Topic
RAMS & Subcontractors
Risk assessments, method statements and assessing subcontractor competence properly.
Permit-to-work systems: when a RAMS on its own isn't enough
For a narrow band of genuinely high-risk tasks — hot work, confined spaces, live electrical work — a RAMS alone doesn't provide the moment-by-moment control a permit-to-work system is built to give.
23 July 2026 · 5 min readWhat is a RAMS, and why does every subcontractor need one?
If you're a subcontractor turning up to work on a construction project, you almost certainly need your own RAMS — and it needs to be specific to the work, not a stock document reused across every job.
30 June 2026 · 4 min readHow to actually assess subcontractor competence, not just collect certificates
CDM 2015 expects a genuine judgement about whether a subcontractor can do the work safely — a folder of certificates is evidence towards that judgement, not a substitute for making it.
5 June 2026 · 5 min readCHAS, Constructionline and SSIP: what these accreditation schemes actually check
These schemes verify a baseline of health and safety competence — genuinely useful evidence, but not a substitute for a principal contractor's own judgement about a specific subcontractor and job.
10 May 2026 · 5 min readWhat happens if a subcontractor turns up without a RAMS?
A principal contractor is entitled to refuse site access — and doing so consistently, rather than making exceptions under time pressure, is what actually keeps the requirement meaningful.
12 March 2026 · 4 min readRAMS quality versus box-ticking: what a genuinely good one looks like next to a bad one
Two RAMS can look identical in format and length while one genuinely protects the people doing the work and the other exists purely to be filed — the difference isn't obvious from a skim.
5 February 2026 · 3 min readCSCS cards: what they actually verify, and what they don't
A CSCS card confirms an individual has demonstrated a level of health and safety awareness for their trade — it's a useful, quick check at the gate, not a substitute for genuine competence assessment.