How to Write a Method Statement for Working at Height

Why working at height method statements get rejected

You've submitted your method statement and the principal contractor has bounced it back. Or worse, you've had a near miss and someone's asking why the paperwork didn't reflect what was actually happening on site. Working at height is the single biggest killer in construction — responsible for over half of all fatal injuries in the sector — and yet method statements for this type of work are routinely too vague, too generic, or simply copied from a previous job with the name changed at the top.

This guide walks you through exactly what needs to go into a compliant, credible working at height method statement, step by step.

What the law actually requires

The Work at Height Regulations 2005 require that all work at height is properly planned, appropriately supervised, and carried out in a way that is, so far as reasonably practicable, safe. A method statement is your documented evidence that you've done that planning. It doesn't have a fixed legal format, but it needs to demonstrate that you've thought through the risks and put controls in place.

In practice, most principal contractors and clients will have a template they want you to follow. But even when filling in someone else's form, you need to understand what each section should actually contain.

Step 1: Describe the task precisely

Start with a clear description of the work. Don't write "installation works at height" — write "installation of steel purlins at ridge level, approximately 7.5 metres above finished floor level, using a hired 12-metre scissor lift on a concrete hardstanding."

Include:

• The specific task being carried out
• The location on site (block, grid reference, floor level)
• The maximum working height
• The expected duration
• The number of operatives involved

This level of detail matters because it lets your supervisor check that what's written matches what's actually happening. It also makes the document far harder to misuse on a different job.

Step 2: List every item of access equipment

Specify every piece of equipment being used to gain or maintain height. For each item, state:

• Type (mobile elevated work platform, tower scaffold, podium steps, fixed scaffold, ladder, etc.)
• Manufacturer and model where relevant
• Maximum working load
• Whether it has a current inspection certificate
• Who is responsible for pre-use checks

If you're using a MEWP, note whether operators hold a valid IPAF card. If scaffold is involved, confirm it has a current Handover Certificate and that any alterations require a re-inspection before use.

Don't forget personal protective equipment. If operatives will be wearing harnesses, state the type, the anchor points they'll attach to, and confirm that rescue from suspension has been considered in your emergency plan.

Step 3: Set out your control measures

This is the heart of the document. Work through the hierarchy of control as set out in the regulations:

1. Avoid working at height altogether where possible — can any element be assembled at ground level and lifted into position?
2. Use collective protection — edge protection, guard rails, safety nets, or crash decks that protect everyone, not just the person wearing a harness.
3. Use personal fall protection — harnesses and lanyards as a last resort, not a first response.

For each control measure, be specific. Instead of "appropriate edge protection will be used," write "1.2-metre-high double guard rail and toe board to be erected on all open edges before work commences, inspected daily and after adverse weather."

Also address:

• Exclusion zones beneath the work area to prevent injury from falling objects
• Overhead protection if members of the public or other trades are working below
• Ground conditions for any plant or scaffold — check load-bearing capacity and check for voids
• Weather — at what wind speed or in what conditions will work stop?
• Lighting — is there adequate visibility for the task?

Step 4: Write a real emergency and rescue plan

This section is the one most often skipped or filled with meaningless boilerplate. "In the event of an emergency, contact the emergency services" tells you nothing useful.

Your rescue plan should answer these questions:

• If an operative is suspended in a harness and cannot self-rescue, how will they be brought down, and who will do it?
• Where is the nearest first aid kit and who is the appointed first aider?
• What is the site address for the emergency services — including any access gate references?
• Who is the emergency contact if the site manager is unavailable?

Suspension trauma can be fatal within minutes. If your operatives are working in harnesses, your rescue plan needs to be real, rehearsed, and understood by everyone on the gang — not just written in a document.

Step 5: Include supervision and competence details

State who is supervising the work, what their relevant qualification or experience is, and how often supervision will take place. If the work is intermittent — for example, a gang working at height for part of the day across several days — confirm how handovers are managed.

List the competencies required of operatives: IPAF, PASMA, CITB, or relevant NVQ units. If any operative is new to this type of task, note what additional supervision or induction they will receive.

Step 6: Sign it, brief it, and keep the record

A method statement that hasn't been read by the people carrying out the work is worthless. Before the task starts, brief every operative against the document. Get signatures. Keep the briefing record alongside the method statement.

If conditions change — the scaffold configuration changes, a different MEWP is delivered, the weather deteriorates — review and update the document before work continues. Changes that aren't captured in writing create exactly the kind of gap that gets people hurt and organisations prosecuted.

A quicker way to pull this together on site

Pulling together a method statement like this from scratch, under time pressure, while managing a busy site, is where corners get cut. If you're regularly producing RAMS documents for working at height tasks — or any other high-risk activities — Safety Parrot lets you generate structured method statements and risk assessments from site photos in seconds, which you can then review, edit, and issue. It runs on your phone, tablet, or browser, and uses pay-as-you-go credits with no subscription required.

However you produce it, the document needs to reflect the actual job, the actual site, and the actual people doing the work. That's what makes it useful — and that's what makes it stand up if anything goes wrong.