Method statements for breakdown work

It's 11pm. The head drive gearbox on the main outfeed conveyor has let go, and a contractor is on the way to swap it. Your shift manager asks for their RAMS before they start. It lands by email twenty minutes later.

Twelve pages. The site name box still says "[insert]". Work at height is marked "not applicable", but the gearbox sits on a platform three metres up. Everyone signs it anyway. The trailers are waiting.

Nobody planned this job. The plan lives in the head of whoever is holding the spanners, and that only works until something goes wrong.

Most breakdown method statements are missing or copied from another job, and both mean the same thing. Nobody on site has thought through the order of the work before the guards come off.

No law asks for one by name

HSE's leaflet on contractors is clear that a safety method statement "is not required by law". It goes on to say what one does. It sets out "in a logical sequence exactly how a job is to be carried out" safely, and covers the risks found in the risk assessment and how to control them. "This allows the job to be properly planned and resourced" (INDG368).

The duty behind it is old. The Health and Safety at Work Act asks every employer for plant and "systems of work" that are safe so far as is reasonably practicable (section 2). A method statement is the simplest way to show you had one. The risk assessment tells you what can hurt you. The method statement tells you what order to do things in, so it doesn't. Our post on risk assessments people actually read covers the first half.

HSE's maintenance guidance asks you to plan the work before you start, ideally from the manufacturer's maintenance instructions, and to "produce a safe system of work". It also warns that poor planning and unclear instructions "can cause accidents". That's worst when maintenance happens during production, or when contractors don't know the site (HSE, maintenance). A breakdown on a night shift with a contractor is both at once.

Write the 2am ones in daylight

Here's our view. You can't write a method statement in the middle of a breakdown. So write the ones you'll need now.

HSE's electrical safety guide makes the same point for electrical work. Task-specific risk assessments or method statements should be "readily available when required (even in out-of-hours emergencies)" (HSG85).

You already know which breakdowns are coming. Go through your breakdown log for the last year and pick the five jobs that came up most, or that cost you most. On most sites the list looks something like this:

1. gearbox swap on a conveyor head drive
2. motor change on a fan or pump
3. belt change on a sorter or conveyor
4. cylinder change on a pick-and-place or pusher
5. sensor or encoder replacement on a palletiser

Write one method statement for each, at the machine, with the fitter who last did the job. Leave blanks for the date, the names and anything that changes each time.

What goes on the page

One side of A4. Numbered steps. A photo of the isolator if it's hard to find. A good one reads like the fitter talking someone through it:

1. who does the job, and what skills it needs
2. isolation points by number, and who holds the locks
3. stored energy to dump: air, hydraulics, springs, anything up
4. what to prop or sling before anything comes off
5. the lift: weight, lifting points, which hoist or truck
6. tools, spares and part numbers
7. the job, in order
8. tests before hand-back, and who signs the restart

Step 1 does more work than it looks. If the motor change needs an electrician for the terminations, the page says so. Then the shift calls the right person first time. Without it, the mechanical fitter strips the drive, finds they can't sign off the electrics, and the line waits another two hours for someone who can.

Step 5 matters on any job with a lift. Gearboxes are heavier than people guess, and the job is often done from a platform. If you're using a hoist or slings, they need to be in date. See our guide to LOLER thorough examinations.

Step 6 saves the most time. On a lot of breakdowns, the longest wait is for parts. A method statement that lists the gearbox part number sends someone to the stores before the old one is off. If the part isn't on the shelf, you find out now, not at 2am. Our post on critical spares helps decide what to hold.

Step 8 links to your restart rules. Our post on who signs off the restart covers the handover.

When a contractor sends theirs

A contractor's method statement should be about your job, on your kit, on your site. HSE's guide to managing contractors says they "may prepare a detailed safety method statement" so risks are controlled. It also says they'll need information from you about the job and the state of the plant to write it (HSG159).

So give them yours. Send your one-page method statement with the callout, before they set off. They can add their own steps, but the isolation points, the site rules and the lift are yours to tell them. Our post on briefing a contractor at the gate covers the rest.

If what comes back still says "[insert]", don't sign it. Ask for it to be done properly. Ten minutes on the phone beats an hour of finding out on the platform.

When the job changes

Breakdowns change halfway through. The gearbox shaft is seized in the coupling. The motor has the wrong frame size. The method statement doesn't cover it.

Stop and re-plan. Gather whoever is on the job, agree the new steps and write them on the sheet. Then carry on. That's five minutes. The other way is the improvised fix with the guard off and the line manager watching, and that's how people get hurt.

What to do on Monday

1. Pull last year's breakdown log and pick the five jobs that came up most or cost most.
2. Write a one-page method statement for each with the fitter who last did it. Name the skills each job needs.
3. Put the part numbers on each page, and check the spares are on the shelf.
4. Send the right page to any contractor before they set off, and ask them to add to it.