How To Write A Method Statement In 5 Minutes

When you do it right, a method statement will reduce confusion and create a safer work environment. Oh, and help you meet legal requirements. It's a win-win-win situation.

But writing a method statement that does all this takes time. You can't just put everything on the page and hope the next person understands it.

The trick is to write a clear method statement that communicates what's involved with the task or activity. The process. The controls. And the safety measures.

Your method statement should form part of your safe system of work. It's not just a document to be saved and stored away. It will often be the subject of the safety briefing or toolbox talk delivered before the activity starts.

A method statement is a document that describes how to do a task safely. You can think of a method statement like a set of instructions or a plan for the work. Method statements are also known as safe systems of work, safe work method statements or SWMS for short. And that's because they describe the method (or system) of work.

Ok, so we know what a method statement is, but how can we write one in 5 minutes?

The slowest way

Well, your first option is to open up Microsoft Word on your computer and go from there. But as you stare at the blank page in front of you, the first thing you're likely to wonder is, where do I start?!

You're never going to be able to write a method from scratch in 5-minutes, but if you decide to take this route, here are some important items you will want to include:

• The project
• The activity
• The date of assessment
• Assessor details
• Responsibilities
• Hazards (or reference to relevant risk assessment)
• Work procedure and control measures
  • Sequence of work
  • Access provisions
  • Security and safety of others
  • Techniques
  • Plant and equipment
  • Safety precautions
  • Health precautions
• PPE requirements
• Management arrangements
  • First aid
  • Welfare
  • Monitoring
  • Emergency procedures
• Acknowledgement and sign off

That's quite a lot of information to cover in a single document. Just writing out those headers might take you a couple of minutes.

A quicker way

You don't need to start from scratch each time. You can use a template to help speed things up. You can create one yourself, and while this still involves the upfront work initially, you can save time when you need method statements again in the future.

We said we would help you make this easy, and so we created a free blank method statement template to do just that. It will help you get started with writing your method statements.

You can use the blank method statement template to create your method statement, and it should speed things up because we give you a standard layout, following best practices.

If you have ever started writing a document from a blank sheet, you know how much time you can end up spending just deciding how to split the document up into sections, layout, tables etc.

You don't need to download any software to use this template, and editing it is easy. Here's a guide on how to create health and safety documents with HASpod.

As with any template, add your details to turn it from a generic into a site-specific document.

Once you have finished editing the template to add the details of your activity, you can download a PDF copy of your method statement to share with your team.

Ok, we've saved you some time getting started, but what if you need help writing the content of your method statement?

The quickest way

Even with a blank template, there's still a big chunk of work to do. You need to plan the activity and write down all the details. Some of this information might get duplicated across several method statements for projects that involve similar activities.

You can create a template with this repeating information so you can reuse it rather than having to write it again each time.

To help you reduce the time spent writing health and safety paperwork even further, our health and safety experts have prepared hundreds of health and safety documents. You can browse all of the method statement templates ready to use for your tasks and activities.

You can use these method statement templates for your business and adapt them for your activities. They save you time because:

You no longer need to worry about the layout. The templates are in a consistent format to produce an easy to follow method statement for your task or activity. Select what PPE you need from the checkboxes provided, fill in the details asked for, and you are on your way.

We tell you what information is required. Project name, people involved, PPE required etc. Just enter your project-specific details where they are needed.

We pre-complete the information. General information for the task and controls needed are all pre-completed for you. You can remove any bits that are not applicable and add your project details.

Now you can create a site-specific method statement in as quick as 5 minutes!

You can choose from a range of pre-completed method statements for construction activities such as groundworks, joinery, hot works, refurbishment, plumbing, from underpinning and underground drainage, to roof installation.

Using a template makes writing your method statement in 5 minutes easy:

• Search for your task or activity in our pre-completed templates.
• Add your business name and project details.
• Edit the template to add any additional project-specific controls as required.
• Download your finished method statement.

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You can start free with the blank method statement template or browse our method statement templates by activity. Whichever you choose, our online software can help you reduce the time you spend on your health and safety paperwork.