Any high-risk piece of work requires written communication that clearly outlines safety precautions to control any risks highlighted in the risk assessment. Method statements are necessary to illustrate exactly what safety precautions workers should take when carrying out a task. They are used across the following industries:
What’s included in our method statement templates?
Our range of method statement templates is designed to help you as an employer understand the process of writing an efficient method statement. A good method statement template will help streamline health and safety communication throughout your business, ensuring that work is carried out without risk.
Whatever your industry, our method statement templates guide you through the writing process with prompts for specific industries, helping you to create an effective method statement
The importance of method statements
Even though method statements aren’t a legal requirement, they’re still critical in most, if not all, situations. Ensuring your Health & Safety measures are implemented effectively is crucial for any working environment. This is the main purpose of a method statement, and it should also contain a greater level of detail. Where a risk assessment identifies and assesses hazards with suggested measures that control risk, a method statement expands on this and contains information on how, when and why measures should be implemented. Don’t make one of the most common Health & Safety mistakes by not following through with your method statement.
Learn more about the law in our blog ‘Are method statements a legal requirement?’.
What to include in your method statement templates
Below are a few examples of what should be included in a method statement:
- A brief description of the work being carried out
- Start and completion date of the project
- Details of the site and any relevant contact details
- What materials are being handled
- PPE requirements
- Emergency procedures
A method statement should be written by a competent person within your business and once the statement is written, it’ll need to be shared with all the relevant teams. It’s important that your method statement is easy to read and there’s no room for misinterpretation.
With a legally sound and easy-to-follow method statement, you can be sure that your business has got the right control measures in place to keep your people and business safe.
How to write a method statement
Understanding how to write a method statement is simple. Using our method statement templates, you should consider and complete the basic information and further information sections, which help you think about the ways of working. Here’s what you can expect to include in each section:
Basic information
- Summary of the work
- Location
- Project name and reference
- Dates for starting and completing the work
- Your company details (name, address, contact details)
- Any Health & Safety contacts
Further information
- Legal requirements/documents and permit to work
- First aid procedures
- The qualified first aider on-site
- What staff training is required
- All the equipment needed/provided
- Waste disposal
Method Statement Templates at HS Direct
We have over 100 method statement templates for you to choose from, including electrical method statements, plumbing method statements and tree surgery method statements, and loads more…
If you’d like to know lots more about method statements and their importance, we also have a handy blog article packed full of details on the benefits that a method statement template provides.
There are lots of different elements that need to be included, and it can be hard to remember every aspect of what is required. So why not check out our free method statement template? It’s an extremely helpful resource that outlines what a method statement looks like and what it should include. You can easily download it using the link above – just fill in your details and we’ll send it directly to your inbox!
If you’d like to discuss our method statement templates further, then please don’t hesitate to contact us and our friendly team will be on hand to answer any queries you may have.