John D. McArthur - Rest in peace

The loss of George Turner

Thomas Greenham

It is with great sadness that the Institute of Demolition Engineers informed us late yesterday that Thomas Greenham has passed away.

The funeral will be held on Wednesday, November 8th at 2pm. The location is as follows:

St. Mary's C of E Church
Church Lane,
High Street,
Streatley,
Berkshire RG8 9HU

The family have asked that instead of flowers they would appreciate donations to either Help for Heroes or the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

All of our thoughts are with Thomas' family during this difficult time.

Dave Ross funeral details announced

As we announced last week, sadly Dave Ross has passed away.

Further to that, we now have details regarding the funeral. It will take place on Wednesday, July 26th at 3pm. The location is Rotherham Crematorium, Ridgeway East Herringthorpe, Rotherham S65 3NN.

It has been requested that flowers only come from the family. If you'd like to make a contribution then a donation to Bluebell Woods Children's Hospice in Dave's memory has been suggested. This can either be done directly or through the funeral directors on the day.

Our thoughts remain with Dave's friends and family at this difficult time.

Remembering Dave Ross, who sadly passed away on Saturday

C&D Consultancy are sad to announce the death on Saturday, 8th July of Dave Ross.

Dave worked with C&D on a number of projects over the last ten years and was a well respected member of our team. I first met Dave at Loxley Dismantling where he was one of my site supervisors and we kept our working relationship and friendship going ever since that day.

Dave worked on many complex projects for ourselves, Apollo GCL, Thorne Demolition, AR Demolition, and many other companies during his career, and enjoyed his retirement years by cruising the worlds oceans with beloved wife Jean, drinking a few beers in his local working men's club or demolishing things on the few weeks a year that he decided to work to earn some money for another cruise!

Dave was extremely proud to have achieved IDE status after working in our industry for over 50 years and he was one of the first "old school" demolition men persuaded to join IDE when the institute opened its doors to a wider range of entry criteria.

Dave was an excellent site manager, a great machine driver, and a true Yorkshireman, never happier than when in his caravan at some demolition site eating his large pan of "Rotherham Stew" cooked by Jean for Dave to reheat most nights when he was away. In fact, the only nights that he didn't eat Jean's stew he would eat a rump steak as he was a lover of "Proper English Grub."

Dave once sat with me in his working men's club drinking a few beers, as you do, and told me of a great cruise that Jean and he had just completed on P&O Oriana where for the 28 nights of the cruise Dave ate a rump steak every night as "I couldn't face the foreign food."

He will be remembered for his friendliness to everyone and his ability to think a job through to get it down in the safest manner.

He will be sadly missed. Funeral details are unconfirmed at the moment, but we will post them when received and Jill and I will celebrate his memory on Saturday night with a few beers and a steak. I just hope that wherever he is now the menu is not just Curry and Chinese food!

5 men injured, 1 dead at Satpura thermal power plant demolition

In a stark reminder of how not every country has the same health and safety system in place as the UK, 5 men have been seriously injured and 1 man killed on a demolition site in a district of Madhya Pradesh state in central India.

The 6 men were working as labourers at the Satpura thermal power plant located in Sarani town in Betul district. Demolition is under way there to remove old buildings. However,debris from a tilted conveyor belt fell on the the men, with the man who died, Ramlal Talsa, being just 22 years old.

The blame has been placed on Mumbai-based Sikkim Ferro company who had won the tender for demolishing the buildings. It's unclear what, if anything will happen next. In the UK a thorough investigation, fines, compensation, and prosecutions would be a matter of course.

Source: webindia23

Dominic Ogden has passed away aged 56

From left to right above is Dominic Ogden, Dick Green, Simon Ogden

Emma Thompson, QHSE Manager at DSR Demolition has informed us of the sad news that Dominic Ogden has passed away.

Here's is Emma's email in full regarding Dominic's death:

Dear friends and colleagues,

We are devastated to inform you all of the passing of Dominic Richard Ogden on the morning of 20th July, at the age of 56.

Dominic lived and breathed demolition nearly all his life. After leaving school, he initially joined the Naval Ordnance in Sheffield as a time served fully indentured apprentice engineer. Then, following in his father’s footsteps, Dominic entered the world of demolition. He joined the Institute of Explosives Engineers in 1984 at the tender age of 25, having already been in the business several years. He later joined the Institute of Demolition Engineers – managing, incredibly, to write his thesis from a hospital bed during a bout of illness.

