Risk Assessment · Groundworkers

Risk Assessment for Groundworkers

A standalone risk assessment following HSE's 5 steps — who might be harmed and how, and the controls that make the work safe. Below: what a groundworker’s Risk Assessment must contain, why they get rejected, and the hazards it has to cover — or generate one for your exact job in a couple of minutes.

What a compliant Risk Assessment must contain

  • Hazards specific to the actual task, site and materials
  • Who might be harmed and how, for each hazard
  • The controls already in place PLUS any further action needed
  • A before/after risk score and a review date

Why a groundworker’s Risk Assessment gets rejected

  • Copied from a generic example (HSE: 'would not satisfy the law')
  • Controls that don't match what the business actually does
  • No record of who does the further actions, or by when
  • An auto-fail hazard (confined space, asbestos, live electrical) wrongly marked 'N/A'

Already have one? Check it against the standard — free.

Paste your RAMS into the free checker and it scores it the way an inspector would, and flags exactly what would get it rejected. No sign-up.

Check yours free

Groundworkers hazards it must cover

Typical groundworker work — excavation, drainage, foundations and external works — brings hazards a Risk Assessment has to address:

  • excavation collapse and buried services
  • plant and pedestrian interface
  • manual handling
  • silica dust from cutting

Generate your Risk Assessment in minutes

Built to the correct published standard for a groundworker — specific controls, the right legal basis, a review date and a sign-off section you can operate.

Start your Risk Assessment

FAQ

Do groundworkers legally need a Risk Assessment?

A standalone risk assessment following HSE's 5 steps — who might be harmed and how, and the controls that make the work safe. For groundworker work — excavation, drainage, foundations and external works — it is the document a client, principal contractor or inspector expects to see, grounded in MHSWR 1999 reg 3 (HSE) — the 5-step method (INDG163).

What makes a groundworker's Risk Assessment fail?

The usual reasons: Copied from a generic example (HSE: 'would not satisfy the law'); Controls that don't match what the business actually does; No record of who does the further actions, or by when. RAMSReady generates one to the correct published form and avoids these.

How fast can I get a Risk Assessment?

A couple of minutes. Describe the job, and RAMSReady writes a groundworker-specific Risk Assessment live against the correct standard — with a review date and a sign-off/records section.

Related guides