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RAMS shouldn’t take hours and hours of formatting, copy-and-pasting
Create better RAMS in less time, anywhere and on any device, without the need for training or technical expertise. Our Customer success team will onboard and assist you from day one if you have any questions or need any support.
Take advantage of well-structured documents that are quick and easy to read.
Integrate RAMS with Training Register to pull through training and competency records to your projects.
Integrate with other software you use such as Teams, Sharepoint or any other software with an API.
Link your HandsHQ and Procore accounts to have high-quality RAMS documents accessible in Procore projects.
Risk assessments and method statements are vital in ensuring the safety of employees and contractors in any high-risk workplace, such as construction, facilities management, HVAC and M&E. Risk assessments and method statements, or RAMS documents, identify potential hazards, define mitigation measures, and provide step-by-step guidelines for safely carrying out tasks.
Historically, across many industries, RAMS have been created using Microsoft Word or Excel and generally consists of four repetitive tasks – copying, pasting, amending, and reformatting to make documents presentable. The manual nature of creating RAMS in this way means RAMS documents are prone to mistakes, including spelling, grammar, data entry, copying incorrect site details, or outdated hazards and control measures. Checking and double-checking every detail, rectifying any errors, and attending to formatting issues are time intensive. Failing to funnel the time into addressing these issues can result in unprofessional-looking pieces of work, which is unhelpful for both trying to win more contracts and general brand image.
Even enterprise companies with management systems and processes in place regularly wrestle with consistency and version control issues, investing far more time into the creation of RAMS, when they could be funnelling this time into higher-value strategic activities, or bidding for more tenders. Beyond the initial paperwork-heavy process of creating a single RAMS document, organisations then need to distribute the documents for sign-off to the appropriate people, creating a host of other issues - such as wasting time scrolling through hundreds of versions or checking messy email threads to find if the appropriate people have signed the appropriate documents. This problem is exacerbated when RAMS documents are updated in line with site or any other changes, and inhibits the ability of businesses in high-risk work industries to adapt to change quickly.
Clearly, these outdated approaches ‘get the job done’ - but are they really what we could call RAMS best practice?
Defining an organisation's best practice for RAMS is vital in promoting a safe working environment within the construction and other industries where health and safety are paramount. So what exactly is RAMS best practice?
If you’ve found this page, you’ll already know - in high-risk work, a RAMS document should be in place. Here are some of our best practice tips in relation to RAMS:
Benefits of embracing RAMS best practices include:
Sustainable Growth: RAMS best practices are pivotal in ensuring your business's long-term sustainability. You lay the foundation for your operations’ success by mitigating risks and maintaining a secure workplace.
It’s clear using Word and Excel probably doesn’t align with what most organisations would consider RAMS best practice. So what does align with these expectations?
As with so many common issues in 2023, one of the most effective solutions to the RAMS best practice problem is digitalisation.
The growth of RAMS apps in the last decade has been significant, and one of the answers to the question ‘What is RAMS best practice?’ is RAMS software - specifically the market-leading solution from HandsHQ.
HandsHQ provides users with a dedicated platform engineered specifically for creating comprehensive RAMS documents, without compromising on quality, and always adhering to industry standards. HandsHQ’s RAMS software allows users to create better RAMS in less time. Unlike generic tools such as Word or Excel, which are inefficient when dealing with the detailed nature and complex nuances of RAMS documentation, HandsHQ's software is purpose-built for this very task.
In stark contrast to the traditional approaches, HandsHQ offers numerous advantages that make it the ideal choice for RAMS in high-risk work. By utilising HandsHQ, health and safety professionals can ensure they are adhering to regulatory requirements whilst maximising efficiency in managing their RAMS documentation. With the tools on offer from HandsHQ, organisations can focus on delivering successful projects without compromising on the health, safety and well-being of their workforce or risking litigation.
HandsHQ's RAMS software support compliance while optimising workplace safety. Removing the labour-intensive paper organisations to focus on successful project execution, safeguarding their workforce, and warding off compliance penalties.
The emergence of RAMS software has revolutionised the risk assessment and method statement process in the UK, providing a comprehensive means for organisations undertaking high-risk work. HandsHQ's RAMS software offers significant advantages: streamlined workflows, seamless collaboration, and an extensive risk and COSHH library, HandsHQ eclipses traditional documentation practices. The software's user-friendly interface and innovative tools surmount Word or Excel's limitations, catering even to the less tech-savvy.
RAMS documents outline how hazardous tasks or operations will be conducted safely – from risk identification to mitigation strategies, so the necessity is clear. However, this naturally leads to another query: are RAMS a legal requirement?
All companies with over five employees must have a risk assessment in place, by law. Method statements themselves are not explicitly legally required but they are almost universally used in construction, M&E, fire and security, HVAC and other high-risk industries, where everyday activities have the potential to be dangerous.
A robust, digitised RAMS process can be used as a tool by almost any business to improve efficiency, consistency and compliance, and can boost company health and safety culture.
One of the significant benefits of HandsHQ's RAMS software is the ability for users to streamline workflows while maintaining accuracy and high standards. Risk assessments can be created in minutes, using the expertly curated content library. HandsHQ's comprehensive library of risk assessments and COSHH assessments allow health and safety professionals to easily search for specific hazards and hazardous materials, with thousands of detailed entries available on the database. This extensive resource pool allows users to find and include potential risks in an assessment quickly and accurately, without relying on outdated content from in-house templates.
HandsHQ's risk assessment method statement solution offers robust collaboration features designed with teams in mind. HandsHQ enables seamless communication between team members throughout the creation and signing off of RAMS. This ease of collaboration eliminates problems with version control, and boosts accountability for RAMS across teams, individual employees, visitors and contractors.
Using RAMS software from HandsHQ helps health and safety professionals to achieve RAMS best practices, ensuring they have access to accurate, up-to-date information when creating RAMS, enhancing compliance with regulatory standards and improving overall efficiency within their organisations. The user-friendly software means that even those with limited IT skills can quickly generate detailed and accurate RAMS documents, without having to worry about formatting issues or data entry errors.
By streamlining workflows, enabling seamless collaboration between team members and offering an extensive library of industry-specific resources, HandsHQ proves a superior alternative to traditional RAMS best practice.
HandsHQ’s RAMS software allows organisations to digitise their RAMS process from start to finish. Organisations can create better RAMS in less time using its expertly crafted content library, with [HOW MANY] elements which can be prefilled or edited. The finished document can then be paperlessly distributed, signed and stored. The efficiencies gained from improving the RAMS process with HandsHQ’s software allow organisations to funnel more time into tasks which create competitive advantage, and help to foster a culture of health and safety. Join 1,500 other companies where HandsHQ is playing a pivotal role in ensuring both safety, efficiency and compliance today.
For organisations that may not yet be ready to invest in dedicated software, HandsHQ also offers a downloadable risk assessment template PDF. The RAMS template is designed in line with industry standards, and can serve as the foundation for creating your RAMS documents across high-risk industries. It’s ideal for organisations working in the HVAC, M&E, Events Services and construction sectors - although it is applicable across a whole range of industries!
Download the template here for free
While you’re welcome to download our RAMS template, it is essential to remember that using a standalone template will not offer the same level of convenience, updates, and collaborative features available in the software.
Are you ready to establish what best practice for RAMS looks like in your business? Join our live demo to find out how you can create better RAMS in less time
