John D. McArthur - Rest in peace

Scottish Regional Meeting being held May 11th

The next Scottish Regional Meeting is happening on May 11th at the following location:

National Demolition Training Group (Scotland)
30 Nisbet Street
Glasgow

Speakers include: Jim Caldwell Snr F.I.D.E. and Shona Farrell with the meeting focussing primarily on health surveillance following the inclusion of this as mandatory within the NFDC Site Audit Scheme.

The format for the morning will take the form of a workshop with Jim Caldwell Snr taking the lead, initiating debate with the demolition engineers who attend on health surveillance within the demolition industry and the requirements thereof.

If you would like to attend, please email info@ide.org.uk

Scotland's tallest residential multi-storeys have been demolished

C&D Consultancy were recently confirmed as joint winners of the Collaboration in Demolition Award, and it was won due to the demolition of GHA's Whitevale and Bluevale flats in Glasgow’s Gallowgate. Also known as Scotland's tallest residential multi-storeys.

The contract was carried out by Safedem working with Despe and C&D. It used ‘TopDownWay’ technology, meaning full-height scaffolding was not required for the 31-storey buildings. Instead, a platform at the top of each building allows for a floor-by-floor demolition.

Commenting on the job, Safedem's managing director William Sinclair said:

"We carefully assess every project before developing the safest and most appropriate method of demolition. The ‘TopDownWay’ is an innovative system designed for the deconstruction of high-rise structures in close proximity to nearby properties.

This really has been a huge team effort to bring this new and exciting system to the UK and to the Gallowgate. We are delighted the exceptional teamwork on this project has resulted in winning the Collaboration Award."

Source: Scottish Construction Now!

The World Demolition Awards will only have one Scottish contender: Safedem

You may remember back in September that we happily reported on C&D being shortlisted for an award at the World Demolition Awards in the category of "Collaboration in Demolition." It was due to our work with Safedem & DESPE at Whitevale & Bluevale Towers in Gallowgate, Glasgow.

Well, it turns out that the Dundee-based Safedem is the only Scottish contender at the awards. This has been highlighted by the Scottish Plant website, which also points out that the awards are "dominated by UK firms."

I'm sure Safedem will represent Scotland well, and could walk away with the prize on Friday!

Only 8 days until the IDE Scotland Regional Meeting

The IDE is holding a free Scroltand Regional Meeting on May 20th, with both IDE members and non-members welcome.

The meeting is worth 3 hours CPD and will be held and hosted by Reigart Contracts Ltd. located at Drumcavel Quarry, Drumcavel Road, G69 9EP.

Presentations will be given by Peter Reilly of Reigart, Liebherr UK, Sandvik, and a few others yet to be announced. Lunch and refreshments will be provided, and a tour of Liebherr and a Hilti Plant demonstration will be given after lunch.

If you are interested in attending and want to pre-register then please contact the IDE National Secretary by emailing info@ide.org.uk

C&D appointed CDM Co-ordinator for The Gallowgate Twins demolition

C&D are proud to announce that we have been appointed as CDM Co-ordinator and Demolition Consultants for the demolition of "The Gallowgate Twins," the tallest structures in Scotland. We will be working with Safedem and GHA on this complex demolition for the whole of 2015.

Further details about the demolition project can be found at the BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-30485254

Another major CDM-C order for C&D

We are pleased to announce that C&D have been awarded another major CDM-C order for works on the demolition of four tower blocks in Scotland.

This increases our workload in Scotland to 27 tower blocks currently on site or about to commence and certainly justifies the decision to open the Glasgow office.

Full details will follow shortly.

IDE Scotland Regional Meeting

The IDE Scotland Regional Meeting has been confirmed as happening on Wednesday, 11th June from midday.

