Demolition is a vertical market; the number of attendees at DemoExpo 2019 merely reflects that. I will get to our look back at last week’s DemoExpo exhibition shortly. But first, I would like to lay before you a very quick maths lesson. It will be very short, use round numbers and the simplest of terms…Read moreRead more
Comment
Comment – Unrealistic Expectations
Comment – Collusion probe creeps closer…
Competition & Markets Authority net closing across construction sector. I can tell you precisely where I was when I received a tip-off that a number of UK demolition firms had allegedly been raided by anti-collusion investigators. I was at the Messe Munchen exhibition centre in Munich during the Bauma 2019 show, on my way to…Read moreRead more
Comment – Sleepwalking towards disaster…
Why I believe the UK demolition industry could be heading for a fall. I am worried. Now anyone that knows me will tell you this is perfectly normal. Worried is my default state. I worry about everything. But in this instance, I am not worried about me, my family, my friends or even my football…Read moreRead more
Comment – Don’t be fooled…
It’s April Fool’s Day but the HSE is being deadly serious, apparently. Thankfully, the Health and Safety Executive waited until after noon – traditionally the cut-off point for April Fool pranks and hoaxes – before issuing today’s article reminding demolition and construction firms of the need to review their processes. Apparently, the article was prompted…Read moreRead more
Comment – Victim of circumstance…
Why we need to look beyond the company owner when a demolition firm fails. In the immediate aftermath of a fatal site accident, you will often hear people say “no-one sets out to kill their fellow demolition workers”. It is a cliché, but it is also true. Demolition companies invest huge amounts of money training…Read moreRead more
Comment – Harmony restored…
The NFDC has a new president; and a positive outlook to go with it. Day and night. Black and white. Chalk and cheese. And now to this list of polar opposites we can add the 2018 annual general meeting of the National Federation of Demolition Contractors and the 2019 annual general meeting of the National…Read moreRead more
Comment – Cometh the hour…
How David Keane’s stewardship put the NFDC back on course. At the Rosewood Hotel in West London later this morning, David Keane will once again hand over the presidential reins of the National Federation of Demolition Contractors (NFDC), the organisation of which he has been acting president for the past nine months. Unforeseen circumstances and…Read moreRead more
Comment – Standing on the shoulders of giants…
Why we owe the industry’s forebears a double-debt. Being a Brit, I don’t do Thanksgiving, which is probably just as well as I am pretty ungrateful individual at the best of times. If I did, the list of things I am thankful for would be very short: my wife, children and grandchildren, West Ham United,…Read moreRead more
Comment – An unfitting legacy…
A dog-eared pile of paper is all that remains of the once great Cuddy Group. On Wednesday last week, I was awoken from my mid-morning slumber at my desk by the arrival of a hefty package that hit the mat at Demolition News Towers like a safe. That package contained a communication from Grant Thornton,…Read moreRead more
Comment – We need to talk..
Suicide Prevention Day highlights dangers in demolition and construction. Young men working in the demolition and construction industries represent the highest suicide risk of any industry. Yet while we quickly latch on to issues that might impact upon physical well-being of demolition and construction workers, their mental well-being is still being overlooked, even though this…Read moreRead more
