Roofing Matters: Safety, Performance and Sustainability

Summary

This session will explore how CDM, design decisions and construction planning influence roofing safety. It will cover the responsibilities of roof system designers and specialist roofing contractors acting as principal contractors, particularly during refurbishment projects.

The presentation will consider the importance of suitable pre-construction information, temporary works co-ordination, and management. It will demonstrate how risks including work at height, fragile roofs, hot work, occupational health, and adverse weather can be reduced through better design and planning.

The session will also examine how flat roofs can support decarbonisation, climate adaptation and circular economy principles, highlighting the role of roofing systems in creating more sustainable and resilient built environments.

Agenda

• Chair's Introduction - Sarah Spink
• Speaker One - Gary Walpole
• Speaker Two - Tom Raftery
• Q and A session

This learning activity can contribute to your annual CPD return and should be logged accordingly.

Please note: this event is for over 18’s only.

Chair: Sarah Spink, Chief Executive Officer, Liquid Roofing & Waterproofing Association

Sarah has worked in the liquid roofing and waterproofing industry since 2006 and became the first Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Liquid Roofing and Waterproofing Association (LRWA) in March 2017. As CEO, Sarah provides strategic leadership to the association, ensuring it remains a strong and influential voice for the sector. Guided by the principles of competence, compliance and confidence, she is committed to supporting members, raising standards and helping the industry respond to an evolving regulatory landscape.

Sarah became involved with the LRWA in 2009 while working for a leading liquid roofing manufacturer in both commercial and technical roles. She chaired the Marketing Committee, led the rebrand from European Liquid Waterproofing Association (ELWA) to LRWA in 2010, joined the Board in 2013 as its youngest and only female director, and was appointed the association's first CEO in 2017.

Beyond the LRWA, Sarah is an Officer of the Board of the Construction Products Association (CPA) and Co-Chair of Sector Lead Group 5, helping to develop competence frameworks for construction product manufacturers. She was formerly a Chair and Director of the Institute of Roofing before its transition into the CIOB and now serves on the newly formed CIOB Roofing Advisory Panel.

Speaker: Gary Walpole, CMIOSH PISEP REnvP Technical Safety, Health and Environment Officer, National Federation of Roofing Contractors Limited

Gary Walpole is the Technical Safety, Health, and Environment Officer at the National Federation of Roofing Contractors. Gary has worked in the roofing industry since leaving school in 1985. Having begun his career from a practical roofing background, he has developed his professional, technical and academic knowledge throughout more than four decades in the industry.

He is a Chartered Member of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health, a Practitioner Member of the Institute of Sustainability and Environmental Professionals, and a Registered Environmental Practitioner.

Gary represents the roofing sector on national safety, health and environmental matters and works with contractors, manufacturers, and wider industry stakeholders to develop practical guidance, training and industry campaigns. His work focuses on safer roof design and construction, CDM responsibilities, work at height, fragile roofs, occupational health, and fire prevention. Gary also chairs the CONIAC Fire Safety Working Group, supporting cross-industry collaboration to improve fire prevention and promote safer methods of construction.

Speaker: Tom Raftery, Head of Sustainability, Bauder

Tom Raftery is Head of Sustainability at Bauder and has over 25 years of experience in the flat roofing industry, specialising in green roofs and solar PV. He has led industry research and guidance on the integration of building-applied photovoltaics (BAPV) with flat and green roof systems, helping to advance best practice across the sector and is current chair of the IMA and SPRA sustainability committees. Tom is passionate about sustainable building design and the role of roofing systems in supporting decarbonisation, biodiversity, and climate resilience.

Online Platform

The webinar will be held using MS Teams. Before the session, you will receive an email from Eventbrite containing a link to complete your registration on Teams. After registering with Teams, you will receive the link for joining the webinar.

CIOB Assist

The webinar is free for CIOB members to attend, but if you would like to make an optional donation to CIOB Assist you can do this during the registration process.

Time Zones

The webinar is being advertised in the GMT time zone, but you can easily see the local time for the webinar using World Time Buddy: www.worldtimebuddy.com/.

Contact

Susie Kearns
Member Services and Events Coordinator - Cambridge and Northampton
[email protected]

How can we help you get the most out of this event? We want to ensure accessibility for all of our members. Please contact us in confidence prior to attendance and we will do our best to answer any questions and support any additional needs you may have.