The venue is as follows:

Finning-CAT
Whistleberry Road,
Hamilton,
Glasgow ML3 0EG

The meeting will follow the NFDC regional meeting and commences with a working lunch from 12-12:45pm. After that there will be a tour of the Finning-CAT Plant and then proceedings will move on to the following presentations from 1:30pm:

Paul Campbell of Pendrich Height Service - Working at Height and Flying Scaffolds
Richard Yarwood of ECY Haulmark - Oil-quick attachments
John Woodward, IDE and C&D Consultancy - CDM Consultation Proposals
Duncan Rudall, IDE Vice President - The IDE and why you should join us

If you would like to attend then please get in touch with The National Secretary via info@ide.org.uk

First IDE Exam Prep Day in Scotland

Following many requests for membership from North of the Border, IDE ran the first Exam Prep Day there on Friday, 30th August in Leith.

The day, and the regional meeting that followed, was kindly sponsored by Forth Demolition Limited and was held at the Holiday Inn Express in Leith which is a stone's throw from the home of the Royal Yacht Britannia.

The Prep day, hosted by Dr.Terry Quarmby and John Woodward, saw exam candidates taken through exam techniques and examples of what may be asked in the Institute exams next month. All of the candidates stated that the day was a success and was an obvious help in the exam process.

Following a full day of training the early evening saw the regional event well supported as usual at the same venue. There were presentations from Jim Skilling, former head of the HSE Asbestos Licensing Group, who gave an overview of H&S issues from his time as an HSE inspector. Dr. Terry Quarmby gave a short talk on "Designing for Demolition" and a proposed an end of life building directive. NFDC CEO Howard Button updated everyone on DRIDS including a live demonstration of the website and the iPhone App.

Stephen McCann of Forth Demolition opened and closed the meeting and he will be producing a full report on proceedings in the next few days so please revisit this site next week for Stephen's report.

Scotland Regional IDE Meeting Revised

The Scotland Regional IDE Meeting will now be held on Friday, 30th August at 4:30pm with speakers including Jim Skilling, our own John Woodward, Terry Quarmby, and Howard Button. Full details can be seen in the flyer included below. Or for more information email info@ide.org.uk

IDE announce inaugural Scottish exam preparation day

Following many requests form enrolled IDE members north of the border the IDE will, for the first time, hold an exam preparation day in Scotland on Friday, 30th August 2013. The day organised and sponsored by Forth Demolition Limited will see Dr Terry Quarmby and John Woodward give tips and guidance to exam candidates prior to their sitting the institute exams in September.

The prep day will be followed by a regional meeting in the evening which will allow all those that attend both events to accumulate 9 hours of core IDE CPD. Full details of the event are on the booking form that can be found by emailing Maureen@demolitionengineers.net

C&D Consultancy appointed as demolition consultants for a major tower block in North Scotland

Demolition consultancy orders continue to arrive at C&D with the company having been appointed as demolition consultants for the Top Down demolition of a 13 storey tower block in the North of Scotland.

This appointment will see the C&D team in Scotland for the next 60 weeks as the building is slowly demolished and cleared. This new appointment North of the Border will see C&D in Scotland on 3 major tower block demolition schemes during 2013 and 2014.

Full details of the project will follow shortly.

NFDC announce details of the 2013 convention at Gleneagles

The NFDC have announced details of this year's convention at Gleneagles. William Sinclair who becomes NFDC President on Friday, March 1st wanted his first convention to be in his native Scotland and he will have his wish.

The convention will run from Friday, September 13th through to Monday, September 16th 2013 and full details and prices are available at the NFDC website at http://demolition-nfdc.com/event/convention20130913.html

HSE Inspection Campaign underway

The HSE inspection campaign that runs for three weeks is now underway as of Monday (3rd September). The details are as follows:

The campaign is similar in style to the one Construction Inspectors carry out each March and each area of the country has had some freedom on selecting the topics to be inspected. The target of work for this campaign in Scotland, for example, is external working at height - a fairly wide subject matter.

Inspectors will be out driving their geographic areas and may inspect sites where external working at height is being carried out. Some examples of what will be being looked at include:

Scaffolding - safe to use, inspections up to date and recorded, scaffolders method statement and compliance with SG 4.10, designed or not, ties pull tested and evidenced.

Mobile towers - erected correctly, being used safely, trained erectors, falling tools materials considered.

Ladders/Step Ladders - in good condition, being used safely (3 points of contact). correct equipment for job?

