Everyone should be able to breathe safely without risking poor health outcomes when construction activities involving respirable crystalline silica (RCS) take place, whether professionally, commercially or at home. This talk advocates for safer indoor and outdoor air quality as an important accessibility, health and awareness issue.

Led by Dr Scott McGibbon, the session explores the risks of RCS exposure, including occupational and wider environmental health impacts, and examines the associated health, social, economic and environmental consequences. It covers the legal framework surrounding silica exposure, practical measures designers, specifiers, managers, and contractors can take to reduce risk, and the sector’s training needs.

The talk also addresses broader silica-related challenges and concludes with an overview of the CIOB-funded ReACT Toolkit for the housing sector, including the Silica Awareness for Construction Excellence (SAFE) tools, rSAFE for residents, pSAFE for professionals, and cSAFE for clients, and the RCS skills training needs analysis (RiSK) playbook for professionals and clients. 

Dr. Scott McGibbon is Director of Pvotal Consultancy Ltd and has over 40 years experience in the built environment sector. He advises on several UK and International leadership groups on innovation, skills and health safety actions, supported by Pvotal’s applied research work, which focuses on systems thinking, process improvement, digital transformation, and skills development. He holds a Ph.D. in Construction Project Management, has authored over 25 peer-reviewed articles and is a reviewer for I.C.E Academic Journals: Management, Procurement and Law Journal & Journal of Environmental Engineering and Science. He is also a Fellow of the CIOB, and the Institute of Innovation and Knowledge Exchange (IKE).

All CPD sessions are recognised by the Institute of Historic Building Conservation (IHBC) as being capable of contributing to the obligatory CPD requirements of Full Members (see www.ihbc.org.uk)

This will be a hybrid event, running in-person and online. Select ‘In Person’ to join us at 54 Bell Street or ‘Online’ to watch via Zoom.