With farmers bidding for demolition work, how does this industry safeguard its future?

Pardon me if this comes across as a bit of a rant but, frankly, I am angry; spitting feathers, foot-stamping, likely to tear someone a new one angry. I have just got off the phone from a good friend of ours, a US contractor of some repute, who has just been knocked back on a major contract comprising a significant degree of asbestos abatement with the following line from his would-be client:

“Well, you guys are a fairly big operation and will cost too much. We’re looking to local guys. There are a few farmers who have shown an interest”

I hardly know where to begin. Setting aside the fact that the unnamed client in question is apparently willing to risk inflicting Mesothelioma upon his fellow human beings in order to save a few dollars, what does this say about the public perception of the skill required to do demolition properly and safely?

Moreover, it is almost exactly a year since our audio interview with Ray Passeno and Mike Taylor of the US’ National Demolition Association (NDA) in which Taylor said he was well aware of the phenomenon of non-demolition companies – Bob’s Landscaping, as Taylor tagged them – bidding for and winning demolition work. And yet, non-demolition companies are continuing to make inroads into this business of ours.

So what can be done? Well, here in the UK, the National Federation of Demolition Contractors is embarking upon the first of a series of Demolition Day seminar events that are designed specifically to remind major UK clients, main contractors and local authorities why they should (a) use a professional demolition company and (b) why that company should be backed by a trade association that operates a rigid Code of Conduct and which actively audits its membership to ensure best practice.

But is this enough? I am not condoning protectionism here. Nor am I proposing that demolition workers go buy themselves a combine harvester and play farmers at their own game. But what demolition contractors do is highly technical and highly skilled. It requires training and considerable experience to do it properly. Indeed, there’s no difference between the training, skill and experience required to demolish a building containing asbestos than, say, fixing the brakes on a car or instaling a gas appliance in your home. So would this client be happy to hand over the keys to his house and car to a local farmer to save a few dollars?

The fact is that, despite its considerable advances, this industry is still perceived as a bunch of hairy-ass guys who knock stuff down or blow stuff up. With that kind of public perception, it’s little wonder that some country bumpkins can climb down off their tractor and steal the work from under the noses of genuine demolition contractors.

Have your say: We’d love to hear your views, whether it’s about work you’ve lost to a local restaurant owner or suggestions on how you believe this industry can safeguard what is rightfully ours. Please click here to join the discussion.

What will excavator manufacturer make of this video?

A raw video captures the initial demolition work at Lancaster, PA’s former Empire TV & Appliance. The demolition comes more than three months after the facade of the building collapsed into the 200 block of North Queen Street, toppling a tree and striking a passing Red Rose Transit Authority bus. About a quarter of the remaining building was deemed unsafe and pulled down that day.

A raw video from Lancaster Online captures the demolition works as they progress but we’d be interested to see what the manufacturer of the high reach excavator involved will make of this video that shows the machine being used to sideswipe the structure. If any Pennsylvania-based Komatsu dealers receive a complaint about excessive wear or cracked joints on a PC400 any time soon, the video below might give you a clue why.

Read more here.

Video captures works at Seattle’s Pier 48.

Crews have started demolishing a 11,000 square metre (120,000-square-foot) warehouse at Pier 48 on Seattle’s waterfront to make room for equipment and supplies during construction and replacement of the Alaskan Way Viaduct.

The $460,000 demolition project, which is more than 35 percent below WSDOT’s estimate of $750,000, is expected to take approximately four months to complete.

The pier sits on wood piles severely damaged by time, weather and marine organisms. The warehouse is unsafe and prohibitively expensive to maintain.

The contractor, R.W. Rhine, Inc. of Tacoma, will recycle approximately 50 percent of the demolished building. Recyclable materials include wood, metal siding and roofing.

Read more here or view the video below:

Tulsa-based company has been measuring up in Benwood.

Even though the blast date is still several months away, it is a contract that has been the subject of more than it’s fair share of controversy and contractual issues. But, according to local TV news channel WTRF7, the Bellaire Bridge is one step closer to getting demolished as inspections were underway Wednesday.

According to a representative from Delta Demolition, Dykon Explosive Demolition out of Tulsa was in Benwood taking measurements of the bridge for planning purposes and to determine how much the bridge will actually be exposed once it falls into the Ohio River.

