Allegations of fraud by contractors working on Christchurch earthquake rebuild

New Zealand authorities are investigating two “very big” cases of alleged fraud by contractors working on the Christchurch rebuild.

Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says 20 cases have been handed over to police and so far four have been successfully prosecuted.

“There are two very big cases being investigated by the Serious Fraud Office at the present time and there is a file of numerous other cases where there are discrepancies in invoicing,” he told Parliament. Brownlee said the estimate came from an analysis of projects of the same size that had been undertaken elsewhere in the world.

Brownlee was answering questions from NZ First leader Winston Peters. Peters tabled a complaint to the police regarding the alleged falsification of time sheets by Southern Demolition and Salvage Ltd.

Read more here.

This video should be a part of EVERY Toolbox Talk.

One of the key challenges facing senior site personnel and demolition trainers is making their safety message sufficiently entertaining and memorable.

So we were very impressed when the following video landed on our desk. Not only is it really well done, I just found myself singing along (never mind what Eminem says, white men can’t rap!).

A new Hitachi EX1200 conversion is tackling a major demolition project in the Port of Rotterdam.

It seems that the Benelux countries’ love of massive demolition machines shows no signs of abating. In the same week that we exclusively revealed that the former Heavy Decom International goliath known as The Beast was bound for Belgian shores, we can bring you this exclusive video of a similarly monstrous Hitachi EX1200 conversion currently at work in the Port of Rotterdam.

Designed, developed and owned by Van Leeuwen Katwijck Groupe (VLK) in the Netherlands, the 200 tonne machine features an 18 tonne Mantovanibenne CR130 attachment and is known, ominously, as The Red Devil.

This short video was shot exclusively by our video partners Django which is currently producing a feature-length edition of the movie that will be available for sale later this week.

Until then, check out this monster:

The second edition of our Demolition magazine is choc-full of new and exclusive content.

How time flies. It seems like just a few days since we were celebrating (literally) the launch of our first-ever Demolition magazine. And yet here we are, two months later and we have another bigger, better and bolder issue to share with you.

The new edition contains a huge number of articles that are exclusive to Demolition magazine including:

• A look behind the scenes at the demolition of the former Trench UK factory in Hebburn by Masterton (Page 24)
• The first contract for a 200+ tonne Dutch demolition giant known as The Red Devil (Page 28)
• Erith dropping welcome bombs on Slough (Page 36)
• C&D Consultancy launches hydraulic breaker training course ((Page 40)
• A never-seen-before new hydraulic breaker prototype (Page 46)
• A visit to the Netherlands parts hub that keeps Furukawa hydraulic hammers supplied with parts (Page 50)
• Why the well-heeled demolition excavator should have a bespoke attachment (page 56)

In addition, we provide a detailed look at the challenges facing AR Demolition during the removal of a space deck roof at London’s King’s Cross station (Page 18), and we get to grips with the VW Amarok pick-up (Page 12).

And as if that wasn’t enough, we are offering for sale a feature-length video on The Red Devil excavator in action (Page 66).

We sincerely hope that you enjoy the latest edition and look forward to receiving your comments either in the comments area below, or via email: manthony@markanthonypublicity.co.uk

Investigation underway after Swiss demolition worker is crushed.

A 25-year-old Swiss man working on the demolition of a farm shed wall in a rural community in the canton of Vaud died on Monday when the wall collapsed on him.

The incident occurred at around 2.35pm in Mathod, a village of 556 people in the Jura-Nord Vaudois region, west of Yverdon-Les-Bains.

Vaud cantonal police said an investigation has been launched into why the wall fell down on the man.

Despite the rapid intervention of ambulance attendants and a doctor from the local hospital, the worker, a resident of Mathod, died on the spot, police said.

The local prosecutor has opened a criminal investigation into the incident.

Read more here.

GoPro camera gets up close to the action.

Watching this video shot from a boom-mounted GoPro video camera, I was suddenly struck by the notion that this might just be a snapshot of the future.

Just imagine a world in which every demolition excavator came ready-fitted with a high-def’ video camera linked to a hard drive that could monitor, broadcast and record just what a machine (and its operator) was doing at any given time. A world in which arguments over equipment abuse and warranty violations were a thing of the past; when accident investigations required little more than pressing the play button.

George Orwell would be so proud.

Bristol councillor warns that one of city’s most famous industrial buildings is being lined up for demolition

The Elizabeth Shaw chocolate factory in Easton was shut down in 2006 after the company decided to relocate its manufacturing to factories in the UK and in mainland Europe.

The 330,000sq ft factory in Co-Operation Road, Greenbank, had stood since 1901 and local residents, backed by the now-mayor George Ferguson, successfully argued against redevelopment of the closed factory into flats and houses.

It has remained empty ever since but Bristol24-7 has learned that the current owners are considering demolishing the building, thanks to an estimated £300,000 a year bill to maintain it.

Councillor John Kiely has called a public meeting next week to discuss the “hammer blow” news and to find an urgent solution that will save a great example of Bristol’s industrial heritage.

“I am told the agents for the owners say they want to demolish the building because of the costs involved in keeping it safe,” he told Bristol24-7.

Read more here.

Gravity-defying elevator shaft finally succumbs.

From the opening frame of the following video – shot on the same Russian site as the “hydraulic hammer as battering ram” film immediately below – you just know the outcome. It’s not a matter of if, merely a case of when.

Indeed, the most remarkable thing about this video is just how this stubborn elevator shaft remains upright for a full two minutes with most of its bottom half missing.

Hydraulic hammer as battering ram gets the job done a little too well.

There’s an old Russian saying that goes something like “if at first you don’t succeed, ignore convention and use your demolition attachment as a battering ram”.

OK, it loses a little in translation but if you fast forward to the six minutes, thirty second mark, you will see that this old saying contains more than an element of truth.

Martens Democom acquires Heavy Decom International

After weeks of speculation and rumour, DemolitionNews can exclusively reveal that Belgian demolition giant Martens Democom has acquired Heavy Decom International (HDI) for an undisclosed sum.

HDI was the company behind one of the world’s biggest and best-known demolition rigs, The Beast, and the giant 200 tonne pus machine is an integral part of the deal. It is understood that The Beast will be returning to the Kocurek yard where it was built for repainting before heading for its first contract, thought to be in Antwerp.

“We have previously supplied Martens Democom with a pair of modified Hitachi ZX870 machines including our first ever 50 metre reach machine and a smaller 44 metre unit. We were in discussions with them about the possibility of a Komatsu 1250 conversion,” explains Kocurek general manager Brian Carroll. “But they chose instead to acquire HDI and with it The Beast”

Carroll reports that while The Beast had been profitable, recent utilisation levels had been lower than anticipated. “The machine did a very large marine salvage job in Egypt last year but, apart from a short-term hire here in the UK, the machine had been pretty much idle since last summer,” he says. “Nobody expects a machine of this size to be working 24/7 but, by the same token, it has to earn its keep.”

DemolitionNews understands that aside from the onshore contract in Antwerp, Martens Democom has a long pipeline of work that will keep the machine occupied for the next few years. “If all goes according to plan, the only time The Beast will not be working in the next two years will be while it’s being transported to a new site.”