Safety Rams Review

RAMS Review

Overview

Systematic review and assessment of Risk Assessment Method Statements (RAMS) documents for adequacy, completeness, and compliance with organisational and regulatory safety standards. Primary agent: RAMS Review Specialist.

Triggers

• New RAMS submitted for approval
• RAMS revision following changes to work method
• Periodic RAMS review scheduled
• Safety incident triggers RAMS reassessment

Prerequisites

• RAMS document submitted
• Work scope and method statement available
• Applicable safety regulations and standards
• Historical RAMS data for similar activities

Steps

Step 1: RAMS Completeness Check

Verify all required sections are present:

• Work activity description → Clear scope and location
• Task breakdown → Individual steps identified
• Hazard identification → All relevant hazards listed per task
• Risk assessment → Likelihood × severity ratings provided
• Control measures → Hierarchy of controls applied for each hazard
• Residual risk assessment → Risk after controls applied
• Competence requirements → Personnel qualifications identified
• Emergency arrangements → Emergency response specified

Step 2: Hazard Identification Validation

Cross-check hazard identification:

• Compare with historical hazards for similar activities
• Verify all task steps have associated hazards
• Check for missing environmental hazards
• Review adjacent activity conflicts

Step 3: Risk Rating Review

Validate risk ratings for each hazard:

• Likelihood rating → Based on frequency of occurrence and controls
• Severity rating → Based on potential harm (injury, fatality, damage)
• Residual risk → Reduced risk after controls applied
• Risk matrix consistency → Ratings match organisational risk matrix

Step 4: Control Measures Assessment

Verify control measures for each hazard:

• Adequacy → Controls sufficient to reduce risk to acceptable level
• Specificity → Controls specific to identified hazard
• Hierarchy of controls applied → Elimination → Substitution → Engineering → Administrative → PPE
• Residual risk acceptable → Final risk within organisational tolerance

Step 5: Review Outcome & Approval

Document review findings:

• Approve → RAMS meets all requirements
• Approve with conditions → Minor improvements required
• Reject → Significant deficiencies requiring resubmission
• Provide feedback on deficiencies
• Record review decision with rationale

Success Criteria

• All required sections present and adequately completed
• Risk ratings consistently applied
• Control measures reduce risks to acceptable levels
• Review decision documented with rationale

Common Pitfalls

1. Insufficient task breakdown → Tasks too general, hazards missed
2. Overly conservative risk ratings → Inflates risk, wastes control resources
3. Missing control verification → Controls not linked to specific hazards
4. Stale RAMS → Historical RAMS not updated for current conditions

Cross-References

• safety-document-generation/SKILL.md — Document generation source
• safety/hazard-identification/SKILL.md — Hazard identification validation