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During the course of my 30+year journalistic career, I have been fortunate enough to visit demolition companies and sites on four continents and in more countries than I can actually remember. I can tell you that some were good, some were not so good, and some were truly outstanding. I can also tell you that…Read moreRead more

For as long as I can remember, equipment manufacturers have produced different machines for different regions of the world. Machines destined for sunnier climes used to be offered with canopies rather than cabs. In other regions, a sealed cab and a decent heater is way more important than air conditioning. And each country seems to…Read moreRead more

Awareness alone is not enough to truly combat the issues of bullying, mental health awareness, sexism, racism and homophobia. During my formative years as a journalist, I was lucky enough to work under two editors that would shape the way in which I worked with and treated others.   My first editor was from the Gordon…Read moreRead more

Is there any such thing as a “pure” demolition contractor these days? I don’t mean one that has been filtered through volcanic rock over countless millennia. I don’t mean like a sandy beach or a blanket of snow devoid of footprints. And I don’t mean clean from sins of the flesh. I mean pure in…Read moreRead more

The greatest threat to the UK demolition status quo comes not from the move away from diesel fuel. It comes not from a shortage of skilled workers and delivery drivers. Nor does it come in the form of an influx of competition from allied industries or from overseas. And it doesn’t come from the findings…Read moreRead more

It was once said that there are two certainties in life: Death and Taxes. However, I would like to propose a third: A construction skills shortage. For as long as I have been writing about all things construction and demolition (33 years, since you asked) I have been reporting upon a skills shortage within the…Read moreRead more

No-one has ever walked into their kitchen, found a can of tuna fish, a carrot of questionable vintage and some left -over fried rice and thought: “Ah yes, I shall fashion a lobster Thermidor from this lot”. Likewise, no-one has ever ordered a meal in a restaurant and then set a stopwatch running because we…Read moreRead more

It’s an ill wind that blows no-one any good. And so, while the UK’s coal-fired power stations have belched CO2 into the atmosphere and been a blot on the British skyline for 50 years or more, their demise has greatly improved the fortunes of specialist demolition companies. One man’s environmental campaign is another man’s source…Read moreRead more

I have seen some horse-shit peddled as journalism in my time. I have, on occasions, shovelled some of it myself in the past. In my defence, I have generally done this only because the price was right – A guy’s got to eat, right? But the Breakfast Show on BBC1 on Friday, followed by a…Read moreRead more

Two entirely unconnected news stories last week threw into sharp relief the ongoing and inexcusable disparity in the industry’s attitude to health and safety and its willingness to avoid a minor risk whilst allowing a greater risk to flourish On Thursday last week, we reported that the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) had…Read moreRead more