Ebony Middleton | Published on 3 February 2025
Risk Assessment and Method Statements (RAMS) play an indispensable role in managing the hazards of high-risk work. They are vital for worker safety, compliance, and project success, and help protect contractors from potential prosecution.
Modern RAMS management software offers significant advantages for contractors aspiring to optimise their compliance processes. Making the transition from filing cabinets bursting with paper, to a centralised digital platform ensures RAMS management is standardised and automated. This not only proactively mitigates safety risks, but it also paves the way for continuous improvement and future-proofing of construction operations.
Standardises RAMS Management which facilitates consistency and increases auditability
Rigorous, organisation-wide approval and digital sign-off processes are key to consistent RAMS management and implementation, preventing key processes from being skipped or overlooked.
Modern systems build in this standardisation and automatically enforce workflow approvals, providing auditable tracking and time-stamped sign-offs to create a historical log of actions. This enables organisations to identify at any time, which team members approved, revised, and signed off on each RAMS.
With RAMS and usage data all stored in a central location, modern RAMS management software allows teams to extract data and build custom safety reports detailing the full RAMS history on a project at any time, e.g. worker actions, approvals, revisions and documentation. This is critical for investigations, such as incident reviews, where management teams need to retrieve historical records and prove that a worker had signed off on their RAMS prior to the incident.
Delivers real-time compliance tracking via actionable HSE dashboards
Fosters a strong safety culture through greater accountability and transparency
Creating a strong safety culture starts with a clear process that everyone can easily follow. Modern RAMS management software makes safety protocols visual, transparent, and predictable, eliminating any confusion surrounding the process. The system’s ease of use and ability to clearly show the end-to-end workflow ensures that each step is accessible and easy to understand.
From there, every individual is held accountable through automated notifications and visible audit trails that prompt them to act. The continuous reinforcement of responsibility helps to make safety second nature and ensures the entire team follows the process, improving overall awareness and fostering a safety-first culture.
Automates subcontractor compliance by digitising RAMS sign offs and issuing non-compliance notifications
RAMS management software also streamlines subcontractor inductions by automatically flagging non-compliance. For un-inducted subcontractors, the software can require RAMS review and sign-off before induction completion. Furthermore, it proactively identifies inducted workers assigned to high-risk work permits who haven't signed their RAMS, notifying managers to take immediate action. This ensures workers review and sign off on required RAMS before commencing high-risk activities. This comprehensive oversight enhances site-wide RAMS compliance and enables fast corrective action to prevent incidents.
How does your system compare?
8 Must-Have Features for Streamlined RAMS Management
Centralised management of RAMS submission and sign-off
Notifications and digital signatures
Real-time compliance tracking
RAMS version controls
Standardised compliance procedures
Integrated site access
Automated notifications of non-compliance
Customised compliance reports
Staying ahead of RAMS regulations and legal risks
Regulations set out minimum requirements for RAMS compliance with suitably harsh penalties for breaches. The burden of responsibility falls on contractors who must ensure RAMS are accurate, involve worker consultation, undergo final reviews and organise finalised copies to be available for auditors.
Beyond approvals, they’re responsible for enforcing RAMS onsite, but they can’t be everywhere at once. With competing demands pulling them away, the challenge isn’t just overseeing high-risk work – it’s keeping safety front and centre without getting caught up with paperwork.
Real world consequences of RAMS breaches
Brand Energy and Infrastructure Services UK Ltd
In November 2024, Brand Energy and Infrastructure Services UK Ltd was fined £1.6 million after a 24-year-old worker was crushed to death in 2019. Investigations revealed that the lifting operation of the work platform had not been properly planned, and no safe exclusion zones had been established, leading to the tragic incident and substantial penalty.
DP World Southampton
In August 2024, DP World Southampton was fined £1 million after a 31-year-old worker suffered serious injuries in 2022. The worker fell through an open hole in the driver’s cab of a straddle carrier, landing on the concrete floor below. Investigations found that the company had failed to implement a safe system of work at the site, resulting in the significant penalty.
Make site safety easy for you and your workers
Simpel’s RAMS module is designed to reduce administrative strain, provide visibility from beginning to end, and ensure safer and more compliant construction sites.
But it doesn’t stop with RAMS. Simpel offers a comprehensive HSE functionality suite designed to simplify every aspect of safety management, including incident management, daily declarations, and site diaries. With 30+ modules available on the platform, you can integrate safety management seamlessly into every stage of your project.
Let’s make your RAMS process smarter, safer, and stress-free. Book a demo now and explore how Simpel is transforming business outcomes.
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