The UK demolition industry will be poorer for Richard Comley’s tragic and premature passing

Richard Comley was virtually unique among demolition men: a curious mix of studied expertise that made him the envy of his peers; and a boyish enthusiasm that made him seem like you’d known him all your life. The fact that ill health prevented him from becoming chairman of the National Demolition Training Group was a blow; the fact that illness has caused his untimely passing will impact right across the UK demolition industry. Demolition will be a less cheerful place without him.

A trip to CG Comley & Sons’ premises in Hampshire was less like visiting a demolition company and more like being invited into Richard’s family home: his devoted wife Julia sat just a few feet away answering telephones and keeping Richard’s boundless sense of humour in check; his son Toby tucked around the corner running the asbestos wing of the family business. My thoughts are with them, and with Toby’s sister Jennifer at this time.

Nowhere were the two sides of Richard’s personality more clearly illustrated than at an Institute of Demolition Engineers event. A regular volunteer behind the IDE merchandise desk, he was always first with a joke and a laugh. Inside the auditorium, however, he was all business, studying new legislation with an almost professorial vigour to ensure that he and his fellow IDE members stayed one step ahead.

Although I spoke to him several times since, I last saw him at the IDE AGM at which Steve Jack was named the new president. Not only was he displaying no visible signs of illness, his sense of humour seemed somehow heightened and he was on fine form. But then, he always was.

In a dog-eat-dog industry, Richard was one of the good guys: generous; funny; knowledgeable; and thoroughly decent.

I will miss him enormously.

CG Comley & Sons Ltd is trading as normal.

Finnish manufacturer uses epic movie trailer to unleash recycling robot.

If, like me, you have grown up watching sci-fi movies in which machines take over the world, what you’re about to see may well strike fear into your very soul.

But fret not. The Finnish innovators behind a new industrial robot that is able to recognise and sort construction and demolition waste assure us that there is little chance of these things ever becoming self-aware and rendering human beings obsolete.

ZenRobotics, which is based in Helsinki and raised $16 million in funding last year, has developed a robotic arm called the Recycler, which uses a process called sensor fusion to determine between materials like stone, wood, and metal. Sensor fusion is exactly what it sounds like: a carefully calibrated recipe of sensors, including scales, visible spectrum cameras, near-infrared spectrometers and haptic sensors, that determine whether a chunk of material belongs where.

And this is not just pie in a sci-fi sky. This spring, ZenRobotics is installing Recyclers at several recycling sites in Finland, and any interested parties can buy the machines online.

And if the machine itself is anywhere near as cool as the following trailer video, it could just conquer the world. Read more here, or view the video below.

Birmingham firm get nod on Battersea gas holder dismantling.

A Birmingham-based demolition company has been awarded a contract to dismantle a series of gas containers in Battersea in London.

One of them set to be demolished by Coleman and Company is situated only a few metres away from the Victoria underground line and is equivalent to a 40-storey building in height.

The firm said the contract has helped boost its order book to more than £12 million.

Mark Coleman, Managing Director of Coleman and Company said: “In recent years we have focused on developing some unique skills to tackle the most challenging demolition tasks. For example, our approach to dismantling highly flammable gas holders has been recognised worldwide.”

Read more here.

The Philadelphia building collapse should make all contractors re-evaluate their drugs policies.

Let’s get this straight up front – Demolition contractors are every bit as adept at gaming random drugs tests as Lance Armstrong ever was. Workers that are known to be “clean” are regularly hand-picked for jobs on rail projects where drugs tests are a pre-requisite. And workers with a questionable relationship with recreational drug use are conveniently “taken ill” on the day of an anticipated test.

Maybe that approach helps secure work with exacting clients. And maybe, in the short term, it helps retain that work. But this is a sticking plaster that is certain to fall off sooner or later.

Although investigations are ongoing, it now appears that an excavator operator allegedly high on marijuana will likely (and rightly) face the full force of the law following last week’s Philadelphia collapse that killed six people. And, as the old saying goes, if America sneezes, the UK catches cold. What happened in the US last week could all too easily be repeated here.

The facts, of course, are quite simple. Like alcohol, drugs have no place on a demolition site. Their ability to impair judgement can turn an otherwise competent operator or operative into a ticking time bomb that can cause harm to themselves, their fellow workers and to any pedestrians unlucky enough to be close by at the time.

Given the size of the equipment at use in demolition, the fact that workers are often required to work at height, and the potential damage that can be wrought by a momentary loss of concentration, the global demolition industry should have long since adopted a zero tolerance stance on drugs. Never mind the local employment laws that require an employer to help provide rehabilitation in the event of a failed drug test. Never mind the fact that marijuana is now as readily accessible as beer and cigarettes. And never mind that, for many people, it is a regular weekend activity. Demolition MUST be a drug-free zone.

