Do Scaffolders Need a RAMS? Work at Height Risk Assessments Explained
If you're a scaffolding contractor — or a principal contractor managing one — you've almost certainly been asked to produce a RAMS before work starts on site. But is this a genuine legal requirement, or just a site-specific condition of engagement? The answer is both, and understanding why matters.
What Is a RAMS?
A RAMS is a Risk Assessment combined with a Method Statement. These are two distinct documents:
- Risk Assessment — identifies the hazards, evaluates the likelihood and severity of harm, and records the controls you'll put in place.
- Method Statement — describes, step by step, how the work will be carried out safely using those controls.
Together they form a practical safety plan that workers can actually be briefed against.
The Legal Basis for Scaffolders
Scaffolding is, by definition, work at height. The Work at Height Regulations 2005 place specific duties on employers and the self-employed to plan, supervise and carry out all work at height safely. Regulation 4 requires that work at height is:
- properly planned (including for emergencies and rescue);
- appropriately supervised; and
- carried out in a way that is, so far as is reasonably practicable, safe.
Separately, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, Regulation 3 requires every employer (and self-employed person who poses risk to others) to make a suitable and sufficient risk assessment. For a scaffolding contractor with employees, this duty is absolute.
Where scaffolding work falls within the definition of construction work, CDM 2015 also applies. Under CDM, contractors must plan, manage and monitor construction work to ensure it is carried out without risks to health or safety. A method statement is the natural vehicle for demonstrating that planning.
So: the risk assessment is a statutory requirement; the method statement is the practical means of satisfying the planning and supervision duties under the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and CDM 2015. In practice, the two documents are inseparable.
What Should a Scaffolding RAMS Cover?
A vague, generic RAMS serves no one. A scaffolding RAMS should be specific to the job, the structure and the environment. Expect to address:
Hazards to assess:
- Falls from height during erection, alteration and dismantling
- Falling materials and tools striking people below
- Structural instability (ground conditions, tie frequencies, loading)
- Proximity to overhead power lines or fragile roofs
- Manual handling of tubes, boards and fittings
- Traffic and pedestrian management around the base
- Adverse weather (wind speeds, ice, lightning risk)
Controls — applied in the correct hierarchy:
| Hierarchy Level | Example for Scaffolding |
|---|---|
| Eliminate | Avoid working at height altogether where a ground-level alternative exists |
| Substitute | Use a system scaffold with built-in guard rails rather than tube-and-fit |
| Engineering | Edge protection, toe boards, debris netting, loading bays |
| Administrative | Exclusion zones, NASC TG20 compliance, permit to erect, weather monitoring |
| PPE (last resort) | Hard hats, safety boots, harnesses where residual risk remains |
The method statement should then sequence the actual erection (and dismantling) procedure: base plate installation, lift-by-lift erection, tie installation points, handover inspection, and the dismantling sequence in reverse.
Competence and NASC Guidance
The Work at Height Regulations 2005 require that anyone involved in working at height is competent or, if being trained, works under supervision of a competent person. For scaffolding specifically, the industry benchmark is the NASC (National Access & Scaffolding Confederation). Their guidance document SG4 covers the prevention of falls during erection and dismantling and is widely referenced by the HSE as representing good practice.
Your RAMS should reflect the controls in SG4 — not replicate it word for word, but demonstrate that your approach is consistent with recognised industry standards. If you deviate from SG4, you'll need to justify why your alternative controls are equally effective.
Who Needs to See the RAMS?
On a CDM-notifiable project, the RAMS should be shared with the principal contractor, who has a duty under CDM 2015 to ensure contractor work is coordinated and managed safely. Workers must be briefed on the RAMS before work starts — not simply handed a document to sign. A toolbox talk backed by a site-specific briefing record is the standard approach.
On smaller, non-notifiable jobs, the client or site manager will typically request the RAMS. Even where no one asks, producing one protects you: it demonstrates that you planned the work, which is exactly what the Regulations require.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Copying a generic template unchanged. If the address says "various sites" and mentions hazards that don't apply to the job, it undermines the whole document.
- Omitting the dismantling sequence. Dismantling is statistically higher risk than erection; it must be addressed explicitly.
- Listing PPE as the primary control. PPE sits at the bottom of the hierarchy — it should supplement engineering and administrative controls, not replace them.
- No version control or review. If site conditions change (weather, adjacent trades, structural modifications), the RAMS should be reviewed and re-briefed.
The Bottom Line
Yes — scaffolders need a RAMS. The risk assessment is a legal requirement under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. The method statement is the practical mechanism for meeting the planning and supervision duties under the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and CDM 2015. Done properly, a site-specific RAMS is not a paperwork exercise: it is the scaffolding team's shared understanding of how to go home safely at the end of the day.