RAMS · Welding & Hot Works
RAMS for Welding & Hot Works
A combined Risk Assessment & Method Statement, the site-ready document a principal contractor or client asks for before you start. Below: what a RAMS for welding and hot works 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 RAMS must contain
- A hazard table with a likelihood × severity score before and after controls
- Controls in the correct hierarchy (eliminate → substitute → engineering → admin → PPE last)
- A numbered, step-by-step method statement for the actual task
- PPE to BS EN standards, emergency arrangements, and an operative sign-off
Why a RAMS for welding and hot works gets rejected
- Residual risk dropped from high to low on PPE or 'competent operatives' alone
- Generic hazards that could apply to any job
- No method statement, or one too vague to follow on site
- The wrong legal basis cited (e.g. 'CDM 2015 requires a RAMS')
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 freeWelding & Hot Works hazards it must cover
Welding and hot works, meaning MIG, TIG, MMA and gas welding, cutting, grinding and brazing, on site and in the shop, brings hazards a RAMS has to address:
- welding fume, reclassified by HSE in February 2019 as a Group 1 carcinogen, so LEV is required for ALL indoor welding and RPE alone is no longer acceptable
- fire and explosion from sparks and hot slag, including concealed voids (hot work permit and a fire watch after work stops)
- arc eye and skin burns from UV radiation, including to people working nearby
- compressed gas cylinders: storage, securing, flashback arrestors and leaking hoses (DSEAR 2002)
- electric shock from the welding set, worsened in damp or confined conditions
Generate your RAMS in minutes
Built to the correct published standard for welding and hot works: specific controls, the right legal basis, a review date and a sign-off section you can operate.
Start your RAMSFAQ
Do you need a RAMS for welding and hot works?
A combined Risk Assessment & Method Statement, the site-ready document a principal contractor or client asks for before you start. For welding and hot works, meaning MIG, TIG, MMA and gas welding, cutting, grinding and brazing, on site and in the shop, it is the document a client, principal contractor or inspector expects to see, grounded in MHSWR 1999 reg 3 (HSE): the combined risk assessment + method statement contractors submit.
What makes a RAMS for welding and hot works fail?
The usual reasons: Residual risk dropped from high to low on PPE or 'competent operatives' alone; Generic hazards that could apply to any job; No method statement, or one too vague to follow on site. RAMSReady generates one to the correct published form and avoids these.
How fast can I get a RAMS?
A couple of minutes. Describe the job, and RAMSReady writes a RAMS for your exact welding and hot works live against the correct standard, with a review date and a sign-off/records section.