RAMS Management System Designed for Berkeley Homes Project 

Berkeley Homes looks back on the beneficial outcomes of implementing DataScope’s RAMS Management System to Woodberry Down.

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Woodberry Down

Background

Woodberry Down is an innovative and sustainable project from Berkeley Homes, situated in North London.

Set in 64 acres and featuring up to 5,500 homes once completed, this new development boasts it's natural surroundings of two reservoirs and Finsbury Park, as well as being within a short distance of Central London. One of the main focus points for the Woodberry Down development is creating a sustainable community, with large open public spaces and exciting new community facilities.

With DataScope’s Access Control solutions already in place at Woodberry Down, we were approached by Berkeley Homes to develop a brand new system to transform the RAMS approval process.

 

​The Challenge 

Both the Berkeley Homes team and the supply chain on the Woodberry Down project often faced challenges when submitting, reviewing and approving risk assessments and method statements.

Timer

Possible time-delays

 

Saftey Observations

RAMS expiry alerts required

Inspection

Manual process 

With a manual process, there was the possibility of delays for RAMS being signed off, possible missed RAMS expirations and a limited audit trail. The existing manual procedure was often time-consuming for all involved in the approval process and there were no reminders when a RAMS was due to expire meaning a risk of works being put on hold until documents had been signed off. With a paper-based system, there was also an increased risk of important site documents being misplaced.

The Solution RAMS

After recognising the obstacles Berkeley Homes faced, DataScope set out to create a simple online solution to streamline the RAMS approval process. The system needed to be user- friendly, customisable and simple to use for all team members of different technical levels to utilise.

DataScope’s RAMS Management System was designed specifically for Berkeley Homes, with the workforce at Woodberry down being the first ever team to make good use of its many features. The system eases all approval processes by allowing construction teams to log-in to the DataScope System to upload their RAMS, review documents and sign off for approval, all within one online platform.

Amongst the many features, DataScope configured the system to follow site-specific requirements, provide a fully electronic audit trail of all RAMS as well as notifying the appropriate people when a RAMS is due to expire.

The Result 

Automatic AlertsAutomatic alerts and reminders of RAMS expiries

WorkflowFully electronic audit trail of all RAMS approval processes

Approval OnlineOnline review, approval and multi-stage sign off options 

Taking Advantage of a Digital Audit Trail 

By using a digital system, the construction team at Woodberry Down had the benefit of viewing a fully electronic audit trail of all RAMS approval processes. This meant that all approvals, rejections, revisions and other actions could be instantly reviewed on one, integrated platform if an incident were to occur.

Expiry Dates Don't Go Unmissed 

After implementing the management system on the project, the team recognised the advantages of receiving automatic alerts and reminders. This meant the workforce could keep track of all RAMS expiry dates, customise the duration of validity, and act accordingly before RAMS were due to expire. This also improved accountability within the team by assigning approval responsibilities to the appropriate personnel on site.

Time-Efficient, Sustainable & Convenient Solution

Overall, the benefits of using the online solution resulted in a more efficient, straight-forward procedure for managing all RAMS for Woodberry Down. By taking the RAMS approval process online, the team saved valuable time which was put to better use on site.

Additionally, implementing an electronic process also brought the added benefit of providing a sustainable solution, reducing the use of paper documents.

Applying the Solution to Other Projects 

“After the success of the system being used on Woodberry Down, several of our other live projects now make use of the technology to manage their RAMS.”

Following the footsteps of Woodberry Down, our RAMS System was utilised by further project teams within the Berkeley Homes establishment. The workforce took some time adjusting from a paper-based process to the online system, and concluded the outcomes were favourable to all involved.

Berkeley Homes are working closely with DataScope to focus on the next steps. They aim to implement additional systems to their projects such as Online Inspections and Digital Permits.

RAMs Management