Trades / Painting & decorating
Risk assessment and method statement for painting and decorating
Decorating RAMS are usually needed because of where the work happens rather than what it is: an occupied hallway, a stairwell, a shop that stays open. Lead paint and spraying are the two that catch people out.
£29 per document. Written for your job in two to three minutes, as an editable Word file and a PDF. Free preview first.
What a painting & decorating RAMS has to cover
Not every job needs all of these, and the document only carries what your job actually involves. These are the ones that come up for painters and decorators.
- Lead paint on anything pre-1992, and why dry sanding it is the wrong approach
- Solvent vapour and isocyanates when spraying, and the ventilation and RPE required
- Working at height on stairwells, towers and ladders for external work
- Occupants and the public moving through the work area
- Dust from sanding filler and old coatings
- Fire risk from solvent-soaked rags and stored materials
- Skin contact and dermatitis from solvents and strippers
Jobs you can pick
Ten common painting and decorating jobs, or describe your own in a sentence or two. Either way the document is written around what you describe, including the site, who else is about and how long it takes.
- Paint inside a house (walls, ceilings, woodwork)
- Paint outside a house (walls, windows, fascias)
- Wallpapering
- Spray painting with an airless sprayer
- Spray kitchen cabinets
- Paint a shop or business premises
- Strip old paint (may contain lead)
- Decorate a stairwell or hallway
- Masonry paint and render coating
- Stain fences, sheds and outside timber
- Something else — describe it yourself
The legislation cited for painting and decorating
This is the complete list your document may cite — 12 entries, kept by hand for painters and decorators. The system cannot cite anything outside it, and a document that tries is rejected and written again. Each one only appears in your RAMS if it applies to the job you describe.
- Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974
- General duties on employers and the self-employed to protect workers and anyone else affected by the work (ss.2–3), and on workers to take reasonable care (s.7).
- Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
- Requires a suitable and sufficient risk assessment before work starts (reg 3) and operatives given adequate information and training — this RAMS records the significant findings.
- Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992
- PPE must be suitable for the risk, correctly fitted, maintained and provided free of charge (including to limb (b) workers since the 2022 amendment), and used as the last line of defence.
- Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013
- Deaths, specified injuries, over-seven-day injuries, occupational diseases and dangerous occurrences arising from the work must be reported to HSE.
- Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981
- Adequate first-aid equipment and a trained first-aider or appointed person must be available for the duration of the work.
- Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015
- Redecoration is expressly 'construction work' (reg 2), so it must be planned, managed and monitored, with operatives inducted and welfare provided.
- Work at Height Regulations 2005
- Ceilings, stairwells and external elevations need towers, podiums or MEWPs where practicable; ladders and stepladders only for short-duration, low-risk work.
- Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002
- Solvent-based paints, strippers and fillers, sanding dust and isocyanate (2-pack) coatings need assessment, ventilation and suitable RPE and gloves.
- Control of Lead at Work Regulations 2002
- Older paintwork (especially pre-1970s) may contain lead: dry sanding and burning off create lead dust and fume — use wet abrading or chemical strippers and hygiene controls.
- Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002
- Flammable solvents, thinners and spirit-based products create fire and vapour risks: ventilate, remove ignition sources, and store and dispose of soaked rags safely.
- Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012
- Sanding or scraping textured coatings and old surfaces in pre-2000 buildings can release asbestos — check the survey before preparation work (reg 5).
- Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998
- Sanders, airless sprayers (injection-injury risk) and heat guns must be suitable, maintained and used by trained operatives.
Why a fixed list instead of asking the model
Ask a language model which regulations apply to painting and decorating and you get a confident list, some of it right and some of it regulations that were replaced, renumbered, or never existed. On a document that reaches a principal contractor, a wrong citation is worse than no citation — it is the first thing a competent reviewer spots.
So the list above is given to the system as the only thing it may cite, and every document is checked against it afterwards.
Other trades
Your painting and decorating RAMS
Pick the job, describe the site, read the free preview. £29 only if you want the rest.
£29 when you unlock it. Nothing to pay until you have read the preview.