RAMS stands for Risk Assessment and Method Statement. The risk assessment identifies what could cause harm during the work and what controls reduce it. The method statement sets out, step by step, how the work will actually be carried out safely.
Together they are the standard documentation any competent commercial cleaning contractor produces before starting on your site. If a contractor cannot produce site-specific RAMS, that tells you a great deal about how they operate.
The legal background
Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, employers must carry out a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to their employees and to anyone else affected by their work. Where an employer has five or more employees, the significant findings must be recorded.
That obligation sits with the cleaning contractor as an employer. But as the client, you also have duties. Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, you have responsibilities toward people who are not your employees but are affected by your undertaking, and you need to co-operate and share relevant information with contractors working on your premises.
In practice this means a two-way exchange. They give you RAMS. You give them site information: asbestos records where relevant, fire procedures, permit requirements, access arrangements and any known hazards.
What a risk assessment should contain
- The specific tasks being assessed, not "cleaning" in general
- The hazards for each task: slips from wet floors, chemical exposure, manual handling, work at height, electrical, lone working, biological hazards in washrooms, sharps
- Who might be harmed, including your staff and visitors, not just cleaners
- Existing control measures
- A risk rating before and after controls
- Additional actions needed, with owners and dates
- Review date and a named, competent author
What a method statement should contain
- Sequence of work, task by task
- Equipment and chemicals used, with COSHH references
- PPE required
- Signage arrangements, particularly wet floor signs
- Access arrangements and any permits
- Emergency procedures and first aid
- Waste disposal arrangements
- Supervision arrangements and the competence of the people doing the work
- Lone working procedure, if applicable
COSHH, which sits alongside
The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 apply directly to cleaning, because cleaning chemicals are hazardous substances.
A competent contractor holds safety data sheets for every product used on your site, has assessed the exposure risks, and has trained staff on safe use, correct dilution, storage and what to do in the event of contact.
The specific hazard worth knowing about as a client: mixing bleach with acidic cleaners such as limescale removers releases chlorine gas. This is not theoretical, and it causes serious injuries in commercial settings every year. A contractor's COSHH assessment and training should address it explicitly, and their storage arrangements should make accidental mixing difficult.
How to tell a real RAMS from a template
Downloaded templates with the company name changed are extremely common. The tells are straightforward.
It should mention your site by name, and reference its specific features: the stairwell, the glass atrium, the loading bay, the fact that the third floor kitchen has a step.
Hazards should be specific. "Slips, trips and falls" appearing once with no detail is a template. "Wet floor during mopping of reception, high footfall until 7pm, signage deployed and half-width working" is a real assessment.
It should name a competent author with a date and a review date, not just a company logo.
Chemicals should match what they actually use, with safety data sheets available on request.
It should reference your site induction and emergency procedures, which means they have asked you for them. A contractor who produced RAMS without ever asking about your fire procedure has not visited or has not thought about it.
Lone working should be addressed if cleaners will be in your building alone in the evening. This is the control most often missing, and it matters for their safety and your liability.
It should be proportionate. A twelve page RAMS for a two-person office clean suggests a template. A one-line document for a multi-floor site suggests nothing was assessed.
When RAMS become essential rather than good practice
For a small office cleaned in normal hours, a proportionate assessment is sufficient. RAMS become genuinely critical when:
- Cleaners work at height, including anything beyond a small step ladder
- Work happens in occupied areas during business hours
- The site has specific hazards: machinery, laboratories, kitchens, plant rooms
- Work is in healthcare, childcare or food environments
- Confined spaces or roof access are involved
- The building is under construction or refurbishment, where the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations may apply
- You are a landlord or managing agent with duties to multiple tenants
- The site has asbestos-containing materials in a management plan
Many commercial landlords and managing agents will simply refuse site access to a contractor without current RAMS and insurance, so it is often a practical requirement as much as a legal one.
What to ask for and keep on file
- Site-specific RAMS before the first visit
- Public liability insurance certificate, commonly £5m for commercial work, with the expiry date
- Employers liability insurance certificate, legally required for almost all UK employers
- COSHH assessments and safety data sheets for products used on your site
- Evidence of training and competence for the staff attending
- Confirmation of employment status, since subcontracted labour changes who is responsible for all of the above
- Waste transfer documentation, if they remove any waste
- An annual review, or a fresh assessment whenever the scope changes
Keep these somewhere you can find them. If there is an incident, the first question asked will be what documentation you held.
Your side of the exchange
Give the contractor:
- Site induction covering fire procedures, assembly points and first aid
- Access and egress arrangements, including out of hours
- Asbestos management plan, where the building has one
- Known hazards: uneven floors, faulty fittings, plant rooms, restricted areas
- Emergency contact details
- Permit to work requirements, if any
- Details of any other contractors working concurrently
This is not bureaucracy for its own sake. A cleaner working alone in your building at 8pm needs to know what to do if the fire alarm sounds.
The practical signal
Beyond compliance, RAMS are a useful proxy for how a contractor runs.
A company that produces site-specific documentation, insurance certificates without being chased, and a named account manager is a company with systems. A company that promises to send paperwork later and then does not is usually the same company whose cleaning standards drift after four months.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need RAMS for a small office clean? A proportionate risk assessment, yes. A full formal RAMS pack, not necessarily, but any competent contractor will have one.
Who writes them, me or the contractor? The contractor, for their work. You provide site information for them to assess against.
How often should they be reviewed? Annually as a minimum, and whenever the scope, site or method changes.
Are RAMS a legal requirement? Risk assessment is a legal requirement. The specific RAMS format is industry practice rather than a statutory document, but it is how the duty is normally evidenced.
What if a contractor refuses to provide them? Use someone else. It is a straightforward request that any competent contractor meets within a day.
