The UK’s National Federation of Demolition Contractors took its message of competence and best practice on the road again yesterday. Following successful Demolition Day events in London, Manchester and Birmingham, the Federation Roadshow this time alighted on the stunning Sage Centre, Gateshead in the North East of England.

The event attracted members, contractors, clients and local authority representatives from across the region and beyond. Indeed, such was the buzz around the event that a local newspaper produced an eight-page demolition supplement and NFDC CEO put in a guest appearance on local radio.

For those of you that were there, the following video and this photo slideshow will provide a reminder of the day’s events. If you weren’t lucky enough to be there, then they will provide a great indication of what you missed:

Yesterday morning, a contractor began demolishing a house described as “horrific” by city officials, who condemned it as a serious risk to public health.

But first, the interior underwent a massive cleanup last week that yielded dumpster-loads of trash, numerous dead cats and even ammunition.

Even though workers wore hazmat suits and respirators, three of them threw up from the stench and filth found inside the house, said Dave Nash, city spokesman.

He said six 40-yard Dumpsters of trash were removed from the interior — that equates to 40 cubic yards of trash in the largest available Dumpsters that are 22 feet long by 8 feet wide and 8 feet tall. Four truckloads of personal belongings were salvaged and turned over to a friend of the owner. Also, more than 150 pounds of ammunition in plastic bags were taken from the house and turned over to Yuma Proving Ground for safekeeping.

The house was treated three times for fleas and cockroaches in addition to previous treatments of the house and yard. More than 70 dead cats were found inside the house during the two-day cleanup. From the condition of the interior, Nash said even more cats are expected to be found in the walls and attic as they’re demolished.

Sun Country has the contract to demolish the house on behalf of the city.

Read more here.

Just over four years ago, there was just one single topic of conversation on the lips of UK demolition contractors – The introduction of the Site Waste Management Plan (SWMP) directive; a formalised way in which to plan and track the demolition waste stream and, thereby, minimise waste to landfill.

Of course, anyone that knows anything about demolition realised at the time that this was a paper-based cure for a non-existent malady. Demolition contractors – particularly those in the UK – send waste to landfill with all the enthusiasm with which an 11-year old girl sends her favourite gymkhana pony to the local glue factory.

But like it does with every unnecessary, onerous and burdensome item of legislation heaped upon its shoulders, the UK demolition industry embraced SWMPs. Individual companies formed working groups and committees to ensure that they fully understood the new directive and its likely implications; the National Federation of Demolition Contractors and the Institute of Demolition Engineers dedicated great swathes of their seminar and committee time to ensuring that members did not fall foul of this latest red tape trap. And a number of consultants and training providers enjoyed a pre-recession spike in their profits, talking companies and their employees through the legal minefield with which each new item of legislation is accessorised.

Yet it now looks as though all of that was for nothing.

The UK government – which is currently enjoying the same level of national popularity as the song “Blue Moon” enjoys in the red half of Manchester – is doing its level best to court business and, of course, the vote of the business community. But, unlike previous governments, it is not in a position to buy those votes with reduced taxes and increased grant funding.

Faced with a level of national debt that would normally cause Bono to arrange a benefit concert, the government has instead turned its attention to the removal of bureaucracy and administrative burdens as part of its Red Tape Challenge. And one of the key items of red tape in the government’s sights appears to be Site Waste Management Plans.

Although it has yet to be confirmed, it seems that the SWMPs are destined for the legislative scrap heap sooner rather than later, along with a host of 52 other less-than-useful rules, regulations and directives.

Of course, few in the UK demolition business will mourn the passing of Site Waste Management Plans; most were following the same rules prior to the introduction of SWMPs and will continue to do so long after this additional paper trail has been swept away.

But most will also curse the bitter irony of the time, effort and money wasted on a directive that was introduced to minimise waste.

You can look at all the brochures and spec sheets, photos and videos in the world, but the very best way to judge an item of capital equipment is to see it in action.

Which is why Dig A Crusher will be demonstrating its range of crusher buckets, multi-processors and selector grabs for hire and sale as part of a two-day Roadshow in Scotland.

The Roadshow will take place at Hunter Demolition’s Centurion Works, Balmuildy Road in Glasgow from 9am to 5pm on Wednesday 30 and Thursday 31 May 2012.

Please contact Douglas Smith, sales and marketing manager on 07919-410680 or email douglas@yarwoods.com to confirm attendance.

If proof were needed of the validity of the European Demolition Association (EDA), yesterday’s successful two-block implosion in Copenhagen surely provided that proof.

While the videos (below) show a textbook blast carried out under the watchful gaze of a fascinated local media and thousands of local residents, the story behind the story is one of an international co-operation fostered within the EDA and brought to fruition by two of its most prominent members.

As we reported last week, the contract was a joint venture between World Demolition Contractor of the Year Safedem – a company renowned for its explosive capabilities – and Brandis A/S, one of Denmark’s best-known demolition companies. And it is no coincidence that the men behind these companies – Safedem’s William Sinclair and Morten Brandis of Brandis A/S – are also on the board of the EDA.

Although Sinclair brought an experience of more than 50 tower block implosions to the joint venture, he is full of praise for his partners. Speaking immediately after a celebratory dinner at the famous Tivoli Gardens, Sinclair said: “Because we are a Scottish company working in Denmark, a lot of the local media focus has been upon us, but this really was a joint venture. Brandis did a first-class job in prepping the building prior to our arrival and that made our job so much easier.”

