RAMS & CPP for Demolition Work
What compliance documents you need for soft strip, structural demolition, and site clearance — and how The Site Book handles it for you.
Written by Nicola Dobbie, Founder, The Site BookLast reviewed
TL;DR
- CPP: Required — CDM 2015 applies to every construction project.
- RAMS: Essential — structural demolition is always notifiable to HSE (F10) and among the highest-risk activities.
- Key hazards: Structural collapse, asbestos in older structures, and underground live services.
What compliance do you need?
Demolition is one of the most dangerous activities in construction. Whether you're doing a soft strip inside a building or bringing down an entire structure, the risks are serious. CDM 2015 places strict duties on anyone involved in demolition work, and structural demolition is always notifiable to the HSE.
Do you need a CPP?
Yes — and for demolition, the CPP is particularly important. It must cover the sequence of demolition, how structural stability will be maintained throughout, asbestos management, exclusion zones, and emergency procedures. The CPP should be prepared before any demolition work begins.
Do you need RAMS?
Absolutely. RAMS are essential for all demolition work. They need to cover every phase of the demolition sequence, from soft strip through to structural demolition and site clearance. A separate demolition method statement is also typically required, prepared by someone with specific demolition experience.
Common hazards
- Structural collapse — premature or uncontrolled failure
- Asbestos in older structures (insulation, cladding, floor tiles)
- Falls from height during soft strip and structural work
- Flying debris and falling materials
- Dust — silica, lead paint, general demolition dust
- Underground services and live utilities
- Noise and vibration affecting workers and neighbours
- Confined spaces in basements and voids
How The Site Book handles it
Describe your project — "soft strip of two-storey commercial unit" — and The Site Book creates your RAMS and CPP automatically. It identifies demolition-specific hazards including structural collapse risks, asbestos management, and dust control measures.
Frequently asked questions
- Do I need RAMS for demolition work?
- Yes. Demolition is one of the highest-risk construction activities, and RAMS are essential. They should cover the sequence of demolition, structural stability during the works, asbestos management, dust suppression, and exclusion zones. Most clients and principal contractors will not allow demolition to proceed without approved RAMS.
- Is demolition work notifiable to the HSE?
- Demolition work is always notifiable to the HSE under CDM 2015, regardless of project duration or number of workers. An F10 notification must be submitted before work begins. This applies to structural demolition — soft strip and minor removal work may not require notification, but the rules can be nuanced.
- What qualifications do demolition workers need?
- Demolition operatives should hold a CSCS card with the appropriate demolition endorsement. Supervisors should hold CCDO (Certificate of Competence of Demolition Operatives) or equivalent. An experienced person must prepare a demolition method statement, and a competent engineer may be needed for structural assessments.
What's included at each tier
Starter
£0- Risk Assessments (RAMS)
- Construction Phase Plans (CPP)
- Site inductions
- Worker document signing (no per-signature charge)
Pro
£39/mo or £360/yr- Risk Assessments (RAMS)
- Construction Phase Plans (CPP)
- Site inductions
- COSHH assessments (standalone doc, SDS upload, site-specific register)
- Worker cert tracking and expiry alerts
- Right-to-work evidence records
- Subcontractor tracking
- Toolbox talks
- Worker document signing (no per-signature charge)
- Integrations (Drive, Xero, Zapier)
Business
£199/mo- Risk Assessments (RAMS)
- Construction Phase Plans (CPP)
- Site inductions
- COSHH assessments (standalone doc, SDS upload, site-specific register)
- Worker cert tracking and expiry alerts
- Right-to-work evidence records
- Subcontractor tracking
- Toolbox talks
- Worker document signing (no per-signature charge)
- Integrations (Drive, Xero, Zapier)
- Up to 10 internal team logins
- Site Supervisor: a field-only login for whoever runs the site
- Up to 50 active site portal users
- Site attendance check-in/check-out
- Multilingual worker inductions (9 languages)