No word as yet on what AED’s Eric Kelly has to say about this turn of events.

Reports suggest demolition works responsible for blast that killed 10.

The death toll from an explosion at a factory in eastern China now stands at 10 people, state-run Xinhua news agency said, citing a casualty count from local government officials.

At a news conference, officials in the city of Nanjing told reporters that more than 120 people had been hospitalized after a blast ripped through an abandoned plastics factory Wednesday morning. Fourteen of those hospitalized were critically injured, officials said. Workers were dismantling the factory when the explosion occurred.

A statement from the state Administration of Work Safety said the explosion came when a motorist started a car engine and ignited leaking gas. The administration says the gas leak occurred after a propylene pipeline was damaged by heavy machinery used to dismantle factory buildings. The damaged pipeline that had been funneling propylene to the factory has been shut down, it said.

According to Xinhua, the rescue headquarters says an excavator owned by Yangzhou Hongyuan Construction and Development Co., Ltd. hit the pipeline. The news agency also reports that the excavator operator has been held by police for questioning.

Read more here.

US company bags contract to dismantle Jose Cabrera power station.

Westinghouse Electric Co. said Wednesday that it was awarded a contract to dismantle a nuclear reactor in Spain.

The contract, awarded by the Spanish nuclear waste agency Empresa Nacional de Residuos Radiactivos, is for work at the Jose Cabrera Nuclear Power Station located 43 miles east of Spain. It is the second commercial reactor to be dismantled in Spain.

The Westinghouse contract covers dismantling and segmentation of the reactor vessel internals of the facility that operated for 38 years.

Read more here.

Catching up with Colin Hiscock as he blazes the trail towards re-employment.

Just over a week ago, we spoke to Colin Hiscock, one of the numerous demolition professionals impacted by the untimely demise of the UK’s Controlled Group.

That original podcast clearly struck a nerve as it has quickly become one of our most listened-to and downloaded episodes both here on DemolitionNews and over on iTunes.

When we last spoke to him, Colin was in the process of brushing up his CV, breaking out his interview suit, and weighing up his employment issues. A week on, we checked back to see how things are progressing:

Birmingham’s Stephenson Tower to be demolished in New Street refurbishment

A landmark Birmingham city centre tower block is set to be demolished to make way for the £600 million refurbishment of New Street Station.

Council housing chiefs confirmed that all remaining tenants of Stephenson Tower have moved out, leaving the way clear to knock down the 20-storey 1960s building. The block was the subject of a compulsory purchase order, allowing the city to buy all of the apartments and offer tenants alternative accommodation.

A date for clearance work to begin is yet to be set, but the tower is likely to be removed during the next year in time for phase one of the New Street Gateway scheme to be completed in 2012.

Members of the council cabinet have ordered final legal agreements with Network Rail to be drawn up, allowing main construction work at the railway station to get underway.

Read more here.

Houston-based contractor celebrates platinum level award.

Cherry Demolition, Inc. has won a national, platinum level STEP (Safety Training Evaluation Process) safety award from the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) organization.

The company was honored for the effectiveness of its overall safety program. ABC represents all specialties within the US construction industry and is comprised primarily of firms that work in industrial and commercial sectors. The organisation’s goal is to help its member companies continuously advance safety and training efforts to achieve a zero-incident workplace.

“We are quite pleased to be recognized with one of the highest safety awards given by ABC,” said Jay Marak, safety director for Cherry. “We take safety very seriously at Cherry. We are proud of our safety accomplishments, but we always strive for further improvement.”

Schwarzenegger leads demolition ceremony at beginning of hospital construction.

There was a time, during his movie career, when demolition work was carried out strictly by hand, often taking in people as well as buildings. But time marches on and Arnold Schwarzenegger, now Governor of California, now prefers to let other people and some heavy equipment take care of such matters as you can see below as Gov. Schwarzenegger participates in a demolition ceremony to make way for the construction of March Memorial Hospital, part of the March LifeCare project.

March LifeCare is a 557,400 square metre (6 million square foot), 95 hectare (236-acre) project being developed on surplus land of the former March Air Force Base. The project will include a hospital, medical office buildings, skilled nursing and ambulatory care facilities, wellness centers and other facilities. The project is expected to create 12,700 construction jobs and 7,200 full-time health care and other related jobs.