World Demolition Summit 2017 spotlights winning projects

The World Demolition Summit 2017 is fast approaching, being held this year in London on November 2nd.

If you haven't yet booked your tickets, here's 5 examples of what you'll get to experience during the summit if you do:

1. Ryan Priestly, president of Canadian contractor Priestly Demolition, who will give an insight into the Nipigon River Bridge replacement project that won his company both the Civils Demolition and overall World Demolition awards at the WDS in 2016.
2. Scott Knightly, the owner and president of US firm Envirovantage, will speak on the five-storey mill demolition at The Lofts in Saco Falls. This was the winner of an Excellence in Demolition Award at the National Demolition Association convention earlier this year.
3. Rye Demolition, will talk delegates through its demolition of the former West Ham United football stadium in the UK capital, fittingly for the first WDS to be held in London.
4. Martin Bjerregaard, of Disaster Waste Recovery will talk about demolition and debris management in Syria.
5. James Howard, of Coleman Group will give a paper on Crisis management – responding to major incidents.

The full confirmed speaker line-up includes many more names and could grow larger. So don't hang about booking your tickets and securing your place at the summit!

IDE Autumn Seminar September 29th

The IDE has confirmed that the Autumn Seminar for 2017 will be happening on Friday, 29th September. The venue is One Great George Street, Westminster, London SW1P 3AA.

Speakers have yet to be confirmed, but the seminar acts as a venue to meet and network, and it is possible to achieve up to 6 core IDE CPD through attendance.

The closing date for pre-booked delegates is 18th September. You can pre-book or secure exhibition space by emailing info@ide.org.uk or by phoning 01634 790548.

This year's World Demolition Awards has a very international flavour

Regular readers will know that the World Demolition Awards and Demolition Summit 2017 are getting ever closer. This year they are being held in London on November 2nd. And it is going to be a very international affair this time around.

Entrants to the awards come from a very diverse range of countries, with the list including India, New Zealand, Singapore, and Russia. The judging line-up is just as diverse, with 8 experts made up of 4 Europeans, 3 Americans, and an Australian.

November 2nd could be a flagship night for the awards, the summit, and the demolition industry. Make sure you're there to experience it live.

Source: KHL

World Demolition Awards deadline looms

The deadline for entries to this year’s World Demolition Awards is on June 30 - less than 2 months away.

The awards dinner takes place on November 2nd in London, during the World Demolition Summit, which is organised by Demolition & Recycling International magazine.

The entry process is easy, with entry forms available for download from the event website. ‘How to enter’ leaflets in five languages will also be available to download.

There are 11 categories to enter, as follows:

• Civils Demolition
• Collaboration in Demolition
• Explosive Demolition
• Industrial Demolition
• Innovation – Plant and Equipment
• Innovation – Tools and Attachments
• Recycling and Environmental
• Safety and Training
• Urban Demolition
• Contract of the Year under US$1 million
• Contract of the Year over US$1 million

World Demolition Summit 2017 almost has all its speakers

Demolition & Recycling International is reporting that the speaker roster for the World Demolition Summit 2017 is nearly full.

Altogether there are 10 available slots for presentations, and 8 of those have now been filled. To put that into context, there's still several months until the Summit takes place (November 2nd). It seems likely the 2 remaining slots will be filled imminently.

The 8 confirmed speakers are as follows:

• Scott Knightly - president of the US National Demolition Association
• Duncan Rudall - Institute of Demolition Engineers past president
• Ryan Priestly - Priestly Demolition
• Eirik Wraal - executive vice president of Norway’s AF Decom
• Martin Bjerregaard - Disaster Waste Recovery
• James Howard - Coleman & Co
• Jacqueline O’Donovan - O’Donovan Waste Disposal
• Speaker name to be confirmed - Ritchie Bros.

UK National Federation of Demolition Contractors CEO Howard Button and C&D Consultancy chief consultant John Woodward are chairing the conference and will be in charge of the morning and afternoon sessions respectively.

For further information about this year's summit, which takes place on November 2nd in London, please visit the World Demolition Summit 2017 website.

Source: KHL

First World Demolition Summit 2017 Conference Speaker Revealed

The first speaker attending the World Demolition Summit 2017 has been confirmed as Ryan Priestly of Priestly Demolition.

You may remember Ryan's company was voted "Best of the Best" in last year's World Demolition Awards, and they also won the Civils Demolition Award. The presentation Ryan will give during WDS 2017 is about the removal of the Nipigon River Bridge on the Trans Canada Highway. It's sure to be a fascinating listen.