Lanyards and Harnesses - good condition, inspections and maintenance, user trained, correct type of lanyard (fall arrest or work positioning).

Safety Nets - erected properly, inspected, close as possible to fall, sufficient room for deflection.

Edge protection - adequate to withstand sideways impact of person and compliant with WAH Regs 2005.

Soft landing systems - fitted properly with no gaps and of correct depth to absorb.

MEWPS - correct selection of MEWP, operator trained, MEWP LOLER examined, correct harness and lanyard, segregated from other work, consideration of crush prevention systems.

Falling materials - control measures to prevent materials falling or exclusion zones or prevent injury from falling materials.

Fragile Roofs - correct application of Work at Height Regs Reg 9 hierarchy.

Safedem appoint C&D as CDM-C for next phase of Red Road

C&D are delighted to announce that we continue to win business in these difficult times as we have been awarded a major CDM-C contract with one of our regular clients, Safedem, to assist them with the explosive demolition of their contract to demolish the Red Road flats in Glasgow.

Following the success of the first blowdown earlier this month, Safedem approached C&D to tender for the work on the second phase of this prestigious contract and C&D are delighted to have been successful in being awarded the role as CDM-C.

This appointment for the next phase of six of the high rise blocks will see C&D involved at Red Road for the next five years and continues the working relationship with Safedem North of the Border.

This latest Scottish contract award sees C&D now involved in over 20 major tower block demolitions in Scotland from now until 2017 and means that the search for a Glasgow office will commence in July.

The CDM-C work will be led by John Woodward with assistance from the whole of the C&D team.

Safedem Limited Red Road, Glasgow tower block explosive demolition

If you visited this site on Friday you will know that we advised that the Safedem implosion of Red Road would probably not be as pretty as previous Safedem blowdowns, that video would show debris ejecting from the tower during the demolition and that the resultant debris pile would not be as tidy as normally expected from a Safedem project.

What we actually said was:-

“Following the detonation we fully anticipate that there may be a perception, to the untrained eye, that the operation has not gone to plan as the resultant pile of debris will not be as neat and tidy as previous blasts from Safedem and will, most probably, resemble a game of “pick up sticks” as the steel will not, of course, disintegrate during the blast.”

We are pleased to say that the blast went very well and the building reacted as expected by Safedem. Debris was ejected from the building, as can be seen on the YouTube footage, but that is mainly the remains of the 8000 sand bags used as blast protection around the charging points. The columns were all tied back using steel ropes and the ropes did the trick.

The resultant debris pile is higher than normal from a blowdown and can be clearly seen at the Safedem website set up for this project at http://www.redroaddemolition.co.uk/





It goes without saying that congratulations go to all on the team, client GHA, Safedem, all consultants and everyone involved with the project as Safedem now hold the record for the tallest tower block ever imploded in the UK, beating the record previously held by Controlled Demolition Group for 240, Roystonhill, Glasgow at 25 storeys.

The Red Road blast was 28 storeys!

WELL DONE!

Safedem are getting ready to implode the first of the Red Road, Glasgow tower blocks

Explosive Demolition scheduled for 10th June, 2012.

Regular visitors to this site will know that C&D Consultancy are employed by Safedem Limited on a number of projects throughout Scotland, and that we feature their explosive demolition prowess regularly on the site.

Recent projects featured have been Safedem carry out successful Sighthill Flats demolition and Safedem & Brandis A/S join forces to implode 2 tower blocks and both of those clips showed concrete tower blocks being demolished.

Petershill Drive, Red Road Estate

C&D have had no involvement with this first section of Red Road (with the exception of safety audits) but we feel that we must comment on what we expect to happen on the day.

The demolition of 153 – 213 Petershill Drive on the Red Road Estate on 10th June will look significantly different to those implosions listed above and other previous explosive demolition projects carried out in Glasgow as the tower is a steel frame rather than a concrete frame.

We felt that we should highlight the differences between the two types of structures and how they behave on detonation and set out what we expect Safedem’s goals and objectives to be in advance of the demolition operation.

