RAMS for an EICR Inspection — Method Statement Template

A Risk Assessment & Method Statement (RAMS) for an Electrical Installation Condition Report is a fundamentally different document from a new-installation RAMS. The work is happening on an energised, occupied, in-service installation that the inspector has not built — and that may already contain Code C1 defects waiting to be discovered.

A generic "electrical works" RAMS will not satisfy a CDM 2015 principal contractor, a commercial duty holder, or — increasingly — a private-rented-sector landlord asking for documentation under the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020. The RAMS has to address the specific risks of inspection and testing, not installation.

Elec-Mate's in-app RAMS Generator includes a dedicated EICR template that pre-populates the inspection-specific hazards, BS 7671:2018+A4:2026 references, GN3 sequence-of-tests structure and the C1 emergency plan — so you are not starting from a blank document on every job.

The hazards on an EICR inspection are not the same as those on a new installation. The RAMS must identify and control the following, at minimum:

An EICR RAMS sits inside three overlapping legal frameworks. The document should explicitly reference each one, because failing to do so weakens both the legal defence of the inspector and the contractual position of the duty holder.

One of the most important distinctions in an EICR RAMS — and the one most often missed in generic templates — is that inspection and testing have different isolation requirements. The method statement must call this out explicitly.

EICRs are frequently carried out in occupied homes, occupied tenancies, schools, care homes and operational commercial premises. The RAMS must address the human factors that a new-installation RAMS rarely needs to consider.

A C1 (Danger Present) finding mid-inspection is one of the most common — and most poorly planned — scenarios on an EICR. The inspector's professional obligation under EAWR 1989 is that the danger must be removed before they leave site. The RAMS should pre-define exactly how that happens.

1. Identify the C1 condition and immediately make the affected part dead — isolate at the consumer unit, lock off, prove dead.
2. Communicate to the responsible person in person and in writing — the RAMS template should reference the wording of the C1 notification that the inspector will leave on site.
3. If the affected part is a complete circuit that supplies essential load (heating, lighting in an occupied dwelling), record the impact, the temporary alternative arrangements, and the agreed timeline for remedial works.
4. If the responsible person refuses isolation — for rented properties — escalate to the local authority and record the refusal on the EICR and on the RAMS as-built record.
5. If the entire installation is left isolated because no other safe option exists, leave a clearly written notice on the consumer unit and notify the responsible person, the distribution network operator (where the danger affects the supply intake), and — for PRS — the local authority.
6. Document the C1, the immediate action taken, and the chain of notification in Section K of the EICR and in the RAMS as-built record.

The RAMS should list the minimum PPE and test equipment that the inspector will use, with calibration evidence available on request. EAWR 1989 Regulation 14(c) explicitly requires "suitable protective equipment" where it is necessary to prevent injury during live work.

A RAMS is only as good as its sign-off record. The document should be prepared, reviewed and accepted before work starts, and updated as-built once the inspection is complete.