When this template fits
This RAMS is for UK contractors and roofing teams carrying out slate & tile re-roof — typically because a principal contractor or client has asked for a risk assessment and method statement before work can start. It covers the recognised work at height hazards for this task, with the controls a reviewer expects to see.
What this RAMS includes
- ✓ 9 task-specific hazards scored on a 5×5 matrix (initial → residual)
- ✓ Specific control measures for each hazard, in hierarchy-of-control order
- ✓ A 9-step method statement (sequence of works)
- ✓ PPE, plant/equipment, permits and competence requirements
- ✓ Emergency arrangements and operative briefing / sign-off section
Scope of works
Strip and re-cover pitched roofs in slate or tile.
Sequence of works
- 1PLANNING & SURVEY: Before mobilising, commission a pre-refurbishment asbestos survey (if building pre-2000), review structural condition, agree scaffold design with SWL, and obtain all necessary notifications and permits. Produce task-specific RAMS and brief all operatives.
- 2SCAFFOLD ERECTION: Erect a full perimeter independent scaffold with double guardrails, midrails, toeboards, debris netting/fan at eaves, and a safe ladder access tower before any operative steps onto the roof. Obtain scaffold handover certificate from competent person.
- 3PRE-WORK ROOF INSPECTION: Competent person inspects the roof to identify and mark fragile rooflights, weak decking, and chimney/parapet hazards. Deliver toolbox talk covering hazard locations, SWLs, weather policy, and emergency procedures to all operatives.
- 4STRIPPING — TILES/SLATES: Working from ridge downward using roof ladders, strip tiles or slates progressively. Pass materials down to the scaffold platform using a hoist, gin wheel, or hand chain — never throw. Remove materials from scaffold to skip regularly to avoid overloading.
- 5STRIPPING — BATTENS AND UNDERFELT: Remove old battens and underlayer. Inspect rafter condition; report structural defects to the client/structural engineer before proceeding. Keep stripped areas covered with polyethylene sheeting at end of each day.
- 6NEW UNDERFELT AND BATTEN: Install new vapour-permeable underlay from eaves to ridge, lapping correctly. Fix new treated battens at gauge to match specified tile/slate centres. Check ridge and valley areas before covering.
- 7CUTTING SLATES/TILES: All cutting to be carried out using wet-cutting equipment with water suppression or on-tool H-class extraction. FFP3 respirators to be worn throughout cutting operations. Operatives to stand upwind of any residual dust.
- 8RE-COVERING — SLATES/TILES: Fix new slates or tiles from eaves upward following manufacturer's specification and BS 8000-6 good practice. Use roof ladders throughout. Ensure ridge, hip, valley, verge, and flashing details are completed before scaffold is struck.
- 9FINAL INSPECTION AND SCAFFOLD STRIKE: Competent person carries out final roof inspection checking all details. Clear all waste from scaffold. Remove roof ladders and staging. Strike scaffold progressively, maintaining edge protection until the last bay is removed. Dispose of waste in accordance with waste carrier regulations.
Hazards, risk rating & controls
Risk = likelihood × severity (1–25). Initial is before controls; residual is with controls applied.
Fall from height — roof edge
Who’s at risk: Operatives, Other trades on site, Members of the public
- › Erect a full perimeter tube-and-fitting or system scaffold with double guardrails, midrails, and toeboards to all open edges before any roof work commences. Scaffold must comply with TG20 or engineered design.
- › Scaffold must be inspected by a competent person and a handover certificate issued before use, then re-inspected at least every 7 days and after any event likely to affect its stability.
- › Use roof ladders or stagings hooked over the ridge to distribute load and provide a stable working platform on the slope, preventing uncontrolled sliding.
Fall from height — roof slope (sliding)
Who’s at risk: Operatives, Other trades on site, Members of the public
- › Provide purpose-designed roof ladders or crawling boards of sufficient length to reach from eaves to ridge, with adequate hooking arrangements, so no operative needs to stand directly on battens or felt.
- › For pitches above 45° or where surface is wet/mossy, a competent person must review and may require additional staging, secondary arrest lanyards, or altered work sequencing before work proceeds.
- › All operatives must wear footwear with slip-resistant soles appropriate for wet or dusty roof surfaces.
Fall of materials — tiles and slates onto persons below
Who’s at risk: Operatives, Other trades on site, Members of the public
- › Fit a proprietary debris fan or containment netting at eaves level on the scaffold to catch falling materials before the strip commences.
- › Establish and maintain a clearly signed and physically barrier-protected exclusion zone at ground level around the full footprint of the scaffold. Zones must extend at least 2 m beyond the scaffold footprint.
- › Lower stripped materials using a hoist, chute into a skip, or hand-to-hand passing chain rather than throwing or tipping over the scaffold edge.
- › All personnel within the exclusion zone or passing through must wear a hard hat at all times.
Manual handling — slate and tile loads
Who’s at risk: Operatives, Other trades on site, Members of the public
- › Use a scaffold-mounted materials hoist or gin wheel to raise full packs of tiles/slates to working level rather than carrying by hand up ladders.
- › Restrict individual manual lifts to 25 kg maximum (lower for repetitive lifts). Break packs down at scaffold level before distributing across the roof slope.
- › Ensure all operatives have received manual handling training relevant to roofing. Use two-person carries for heavier individual slates or ridge pieces.
- › Wear gloves providing grip and protection when handling sharp-edged slates or rough concrete tiles to prevent cuts and improve control.