Following the detonation we fully anticipate that there may be a perception, to the untrained eye, that the operation has not gone to plan as the resultant pile of debris will not be as neat and tidy as previous blasts from Safedem and will, most probably, resemble a game of “pick up sticks” as the steel will not, of course, disintegrate during the blast.

Collapse Mechanism / Blast Design

The collapse mechanism and blast design has taken into account the complexity of the steel structure and the limited area around the structure available as a drop area and it will be Safedem’s intention to rotate the top portion of the structure to the west, leaving the lower portion of the structure largely intact.

On completion of the operation we fully anticipate that the remaining portion of the structure / debris pile will be as high as 8 to 10 storeys. The debris pile will not be the traditional pile of rubble as seen in previous Glasgow explosive demolitions and it may look untidy and widespread in comparison to previous blowdown operations, this is because steel will not crush and break but will remain largely intact albeit twisted and distorted.

The explosives being utilised are a combination of steel cutting charges and kicking charges which will cut the steel columns before they are then physically kicked out of position by further explosives, removing the structural support and inducing a collapse. It is very important to their overall objective to physically remove the cut column section to allow the building to drop and rotate. It should be noted that we fully anticipate that steel sections will be visible ‘leaving the structure’ from the west elevation. These sections are all tied back with wire ropes, however the appearance of ejecta may cause alarm, concern and adverse comment.

Summary

• The structure is extremely complex with steelwork of varied types and thicknesses.
• The explosives being used are cutting and kicking charges, they will cut the column then kick it clear.
• The top portion of the building is being rotated to the west.
• The bottom portion of the structure (as much as 8 to 10 storeys) will remain post detonation.
• There is potential for Airblast which can cause ‘collateral damage’ given certain weather and atmospheric conditions.
• The initiation will sound very loud, however our calculations show that the noise level at the exclusion zone boundary will be less than 120 decibels.
• There will be visual evidence of ‘ejecta’ but this is contained by wire ropes.
• The debris pile will be widespread but within the identified drop zone / landing area to the west of the block.

Here at C&D we are confident that Safedem will get it spot on once again but we will be interested to see if our assumptions are right on the day.

And when you watch it on Youtube on this site on the morning of 11th June and think that it doesn’t look as neat and tidy as other Safedem blowdowns remember that “We told you so.”

Found footage: Safedem implode Marmion, Heriot and Montrose Courts

With the amount of video footage uploaded to the web everyday (24 hours of video every minute according to Google), it's not surprising that some goes unnoticed. With that in mind, if we ever find some older videos of demolition we'll post it here as "found footage".

A good example of this is the 2004 implosion carried out by Safedem of the Marmion, Heriot & Montrose Courts in Scotland. There's a couple of videos showing the implosion below:





Here's the description taken from the YouTube page explaining the job and the process:

"These three 15 storey tower blocks had originally been tendered as a long reach demolition project. However having carefully examined the site, the programme, and the costs, explosives experts at Safedem were called in to explore the possibility of demolishing the structures by explosives.

Each of the three buildings had a restriction on at least one elevation. Nearby housing just 10m away, live roads and retaining walls just 5m away and live services and high voltage cables that looped around the blocks just 3m from the buildings in places.
The greatest concern was a live sub station located 2m from the west elevation of the centre building. Scottish Power's field engineer made one warning regarding the sub-station "...if you hit that, you cut off the supply to half of Paisley." A detailed risk assessment and cost comparison was carried out and with Safedem's assurance, the blocks were to be demolished b y explosives. There was a massive evacuation and security operation implemented for this project. Over 600 residents were evacuated from their homes which included intensive planning for the evacuation of the only remaining tower block- Oliphant Court.

Precisely on schedule on Sunday 12th December, 2004, the tower blocks were demolished with more than 3,000 strategically placed detonators controlling the direction and rate of collapse exactly as planned into the designed drop areas. The post blowdown inspection immediately focussed on the live sub station. The delays had done their job with no kickback whatsoever leaving a clear path between the substation and debris pile. Further inspection confirmed the other buildings behaved as anticipated and designed with the line of live underground services and the retaining wall free of debris and surcharge."