Method Statement & Risk Assessment Template

This template covers three areas. The method statement assessment and method statement overview sections capture who prepared it, where the work is, the scope of work, the work category, the project complexity, and the expected duration. The task breakdown and risk assessment section then captures the detailed tasks involved, who is responsible for them, the identified hazards and risks, the risk severity level, and the control measures. Answer scales in the template allow the work to be classified (for example construction, maintenance, or facility operations) and the risk severity to be graded from minor injury possible through to multiple fatalities possible.

Use the method statement assessment and overview fields to record the date, the person preparing the document, the location of the work, the scope of work description, the work category classification, the project complexity rating, and the estimated work duration in hours. Completion guidance is provided within the template. Add the detailed description of tasks involved and the responsible personnel so the sequence of work and accountability for each step are both explicit.

Break the work into the tasks involved and describe them in detail, then list the hazards and risks each task presents. Record the risk severity level using the scale provided, which runs from low (minor injury possible) through medium (lost time injury possible) and high (serious injury or fatality possible) to critical (multiple fatalities possible). For each hazard, set out the control measures and mitigation strategies that will bring the risk down. This keeps the method statement connected to the risk assessment rather than treating them as two unrelated documents.

This template is built for the people who plan and review work before it starts: safety managers, project leads, and inspectors. It is intended for use across construction, maintenance, and facility management operations, and it includes classification options for engineering works, demolition, installation, and inspection as well as an other category.

It should be prepared before the project commences, in line with the template's purpose of establishing control measures prior to work starting. The overview captures the date it was conducted, and the record is closed out with a signature and a finished-at time. The template also records the actual start and end dates of the inspection, so the planned document and the work as it was carried out can both be traced.