The new website of excavator modifier Kocurek has gone live today.

The launch of a new website isn’t normally the kind of thing we’d get excited about here at Demolition News. However, given that this new site has been produced for Kocurek, the market-leading supplier of high reach front end equipment for demolition excavators, and that the website was produced by Paul Sawyer, the web developer behind www.demolitionnews.com, we couldn’t just let it go.

A new white paper from DustBoss highlights the specific dangers of dust in the workplace.

According to DustBoss, very few of the recent magazine articles on dust control discuss the specific hazards that can be caused by airborne particles. But a white paper originally presented at a recent IDE (Institute of Demolition Engineers) regional meeting takes on the task with a concise description of particle classification, health risks and mitigation techniques.

Co-authored by three industry professionals — Purdue University professor Mark Shaurette, past president of NFDC (National Federation of Demolition Contractors) David Clarke and Dust Control Technology CEO Edwin Peterson — the paper delivers an informative overview of dust particle sizes and what happens to them when they are inhaled. Included are discussions of silicosis, respiratory irritations and histoplasmosis, an infectious disease caused by fungal spores.

The full paper can be found here.

Demolition health specialist Nichola Elvy is urging demolition workers to book flu vaccinations.

If you would like Building Health to vaccinate your staff in October please contact Nichola by email: nichola@buildinghealth.co.uk or on Tel: 07973 470792 for a quote.

Vaccines will be available on a first-come, first-served basis and Building Health will require a signed order confirmation to secure the booking.

“Vaccinating your staff this year could well save you money by preventing staff being off sick over the winter,” Elvy concludes. “I would strongly urge all NFDC members to take advantage of our flu vaccination service this year.”

Caterpillar has made available a range of free equipment safety and maintenance checklists.

Those good people over at Caterpillar have underlined their commitment to equipment safety by offering customers a free-to-download range of equipment maintenance and safety checklists.

They cover the entire range of Caterpillar equipment – although they’re equally applicable to machines from other manufacturers – including demolition excavators.

Click here to see the full list.

Pinden Plant held an open day at its recycling facility on 3 July 2009. And we were there.

Following significant recent investments in both equipment and vehicles, Kent-based Pinden Plant has thrown open the doors of its Dartford quarry, waste management and recycling business for an open day that was attended by more than 300 customers and local dignitaries.

And Demolition News was there to capture some of the action.

Demolition News attended the UK launch of the Tesmec 1475 Rockhawg; here’s the video.

In order to improve the quality of our video output here at Demolition News, we are currently installing some new editing software which we hope to take live in the next few weeks. This has, however, limited our ability to edit videos at present. But rather than hold back on some good quality footage, here’s the raw video taken at last week’s UK launch of the Tesmec 1475 Rockhawg:

We’ll be bring you further details on this monster machine shortly.

A local mayor has called a halt on an implosion after a first attempt went awry.

Just over two weeks ago, a US demolition contractor attempted to fell a BASF chemical factory in Portsmouth, Virginia. But all did not go according to plan and a large part of the building was left standing.

Possibly prompted by the huge plume of dust created by the original implosion, local residents started a campaign to have further implosions halted on the grounds that they had not received sufficent warning. That campaign was heeded by the local mayor who called a halt to the demolition works while different methods were considered.

The following video comes courtesy of local TV news company, WAVY.TV. And we would draw your attention to the name of the local resident featured 59 seconds into this video. Who better to create a stink about a failed implosion?

Big Brother follows Demolition News’ lead with Blaklader workwear.

This is the last time I will mention my kilt-wearing escapade, I promise. But news has just reached us that the UK edition of the Big Brother television programme has also spotted the stylish qualities of Blaklader workwear and featured them heavily in last night’s episode.

Blaklader was contacted by Endemol UK, Big Brother’s production company, to supply a selection of products from its Profile range and Eurosafe high visibility clothing for the housemates to wear whilst completing yesterdays task.

Apparently, this bagged Blaklader some four million viewers, only slightly more than we achieved with our recent kilt review, and nowhere near as high brow. But those are impressive statistics, nonetheless.

We’ve been so busy of late that we forgot to welcome our new sponsors!

The Demolition News website, sadly, doesn’t generate much in the way of money and revenue. In fact, the entire website exists ONLY thanks to the kind contributions of our sponsors who (bless ’em) appreciate what we’re trying to do here.

As a result, we always try to give a special thank you when each new sponsor comes on board.

However, what with meetings, writing commitments and trips to music festivals, we have actually failed to mark the arrival of two new sponsors. And so we’re putting that right, here and now.

We would like to welcome Active Workwear, a fine supplier of just about every kind of workwear you can possibly think of (and a few items you probably wouldn’t), and Dutch demolition association Veras.

Thanks for your support guys.

As keen advocates of Twitter, YouTube and Facebook, we’re delighted to see this excellent article.

Cancel the summer party for clients and bin that glossy corporate brochure – there’s a whole parallel universe of online marketing opportunities out there. Construction’s early adopters are already using social media – such as Twitter and Flickr, Facebook and YouTube – as business tools. Together, these can raise your company’s profile among people who don’t know you, build loyalty among those that do, and even electronically link a project supply chain.

To read the full story, please visit the Construction Manager website.