The National Demolition Association has announced the addition of four new demolition professionals to its 2012-2013 Board of Directors.

Newly named to the Board are Alfred Gorick, Jr. of Gorick Construction Co., Inc., Binghamton, NY; Scott Homrich of Homrich Wrecking Inc., Carleton, MI; Richard Lorenz of Central Environmental Services, Apopka, FL; and Craig Sessler of Sessler Wrecking, Waterloo, NY.

Continuing as the Association’s officers are Don Rachel of Rachel Contracting, LLC, St. Michael, MN as President; Jeff Kroeker of Kroeker, Inc. Demolition & Recycling Contractors, Fresno, CA as Vice President; Peter Banks of CEI Boston LLC, Norfolk, MA as Secretary; Scott Knightly of Envirovantage, Epping, NH as Treasurer; and Paymond Passeno of Bierlein Companies, Inc., Midland, MI as Past President. Michael R. Taylor, CAE, serves as Executive Director.

We are less than two weeks away from the implosion of the Plaza Hotel and we now know just who will push the button to bring down the hotel at 4.30 am on Thursday 24 May.

As crews strip the high rise known as the Plaza Hotel down for its demise, the College Station sky is already starting to open up.

“It reminds me of when we were going up with it,” said 92-year-old Joe Ferreri.

Ferreri built the hotel back in 1980 and he’ll be pushing one of the three buttons to bring down the building.

“I think it’s an honor. I appreciate the owners giving me permission to do so. To have that kind of a heart to let me do it,” said Ferreri.

Joe will be joined by Texas A&M chancellor John Sharp and College Station Mayor Nancy Berry.

Read more here.

From a distance, PNC Field still appears relatively intact, despite two weeks of almost constant demolition work.

That will change this week. Beginning today, demolition contractor Brandenburg Industrial Service Co. is scheduled to start taking apart and removing the existing stadium’s hulking upper deck in what will be the most visible sign yet of the planned $43.3 million reconstruction of the ballpark.

There will be no implosion, no wrecking ball, said John K. Baer, project superintendent for construction manager Alvin H. Butz Inc.

Instead, what is happening at the stadium is “selective demolition,” with components coming down practically piece by piece to avoid damaging the lower seating area, the home team clubhouse and the playing field – all components that will be preserved and incorporated into the rebuilt ballpark, Mr. Baer said.

“We have to work around the clubhouse, plus the seating bowl, which is a challenge,” he said. “You are limited in access to how you can get at it. You’d like to attack it from all sides, but you can’t necessarily do that here.”

Brandenburg will start demolition of the upper deck on the first-base side and continue around to the third-base end, Mr. Baer said. Working from behind the structure, the contractor will use cranes to remove the steel overhang at the very top of the stadium first before tackling the precast concrete components.

Read more here or view the video below.

Just over a week ago, our buddies over at HighReachDemolition brought us a great video showing the demolition of the Philips headquarters in Eindhoven in the Netherlands.

Well, they’ve just topped that with some great new footage from the same site showing a powerful combination of a Hitachi ZX870-3 high reach equipped with a Mantovanibenne CR 80 concrete shear.

Twice in the past few months, I have found myself on the sharp end of some heated criticism over my coverage of accidents that have taken place in the demolition world.

On the first occasion, I was reminded that I am “just a journalist”, that my opinion was, therefore, invalid and that I failed to grasp the complexity and hazards that are part and parcel of demolition life. On the second, I was treated to a definition of the true meaning of the word “accident” and was left in no doubt that since the incident in question did not result in an injury or fatality, it didn’t fully satisfy the dictionary definition.

Sorry, but I beg to differ. You can use all the weasel words and semantics at your disposal but the fact is – sure as eggs is eggs – an accident is an accident.

This is not, however, just a plea to not shoot the messenger, although that would be nice. Rather, this is a rallying cry to demolition professionals across the world to not allow complacency to undo all the good work that has been achieved in the field of site safety over the past 20 years or so.

There are, of course, extenuating circumstances. In the US, OSHA is a shadow of its former self and no longer possesses the manpower required to keep a watchful eye on every demolition site in every city in every state. In the UK, the Health & Safety Executive seems rather preoccupied with its commercial viability in advance of the introduction of a Fee for Intervention later this year.

In truth, however, none of this should matter. Safety, like charity, begins at home. It is a choice, a lifestyle, and a mindset; not a rule to be followed when someone might be watching.

To those contractors that brag about taking on the contracts that others won’t touch due to safety concerns – you know who you are – this doesn’t make you big or clever; it doesn’t make you a maverick or a pioneer; and it certainly doesn’t make you manly or macho.

I have a theory, one that I tend to espouse when stating why war is generally a very bad idea. If national leaders are really that keen to go to war, I say give them a gun and let them go in first so we can see just how brave and committed they really are.

But what say we widen that concept to include those bold, brave mavericks that insist upon putting men and machines in harm’s way?

Rather than tipping your hard hat while worrying about the next pay check when told to undertake a task you know to be hazardous, what say you just throw your boss the keys to the excavator and then retire to a safe distance while he puts HIS life on the line. Maybe then we’ll see just how macho they really are.