Risk Assessment and Method Statement, documents that demonstrate a task has been assessed for risk and planned to be carried out safely.
RAMS combines two documents: a Risk Assessment, which identifies the hazards, who could be harmed and the controls, and a Method Statement, which describes step by step how the work will be done safely. Together they show a task has been planned to be carried out safely.
Risk assessment is a legal duty under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. Method statements are not always legally required, but principal contractors and clients routinely ask for RAMS before work can start, especially under CDM 2015.