CSCS cards getting smart

The Construction Skills Certification Scheme, or CSCS, provides people and companies working in the construction industry with a way of checking whether someone is qualified to be on site through the presentation of a card. It also allows companies to show clients they have a skilled workforce.

Ultimately identification checks through the use of cards help to ensure everyone stays safe, but it is possible for forged or invalid cards to be presented. CSCS know about this problem and have decided to combat it by making their cards smart.

The new cards will continue to carry a picture of the card holder, their name, and CSCS registration number, but they will also contain a chip. Using a laptop and/or card reader the card can be checked to ensure it is both legal and valid.

Brian Adams, chief executive of CSCS, said:

“Since the outset, the CSCS Scheme has been owned and managed by the construction industry. All of these developments have been initiated to meet industry demands to improve competency on site and provide systems to support this requirement. The SmartCard is a major step forward as it really enables us to assist industry access the information it needs on site.”

Source: IDE

Abrasive Wheels Course - Tuesday 18 January

Abrasive Wheels are used in many areas and can be highly dangerous if used by untrained personnel. The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 requires that anyone involved in mounting, dressing or setting abrasive wheels is trained and certified. The course provides delegates with the knowledge needed to safely mount, dress, set and use abrasive wheels in compliance with current legislation. The course includes:

The requirements of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 98 with respect to Abrasive Wheel Regulations

Approved advisory literature relating to the mounting of abrasive wheels

Hazards arising from the use of abrasive wheels and precautions which should be observed

Marking abrasive wheels as to type and speed

Storing, handling and transporting abrasive wheels.

Inspecting and testing abrasive wheels

The functions of all components used with abrasive wheels, including flanges, washers, bushes and nuts used in mounting and including knowledge of the correct and incorrect methods of assembling all components and correct balancing of abrasive wheels.

Practical assessment of operative inspecting equipment and changing abrasive wheels on stihl saw and angle grinder.

For booking information, please contact Harpreet.

The leaning tower of India

This isn't something you see every day and residents were lucky to escape.

The Firdos building you see in the video above is located in Surat, India and has apparently been standing for many years. Then someone noticed it was starting to lean ever so slightly, and that leaning got progressively worse.

Bystanders started to gather and throw stones at the building to try and get the attention of residents. Thankfully it seems like everyone managed to get out before the inevitable happened.

The building continued to lean to one side until gravity took over and it came crashing to the ground.

Britain's oldest car factory to be demolished?

The image you see above is of the Madelvic car factory in Edinburgh. It was originally built in 1898 for use by the Madelvic Motor Carriage Company founded by William Peck.

In 2008 the grade B-listed building was at risk of being demolished as developers wanted to re-use the site, but the local council rejected plans and wanted the factory preserved instead.


Madelvic factory in 2005

More than a year later and further requests to demolish and redevelop the site are being heard and may be successful. The problem is, although the factory could be preserved there is no guarantee it will be occupied and therefore may continue to deteriorate.

Organisations including Historic Scotland and the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland are against the demolition with Hiostoric Scotland saying:

The Madelvic's production blocks are an important reminder of Edinburgh's industrial heritage, with a wider historical interest as the earliest surviving motor works in the UK. We believe that they represent an opportunity to retain and reuse a historic building.

The fate of the building may already be set, though, and councillors are recommending detailed redevelopment plans be submitted before demolition is allowed to happen.


Madelvic factory in 2007

Source: Edinburgh Evening News

With thanks to Granton History Group for the images.

115-year-old building collapses during repair in Mumbai

The five-storey Ray Chambers building which had stood for 115 years in Mumbai collapsed at the weekend after large cracks had appeared in the walls on Friday.

Thankfully all residents, including 75 families, and staff at 15 commercial outlets, were evacuated when it was clear the building would not remain standing. Then on Saturday afternoon the walls came tumbling down.

So why would a building that had stood for so long suddenly collapse? It is thought some residents were making modifications to the structure without realizing what it would do to the strength and stability. These additions included installing new windows, but they were cut out of load-bearing walls. That's according to the video linked to below.

Another cause could be that repairs were being carried out by the Mumbai Repair and Reconstruction Board and leakage caused during those works may have damaged the building.

One very lucky resident decided not to move out on Friday due to his bed-ridden 86-year-old mother. They actually remained in the building as it collapsed, but the room they were in was at the corner of the building and somehow it did not get destroyed and the two were rescued.

A rather over-the-top video of the collapse can be seen via the India Today link below.

Source: DNA India and India Today

Red Road flats demolition sees C&D involvement

The eight Red Road flats in Glasgow are to be demolished, but not before Glasgow Museum gathers information about each one from people who have lived there.

The first one will be demolished in the Spring and C&D are proud to be a part of the operation. Safedem has appointed C&D Consultancy as Demolition Consultants for the first block which will be taken down by explosives.

This is a big project for Glasgow with the skyline set to change when all eight towers are gone. There is sure to be a lot of coverage and video footage captured as each building is raised to the ground. If it becomes available to share we will include it here on the site.

Heavy machinery used to test rugged hard drive

Regardless of the job you do computers probably form part of it on a daily basis. The data you store needs to be kept safe and some companies offer rugged hard drives to help ensure no data is lossed.

The company ioSafe take hard drive safety to the extreme though, and aren't afraid to use heavy machinery to crush their storage solutions. But they don't just crush them. First they burn them, drown them, and drop them from a great height.

And guess what? Afterwards the hard drive still works.



Source: ExtremeTech

Why use demolition equipment when you have a WWII gun?

Demolition equipment can be expensive and buildings can take a long time to demolish, but there does seem to be a quick alternative.

Richard Comley, a good friend of C&D, and owner of C G Comley and Sons Ltd., got the opportunity to demolish a 1930s bungalow with a World War II Sexton gun.

The firing of the gun was to celebrate the start of a £3.5 million redevelopment of Fort Nelson on Portsdown Hill which housed one of the best selections of artillery there is. The bungalow was the first thing to go and the Sexton seemed like a fitting way to destroy it.

Speaking of the experience Richard said:

When the opportunity occurs to promote a prestigious new development in a spectacular way, it cannot be missed. We were glad to be involved at the outset of this project and wish it well.

The redevelopment includes the creation of a gallery, education facilities, and visitor centre.

You can see a video of the gun being fired via the BBC link below.

Source: BBC News with thanks to the IDE