Few will shed a tear as Tulip Hotel falls.

A closed-down hotel in the Cape Town City Business District, the Tulip Hotel and Conference Centre, was demolished earlier today to make way for a new development in this sought after area.

Building plans for a new hotel have already been approved, and demolition to the entire area started on Saturday, 7 February.

Regardless of The Tulip Hotel and Conference Centre’s prime location, it has been trashed on TripAdvisor from being a “terrible” place to stay. A female reviewer from Switzerland wrote, “It was my worst hotel experience! Super dirty and disgusting room, broken shower (no warm water), terrible elevator, very thin wall, stains on bed sheet, and the smell in the room is just unacceptable.”

Another user, Mondli K, who stayed in the Tulip during last year’s Cape Town Jazz Festival, said the stay was “The Worst Hotel Experience Ever”.

J. Bryan (Victoria) throws its award-winning hat into the recruitment ring.

Fresh off the back of winning the Collaboration Award at the recent World Demolition Awards, leading North West of England contractor J. Bryan (Victoria) has set off on a recruitment hunt.

With a series of high-profile, ongoing and upcoming contracts under its belt (including one in Yorkshire that will require workers for long hours/shifts) the company is currently seeking:

• Business development manager
• Operations manager
• Contracts manager
• Site Managers
• High Reach drivers
• Excavator Drivers
• Top Men
• Ground Burners

To be considered for any of these roles and to become a part of an award-winning team, please send your CV to mark.bryan@jbryan.co.uk.

One person seriously injured as building collapses in NYC.

A building under demolition partially collapsed yesterday on the West Side of Manhattan, injuring a construction worker.

It happened at about 2:35 p.m. at a 4-story garage at 622 West 57th Street, between 11th and 12th Avenues.

Fire department spokesman Brian Norton says the worker rode down the collapse Wednesday afternoon by standing on scaffolding or part of the three-story midtown Manhattan building as it crumbled.

Norton says the worker has been hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. He says all other workers are accounted for.

Scaffolding on the side of the building collapsed onto the sidewalk near two school buses.

Read more here, or view the video below:

Dustcontrol launches Toolobox Talks to reduce dust threat.

Following a recent surge in dust awareness enquiries, Dustcontrol UK has launched ‘Toolbox Talks’, during which the Dustcontrol team can instruct attendees on dust related best practice and operational procedure.

James Miller, Dustcontrol UK’s General Manager, commented: “We’ve seen a real increase in interest surrounding dust extraction over the past few months. Large firms have been approaching us, asking for advice on best practice when it comes to dust extraction. The number of employees that require educating is often sizeable, so we’ve developed a format that’s specifically targeted at imparting the necessary information to as many employees as possible in an efficient and meaningful manner.”

The Toolbox Talks will see a member of the Dustcontrol UK team visit construction sites and other workplaces that are adversely affected by harmful dusts. During talks spread across the day to maximise their impact and accessibility, the team will then advise site workers on best practice, tailoring guidance to meet specific site requirements. The aim of the day is to reinforce awareness of the hazards that dusts such as crystalline silica can pose, as well as demonstrating the most efficient and safe use of dust control equipment.

James said: “Whilst general awareness of the dangers of hazardous dust is growing, it’s still not sufficiently widespread. Recent reports from the HSE relating to construction site safety have demonstrated that safety failings are common across sites all over the country. These assessments, whilst looking at all elements of health and safety, also indicated that dust regulations weren’t being met and that sites were found wanting.”

He continued: “The demonstration days help to educate the entire workforce of a site, not just management, which will enable failings and weaknesses to be picked up on quickly, allowing them to be rectified swiftly.”

Dustcontrol UK, based in Milton Keynes (UK head office), has developed a series of mobile dust extractors and air cleaners specifically designed to help those working on construction projects to capture dust at its source. The products provide a cleaner working environment and create a more efficient production process, whilst also helping to combat the adverse health effects caused by hazardous dusts. The Toolbox Talks aim to instruct construction firms on how to properly operate the machinery, whilst also recommending appropriate onsite dust safeguards.

Some of the Dustcontrol UK products that feature in the talks include its range of mobile dust extractors. This consists of the DC 1800, the DC 2900, the DC AirCube 500, and the DC AirCube 2000, which are specifically designed for onsite mobile dust extraction.

The DC 1800 and the DC 2900 have been designed to work with handheld power tools and small table saws. Lightweight and portable, they’re powerful enough for source extraction and are also potent and effective vacuum cleaners, eliminating the need for sweeping.

