Help convict a high reach arsonist and get a nice reward

Vandalism on any scale is both costly and inconvenient for all involved, but when it comes to demolition machinery the costs can be huge and jobs will be delayed or in the worst cases lost.

Thomas Crompton, owner of a Bradford-based demolition firm has recently experienced a very costly arson attack on his machinery and wants to ensure the person responsible gets convicted.

The machine targeted was a new high-reach with a value of £330,000. The arsonist also took the time to break into an office and steal £5,000 worth of computer hardware. All done on a secure site monitored by CCTV.

Mr Crompton has had to ship in a new high-reach from Belgium to continue the job, but is asking for people to come forward with information that would help gain a conviction. In return, anyone providing such information is in line for a reward.

According to Mr Crompton:

We are offering a substantial reward for information leading to the conviction of the person or persons responsible. We don’t want to let our customers down and we have got a replacement machine coming from Belgium so that none of our contracts are affected.

The arson was carried out at around 9pm on Monday 4th January in Heckmondwike. Anyone with information is asked to contact Dewsbury CID on 0845 6060606.

Source: Telegraph & Argus with thanks to Demolition News

SED 2010 Exhibition postponed

Demolition News is reporting that the construction equipment industry SED exhibition has been postponed.

With Contract Journal closing Plant Managers Journal was renamed SED - The Magazine and continued alongside the SED365 website. All was not well, though, and as DemolitionNews explains:

But it’s not to be. It appears that, somewhat belatedly, the organisers have realised that the current recession, coupled with the fact that most manufacturers worth their salt will be committing a large part of their marketing budget to Bauma 2010 and Hillhead 2010, could render the Rockingham show an exhibitor and visitor-less desert.

The SED website is reflecting the postponement with the new date set for 17th May 2011.

Super slow-motion bridge demolition

Everyone loves a good demolition video, but the one above is better than most.

The bridge being demolished sat on the freshwater Lake Champlain located within the borders of Vermont and New York as well as in Quebec, Canada.

The super slow motion video was made possible by using a camera capable of 120 fps capture and a 2k resolution.

Basildon residents upset over new asbestos waste transfer centre

The residents of Basildon are less than happy with news of a new waste transfer centre being setup by demolition company Keltbray. The new centre will deal with asbestos waste.

Anger stems from what looks to be a lack of information and consultation with local residents before green lighting such a facility on their doorstep. That anger seems to be directed at Essex County Council and not Keltbray.

Jeff Letch, waste manager for Keltbray is attempting to reassure people that the operation is safe and precautions and safe guards are in place to contain the asbestos on-site. He commented:

The risks involved with this are very minimal and we have stringent procedures in place to make sure local residents will never be affected by this new facility.

All asbestos entering the facility will be double-bagged and then moved into containers by hand. The facility is also secured by a 2m fence and CCTV monitoring 24 hours a day.

Both the Environment Agency and Basildon Local Council are happy with the facility being created.

Dublin landmark Liberty Hall may be up for demolition

Liberty Hall in Dublin is well known for a number of reasons. The headquarters of the Services, Industrial, Professional, and Technical Union (SIPTU) it used to be the tallest building in Ireland measuring 195 feet.

As for the history behind the building and the structure that stood before it we turn to Wikipedia for a concise explanation:

Standing on Beresford Place and Eden Quay, near the Custom House, the original Liberty Hall used to be a hotel before becoming James Connolly's personal fortress in Dublin. Following the outbreak of World War I a banner reading "We serve neither King nor Kaiser but Ireland" was hung on its front wall, and within was printed the newspaper The Irish Worker. The Irish Worker was shut down by the British Government for sedition as outlined in the Defence of the Realm Act (DORA). It was replaced for a short time by a paper called the Worker until that was also banned, and in 1915 the Workers' Republic was edited by Connolly until the Rising in 1916.

The original building was demolished in the 1950s due to becoming unsafe and the current replacement built in 1965. Now SIPTU want it demolished and replaced with a larger building that has both more facilities and is more power efficient. Depending on how big the new building is it may retake the crown as tallest in Ireland.

For the moment there are no set plans for demolition, but keep it on your radar in case more progress is made by SIPTU in their bid to replace it.

You can read more about this story as reported on the BBC News website

2010 Demolition Awards announced for November 5th

It may seem like a long way off, but the Demolition Awards for 2010 are certainly happening and now they have a date and venue.

This year's gathering will happen on November 5th and anyone who attended last year's event will have no trouble finding the venue. That's because it is the same as last November in the Hotel Okura, Amsterdam.

Our own John Woodward will be on the judging panel once more and the closing date for entries this year is Friday 30th July.

As soon as tickets become available we'll let you know.

Thanks to PDWorld for the heads-up.

C&D become members of WNYCSA

C&D are pleased to announce that we have been accepted as members of the West & North Yorkshire Construction Safety Association (WNYCSA) who meet monthly to promote best practices in construction safety.

We were invited to join the association following a successful presentation in December by John Woodward on the subject of “What to do before demolition”.

Details of the society can be found at http://www.freewebs.com/wyncsa/

Rubbish bridge starts to collapse in Shanghai

When a bridge or any structure starts to collapse with no clear reason why you have to wonder if the ground it was built on is unstable or whether the original construction company did a less than perfect job?

In the case of the bridge you see above it is a clear case of dangerous construction in a bid to save money. The construction company, whoever they are, took the brilliant decision of cutting costs by using less concrete. Instead the cavities where concrete was required were stuffed with bags of rubbish and styrofoam.



The bridge is located in Shanghai on the Suzhou River Road. Problems were first spotted just after Christmas when cracks appeared in the structure followed by a partial collapse. Further investigation found garbage bags, styrofoam, and general wood and plastic waste stuffed inside load-bearing sections of the bridge.



Lets hope they find a good demolition company to knock it down and start again.

Source: dpnplus blog (Japanese translated)