Is this the UK's largest demolition machine?

UPDATE: As Mark points out in the comments and in his post on Demolition News. This clearly isn't the biggest, so maybe the suggestion was this is the biggest Komatsu available.

The machine you see in the image above is a Komatsu PC800-8LC. It was built especially for Lee Group by Kocurek and cost a staggering £1 million.

As the Building.co.uk website states:

"It features a 45m boom onto which grapples, shearing devices, claws and buckets can be fitted. It has an extended undercarriage and a track base which widens hydraulically for extra stability."

Have you seen bigger or does this take the top spot?

Source: Building.co.uk

Continuous Personal Development (CPD) – Am I Bovvered?

Now that you have achieved membership of your desired institution you may feel that CPD is something that you are not bothered about. However I would say that, to be not bothered is a major mistake as more and more clients are now seeking proof of, not only membership of institutes such as The Institute of Demolition Engineers, but proof of CPD within the institute and in your working life.

As you will be asked for proof of CPD throughout 2010 and beyond why not decide now to make CPD one of your goals for this year. Attend as many seminars or training days that you can, record your attendance and use those records to prove your CPD.

The CPD record will allow you to demonstrate to potential clients that you take institute membership seriously, that your industry knowledge is up to date and that you are dedicated to your status as an institute member.

With two major seminars a year and numerous regional meetings the opportunity to obtain IDE CPD points has never been better so make a decision to attend as many as possible and keep recording those points as “Points make competence”.

Safedem's Broomview House, Edinburgh demolition

C&D customer Safedem, who won the explosive demolition award at the Demolition Awards 2009, did so due to their work on the 12-storey Broomview House flats in Edinburgh.

The demolition proved to be quite complex and Demolition & Recycling International have a great review of the project. Here's an excerpt:

"The vertical columns that effectively carried the suspended floor slabs were only 200 x 500 mm (8 x 20 in) on plan, each with two vertical tendons housed within 100 mm (4 in) metal sheaths. This configuration prohibited standard drilling for explosives, so Safedem developed an innovative technique for the placement of light explosive charge weights required to disrupt the column and release the energy within the tendons at predetermined locations. This involved diamond saw cutting of vertical slots, positioned to avoid the prestressed tendons. The slots, 14 mm (0.6 in) wide and 106 mm (4.2 in) deep, allowed the 12 mm (0.5 in) diameter detonating cord to be centrally positioned within the column. Once in position, the slots were grouted to the column face in order to contain the cord and achieve maximum coupling and efficiency of the explosive charge."

You can read the whole article for yourself here. Highly recommended.

Demolition of Brighton's West Pier by Dorton Group

C&D customer Dorton Group are having a smashing time at Brighton Pier. Dorton has been awarded the contract to finally clear away the fire damaged Brighton Pier and the video above is the first footage of the work being carried out.

IDE Events Secretary wins Temp of the Month

We are pleased to report that Emma Piotrowski, part-time Events Secretary at the IDE, has won Temp of the Month for January from the Jobshop@Kent University agency.

Jobshop aims to do the following:

jobshop@kent is here to help students at the University of Kent find paid employment during their studies; the aim is to help alleviate financial hardship, whilst offering the opportunity to gain valuable work experience. With the introduction of tuition fees and the abolition of grants, students have come under growing pressure to meet at least some of the costs of their education.

Emma has been working closely with Valerie Stroud, National Secretary for the IDE, who said:

"We congratulate Emma and hope she will continue to work for us while she is at the University of Kent studying Spanish and Business Studies. She is gathering a portfolio of valuable experience as well as contributing ideas to help the efficiency of the IDE office."

We applaude both the agency for providing such opportunities and Emma for continuing to do such a great job at the IDE.

Source: IDE

When will they learn?

What will it take for employment agencies to learn that advertising for asbestos removal workers without having checked the health & safety implications is not acceptable?

Safety Management magazine reports the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate recently censured 11 employment agencies after the EAS caught them advertising for asbestos removal workers without having checked the health and safety implications and the agencies have now been warned they face criminal proceedings or a possible 10–year trading ban if they fail to address their non-compliance.

The agencies were found to have not complied with the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 with 57 infringements in total, including failing to explore the safety implications of the work, failure to inform applicants of the risks and failure to check qualifications, training and experience of applicants.

HSE’s asbestos programme director Steve Coldrick said;

“Whilst trades people need to take responsibility for their own health & safety, it is imperative that this is matched with a commitment by their employer to do the same”

Further information of the dangers of asbestos can be found via the HSE “Hidden Killer” campaign at www.hse.gov.uk/Asbestos/campaign/video.htm

1,117 injuries in the East Midlands from slips, trips and falls

The Health and Saftey Executive (HSE) has launched a new campaign aimed at highlighting the most common causes of workplace injury. They mainly comprise of slips, trips, or falls.

Statistics show that falling from height is a major cause of death in the workplace and in the East Midlands alone there has been 1,117 major injuries and one death through accidents of these types.

HSE’s Head of Operations for the East Midlands, Samantha Peace said:

“These figures highlight the very real and serious nature of preventable slip, trip and fall incidents in the workplace. Slips, trips and falls might sound funny but they shatter the lives of thousands of British workers every year.

Making improvements doesn’t need to cost the earth and we are encouraging people to visit the Shattered Lives site, where they will be able to get simple and cost effective solutions to help manage slips, trips and falls hazards in their workplace."

The new campaign is called Shattered Lives and is meant to be a hub of information and advice as to how to prevent these accidents from happening.

Read more and see a break down of the accident figures at the HSE press release

Wrecking Ball vs. High Reach Excavator

Demolition News found this great video of a wrecking ball vs. a high reach excavator working on the same building.

Which one is better? That's for you to decide.

The comments on the video focus on how good the actual video is with only one person suggesting the high reach does a better job. You can't say they are evenly matched either as both stop for a period of time while the other continues work.

Workshop in Dublin 11th February

The IDE is holding a workshop in Dublin on the 11th February. Our own John Woodward along with IDE President Terry Quarmby will be present.

The workshop will be held at the Clarion Hotel Liffey Valley and it is a free event due to the sponsorship of Sandvik. Confirmed speakers include:

- Alan Matchett - Sandvik
- Volvo (speaker to be confirmed)
- Terry Quarmby - Waste and Sustainability
- John Woodward - IDE Membership

Places can be booked by contacting Emma Piotrowski at events@ide.org.uk by 31st January.

Learn more at the IDE website