How to write a method statement

Before you write: gather the facts

A method statement is only as specific as the information it is built from. Collect these before opening the document, because each one changes what the steps say.

• Site address, access route, parking and delivery arrangements
• Client or principal contractor contact, site rules and induction requirements
• Start date, duration and working hours, including any out-of-hours restrictions
• Who is doing the work: names, roles, cards and competencies held
• Plant and equipment, including hired items and their inspection certificates
• The hazards already identified in the risk assessment, and the controls chosen
• Permits the site operates: hot works, confined space, permit to dig, isolation
• Other contractors or occupants who will be nearby while the work is on

The sections of a method statement

Principal contractors check a method statement against a list. Use the same headings in the same order and the review is short.

1. 1Document control: title, reference, revision number, date, prepared by, approved by, review date.
2. 2Scope of works: two or three sentences saying what will be done, where and for whom.
3. 3Site and access: address, how the work area is reached, segregation from occupants and the public, deliveries.
4. 4Personnel and competence: supervisor, number of operatives, cards and training required for the tasks.
5. 5Plant, tools and equipment: what is used, its inspection status and pre-use checks.
6. 6Sequence of works: the numbered steps, from arrival to handover.
7. 7Hazards and controls: a short cross-reference to the risk assessment, so the reader sees each hazard is dealt with.
8. 8PPE: what is worn, by whom, and to which standard.
9. 9Permits: which permits are needed, who issues them and when they must be in force.
10. 10Emergency arrangements: nominated first aider, emergency contact, nearest A&E, assembly point, how an incident is reported.
11. 11Welfare and environmental controls: toilets, washing, rest area, waste, dust, noise, spill response.
12. 12Sign-off and briefing record: signatures of the preparer and approver, and a table for operatives to sign after the briefing.

Writing the sequence of works

The sequence is the part people read. Write it as a numbered list in the order the job will actually be done. Each step should say what happens, who does it and what must be true before it starts. If a step depends on a permit, an isolation or an inspection, say so in that step rather than in a paragraph elsewhere.

A useful test: could a competent operative who has never met you follow the steps and do the job the way you intend? If a step says "install the new board", it fails that test. If it says "confirm the isolation is locked off and proved dead with a GS38-compliant tester before removing the cover", it passes.

As an illustration, the opening steps for a distribution board replacement in an occupied office read like this:

1. 1Arrive on site, sign in and attend the site induction. Confirm the permit to work for electrical isolation has been issued and the work area is segregated from staff.
2. 2Set up the work area: barriers and signage at the cupboard door, dust sheets, tools and the replacement board inspected on arrival.
3. 3Identify and label every circuit on the existing board against the schedule. Agree the isolation window with the client.
4. 4Isolate the supply at the main switch, lock off with a personal padlock, and prove dead at the board using a proving unit and voltage indicator before and after the test.
5. 5Disconnect and remove the existing board. Terminate and label conductors. Fix the new board and reconnect circuits to the schedule.
6. 6Carry out inspection and testing, record the results, energise in the agreed window and confirm each circuit with the client before removing the barriers.

Why method statements get rejected

Most rejections are not about the hazards. They are about a document that is plainly not for this job.

• No site address, dates or named supervisor: it reads as a template
• Hazards in the risk assessment that never appear in the sequence
• Steps in the wrong order, or a sequence that skips isolation, inspection or permits
• Generic emergency arrangements with no site contact or nearest A&E
• Competency claims with no card or qualification named
• Plant listed with no inspection status (LOLER, PUWER, scaffold tag, MEWP certificate)
• A revision that does not match the one the site already holds

Reviewing and briefing

Before it is issued, someone other than the author reads the method statement against the site. The reviewer is looking for steps that do not fit the actual building, controls that depend on things the site does not have, and anything the risk assessment promised that the sequence forgot.

On the day, the supervisor briefs the operatives from the document, not from memory, and each one signs the briefing record. If the job changes during the day, the method statement is revised and the briefing repeated. A signed record of a briefing that never happened is worse than no record at all.

Questions

Sources

The legislation and HSE guidance this guide is based on. Legislation links go to the revised text on legislation.gov.uk.

1. CDM 2015, regulation 15 (duties of contractors) · legislation.gov.uk
2. Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, section 2 (general duties of employers) · legislation.gov.uk
3. Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, regulation 3 (risk assessment) · legislation.gov.uk
4. The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 · legislation.gov.uk
5. Electrical test equipment for use on low voltage electrical systems (GS38) · Health and Safety Executive
6. The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 · legislation.gov.uk
7. The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 · legislation.gov.uk
8. Managing health and safety in construction: CDM 2015 guidance on regulations (L153) · Health and Safety Executive