Concrete works method statement and risk assessment

• Formwork and falsework built to a temporary works design that allows for the full wet concrete load and the rate of pour.
• Checked against the design and released in writing by the temporary works coordinator before the pour starts.
• Pour rate and sequence kept to the design, with a competent person watching the formwork and stopping the pour at any sign of movement.

BeforeHigh 15AfterMedium 5

• Striking times and back-propping set by the temporary works designer or engineer, not by the calendar.
• Strike released in writing, using cube results or the method in the design where the design requires them.
• Struck in the order in the design, with props released gradually and nobody below the area being struck.

BeforeHigh 15AfterMedium 5

• Edge protection on decks and slab edges: a top guard-rail at least 950mm high, no gap over 470mm, and toe boards.
• Working platforms on wall and column forms, with access by tied ladder or stair, never by climbing the formwork.
• Openings in decks covered with fixed, marked covers or guarded before the area is used.

BeforeHigh 20AfterMedium 5

• Protruding starter bars capped or covered wherever anyone could fall or walk onto them.
• Walkways across fixed reinforcement on boards or mesh walkways, not on the bars.
• Offcuts and tie wire cleared from decks and the pour area as work goes on.

BeforeMedium 12AfterLow 4

• Bundles of rebar, mesh and formwork panels lifted by crane or telehandler to where they are used, not carried by hand.
• Long bars and full mesh sheets carried by two people; lighter panel systems chosen where practicable.
• Knee pads for fixing at slab level, and rest breaks planned for long fixing shifts.

BeforeMedium 12AfterMedium 6

• Pump set up on hard standing provided by site management, stabilisers deployed to the maker's instructions on spreader plates, clear of excavations and voids.
• Pump booked with a trained operator, and a competent supervisor from the hirer with the pump from start to finish.
• Nobody under the boom; overhead lines identified before the pump arrives and the boom kept well clear.

BeforeHigh 15AfterMedium 5

• Everyone clear of the end hose until concrete flows smoothly, at the start and after a blockage: the danger zone is twice the hose length across.
• No line opened under pressure: pumping stopped and reversed to release it, people moved clear, then opened at the safest point.
• Couplings, pins and clips checked before the pour, with signals agreed between the pour and the operator.

BeforeMedium 12AfterLow 4

• Lift planned by a competent person, with a trained slinger signaller in charge and a lift plan for the crane.
• Skip and crane with a LOLER thorough examination in date; skip not overfilled and the release checked before each lift.
• Skip guided by a tag line, not by hand under the load; nobody under the lift path.

BeforeHigh 15AfterMedium 5

• Wagon route, standing area and washout point planned and kept apart from pedestrian routes by barriers.
• Trained banksman for every reversing movement; nobody between the wagon and the pump hopper while it reverses.
• Washout to a lined area or skip, never to drains, with the driver staying in sight of the banksman.

BeforeHigh 20AfterMedium 5

• Waterproof gloves suitable for alkalis, and wellingtons with waterproof trousers worn over them so concrete cannot get in.
• Cement washed off the skin straight away, with clean water and welfare at the pour; wet clothing changed.
• Skin checks by a trained person before work starts and at intervals, with any problem reported.

BeforeMedium 12AfterMedium 6

• Eye protection worn by everyone at the point of placing and when cleaning down the pump or mixer.
• Eyewash at the pour, and the team briefed to rinse at once and get first aid.

BeforeMedium 9AfterLow 3

• Vibration data for each tool obtained and trigger time planned per person to stay below the exposure action value of 2.5 m/s² A(8).
• Ride-on trowels used in place of walk-behind machines where practicable, and lower-vibration pokers and screeds chosen on their data.
• Tools maintained, work rotated, and anyone with tingling or numbness reporting it.

BeforeMedium 12AfterMedium 6

• Machines guarded, with a dead man control that stops the blades when released, checked before use.
• Operators trained on the machine; nobody else on the slab within reach of the blades.
• Petrol or diesel machines used indoors only with enough ventilation, or electric machines chosen instead.

BeforeMedium 12AfterLow 4

• Scabbling designed out where possible, by retarders and pressure washing or by joint formers cast into the formwork.
• Water suppression or on-tool extraction with an H or M class unit for cutting, coring and grinding.
• RPE with an assigned protection factor of 20, face fit tested, and the area kept clear of others.

BeforeMedium 12AfterMedium 6

• Quieter tools and methods chosen first, with noise data used to plan exposure.
• Hearing protection worn wherever the noise assessment shows exposure can reach 85 dB(A), the upper exposure action value.

BeforeMedium 9AfterMedium 6

• Fuel-burning heaters kept out of enclosed or sheeted areas unless the fumes are ducted away; electric heat chosen where possible.
• Curing compounds and release agents used to their safety data sheets, by spray with RPE where the sheet calls for it.
• Covers weighted down, and a new slab barriered and signed so nobody walks or loads it early.

BeforeMedium 12AfterLow 4

• Our work kept outside the piling exclusion zone, on a working platform with a current certificate.
• Pile heads cut down before our pile caps start, by hydraulic croppers or another non-percussive method in place of hand-held breakers where practicable.
• Pile bores and open holes covered or fenced before our team works near them.

BeforeHigh 15AfterMedium 5