In the field of demolition, the term “compliant” can apparently cover (or cover up) a multitude of sins.
Comment
Compliant? Well, sort of…
Not all construction deaths are created equal
The Health and Safety Executive last week released its fatal accident statistics for the year to March 2022. Those stats made for interesting , troubling and perplexing reading. The headline figure was that worker deaths in the combined demolition and construction sector were down 25 percent on the previous year. But the latest HSE figures…Read moreRead more
The Federation and The Queen
When The Queen failed to return from her holiday at Balmoral and refused to fly the Union flag at half mast over Buckingham Palace in the aftermath of the death of Princess Diana, she was seen as cold, distant and aloof. There was a feeling that she had misjudged the mood of the nation. The…Read moreRead more
Opinion – BROKEN!
After a week in which I have reported on precious little aside from the revelations from the Competition and Markets Authority investigation into bid-rigging and price-fixing within the UK demolition industry, I was planning to take a step backwards to give myself some fresh perspective; and to possibly find a reason – aside from the…Read moreRead more
John F. Hunts sets aside £5.6 million…
CMA provisions made by NFDC members hit £23 million; and we’re not even at the halfway point. Demolition contractor John F Hunt has become the latest firm to reveal how much it says its involvement with bid-rigging will cost it. The company is one of 10 that cartel-buster the Competition and Markets Authority publicly named…Read moreRead more
Comment – What the Hell happened to us…?
Several years ago, I was visiting a demolition site in the south of England. It was a large site; large enough to warrant a dedicated on-site canteen. After a morning touring the site, the managing director of the demolition company involved (who shall remain nameless) and I adjourned to said canteen, both of us craving…Read moreRead more
In defence of demolition
Even though Fred Dibnah made his TV debut some 44 years ago, to the British public at large his is still the face of demolition. That same general public are convinced that the demolition industry regularly blows stuff up willy-nilly, and yet explosive demolition accounts for a tiny fraction of all demolition work undertaken on…Read moreRead more
Opinion – No way to treat our greatest asset
Join the demolition or construction industry, they said. It will be great, they said. We’re hip and groovy, welcoming to all genders, sexual preferences and ethnicities and we “totally get the whole mental health thing”, they said. That might be what it says on the industry recruitment posters or what is implied during industry interviews….Read moreRead more
Fuel theft – The gift that keeps on taking
If criminal gangs really are as organised as investigating authorities would have us believe, then they must have recruited some of the best and most eminently employable business development heads in the country. There is, it appears, no money-spinning opportunity that can escape their steely gaze. When the imposition of a Landfill Tax made it…Read moreRead more
Don’t shoot the messenger…
There was one and there may be more poison pen letters circulating through the hallowed halls of the NFDC. But it/they didn’t originate here. You can read the original letter here: https://tinyurl.com/3yyzme3b
