We have several operational areas that have produced Safe Working Procedural Guidance for staff but have been criticised for not producing Method Statements. Can someone please clarify when is a Method Statement is required as well as a risk assessment, what is a Method Statement and is there any legal requirement to carry out a Method Statement. Thanks, Tony Dean

Hmmmmmm. IMVHO a method statement is normally only necessary where you need to provide a SEQUENCE for carrying out a task in a specific order to ensure safety. They are normally required in such work as demolition, complex maintenance, asbestos works etc. I am not aware that MS, SSOW etc are defined in 'law' although it might well be considered to be part of 'systems of work' HASAWA 2(2)(a). What one person might consider to be a SSOW, others may consider to be a MS and vice versa. Sometimes a RA might be combined with a SSOW and MS all in one. Ramble over!

For me a method statement is just one output of a risk assessment. However, over the years what is commonly produced as a risk assessment has come to encompass much of what I recognise as a method statement. Put that alongside the difference between how the Construction sector and fixed engineering facilities have traditionally used method statements as part of their overall safe systems and you have enough room for continual and somewhat esoteric discussion on what is what. When sitting on the side of the site owner/occupier, I must point out long before CDM et al existed, we needed to be able to see clearly how the contractor intended to carry out the work laid out in the tender or contract. We would expect to see that in a method statement which might include all the risk parameters and not just H&S. For our own routine works we expected to find operational procedures. What is important is that it can be demonstrated that not only the hazards and risk controls have been identified and rated but that how the actual work is to be completed is clearly recorded. HTH p48

Do the method statement. Make it a one-size-fits-as-much-as-possible. Provide the same MS in different envelopes. On site, nobody reads them anyway.

We've done this argument to death a few times on this Forum, with some polarised views usually emerging. MS have their uses, in the circumstances canopener describes. Also laboratory work (Standard Operating Procedures) work where quality assurance is paramount, some safety-critical work. Some might argue that a Permit to Work has at its core a method statement too. For my part, I like to keep the Management process of Risk Assessment apart from the work instruction and SWP documents. R/A is (IMHO) primarily a management tool, not a method of imparting information or instruction to employees.