Between them, the various national and international trade associations have set in place all manner of self-imposed rules and regulations governing everything from recycling rates and insurance requirements to correct operating procedures for excavators, crushers and attachments. But none has yet had the foresight or the balls to suggest or enforce a zero tolerance drugs policy.

It is high time that they did.

The Philadelphia incident will undoubtedly result in a multi-million dollar lawsuit and, quite possibly, a jail term for the excavator operator if he is found guilty. Compared to that, regular and compulsory random drugs testing would be a mere drop in the financial ocean.

Excavator operator was allegedly high at the time of the incident that killed six.

A 42-year-old man who was allegedly high while operating demolition equipment when a downtown building collapsed and killed six people will be charged with involuntary manslaughter, a top city official said Friday.

Sean Benschop faces six counts on that charge, six counts of risking catastrophe and other charges, said Deputy Mayor Everett Gillison.

Authorities have said Benschop had been using an excavator Wednesday when what was left of the four-story building gave way and fell on top of a neighboring Salvation Army thrift store.

A toxicology report, witness statements and other evidence shows Benschop was high on marijuana that day, Gillison said.

Benschop, who also goes by the name Kary Roberts, has been arrested at least 11 times since 1994 on charges ranging from drugs to theft to weapons possession, according to court records. He was twice sentenced to prison in the 1990s after being convicted on drug trafficking charges. Benschop’s last arrest, for aggravated assault, came in January 2012, but the case was dismissed for lack of evidence.

Read more here.

Planned implosion shifts back following financing shortfall.

Genesee Towers won’t be imploded before August 24 as previously announced by Uptown Reinvestment Corp, the group that purchased the building from the city of Flint for $1 in August 2012.

Tim Herman, president of Uptown Reinvestment Corp. and CEO of the Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce, announced the organization’s plans to implode the city’s tallest structure by the summer festival of races in March.

Herman said that the reason for the delay is that Uptown has not yet secured all of the money needed for the project, and that has had an effect on how they have gone forward.

Previous estimates had the cost of demolition and rubble removal at approximately $4 million.

“It took us a little longer than expected to pull the funding together, which impacted our initial timeline for imploding the Genesee Towers,” he said. “Once we get past the annual events and festivities in August, we will be on track for September.”

Read more here.

Crews make ready for Governor’s Island implosion.

New York City officials plan to blow up a vacant building on Governors Island to make way for a new park.

City officials say the implosion at 7:36 a.m. Sunday may be visible in parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Staten Island and New Jersey.

The 11-story brick apartment building formerly housed Coast Guard families. The Trust for Governors Island says the building has been vacant since 1996 and does not meet current building codes.

Read more here or view the video below.

Legal eagles rub hands together in anticipation of Philly prosecution.

It’s a story that is all too familiar in demolition circles. An accident happens; everyone involved is suddenly blessed with 20:20 hindsight; and, when the dust settles, it’s the contractor in the firing line and the lawyers who are circling vulture-like overhead.

So the situation playing out in Philadelphia in the aftermath of a building collapse that killed six people and injured more should come as no surprise to anyone. And even the rumours suggesting that the excavator operator could be charged with involuntary manslaughter follow a well-trodden path of blame and accusation.

But in this instance, the city should surely look closer to home for the root cause of a tragic problem. Almost all of the news coverage emanating from the region suggest that demolition is “lightly regulated” in Philadelphia. That, however, is like saying that the Pope is a bit religious.

According to local news reports, under-the-radar and unregulated demolition is rife in the city. Furthermore, while the city has 300 existing permits outstanding, inspectors had managed to visit just 30 of them.

Of course, the demolition contractor must shoulder some blame here. If the demolition contractor didn’t follow best practice; if the excavator operator didn’t follow procedure; or if the necessary risk assessments hadn’t been carried out, then the book should rightly be hurled in their direction.

But if the city has stood idly by while unlicensed, unregulated and uninspected demolition has taken place under its nose, then it is only right and proper that they too should face the music.

Uncontrolled collapse leads to accidental church demolition.

When demolition goes awry, it is traditional to appoint accusing fingers and to appoint blame. And far too often, that blame finds itself at the feet of the poor, embattled demolition contractor. But on this occasion, we believe the blame with a far higher authority.

For when faced with a delicate demolition right beside a church you’re keen to preserve, who in their right mind awards the contract to a company that goes by the name of Bash Excavation?

Demolition doth surely move in mysterious ways.