The benefits of digitising RAMS

Transition to all-digital risk assessments and method statements (RAMS) could bring better cost and operational efficiency to the construction sector – and benefit safety. Why isn’t it happening?

Still in recovery from the combined effects of COVID-19 and post-pandemic inflation, the global construction industry can nevertheless look forward to rising prosperity in the 2020s.

Worldwide construction is forecast to grow by 3.6% a year until 2030, greater than the manufacturing and services sectors, to reach a total output of $15.2trn (Marsh and Oxford Economics, 2021). Building booms will be driven by developed countries recovering from economic instability and emergent nations as they industrialise further.

But booms bring challenges, including heightened expectations around issues of workplace safety and health improvement.

Construction is dangerous. The question now before the industry is how much less dangerous can it be?

Lost benefits

In the UK, construction recorded the highest number of work-related fatalities of any sector in the period from April 2021 to March 2022, according to the GB Health and Safety Executive (HSE, 2022). Of the 123 workers who suffered fatal injuries in work-related accidents in the UK during that time, 30 were employed in the construction industry.

Considered relatively, the high number of deaths in construction can be partly explained by the size of the industry, which employs more workers – around 1.4 million in total – than other industries (Office for National Statistics, 2021).

But if construction is to build out its workforce to scale, keeping accident rates as low as possible will become more challenging.

As technology plays a more end-to-end role in the practice and operation of construction, can digitisation also do more to improve risk management in the sector?

The construction industry has been relatively slow to embrace digitisation. This is exemplified by the difference in approach toward the creation of risk assessments and method statements (RAMS), which are the critical construction project documents required to identify steps to be undertaken to carry out a specific activity or task safely.

Although RAMS are customarily created in a digital format, they are still often stored and shared as hard-copy documents rather than made part of an all-digital management system.

Sticking with part-digitised RAMS processes could perpetuate inefficiencies, says Rob Bullen CFIOSH, head of environment, health and safety at HandsHQ. ‘The creation and distribution of RAMS in the construction industry are too often characterised by time-consuming, inconsistent and usually paper-based practices,’ he says.

‘Depending on a given project’s complexity, it may take a couple of days to produce a single RAMS document.’

The number of RAMS produced over the course of a year probably runs into the high tens or low hundreds for many businesses, according to Rob.

For larger firms, it may even run into thousands, with each RAMS taking hours of effort.

Rejections

The business benefits problem is compounded by clients initially rejecting many RAMS submissions, according to Jamie Carruthers, CEO at HandsHQ.

‘Poor-quality documents and lack of site‑specific details are common reasons for rejection. If the RAMS is not completed to the client’s satisfaction, it may be sent back for amendment or rework,’ he explains.

RAMS rejections can have knock-on effects and introduce delays in other areas of construction safety.

‘It may be difficult to get certification for certain mandates such as Safety Schemes in Procurement and PAS 91 without well-structured method statements,’ says Nathanael Challacombe CMIOSH, group HSQE (health, safety, quality and environment) and IT manager at Barnwood.

Slow to change

The construction industry’s adoption of all-digital RAMS has also been inhibited by a hesitancy to invest and an adoption lag.

‘Changing mindsets is one of the main challenges in selling [the advantages of] RAMS software, particularly in the construction sector,’ explains Alex Nichol, product director at Nutshell Apps.

‘We’ve encountered OSH professionals who feel sceptical about RAMS software, which is understandable.’

Prior to the pandemic, the high-risk ‘non-digitally native’ industries had been slower to adopt a digital-first strategy than other industries. Digitisation has since accelerated.

‘Companies within industrial sectors such as construction usually have a well‑established suite of RAMS, tailored over the years for their trade or work,’ adds Nathanael.

‘Some digital RAMS solutions offer their own control measures, which may not be in line with a specific company’s established controls.’

We are still comparatively early in the digital tech adoption curve

He adds that another intrinsic drawback of most safe systems of work (SSOW) policies is that, typically, they are put together by personnel who aren’t carrying out the actual work that’s to be done. Collaboration and communication with teams undertaking the task are therefore essential. But in practice ‘this can be difficult to achieve,’ says Nathanael.

Reinventing construction?

A line of argument exists that the construction industry’s slow-paced adoption of RAMS is introducing inefficiencies and liabilities. But it is important that the two should not be confused, says Richard Byrne, group health, safety and environment and fleet director at Travis Perkins.

‘We need to be careful not to label “inefficiencies” and “liabilities” as the same thing. Paper-based RAMS are inefficient, but moving them onto a digital platform doesn’t necessarily remove liabilities.’

Given that retrograde RAMS processes seem to cause operational frustrations for the construction sector, should the greater digitisation of RAMS processes be mandated by construction industry bodies?

‘A mandated digital RAMS process is certainly something that we can see at a future point,’ says Jamie.

‘However, we are also still comparatively early in the digital tech adoption curve, and the industry needs to demonstrate success with the early adopters and pragmatists before implementing mandates for those who may be regarded as sceptics.’

Perhaps the current state of RAMS digitisation is an interim phase as the construction industry transitions to fuller digitisation.

According to a report from consulting firm Oliver Wyman, ‘digitisation is currently in a process of reinventing the construction industry, triggering an overall value migration from the central construction part of the value chain up to the engineering and design function, and down to facility management and operations services.’

Oliver Wyman points out that the necessity now is not simply for construction to adopt digitisation technology, but to develop a digital strategy: ‘The digital push is accelerating, and even if construction industry players are still confused and hesitant about the change and new technologies, the time has come for them to develop a real digital strategy.’.

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