Demolition News backs charity fund set up in memory of demolition man Joe O’Connell.

We are asking Demolition News readers to pledge their support in raising funds for the Trust fund which will be set up for the 3 orphaned children. The fund has already received a very generous response from the NW Region of the NFDC, of which Joe was a member and hope that nationally (and internationally) further funds can be raised.

Until the Trust Fund is set – up no payments can be made but we would like you to pledge your donation now and as soon as the trust is set up we will collect payment.

If you click on the following link www.joeandanneoconnellchildrensfund.co.uk you can pledge your donation, this link will be updated daily.

Many thanks in anticipation of your support.

A new video showing the demolition of the former Somerville Grade School.

“School’s out for ever,” Alice Cooper once sang. And, in the case of the Somerville NJ Grade School, that is exactly the case.

Earlier this month, Staten Island-based DonJon Services set about the demolition of this former school and thankfully had the presence of mind to capture the process on a great video.

Demolition News is concerned at the increasingly negative connotations of the term “demolition”.

In order to bring you the very latest news from the world of demolition, we scour the Internet for new video, audio and text-based content. We’d love to say that this was done by a team of highly-paid and dedicated individuals working round-the-clock but, in fact, much of the process is achieved by the use of automated searches across a wide variety of engines.

Now Google and its search competitors are exceptionally good at finding terms like demolition, demolish, implosion and wrecking. What they’re considerably less good at is filtering out where these terms have been used out of context.

As a result, almost eight years on, we’re still receiving notifications each time a conspiracy theorists postulates that the 9/11 atrocity was, in fact, a controlled demolition. Every Sunday, our inbox fills with the news that West Ham demolished Arsenal (in our dreams) or how the Chelsea defence imploded (again, mainly in our dreams).

However, just recently, the term demolition (and, in fact, the process itself) seems to have taken on a negative, new connotation as demolition is used as a weapon in places like Gaza, China, India and Pakistan.

For those of us on the inside of the demolition industry, we know that our work opens the way for future development; for an improvement in the living and working standards of individuals and businesses; that it is often the first step on the road to improvement.

Our industry has fought long and hard to overcome the stigma of destruction and the legacy of our poor health and safety record of the past. And now, just as our industry is finally achieving the recognition it so richly deserves, its very language and processes are being used by states and terrorist organisations around the world.

So, for the record, let’s remember that demolition is defined as “the controlled dismantling or pulling down of a building or structure” while driving a tank through as opponent’s house is either an act of terrorism or an act of war.

Demolition News is offering YOU the chance to feature in an audio podcast.

Got a demolition product or service to sell? Have a demolition-related issue you’d like to address? Got a complaint you’d like to air? Working on a project you’d like to tell us about?

If so, our new 3-minute pitch is your opportunity to broadcast to an audience of demolition professionals.

Together with us, you can record a three-minute audio podcast from the comfort of your office or armchair. You can say or sell whatever you like. In fact, we’re planning to have just two restrictions:

• Your audio broadcast cannot mention any company other than your own, and cannot be libellous.
• Your audio broadcast lasts not one second more than three minutes.

That’s it – Just think of a subject, tell us when you’ll be available to record it, and we’ll do the rest.

And the cost? Well, for the time being, there isn’t any. In fact, we will even pay for the phone call via which you will record your audio.

Please note, however, that this is a limited offer and we will be planning to charge for this service in the future.

So what are you waiting for. Send an email to manthony@markanthonypublicity.co.uk NOW and prepare to broadcast to the demolition world.

One of the best demolition videos we have seen in ages, shot in super high definition.

US contractor Testa Corp’s southern division is currently tackling the demolition of tower #3 of four blast furnaces at a rail yard in Virginia. The 30 metre tall steel cylinder is packed with 4,500 metres of fire brick and must be precut with oxy/propane torches.

Best of all, the contract has been captured using high definition videography. I could watch this for hours!

Why demolition companies SHOULD be using social media tools.

Improve, adapt and overcome is the unofficial mantra of the US Marine Corp but it would be equally well-suited to the demolition industry and its ability to be flexible enough to remain flexible enough to deal with unexpected challenges whilst sticking rigidly to rules and regulations.

Over the years, the demolition sector has improvised, adapted and overcome all kinds of challenges from on-site accidents, through problems of dust, noise and vibration, each time finding a new and suitable solution.

