RAMS for Demolition

Demolition is one of the higher-risk activities in construction. A well-written method statement is not a form-filling exercise — it is the document that proves your team has thought through every stage of the work, in sequence, before a single hand tool touches the structure.

Legal Basis

The duty to carry out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment sits in Regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (MHSWR). CDM 2015 requires a construction phase plan and, on notifiable projects, a pre-construction information pack — but the RAMS itself is a MHSWR obligation that applies to any demolition work, notifiable or not. On larger or principal-contractor-led sites the RAMS will feed directly into the construction phase plan.

Pre-Conditions Before Work Starts

Two surveys must be completed and in hand before the RAMS is finalised:

**Asbestos refurbishment and demolition survey.** Any building where construction or refurbishment work is planned must have an R&D survey carried out by a UKAS-accredited surveyor under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012. A management survey is not sufficient. If ACMs are identified, a licensed or notifiable non-licensed removal plan must be completed and signed off before demolition proceeds.

**Structural survey.** Demolition sequence depends on how the structure stands up. A structural engineer's report confirming the safe demolition sequence, temporary propping requirements, and any risk of progressive or unplanned collapse is a precondition, not an optional extra.

**Services isolation.** A written confirmation of isolation — gas, electricity, water, drainage, telecomms — from each relevant utility or the site engineer must be in the file before work begins. Do not rely on verbal assurances.

Key Hazards and Controls (Hierarchy Order)

**Unplanned structural collapse.** Eliminate by sequencing demolition top-down and bay-by-bay per the structural engineer's recommendation. Engineer temporary propping or shoring where required. Establish a clearly marked exclusion zone — no personnel or plant inside the collapse radius during mechanical demolition. Administrative controls: pre-shift briefings, stop-work authority for anyone on site. PPE (hard hat, safety boots, hi-vis) is the last layer, not the first.

**Asbestos.** Eliminate by removing all identified ACMs before structural demolition begins. Where residual fibre risk remains after licensed removal, engineering controls (water suppression, contained working areas) precede RPE selection.

**Dust and silica.** Engineering controls first: damping down, on-tool extraction (LEV) on power tools, mechanical breaking in preference to disc cutting. Respiratory protective equipment (FFP3 or higher for silica-generating tasks) is the final layer.

**Noise and vibration.** Substitute lower-vibration and lower-noise plant where practicable. Engineering: screens and barriers. Administrative: rotation of operatives, exposure monitoring against the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 and Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 action and limit values. Hearing protection is supplementary.

**Falls from height.** Collective protection first: scaffold, working platforms, edge protection. Personal fall-arrest equipment is used only where collective protection is not reasonably practicable, and operatives must be trained in its use.

Common Reasons a Demolition RAMS Gets Rejected

- No R&D asbestos survey referenced, or a management survey submitted in its place. - Generic hazard list with no site-specific sequence — "demolish structure" as a single step. - PPE listed as the primary or only control for dust, falls, or noise. - No exclusion zone dimensions or enforcement method stated. - Services listed as "to be isolated" with no confirmation that isolation has actually occurred. - No emergency and first-aid arrangements specific to the location and task.

What the Document Must Include

A demolition RAMS should cover: the scope and sequence of work (stage by stage); reference to the structural survey and demolition sequence sign-off; the asbestos survey outcome and clearance certificate reference; confirmed services isolations; exclusion zone details and who controls access; dust, noise, and vibration controls specific to the methods being used; plant and equipment with operator competence requirements; emergency arrangements including nearest A&E, site first-aider, and assembly point; and the names and signatures of the author, the competent person who reviewed it, and the site supervisor accepting it.

A RAMS that cannot be handed to an operative and followed step-by-step on the day is not finished.