Dominic was part of his father’s firm Fred Ogden & Sons and other companies along with his brother Simon, before the brothers established DSR Demolition in 2001. Over the years, Dominic managed just about every type of demolition project you could think of and he had all the anecdotes to go with it, delivered with his trademark sense of humour.

Dominic battled health problems for a long time but you rarely heard him complain. He would never give up his responsibilities or his independence. Dominic would try his very best to help those he knew if they were in need; he is owed much by many. He was utterly courageous, generous and fearless; giving every endeavour 100%.

When he could drag his mind away from work (no mean feat), Dominic was an enthusiastic motorist, enjoying driving holidays in Europe with his wife Christine and allowing his collection of cars to spread all over his driveway. He relaxed by going fishing and spent many an hour catching his evening meal. He loved taking his grandson to play football on Saturdays, and having his granddaughters running around his house. At the end of a tough day he would unwind with a whisky or go to his favourite Italian, where all the staff knew him well.

He leaves behind his wife Christine; his children, Rachael, Andrew and James, his grandchildren, Matthew, Izabelle, Ivy and Evelyn, his brother Simon, mother Dawn, sisters Deborah and Elizabeth, and a wider network of family, friends, colleagues and peers who respected and admired him hugely.

Fifty six is no age for a life to end, but Dominic crammed more into his life than most octogenarians have managed. Dominic was a life force and once met was never forgotten. A gregarious and outgoing person, he made a lasting impression on all who knew him and he will be profoundly, deeply missed.

On behalf of Dominic’s family and DSR Demolition, we want to express our gratitude for the messages of condolence we have received.

Details of Dominic’s memorial service will follow shortly.

Kind regards,
Emma Thompson QHSE Manager

The Price of Inexperience and Greed

A sobering reminder that lying to cover mistakes you have made in serious cases does not work.

A young, 23 year old, was on his first day of work for a company when he was told to do a job which ultimately lead to his death. The worker in question was very inexperienced in construction and demolition, with no training and was at his first day of work because the company was short of labour. He was told by the owner to dismantle a chimney on a house they were working on, by using a power tool in one of the houses bedrooms. As a result, and because there was no support structure in place, the chimney collapsed through the roof and trapped the worker below. He died as a result of his injuries.

When interviewed the owner of the building company said that the employee had only been told to sweep up on the site. However the Police did not believe his story as the power tool had been specifically hired for that day. He lied to try and cover his mistakes. In addition, he did not do a risk assessment for the work, did not supply supports such as scaffold or props, or the most sensible option, did not use a cherry picker from outside.

The company owner pleaded guilty to gross negligence manslaughter and breaching sections 2 (1) and 3 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act. The sentence is still being deliberated but the judge has warned that the seriousness of the offence and subsequent lying, does merit a custodial sentence.

It’s All About Teamwork

The conclusion of a recent court case should serve to remind us that more often than not an incident arises from a combination of issues and likewise responsibility is not always with one person or company, but with numerous people or companies.

The case in question involved the tragic death of a worker at the Yorkshire Mining Museum, who was employed, in January 2011, to work on expansion of the museum's visitor experiences by extending underground access tunnels. Unfortunately, whilst operating a forward tipping dumper underground he suffered fatal entrapments and crush injuries.

The case was bought against three defendants, the museum, the contractor and the machine supplier. All were found to be in breach of their responsibilities, but the museums failings were deemed to be management failings and did not have a causative role in the incident.

The main contractor was found to have no risk assessments or safe working practices in place as well as not giving appropriate training to its staff. The machine suppliers were found guilty of supplying an unsafe machine as it did not comply with design standards or safety requirements.

The three companies were fined a total of nearly £600,000, plus of course their own costs. It cost the family of the worker a husband and father.

Very rarely do we work individually on a project, more likely we are part of a team, and it is imperative that we all work and communicate with all other parties to avoid this sort of tragedy occurring on one of our jobs.

Suggested courses which will help with promoting this teamwork are “Managing Demolition for Principal Contractors” and the “Site Management Safety Training Scheme” both available from C&D Training.

Leading by example

It’s not just the small companies that get it wrong when it comes to safety in the workplace, sometimes the “big” boys make mistakes too. Take, for instance, the recent case of Thames Water who have just received fines and costs totaling in excess of £361,000 after an employee of theirs was killed, on one of their sites, by a reversing excavator. The worker was working in one of the companies sand filter beds when an excavator involved with the work hit him. He received multiple crush injuries and died at the scene.

