Roddy McGowan – LCE Safety Consultant & Trainer answers your work related health and safety queries as part of our monthly Q&A session.
“What are RAMS in relation to Health and Safety?“
Roddy McGowan:
RAMS stands for Risk Assessment and Method Statement.
RAMS are documents companies create after they conduct risk assessments. RAMS documents contain details of the hazard as well as a step-by-step safe working guide that employees, contractors, and others can follow. … Risk assessments identify, quantify, and then control risks.
Section 19 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 2005 requires that employers and those who control workplaces to any extent must:
- Identify the hazards in the workplaces under their control
- Assess the risks presented by these hazards
In this context a hazard is something with the potential to cause harm (for example, chemical substances, machinery or methods of work), while measuring the risk depends on:
- The likelihood of that harm occurring in the workplace
- The potential severity of that harm (the degree of injury or ill health following an accident)
- The number of people who might be exposed to the hazard
Employers must write down these workplace risks and what to do about them. This is known as a risk assessment. Assessing risk means you must examine carefully what, in the workplace, could cause harm to your employees, other employees and other people, including customers, visitors and members of the public. This allows you to weigh up whether you have taken enough precautions or whether you should do more to prevent harm.
For more information or if you have any other queries which you would like LCE to address contact info@LCE.ie.