- Optional 4-digit PIN for shared-link document sign-off
- Slack Site Ready readiness checks
Site Control
£675/site/mo- Risk Assessments (RAMS)
- Construction Phase Plans (CPP)
- Site inductions
- COSHH assessments (standalone doc, SDS upload, site-specific register)
- Worker cert tracking and expiry alerts
- Right-to-work evidence records
- Subcontractor tracking
- Toolbox talks
- Worker document signing (no per-signature charge)
- Integrations (Drive, Xero, Zapier)
- Up to 10 internal team logins
- Site Supervisor: a field-only login for whoever runs the site
- Up to 50 active site portal users
- Site attendance check-in/check-out
- Multilingual worker inductions (9 languages)
- Optional 4-digit PIN for shared-link document sign-off
- Slack Site Ready readiness checks
- Permanent entrance QR: guest sign-in and contractor self-join
- CSCS credential capture, review and expiry alerts
- Digital induction gating before check-in
- Live people-on-site, attendance and audit-grade exports
- Single sign-on (SSO) with Okta or Microsoft Entra
- Public REST API with scoped account keys
- Signed real-time webhooks into your own systems
Running live sites with subcontractors? Site Control is the per-site enterprise tier above Business — entrance QR sign-in, CSCS checks, induction gating, live attendance and audit-grade exports. From £675/site per month, plus £5,000 setup.
Site Control
Per-site contractor access and CDM compliance for principal contractors running live sites.
From £675/site per month, plus £5,000 setup
- Per active site, with unlimited workers
- Permanent entrance QR: guest sign-in and contractor self-join
- CSCS credential capture, review and expiry alerts
- Digital induction gating before check-in
- Live people-on-site, attendance and audit-grade exports
- RFIs and version-specific document-review evidence
Where it helps and where it doesn't
Pros
- Structural-stability and sequencing controls pre-filled per RAMS
- Asbestos survey flag baked into the pre-start checklist
- Falling-object protection zones included in method statements
- CDM 2015 Regulation 6 notifiable-work check built into the wizard
Cons
- Asbestos refurbishment surveys aren't commissioned through us
- No RICS structural engineer sign-off template
- Party-wall and neighbour-notice templates not yet generated
Why The Site Book
- UK construction compliance tool that ships RAMS + CPP + COSHH + inductions (readable and acknowledgeable in 9 worker languages on Business, with the language audit-recorded) + worker sign-off, including optional 4-digit shared-link PIN evidence on Business, plus site attendance, portal users, site files, document reviews, subcontractor evidence and inspections/actions.
- Generate a site-specific RAMS first draft from a natural-language brief in under five minutes, ready for competent-person review - not a template library you hand-fill.
- Controlled document workflow without an enterprise contract: version history and a recorded issue confirmation before a document is shared with a client or downloaded in the app on every plan, re-sign on revision with superseded signatures preserved plus PCPP import, cert tracking and document checking from the £39/month Pro plan - and on Business, optional named-approver routing (a designated approver accepts or rejects each version, with recorded reasons, before it can be issued) plus client approve/reject/request-changes via share links.
- Transparent pricing: Starter £0, Pro £39/month or £360/year, Business £199/month with 10 management logins and 50 active site portal users. Worker document signing has no per-signature charge; project workers count as active portal users while assigned.
- Build RAMS for any trade - add your own work types and method statements alongside the built-in library, reusable across projects, including a ready-made Commercial Solar PV group. Save a finished job as a reusable project template, or clone it, so the next job of the same shape starts from your own setup.
- COSHH goes deep: a standalone COSHH assessment document, upload-a-Safety-Data-Sheet extraction, a site-specific substance register and an expert-reviewed library - plus per-worker RAMS sign-off and a one-click Audit Pack covering documents, sign-offs, worker evidence, attendance, incidents, COSHH, permits and up to the latest 500 live Site Diary entries.
Get your demolition docs sorted
Describe your job, get professional RAMS and CPP in minutes. No credit card required.