HSE established that “although TWUL recognised the need for control measures to mitigate the risk of a collision between plant and workers, the company failed to implement sufficient measures on the day. Those working in the beds, including Mr Holmes, had received no formal instruction or supervision to ensure they understood the safe systems of work.” HSE also found that “nobody was required to wear hi-visibility clothing, and that the excavator had no effective rear view mirrors or any form of reversing aid or alarm.”

In an era when the expectation is for the larger companies to have a greater degree of responsibility for their employees, it is disappointing that these occurrences still happen. It must be the way forward for the larger companies to set the good example and influence the attitude and practices of the smaller ones.

Doing the job right

A recent court case in London should serve to remind us all of our obligations as professionals and how we should be carrying out our roles. Details of the case are found in the link below.

http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/news/west-london-news/fulham-basement-death-commercial-director-8217105

The court found that the Commercial Director of the building firm and a freelance qualified Health and Safety Advisor employed by them had failed to carry out their respective roles correctly, resulting in the death of the labourer on site. As a consequence they were both found guilty of manslaughter.

Former IDE President Robert Merrick and IDE Member Peter Lindsell have passed away

We are very sad to inform you that two former prominent members of the IDE have passed away this month.

Robert Merrick of Hughes and Salvidge was the IDE President serving between 1987 and 1988 and also the NFDC President during his career. His funeral will be held on the 3rd December at Romsey Abbey, Romsey SO51 8EN at 2:30pm.

Peter Lindsell, a long standing member of the IDE, passed away while on holiday in the Canary Islands. His funeral will be held on the 12th December at Wessex Vale Crematorium Hedge End at 2:30pm.

Source: IDE [1] [2]

Elevator in Istanbul falls 32 floors killing 10 (trained) workers

On Saturday 10 workers lost their lives in Mecidiyeköy, Istanbul when an elevator fell from the 32nd floor while they were on board.

The construction site they were working at is the Torun Center residence project, but the events surrounding the accident are still under investigation. Aziz Torun, the chairman of Torunlar Holding, has claimed that there was no reason for the 10 workers to be on site at that time as their shift had ended.

It is being suggested that the workers only have themselves to blame. All had received workplace safety training and were there outside of their working hours. Why? We don't know, but negligence on their part is surely being discussed and looked into as part of the cause.

The investigation is ongoing with full details available at the Sunday's Zaman website.

The Call: a steeple-jacking contractor's fatal fall

The video you see above is a scenario that sees a steeple-jacking contractor's fatal fall while working at a power station, including the reactions of the co-directors of the company.

Here's the description taken from the video:

"This unique film drives home the message of personal and management responsibility, the importance of behavioural safety and the impact on everyone of a workplace tragedy. It centres around the unique and courageous testimony of Keith Turney, MD of an established steeplejack firm with an impeccable safety record, gaining nine RoSPA awards in eight years; Keith himself is a Fellow of RoSPA, active in many organisations such as the HSE - he even helped to develop the 2005 Working at Height Regulations."

Lord Richard Attenborough has died aged 90

We are very sad to report that actor Lord Richard Attenborough has died at the age of 90.

The instantly recognizable and much-loved actor was born in Cambridge in 1923 and went on to spend 6 decades starring in, producing, and directing movies. His most memorable appearances on camera include The Great Escape, Brighton Rock, Miracle of 34th Street, and of course Jurassic Park. As a director and producer he is best remembered for Ghandi.

Attenborough had spent the last 6 years confined to a wheelchair after suffering a stroke that resulted in a bad fall at home followed by a coma that lasted a few days. That effectively ended his career and he spent the next couple of years selling some of his extensive art collection and estate before moving into a London nursing home with his wife last year.

It is thought he passed away peacefully on Sunday, and our thoughts are with his family at this time.

Source: BBC News and image credit: United Nations Photos]

Terry Jago 1941-2014

We are sad to have to report that Terry Jago or ARCA has passed away.

Terry's funeral is being helf at 11:30am on the 15th August. It will be at:

St Mary's Church,
Market Square,
Atherstone,
Warwickshire, CV9 1EX

If you would like to attend the funeral, please get in touch with Steve Sadley, ARCA Chief Executive at steve.sadley@arca.org.uk

Terry requested that no flowers be sent to the funeral and that any donations in lieu of flowers should be made to Birmingham Dogs Home. If you would like to send cards for his family, then please send them to this address:

25 Windmill Road,
Atherstone,
Warwickshire, CV9 1HP

Our thoughts are with Terry's family and friends at this difficult time.

