What is a method statement?

A method statement is a controlled description of how a defined task will be carried out.

Depending on the organisation or client, similar documents may be called:

• method statements;
• safe work method statements;
• safe work procedures;
• work instructions;
• task procedures.

Those terms should not automatically be treated as legally identical.

The important issue is the function of the document.

A technically useful method statement describes:

• what is being done;
• where it is being done;
• who may perform it;
• plant, tools and materials involved;
• the sequence of work;
• critical controls at each stage;
• conditions under which work must stop;
• emergency or abnormal arrangements;
• verification or sign-off required.

It should describe the work as it is actually intended to be performed.

How is that different from a risk assessment?

A risk assessment asks:

A method statement asks:

A good relationship looks like this:

1. 01Scope of work
2. 02Task steps
3. 03Hazards
4. 04Risk evaluation
5. 05Control selection
6. 06Safe work sequence
7. 07Implementation
8. 08Monitoring and review

The documents should therefore cross-check each other.

If the risk assessment says mobile plant must be isolated before employees enter a work area but the method statement tells workers to enter while the machine remains operational, the system is internally inconsistent.

The same applies where the method statement introduces a step, chemical, machine, access method or work-at-height exposure that the risk assessment never considered.

Does South African law specifically require a “method statement”?

There is an important legal nuance.

There is not one general provision in the OHS Act saying that every workplace task must have a document bearing the title “Method Statement”.

In construction, however, Regulation 9 is highly relevant.

A contractor must have construction risk assessments performed by a competent person appointed in writing, and those assessments must include:

• identification of hazards and risks;
• analysis and evaluation using a documented method;
• a documented plan and applicable safe work procedures to mitigate, reduce or control the identified risks;
• a monitoring plan;
• a review plan.

This is why method statements and safe work procedures feature so heavily in construction safety files.

The legal requirement is the controlled safe-work arrangement arising from the risk assessment — not the mere existence of a document with “METHOD STATEMENT” printed at the top.

Clients and principal contractors may also expressly require method statements through their health and safety specification, tender documents, permit systems or contractor-control procedures.

Where such a requirement forms part of the accepted project controls, the contractor must meet it.

When should a method statement be used?

A detailed method statement is particularly valuable where the work is:

• high risk;
• non-routine;
• technically complex;
• dependent on a critical sequence;
• dependent on isolations or permits;
• performed by multiple teams or contractors;
• affected by changing conditions;
• subject to client approval or hold points;
• reliant on specialised plant or lifting arrangements.

Examples include:

• roof work;
• structural steel erection;
• complex lifting;
• equipment installation;
• excavation near services;
• confined-space entry;
• machinery isolation;
• work on energised or potentially energised systems;
• demolition;
• hot work;
• hazardous-chemical transfer;
• shutdown activities.

The more control depends on doing things in the correct order, the more useful a method statement becomes.

What should a good method statement contain?

There is no universal statutory template, because the document should follow the task.

For contractor and industrial work, the following structure is normally defensible.

Document control

Record:

• title;
• project/site;
• contractor;
• document number;
• revision;
• date;
• prepared/reviewed/approved fields where applicable.

Changes to the method need to be traceable.

Scope

Define precisely:

• what work is included;
• physical location;
• start and end point;
• exclusions;
• relevant interfaces.

Avoid headings such as “General Maintenance Method Statement” where the real task is a specific pump removal, roof-sheet replacement or electrical-panel installation.

References

Identify the documents controlling the work, for example:

• scope/specification;
• drawings;
• applicable risk assessment;
• permit;
• manufacturer instructions;
• safe work procedure;
• SDS;
• fall protection plan;
• lifting plan.

Responsibilities and competence

Identify the people or functions controlling:

• supervision;
• task execution;
• statutory inspection;
• isolation;
• testing;
• permits;
• specialised equipment.

Where competence is a legal requirement, the document should point to the supporting evidence rather than making a vague statement that “all workers are competent”.

Plant, tools, substances and PPE

Specify what will actually be used.

That allows a reviewer to compare the method against:

• inspection registers;
• operator competence;
• chemical controls;
• lifting capacity;
• electrical requirements;
• PPE selected in the risk assessment.

Preconditions

Define what must be true before work begins.

Examples:

• permit issued;
• services identified;
• isolation proved;
• access barricaded;
• weather conditions acceptable;
• inspection completed;
• scaffold tagged;
• anchor arrangement verified;
• emergency resources available;
• affected parties notified.

Sequence of work

This is the core of the document.

Each major step should state:

1. 01Step
2. 02Critical hazard or control
3. 03Responsible function or verification where necessary

For example:

That is much stronger than:

Hold points and stop-work conditions

For higher-risk work, identify when the task cannot proceed.

Examples:

• unidentified service found;
• weather exceeds safe limit;
• isolation cannot be verified;
• lifting configuration differs from plan;
• anchor point unavailable;
• excavation conditions change;
• unauthorised person enters exclusion zone.

This makes the method useful operationally rather than merely descriptive.

Emergency response

The method statement should identify task-specific emergency arrangements where the general emergency plan is not enough.

A work-at-height task may need a rescue arrangement. A chemical-transfer activity may require spill and exposure response. Confined-space work requires a rescue system matched to the entry.

Completion and hand-back

Where relevant, define:

• reinstatement;
• removal of isolation;
• inspection;
• test;
• housekeeping;
• permit closure;
• return to service.

Many incidents occur during restart or hand-back, not during the main work step.

The risk assessment must come first — but development is iterative

In practice, the process is rarely perfectly linear.

The risk assessment identifies controls.

While writing the method statement, the team may discover that the planned sequence introduces another hazard.

That new hazard must then be taken back into the risk assessment.

The documents therefore develop together.

What should never happen is this:

1. download generic risk assessment;
2. download generic method statement;
3. change company name;
4. place both in the safety file.

The documents may each look professional while describing completely different work.

Construction Regulation 9 makes the connection explicit

Construction Regulation 9 requires the risk assessments to form part of the health and safety plan and includes the documented control plan and applicable safe work procedures within the required assessment system.

It also requires employees under the contractor’s control to be informed, instructed and trained by a competent person regarding hazards and related work procedures or control measures before work commences and thereafter at times determined through the monitoring and review plan.

The principal contractor must similarly ensure contractors are informed about relevant hazards.

A method statement sitting unsigned in a lever-arch file therefore proves very little unless the people performing the work understand and implement it.

Review is part of the control

Construction Regulation 9 requires review of the relevant risk assessment where:

• design or construction changes cause the risk profile to change; or
• an incident occurs.

If that review changes the control measures or sequence of work, the method statement and associated work procedure should also be revised.

Other practical review triggers may include:

• different plant;
• changed access;
• changed substance;
• change in work crew or interface;
• unexpected site condition;
• client instruction;
• control failure;
• near miss.

A revision number should therefore mean something.

How method statements sit in a safety file

A useful construction safety file should allow a reviewer to follow the control chain.

For a task such as roof maintenance, the file might connect:

1. 01Scope of work
2. 02Client specification
3. 03Construction H&S plan
4. 04Task risk assessment
5. 05Fall protection plan
6. 06Method statement / safe work procedure
7. 07Employee competence and medical fitness
8. 08Equipment inspection records
9. 09Permit / pre-task check
10. 10Implementation evidence

That relationship matters more than the number of documents.

OHSE Resolved’s current Health & Safety Files service similarly treats risk assessments and method statements as part of a broader site- and client-specific safety-file system rather than isolated templates.

Frequently asked questions

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AuthorJean DuvenageManaging Director Reviewed byArthur PaddockSenior Safety Consultant