About this session
Construction respiratory risk rarely stays in one place. Cutting may move from an open ground-level area to an enclosed floor.
Welding can begin beside another trade. Vehicle exhaust can accumulate near a loading area.
A refurbishment task can uncover materials nobody expected to disturb. The air experienced by workers changes with the project.
Participants learn to recognize the major airborne hazards encountered across construction: general and respirable dust, silica-containing dust, wood dust, welding and thermal-cutting fume, sprays and mists, coatings and solvent vapors, combustion products and engine exhaust.
They use a source → pathway → people model to understand who may be exposed — including workers who are not carrying out the original task.
The session prioritizes controlling emissions where they are created. Elimination, alternative methods, prefabrication, isolation, enclosure, wet suppression and local or on-tool extraction are considered before respiratory protective equipment.
Participants also examine how apparently good controls fail when hoses are damaged, water delivery stops, filters block, extraction is poorly positioned or the work moves away from the conditions for which the control was planned.
Longer programs focus heavily on the construction operating environment: overlapping trades, workface changes, temporary enclosures, cleanup, maintenance, demolition and refurbishment, RPE boundaries, symptom reporting, exposure monitoring and competent occupational-hygiene support.
The objective is not simply to issue more respirators. It is to prevent contaminated air from becoming normal site air.
What your people take away
- Recognize dusts, silica, wood dust, fumes, vapors, exhaust and other airborne hazards across changing construction work
- Understand how one trade can create respiratory exposure for neighboring crews and shared work areas
- Prioritize elimination, alternative methods, wet controls, enclosure and source extraction before relying on RPE
- Recognize when workface changes, maintenance or housekeeping weaken otherwise effective controls
- Understand refurbishment and asbestos stop boundaries without attempting material identification or asbestos work
- Know when respiratory symptoms, uncertain exposure or failed controls require occupational-health or occupational-hygiene escalation
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What each length covers
30 minutes
30 Minutes — Key Points: Understand How Construction Work Changes the AirA focused 30-minute session on three key points from Understand How Construction Work Changes the Air: match the airborne hazard to the work, look beyond what you can see or smell and map the exposure beyond the person doing the job.
- Match the airborne hazard to the work
- Look beyond what you can see or smell
- Map the exposure beyond the person doing the job
Covers 3 of 4 points in Understand How Construction Work Changes the Air.
60 minutes
60 Minutes — Construction Site Air EssentialsA focused introduction to the changing airborne hazards created by construction work. Participants distinguish major dust, fume, vapor and exhaust sources, map how one trade can expose another and identify the stronger controls that should come before RPE.
- Construction dust and respirable particles
- Silica and wood-dust awareness
- Welding fume and thermal work
- Coatings, vapors and exhaust
- Source → pathway → people
- Changing workfaces
- Source control before RPE
- Construction Site-Air Mapping Exercise
- Live Q&A
Covers 1 of 4 parts: Understand How Construction Work Changes the Air.
90 minutes
90 Minutes — Control Airborne Exposure Across the SiteThe extended session develops source control, wet methods, extraction, isolation, neighboring-trade coordination, housekeeping, RPE boundaries and refurbishment stop decisions through realistic construction scenarios.
- Construction airborne-hazard recognition
- Shared site-air exposure
- Elimination and alternative methods
- Wet suppression
- On-tool extraction
- Local exhaust
- Temporary enclosure and isolation
- Housekeeping
- Cross-trade exposure
- RPE and fit awareness
- Refurbishment uncertainty
- Site-Air Control Scenario
- Live Q&A
Covers 2 of 4 parts: Understand How Construction Work Changes the Air and Control Emissions at the Workface.
3 hours
Covers 3 of 4 parts: Understand How Construction Work Changes the Air, Control Emissions at the Workface and Keep Controls Working Across Trades and Site Conditions.
Full day
Full Day — Dust, Silica & Site Air WorkshopAn applied construction workshop covering all four modules. Participants map respiratory hazards across changing workfaces, compare source controls, investigate failed wet and extraction systems, coordinate neighboring trades and work through refurbishment and exposure-escalation scenarios.
- Module 1 — Understand How Construction Work Changes the Air
- Module 2 — Control Emissions at the Workface
- Module 3 — Keep Controls Working Across Trades and Site Conditions
- Module 4 — Manage Refurbishment Uncertainty, Health Signals and Escalation
- Construction Airborne Hazard Map
- Source–Pathway–People Exercise
- Workface Source-Control Review
- Wet and Extraction Failure Scenario
- Neighboring Trade Exposure Map
- Housekeeping and Secondary Exposure Exercise
- RPE Boundary Scenario
- Refurbishment Stop-and-Escalate Exercise
- 30-Day Construction Site-Air Action Plan
- Live Q&A
Covers all 4 parts.
Also available as a 4-week or 8-week program, for change that lasts. Ask us about it.
What’s covered
Understand How Construction Work Changes the Air
Every length- Match the airborne hazard to the workCutting, drilling, grinding and demolition can generate dust.