Graham Fry of G Fry Demolition Ltd has passed away

We were sorry to hear yesterday that Graham Fry of G Fry Demolition Ltd has sadly passed away.

The news was passed on by his wife who was kind enough to contact the NFDC in what must be a very difficult time for her and the rest of Graham's family. No funeral details have been announced as of yet. Our thoughts are with them.

Marcel Schroder dies unexpectedly aged just 43

We are sorry to have to report the sudden and surprising death of Marcel Schroder at age 43.

Marcel was the technical director for Richard Liesegang GmbH, a former Deutscher Abbruchverband’s board member, active member of the Blasting Technology Working Group, a member of the Board of Directors of the European Demolition Association (EDA), and a judge for the World Demolition Awards.

There are no details as to what caused Marcel's death, but our thoughts are with his family. He clearly had a lot still to offer the demolition industry, and his contributions will be sorely missed.

Source: d&ri

Former IDE President Tony Hurley passes away

We are sorry to advise readers of the death of former IDE President Tony Hurley.

It is with great sadness that we inform our readers of the passing of one of our colleagues in the demolition industry Tony Hurley. As some of you are aware Tony has been very poorly for a long time and he lost his battle with cancer last week.

Tony joined the IDE in 1984, being one of the longest serving members and was the President of the organisation between 1992 and 1994. I was delighted to present him with Honorary Fellowship status in 2013 in recognition of his hard work and support he gave to the IDE and when he received the award he received a well deserved standing ovation.

Tony rarely missed an opportunity to attend the Institute functions, even after his diagnosis, making the long journey from his home in Spain to be amongst those who appreciated his enthusiasm for the industry and its practitioners.

He will be greatly missed by his family, friends and colleagues. Our heartfelt condolences go to his family at this time.

I will remember Tony for his Northern humour and his encyclopaedic knowledge of demolition. He was a demolition great.

The Deadly First Eight Hours On Site!

On every demolition safety awareness course that C&D deliver we discuss site inductions and “What if?” particularly when new starters are involved on projects, as statistics show that you are more likely to be killed or injured on your first day at work than at any other time.

So why are the first eight hours so deadly? Is it because the job is unfamiliar? The site induction was not done? The new man has not been sufficiently trained? The new man has not worked for months so is a little “rusty”? The new man is pleased to be working so he is “too keen” and ends up in situations that he would not be in if he wasn’t so keen?

It can be any of these scenarios, but whichever it is the outcome leads to serious injury or death.

This week has seen a number of articles reported in the construction and demolition press where a new starter has been involved in an accident resulting in life changing injuries such as

http://press.hse.gov.uk/2013/construction-company-and-director-in-court-after-roof-fall/

And where Dan Whiston was crushed to death in a dumper accident

http://www.middevongazette.co.uk/Dumper-truck-driver-crushed-death-day-new-job/story-20095075-detail/story.html

These follow a familiar and highly dangerous route of putting untrained people to work without a formal induction in areas where they can be harmed and as an industry, be it demolition or construction, we cannot allow this to continue.

Ever since the NDTG Demolition Manager course was written, Day 4 of the course has included a section on why buildings collapse and it includes details of a contract where, yet again, a worker died on his first day on the job in an untrained demolition crew working at Moor Park School in Ludlow

http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2010/coi-wm-20110.htm

Every one of these accidents that caused life changing injuries or death was preventable and we, as an industry, failed the victims.

Let us all agree, let us pledge, and let us all do everything in our power to reduce the number of accidents in the first eight hours on site by some of the following simple steps:-

• All new starters MUST undergo a site induction covering the items listed in the Construction Design & Management Regulations 2007 regulation 13.4 which clearly sets out the areas of concern that should be fully explained to all new starters.
• Before any new starter gets near to a demolition site let us make sure that they attend an NDTG Demolition & Asbestos Awareness course delivered by C&D trainers or another NDTG approved training organisation.
• Pair up any new starter with an experienced “buddy” for the first seven days at least until the new starter understands the job and the hazards related to it.
• Allow only experienced competent persons with the correct tickets to drive demolition and construction plant and make sure that there is NO EXCEPTIONS.
• Clearly explain what exclusion zones mean and that plant can be dangerous.
• Ensure that all work at height is properly planned.
• Ensure that all workers have a trained supervisor with them at all times.

Going home safely from work is not a mission statement it is a god given right so let us all work harder to prevent accidents and pay particular attention to new starters in the first eight hours as they could be the deadly hours.