One of our managers engaged a Grab Wagon to remove some spoil. This contractor was not on our approved contractors list, so I asked them to stand down untill I had copies of RaMs and insurance in our system.

The manager then insisted we should have the same documentation in place for our Skips that are delivered to our compound and from a local garage that had gone out to retrieve one of our broken down vans.

Where do I stand on the two latter matters ?

Behind your system until such time as you re-write it.

If you write a system that demands RAMS for contractor approval then all contractors should supply them and I applaud your manager for adhering to the company system.

Personally I would not have RAMS submission as part of an approved contractor listing - they should be submitted in relation to the actual contracted activity / purchase order to have any value.

Then you need to be more selective with how you define your suppliers, personally I would not expect RAMS from a skip company exchanging waste/recycling containers on a regular basis but I would expect them if we were contracting a more specialised one off activity.

Sorry I clicked on the wrong button.

I was asking for the RaMs for the Grab activity the manager had engaged them for. And Insurance

The OP was asking about the other providers - the skip hire company and the local garage who the manager knew they did not have RAMS

The manager is clearly making a point by referring to these activities, for which it would not be usual to receive RAMS.

However it doesn't follow that because you wouldn't have RAMS for those activities, you wouldn't have them for the activity that triggered this debate.

Possibly an opportunity to come up together with a clear definition of when RAMS are needed, starting with the question "What is the purpose and value of receiving RAMS?"

I'm not sure that the examples of a skip being delivered to a car park outside the office and milk and postal deliveries are particularly good comparitors.

For the first of these, the risks might actually be considerable, particularly when an overfull skip is being loaded FROM the car park.

The postal service is largely outside your control if you mean the Royal Mail, whilst the milk being delivered is very unlikely to pose any signficant risk other than the movement of vehicles.

What you need to consider in each case is the level of control you exercise over third parties doing things at or near premises for which you have some control.

Then you need to consider what risks those third parties pose to your own workforce and others (including the public).

Then, if in Great Britain, you have to apply the principles set out in Section 4(2) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, whilst also considering Section 3(1). Sometimes you may need to also look at provisions in the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and, depending on your sector, CDM 2015 etc.

By the time you have thought about these three issues, you may conclude that one size doesn't fit all.