Method statements are used when undertaking a particular task that is not part of normal practice, requiring thought and a degree of military style logic.
What you are doing is writing down as a story, everything you can think of to complete that project, in a step by step manner.
This document is of great value if you wish to explain to your employer, employees or others, what you intend to do, to prevent any misunderstandings and ensure the minimum of disruption.
You may even suggest that the work is carried out when the owners are away to avoid any problems with noise or access. They will be happy in the knowledge that you have explained everything to them beforehand.
This storyboard will avoid any surprises as you have set out your intentions in a clear and concise manner.
These are not risk assessments. Risk assessments are of a different nature, although some elements of risk assessment will of course occur during the operations.
There are six headings in your story book;
WHAT?, WHY?, WHEN?, WHERE?,WHO? and HOW?
These headings will act as a guide to ensure that you do not overlook anything.
A typical project may be reducing a large conifer hedge from eight metres down to four metres. Therefore the heading of your Method Statement would read:
METHOD STATEMENT – REDUCING LEYLANDII HEDGE BY 50% OR APPROXIMATELY FOUR METRES. (This is the What?)
WHY? Because it has become too tall and is in danger of collapsing under it’s own weight. Snow damage last winter caused several branches to become unsightly.
WHEN? The works are to be carried out between the hours of 08.00 and 17.00 hrs on Thursday 15th July, wind and weather permitting.
WHERE? The Northern boundary of the garden, along the B566 road.
This site is particularly difficult for the following reasons;
a) The hedgerow slopes from the inside of the boundary by 45 degrees onto the roadside, creating problems with scaffolding.
b) The hedgerow is situated three metres away from the B566 road, which is busy during the daytime.
c) Rabbits have eroded the bank, making the use of ladders problematic.
WHO? The works will be carried out by the following employees, each of whom holds appropriate training certificates (name the individuals and tickets they hold);
Bill Smith, Working at Height certificate, Bill Brown, Chain say certificates CS31 and CS35 and Bill Wright, Qualified First Aider.
All have had ladder training and platform tower training in the past three years.
All three have clean driving licences and trailer certificates.
HOW? Works will be carried out using ladders and a scaffolding tower, pole saws and handsaws at height, chain saws on the ground. There will be no climbing or above ground use of chainsaws.
Height will be maintained by the use of a gauge pole set at four metres.
All arisings will be cleared as they occur by means of tractor and trailer and removed to an approved burning site.(or chipped, or removed off site)
Traffic will be regulated with traffic lights. The appropriate licence has been approved and the traffic light hire company will be on site at 08.00 hrs and clear away immediately following clearance works.
Anticipated completion 15.00 hrs. The above employees will act as Banksmen as required to ensure that there are no problems on the ground, and to sweep the road clear on completion.
All personnel will wear Hi-viz jackets and full safety gear at all times. The chainsaw operator will wear full protective gear.
Other things that may be included in your story might be the impact on the site. Will the height reduction increase light? Loss of wind protection? Any eyesores exposed?
Have you checked for Planning permission? What are you proposing for the protection of the tarmac/road surface? Have you notified your insurance company?
Have they approved your works) (This is where the Method Statement comes into its own). All of these salient points need to be included in your storyboard.
You should also have available somewhere on site (if possible), a burning area, or chipping area where green waste can be stored until it can be chipped. A washing down area for mowers, vehicles etc. This area should be either free draining or on hard surface fitted with a removable silt gulley.
A scrap/rubbish bin for those items that cannot be chipped or composted by may be stored awaiting removal to the dump (tyres, glass, metals etc)
You should keep a copy of all Method Statements on file, as they are a valuable record for the future. They will also serve you well should a member of the public try to claim for damage (usually a chipped windscreen) caused by you during such operations near a road. You can prove that you did not use any machine that could have caused such damage.
Obviously, all of the above should be tailored to suit your site and project. The value of such documents cannot be over emphasised.
Method Statements are an important Management tool. Their compilation and the logic behind them clearly demonstrate to your staff the need to undertake risk assessment.
They will realise that you are not creating work for them, producing useless bits of paper! They will see the benefits and understand the requirements of the assessments in producing a clear and concise picture of the work in hand.
Your clients will be impressed that you have thought the whole project through in a proper manner, and if anything untoward did happen, they will know that you have maintained Duty of Care.