The AirCube models are used in conjunction with on-tool extraction to prevent dust migration. They are designed to separate fine and hazardous dusts, such as silica dust, which is commonly found on construction sites in materials such as concrete, brick, grout, mortar and drywall compound.

All four products use HEPA H13 filters, unlike most other products, which only use M class filters. The use of H13 filters guarantees that the products remove 99.97% of all particles greater than 0.3 micrometres from the air that passes through; meaning air exhausted from the products is the cleanest it can be.

James Miller concluded: “Dust is often regarded as little more than a nuisance, but more and more firms are beginning to understand that this isn’t the case. Our Toolbox Talk demonstration days can help to educate the entire workforce, ensuring that there’s no weak link in the chain when it comes to dust related onsite safety.”

Plantforce signals expansion intention with strategic relocation.

Plantforce Attachments has moved from Yatton to a new depot in nearby Bridgwater.

Situated just off junction 23 of the M5 in Dunball Industrial Estate, the new premises for Plantforce are ideally positioned next door to the new Park and Ride and Freight Management Centre for Hinkley Point C. Plantforce were the first plant hire company to start working at Hinkley and have over six years on-site experience of working in the nuclear industry. This new location will enable lorries on route to Hinkley to conveniently collect attachments, as well as having them fitted and tested so they are all equipped to work on site.

According to Plantforce Attachments Manager Sam Mercer, “This is an exciting time for Plantforce Attachments. The move to Bridgwater will give us a lot more space and potential to expand as well as being strategically placed near to Hinkley, right in the middle of our existing depots at Yatton and Exeter. We have new attachments on order with more to follow, two new members of staff, as well as a full time fitter in Hinkley to deal with any breakdowns.”

As well as the attachments Plantforce will also have a full fleet of excavators and other earth moving equipment available for hire from the new Bridgwater depot.

For more information on Plantforce Attachments or any advice regarding Hinkley please call Sam Mercer on 07789 991133.

Man fell 75 feet but walked away.

A century-old bridge crane being prepared for demolition collapsed prematurely Thursday at an industrial site in Superior, sending two workers to the hospital.

The accident happened at the Graymont lime plant, on the waterfront near U.S. Highways 2 and 53, at about 3:45 p.m. as two demolition workers were up on the crane preparing stress points to ensure it collapsed properly, said Superior Deputy Police Chief Matt Markon. The crane was set to be demolished on Sunday.

The workers had just cut a copper bus bar, part of the electrical service to the crane, when the structure collapsed, authorities said.

Superior Fire Chief Steve Panger said firefighters rescued one worker who was dangling from a lift by his safety harness. A second man who had been up on a separate lift was already on the ground by the time firefighters arrived. Markon said the man fell an estimated 75 feet when the bridge collapsed.

Both men were conscious and walking around, Panger said, and they were taken to St. Luke’s hospital for evaluation.

“We don’t know the extent of their injuries,” Panger said.

Read more here and here.

Demolition crews finally get to grips with structure encased in ice.

After mesmerizing amateur photographers and worrying neighbours for a week, a Philadelphia building left encased in ice after a two-alarm blaze last week has been torn down.

Surrounded by heavy metal walls, a backhoe clawed away at the insides of the Locust Medical Center at 52nd and Locust Streets in West Philadelphia on Monday morning.

The three-story building that housed doctor’s offices and a pharmacy was gutted by flames before sunrise a week before. Firefighters poured water on the building in 3 degree weather leaving it, cars and the surrounding area in ice.

Spectators flocked to the area to take pictures of the building that was dubbed the ‘Ice Palace’ or ‘Ice Castle.’ Residents living nearby had more prudent fears that the medical center’s weak masonry walls could be pulled down under the ice’s weight.

Read more here or view the video below: :

High reach munches on Everton building.

This is one of those very rare occasions in which it is best to turn the volume down or off altogether as the dreamy commentary on this video quickly descends from faintly trippy to druggy and stupefying.

Still, of you’re willing to embrace the spaced-out voiceover, then the footage of a Victorian building in Everton being demolished makes for interesting viewing.

My Everton – Demolition February 2015 from dissentathome on Vimeo.

Crossing damaged by landslide dropped using explosives.

Engineers have demolished the southern lane of the Skjeggestad bridge in Vestfold, Norway.

It follows the partial collapse of the bridge a few weeks ago.

Norway’s Public Roads Administration described the demolition as technically challenging, however it reportedly went to plan.

Detailed video update shows demolition is bang on schedule.

The distinctive S Curve of the old Bay Bridge are no more as demolition continues to progress.

This latest video update provides a superb overview of the project to date and reveals plans to remove the bridge foundations by explosive means.