm and the controls that reduce the risk — for example wet floors, cleaning chemicals or work at height. A method statement describes, step by step, how the task will actually be carried out safely. Combined into a single document, they are commonly called RAMS.
Why do cleaning contracts require RAMS?
The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 places a duty on every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of employees (s2) and of others affected by their work, such as building occupants (s3). RAMS are the practical evidence that a cleaning contractor has met that duty for a specific site — which is why facilities managers and public-sector buyers ask for them before work starts.
What should a cleaning RAMS contain?
A good cleaning RAMS is site-specific rather than generic. It should draw together the hazards on that site, the controls, and the safe method of work.
How COSHH fits into cleaning RAMS
Cleaning chemicals bring specific hazards: the HSE notes that prolonged or frequent wet hands cause dermatitis, some ingredients cause skin allergies and asthma, and some products are corrosive, causing skin burns and eye damage. COSHH requires the hazards to be assessed and controls put in place. Importantly, a supplier's safety data sheet is not itself a risk assessment — its information must be used to make your own assessment, which then feeds the RAMS.
Slips, trips and manual handling in the method statement
Slips and trips on the same level account for around 30% of non-fatal injuries to employees reported under RIDDOR — the single largest category — and wet or contaminated floors during and after cleaning are a leading cause. Manual handling is covered too: the regulations require you to avoid hazardous manual handling where reasonably practicable, assess what cannot be avoided, and reduce the risk of injury. A method statement should address both directly.