IDE Regional meeting Glasgow May 1st 2012

The IDE held the recent Scottish regional meeting in Glasgow on May 1st and the turnout was excellent. Over a dozen Scottish IDE members and guests met at the Hilton Grosvenor Hotel to discuss issues facing the demolition industry today both North and South of the border.

John Woodward chaired the meeting and also did a small presentation on HSE priorities for 2012 as well as showing the Armac Group time lapse film of their work on Catthorpe Viaduct, which you can watch here.

Armac dismantle Catthorpe Viaduct (video)

The video you see above was captured by Armac Group. It shows the dismantling of the monumental structure known as the Catthorpe Viaduct. It was the main bridge over the M6/M1/A14 Interchange and had been watched cloesly for 15 years after failed hinge joints were discovered.

The biggest challenge for Armac was carrying out the job with the replacement viaduct just 6 meters away. The project was made even harder when Armac's proposed 48 hour road closure got shortened to just 36 hours. Also hanging over their heads was an £18,000 per hour penalty if they ran over their allotted time.

Here's some detail about from Armac about how they managed to pull off the dismantling in record time:

"With some 4000t of concrete, 500t of reinforcement steel and a 2 mile run to the tip area, a major logistical operation was planned by the Armac Team. With all plant and equipment being delivered and removed from the Project on a 'just in time' basis the Project had assembled what is believed to be the largest ever assembly of demolition fire power for a bridge demolition consisting of:

• 14no. straight boom excavators (ranging from 70t - 50t)
• 2no. 7t hydraulic breakers
• 4no. 6t hydraulic breakers
• 6no. 4t hydraulic breakers
• 4no. 6t hydraulic pulverisors
• 4no. 4t hydraulic processors
• 2no. 7t hydraulic shears
• 12no. 40t dumptrucks

Behind the lead demolition machines was a full back up team of Ground Crews, Plant Technicians, Hydraulic Hose Fitters, Tyre Fitters and hiab and standby excavators and attachments.

The demolition was undertaken over 4no. 10hr. shifts with a 1hr. overlap between to allow for a smooth changeover and continuous working."

In the end, Armac completed the job in just 32 hours and without any safety issues.

Source: Armac