- Look beyond what you can see or smellA visible cloud provides useful warning that contamination is escaping, but hazardous respirable particles may be difficult to see and some gases or vapors may not provide a reliable odor warning.
- Map the exposure beyond the person doing the jobOpen floors, scaffolds, temporary screens, doorways, shafts, wind and shared ventilation can allow contamination to reach neighboring workers.
- Expect the exposure to change with the projectA control that works during open-frame construction may perform differently once walls, temporary sheeting, windows or services alter airflow.
Control Emissions at the Workface
90 minutes and longer- Remove or change the high-emission process where possibleParticipants examine upstream options such as prefabrication, ordering materials to finished dimensions, alternative products, lower-emission methods, remote processing or relocating high-emission work away from occupied areas.
- Use wet methods where they match the taskWet suppression can reduce airborne dust when water reaches the point where particles are generated and remains available throughout the work.
- Capture dust and fume close to sourceOn-tool extraction, local exhaust, shrouds, hoods and other capture systems can prevent contamination spreading through the work area when they are matched to the emission source.
- Use isolation, enclosure and access control intelligentlyTemporary enclosures, restricted work areas, sequencing and physical separation can protect people who do not need to be near high-emission work.
Keep Controls Working Across Trades and Site Conditions
3 hours and longer- Verify the control where the work is actually happeningA control should not be credited because it exists in the method statement or was effective on another floor.
- Stop housekeeping from recreating the exposureDust deposited on floors, ledges, equipment, clothing and access routes can return to the air during sweeping, compressed-air cleaning, maintenance or material movement.
- Coordinate high-emission work with neighboring tradesGrinding beside electrical installation, welding near finishing crews, coating work beside other subcontractors or diesel equipment operating close to enclosed areas can expose people outside the originating crew.
- Use RPE within a complete respiratory-protection systemRespiratory protective equipment may still be required for residual exposure, particular high-risk tasks or temporary conditions, but it must match the contaminant and exposure.
Manage Refurbishment Uncertainty, Health Signals and Escalation
Full day only- Stop when demolition or refurbishment reveals an unknownExisting buildings may contain materials that were not expected from the visible surface or original task description.
- Recognize when exposure information is not enoughMixed emissions, changing processes, repeated complaints, failed extraction, unknown substances or uncertainty about bystander exposure can make informal judgments unreliable.
- Report respiratory changes without self-diagnosingPersistent cough, wheeze, chest tightness, unusual breathlessness, airway irritation or symptoms that repeatedly occur around particular work should be reported through the appropriate workplace and health pathway.
- Use health surveillance and incident learning to improve controlsWhere particular occupational exposures warrant health surveillance, the surveillance supports early identification and professional follow-up but does not make the exposure itself acceptable.
Tools and materials
- Construction Airborne Hazard Map
- Construction Site-Air Map
- Source–Pathway–People Review
- Construction Air Control Hierarchy Map
- Wet / Extraction Control Review
- Cross-Trade Air Exposure Map
- Housekeeping and Secondary Exposure Review
- Construction RPE Boundary Review
- Refurbishment Stop Boundary Guide
- Dust, Silica & Site Air Playbook
How booking works
- Book online. Create a free Workbliss profile, then pay with session credits, by card or by invoice.
- Pick a date. Choose a date at least 14 days ahead, or book now and set the date later. Need it sooner? Email hello@workbliss.ai and we’ll see what we can do.
- Choose your expert. Within 3 working days, we send you profiles of the experts available for your date.
- We deliver it. Your expert is briefed on your people and goals, then runs the session live online or at your site.
Questions about Dust, Silica & Site Air
How long is Dust, Silica & Site Air?
Dust, Silica & Site Air runs as 30 minutes, 60 minutes, 90 minutes, 3 hours or full day. You choose the length when you book. A 30-minute session covers three key points from Understand How Construction Work Changes the Air: match the airborne hazard to the work, look beyond what you can see or smell and map the exposure beyond the person doing the job. A 60-minute session covers Understand How Construction Work Changes the Air in full, with a live Q&A. A 90-minute session adds Control Emissions at the Workface. A 3-hour session adds Keep Controls Working Across Trades and Site Conditions. A full-day session adds Manage Refurbishment Uncertainty, Health Signals and Escalation. It is also available as a 4-week or 8-week program.
Can Dust, Silica & Site Air be delivered online or in person?
Yes, both. It runs live online, so every office can join at the same time, or in person at your site, in any country.
How do we book Dust, Silica & Site Air?
Create a free Workbliss profile with your work email, then open Dust, Silica & Site Air to see the price for each length and book it. You can pay with session credits, by card or by invoice, and choose a date at least 14 days ahead, or set it later. Need it sooner? Email hello@workbliss.ai and we’ll see what we can do.
Who leads the session?
A vetted Workbliss expert, briefed on your people, culture and goals before the session. After you book, we send you profiles of the experts available for your date within 3 working days, so you can choose who leads it.
Can it be tailored to our company?
Yes. Every session is shaped around your goals, your people and the benefits you already offer, and delivered by experts in your people’s languages.