But if there is one mountain left for demolition contractors left to climb, it is that infinitely variable and unpredictable factor known as the general public. From the conservationists that would like to ban all demolition in case it harms a rare bead of ant, to the NIMBY (not in my backyard) faction; from the preservationists that believe all buildings over six weeks old should be protected, to the individuals who believe that demolition is all about explosives, plumes of dust and flying debris.

Some demolition companies have chosen to overcome this specific challenge with the appointment of a specialist liaison officer who visits local residents, schools and council offices to lay fears to rest and to generally keep the public informed of what they’re doing.

But we believe that even these forward-thinking companies are missing a trick by failing to harness the power of technology and the staggering growth in “social media” (and for the uninitiated out there, ask a 14-year old to explain Facebook to you and you’ll get the picture).

So what place does social media have in the demolition world; and how can it help with your dealings with local residents?

OK, imagine you have just won a contract that is scheduled to start in, say, two months time. You have some site preparation work to do, maybe a soft strip and, for the sake of good local relations, maybe one of your team needs to visit local residents to let them know what you’re going to be doing.

But what if they could reinforce that message by directing local residents to a specific website (or weblog, blog for short) that would not only give them details of what the job was all about, but which could be updated weekly, daily or even hourly throughout the contract duration with words, photos, and even video.

Sounds like an expensive headache, right?

Well, wrong actually. In fact, it might surprise you to learn that www.demolitionnews.com took just over 30 minutes to create, was totally FREE, and could be used to create just such a contract-specific blog by just about anyone with an Internet connection and the ability to type.

Sound complicated?

Well, we can prove otherwise but if you’re really that afraid of technology, why not take a look at doing the same thing via the micro-blogging site Twitter. You can set up a free Twitter account for your project in about 10 seconds, after which you can simply use your PC or even mobile phone to upload updates of 140 characters or less, with or without photos.

There are drawbacks, of course. The majority of blogs come with the facility for people to add comments to each post and that would either need to be monitored regularly to remove any unfair criticism or blocked altogether. But that’s just a mouse-click.

However, we firmly believe that the drawbacks are far outweighed by the benefits of being able to interact and engage with local people and businesses, to keep them informed, and to allow them to participate.

If you’d like to know more, please get in touch. Our advice costs nothing and you could have your first contract-specific blog up and running today!

New video offers a mix of strange video editing, and an even stranger choice of soundtrack.

So you have filmed a demolition contract in progress. You have edited the footage to make everything look faster and more interesting. The only thing you need now is a musical soundtrack to make the thing seem really polished before you upload it to YouTube.

“Another one bites the dust” by Queen seems like a great choice, right? So why, oh why, oh why would you choose a version played on a violin? On behalf of the person responsible, may we offer our sincere apologies to Messrs Mercury, May, Taylor and Deacon.

A new video showing the demolition of a huge pellet plant in South Australia.

Personally, we preferred the original video to Fatboy Slim’s “Weapon of Choice” featuring an unlikely spectacle of Christopher Walken dancing; but this is pretty good nonetheless.

The design of an exciting prototype demolition robot is doing the rounds on the Internet.

Let’s face it, demolition robots are so last century. Don’t get me wrong, Brokk and its competitors make some damn fine equipment which is unsurpassed in certain applications. But like the mini exavators and hydraulic hammers pon which they’re based, demolition robot technology hasn’t really moved forward that much in the past 20 years or so, save for a slight narrowing of dimension and a slight increase in percussive power.

But take a look at this.

As far as we can tell, the intriguingly-named Kaput.R demolition robot does not exist outside the mind of its creator and the computer upon which these images were rendered. However, what intrigues us even more is that the designers appear to have revealed some actual specifications for the machine, as follows:

• Kaputt.R has a folded two-armed architecture that allows a wide range of motion. A counter-weight effectively balances the extended arms.

• It is propelled by four electrically-driven Caterpillar tracks, allowing a wide and stable stance without exceeding the maximum load-bearing capacity of the floor.

• A selection of tools can be attached, such as a buzz-saw, plow, or high precision tools like the power gun.

• The Powergun was inspired by conventional explosive demolition and uses propane gas as its shockwave source, directing pressure waves of propane gas explosions in a linear direction, effectively weakening walls by shooting holes through them. The wall can then easily be knocked down.

Demolition News is currently trying to contact the designers for further information and will keep you posted. But, in the meantime….we want one!