What Does an HSE Inspector Check on a RAMS?
If an HSE inspector walks onto your site and asks to see your RAMS, knowing what they are actually looking for can make the difference between a satisfactory visit and an Improvement Notice. This guide explains what inspectors examine, why, and what good looks like in practice.
First, a Quick Clarification
A RAMS is a Risk Assessment combined with a Method Statement — two distinct documents that are usually produced together for higher-risk work. The risk assessment identifies hazards and evaluates the likelihood and severity of harm; the method statement describes, step by step, how the work will be carried out safely. Inspectors know these are different things and will check that yours genuinely function as both.
The Legal Foundations an Inspector Has in Mind
When reviewing a RAMS, an inspector is primarily testing compliance against:
- Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, Regulation 3 — the duty to make a suitable and sufficient risk assessment
- Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM 2015) — for construction projects, particularly the principal contractor's duty to plan, manage and monitor
- Any task-specific regulations relevant to the work, such as the Work at Height Regulations 2005 or COSHH Regulations 2002
"Suitable and sufficient" is the legal test for a risk assessment. Inspectors are trained to apply exactly that standard — not to demand perfection, but to confirm the document is genuinely fit for purpose.
What Inspectors Actually Look At
1. Whether the RAMS Reflects the Actual Task
The single most common failure is a generic, copy-and-paste document. An inspector will compare your RAMS against what is physically happening on site. If the document describes a different scope, different equipment, or a different location, it will not stand up.
They will check: Does the method statement describe the actual sequence of work, using the specific plant, materials and access equipment being used on this job?
2. Whether All Significant Hazards Are Identified
Inspectors are not looking for an exhaustive list of every conceivable hazard — that is not what "suitable and sufficient" means. They are checking that the significant hazards for that particular task have been thought through: working at height, moving plant, buried services, manual handling, hazardous substances, ground conditions, proximity to the public, and so on.
Missed hazards that are obvious given the task are a serious finding.
3. Whether Controls Follow a Proper Hierarchy
The inspector will look at how you have said you are controlling each risk. Controls should follow the hierarchy of risk control: eliminate the hazard first; substitute if elimination is not possible; then engineering controls; then administrative controls; with PPE as the last line of defence, not the first.
A RAMS that lists "wear gloves and hi-vis" as the primary control for a hazard that could be engineered out is a red flag.
4. Whether Residual Risk Has Been Honestly Assessed
After controls are applied, a residual risk rating should remain. Inspectors are suspicious of documents where every residual risk magically becomes "low." They want to see that the remaining risk has been considered honestly and that the controls justify the rating given.
5. Whether the Right People Were Involved
A risk assessment produced solely by someone in an office who has never visited the site is unlikely to be suitable and sufficient. Inspectors may ask who wrote the RAMS, whether the workers carrying out the task were consulted, and whether a competent person reviewed it. Under CDM 2015, principal contractors have specific responsibilities here.
6. Whether Workers Have Actually Read and Understood It
A RAMS that has not been briefed to the workforce is effectively worthless on the day. Inspectors will ask workers what the key hazards and controls are. They will ask to see briefing records or signatures showing operatives have read and understood the document before work started.
If the people doing the job cannot describe even the main hazards, the inspector will note a disconnect between paperwork and practice.
7. Whether It Has Been Reviewed for Changes
RAMS are not permanent documents. If site conditions, the method of work, or the team changes, the RAMS should be reviewed and reissued. Inspectors will check the date and ask whether anything has changed since it was written.
A Simple Checklist
| What the inspector checks | What "good" looks like |
|---|---|
| Matches the actual task | Specific to this site, scope and method |
| Significant hazards identified | Based on a real site walkover |
| Controls follow the hierarchy | Engineering and administrative before PPE |
| Residual risk is realistic | Not every risk rated "low" |
| Competent authorship | Written or reviewed by someone with relevant knowledge |
| Worker briefing records | Signed briefing sheets, dated before work started |
| Up to date | Reviewed after any significant change |
The Practical Takeaway
An HSE inspector is not looking to catch you out on formatting or jargon. They are asking one fundamental question: does this document demonstrate that someone has genuinely thought about how to keep people safe on this specific job, and has the workforce been told? A well-constructed, site-specific RAMS that workers have been briefed on will satisfy that question. A generic template, however polished, will not.