Dust inhalation — silica from cutting slates and tiles
Who’s at risk: Operatives, Other trades on site, Members of the public
- › Use a water-suppressed angle grinder, wet-cut disc saw, or purpose-designed wet slate/tile cutter to suppress dust at source. Prohibit dry disc cutting of silica-containing materials.
- › Where wet cutting is not practicable, attach H-class on-tool dust extraction to cutting equipment to capture RCS before it becomes airborne.
- › Complete a COSHH assessment for RCS prior to work. If dry cutting cannot be fully eliminated, monitor personal exposure against the WEL (0.1 mg/m³ 8-hr TWA) and review controls.
- › Where residual dust exposure above the action level cannot be prevented by other controls, wear a close-fitting FFP3 disposable or reusable half-mask respirator. Face-fit tested to the wearer.
Asbestos — cement slates and flashings
Who’s at risk: Operatives, Other trades on site, Members of the public
- › Commission a Type 2 (pre-refurbishment/demolition) asbestos survey by a UKAS-accredited surveyor before any stripping commences on roofs built or last re-covered before 2000.
- › If materials suspected to contain asbestos are discovered during stripping that were not identified in the survey, cease work immediately, prevent access to the area, and seek advice from a licensed/notifiable asbestos contractor as appropriate.
Fragile roof surfaces — rooflights and deteriorated decking
Who’s at risk: Operatives, Other trades on site, Members of the public
- › A competent person must inspect the roof before work starts to identify and mark all fragile areas including rooflights, skylights, and weak decking. Mark with warning notices visible from the working position.
- › Place purpose-designed roof staging or load-spreading boards over or adjacent to fragile areas so that no operative needs to step on or near them.
- › Deliver a task-specific toolbox talk to all operatives covering the locations of fragile areas and the prohibition on stepping on or within 2 m of them without protection in place.
Overloading scaffold — tile/slate stockpiling
Who’s at risk: Operatives, Other trades on site, Members of the public
- › Ensure the scaffold SWL per bay is displayed on the scaffold and communicated to all operatives and the foreman. Typical general-purpose scaffold is rated at 2 kN/m²; heavy duty at 6.5 kN/m².
- › Remove stripped materials from the scaffold to ground-level skips frequently throughout the working day. Do not allow accumulation beyond one bay's worth of material at a time.
- › When hoisting new tiles or slates, distribute loads across multiple bays rather than concentrating in one area. Position loads close to standards (uprights) to minimise board bending.
Adverse weather — wind, rain, ice
Who’s at risk: Operatives, Other trades on site, Members of the public
- › Monitor forecast and site wind speeds. Suspend roof work when wind speed exceeds Beaufort Force 5 (approximately 20 mph / 8.5 m/s) or earlier if the operative or supervisor judges conditions unsafe. Use an anemometer on exposed sites.
- › At the end of each working day, securely cover all stripped roof areas with heavy-duty polyethylene sheeting battened or weighted at edges to prevent wind uplift and weather ingress.
- › Inspect scaffold walkways and roof ladder rungs for ice or frost before use. Apply anti-slip strips, use grit where practical, and consider delaying work until surfaces have thawed.
PPE
- ✓ Safety footwear (EN ISO 20345)
- ✓ Hi-vis clothing
- ✓ Safety gloves (task-appropriate)
- ✓ Hard hat (EN 397) where overhead risk or site rules require
- ✓ Safety harness and lanyard where fall arrest is the selected control
- ✓ RPE (FFP3 or as risk-assessed) with face-fit
- ✓ Disposable RPE (FFP3)
- ✓ Disposable coveralls (Type 5)
Competence
- ✓ Roof-work competence and work-at-height training
- ✓ Site induction completed; CSCS or equivalent where the site requires it
Schemes (CSCS, PASMA, IPAF…) evidence competence; they are not statutory requirements in themselves.
Plant & equipment
- › Scaffold / mobile tower / MEWP as selected
- › Podium steps or ladders for short-duration tasks
- › Tool lanyards and tethers
- › Edge protection components
- › Inspection tags
Permits & legislation
What principal contractors usually check
- ✓ A named access method (scaffold / tower / MEWP) with inspection regime
- ✓ A rescue plan that doesn't rely on calling 999
- ✓ Collective protection considered before harnesses
- ✓ The document is site-specific — real address, access arrangements and dates, not a generic template
- ✓ Hazards match the actual task and the controls are specific (not “take care” and “use PPE”)
- ✓ Named supervisor and competent person, with operative sign-off space
- ✓ Emergency and rescue arrangements that work for this site
The report builder runs these as pre-submission checks before you download — or run an existing document through the free RAMS pre-submission checker.
Frequently asked questions
Who should write a slate & tile re-roof RAMS?
Someone competent to plan the work — usually the contractor doing the job or their supervisor. A template like this gives you the recognised hazards and controls for slate & tile re-roof, but the person signing it off must review it as the competent person and confirm it matches the actual site and method.
How long is the RAMS valid for?
Until something changes — there's no fixed expiry in law. Review it if the method, site conditions, equipment or people change, after any incident or near miss, and at sensible intervals on longer jobs. Date the review and re-brief the team.
What regulations apply to slate & tile re-roof?
Work at Height Regulations 2005, Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, section 3, Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 are the main ones, alongside Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH), Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012. The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and CDM 2015 apply to all construction work.
Does a RAMS need to be site-specific?
Yes — this is the most common reason documents get sent back. Principal contractors reject generic copy-paste RAMS. Your document should name the site, access arrangements, dates, supervisor and any site-specific hazards. The RamsDocs builder fills these in for you and flags what's missing before you download.
Is this template free?
Yes — everything on RamsDocs is free during early access, including building a site-specific version of this RAMS and downloading the PDF. No card required.