As D&RI reports:

"He will discuss the challenges involved in removing the original narrow two-lane structure during sub-zero temperatures in a remote part of the country, and how Priestly came up with a solution to the apparently intractable problem."

If you would like to attend the World Demolition Summit this year, there's still plenty of time to arrange tickets, transport, and even accommodation. WDS 2017 takes place on November 2nd at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel in London. For more details visit the Demolition Summit website.

IDE to celebrate 40 years

Next IDE North West regional meeting being held on November 26th

The next IDE North West regional meeting being held on Thursday, November 26th at The Park Hotel, Dunnings Bridge Road, Netherton, Liverpool L30 6YN.

The meeting is sponsored by Sloyan Doyle Demolition and the programme has been organised by Wayne Bagnall and Thomas Sloyan. The proceedings begin at 2:30pm with registration alongside refreshments and biscuits. Then at 3pm there's a CDM Consulting Ltd. presentation on "CDM 2015 Demolition and your duties." This is followed at 4pm with a presentation by Wayne Bagnall Consulting Ltd. covering the challenges and solutions working on one of the largest demolition projects in London. Finally at 5pm there will be a hot buffet for registered attendees.

If you would like to attend then please register in advance with the National Secretary at info@ide.org.uk. Attendance is also worth 3 hours CPD and non-IDE members are more than welcome.

Watch the old Bermondsey railway viaducts get demolished (video)

Network Rail decided to film the demolition of the old railway viaducts at Bermondsey, with the work being carried out by C&D customer Armac Group. The video above shows the work as it happened in timelapse form.

Once fully removed, the viaducts are being replaced with a dive under, which will allow many more Charring Cross trains to pass beneath Thameslink services, appearing on the other side and then having a clear run into the centre of London. The project is meant to be completed in 2017.

Source: ITV News

London's "Low Emission Zone" for non-road mobile machinery confirmed

You may remember earlier this month we reported on the London Mayor Boris Johnson producing a new Control of Dust and Emissions supplement. It was 113-pages of guidance, with the main goal of the document being to continue to improve air quality across London with an "ambitious package of measures."

The document threw up a few questions, one of which is "where exactly is London's "Low Emission Zone" for non-road mobile machinery?" Dean Manders of Valori London demolition contractors asked us this very question as he had a "tier IIIA digger which will be excluded from this zone." We didn't know the answer, but that didn't stop Dean.

A couple of days later and an email to Barry O'Brien at the Greater London Authority, and Dean had answered his own question. A map of the Central Activity Zone is available to view online. Take a look at the NRMM LEZ Map for yourself.

We have to thank Dean personally for taking the time to find this detail and for sharing it with us.

London Mayor produces Control of Dust and Emissions supplement

The Mayor of London and the Greater London Authority have worked together to produce a new 113-page guidance document entitled The Control of Dust and Emissions During Construction and Demolition - Supplementary Planning Guidance.

You can download it from the NFDC website in PDF form.

Boris Johnson explains in the introduction that the main goal of the document is to continue to improve air quality across London with an "ambitious package of measures." Anyone carrying out construction or demolition work within London will need to understand and adhere to the measures outlined in this guidance.

Source: NFDC

Erith performance rewarded by Considerate Contractor Scheme

Erith Group has been awarded the Considerate Contractor Scheme Gold Award by the City of London. The reason? Three demolition jobs performed inside the city limits, and a task not achieved before by a contractor within a 12 month period.

The specific projects include:

King William Street – situated adjacent to Prudentials European office and the heavy footfall of London Bridge.

London Development Project – in the heart of Farringdon neighbouring the City Temple.

Sugar Quay – located on the north bank of the River Thames adjacent to the iconic Tower Bridge.

The award is described as follows:

"The Gold Award recognises that the requirements of the Code of Good Practice have been consistently exceeded. It reflects a spirit of pride, an awareness of the needs of the passing public and regard for the surrounding environment."

Source: NFDC and Erith

More problems with the weather

We recently wrote about the effect of the weather and particularly the wind on site hoardings, and how they are temporary structures and need to be planned accordingly.

Unfortunately we are now reminded, by a recent court case, of how important it is to get this right. A building company refitting a shop in London’s Oxford Street, has just been fined £10,000 and ordered to pay £13,000 legal costs, after a 15ft high Kate Moss billboard fell on to shoppers, injuring 10 and leaving 3 with life changing injuries. One of these had serious vertebrae injuries which will prevent her working again.

“The Health and Safety Executive, which brought the prosecution, said the 11ft 10in (3.6m) high structure which weighed 0.8 tonnes was held upright by a single timber beam attached to the shop front by just two screws.Builders working at the site spotted the screws coming loose moments before the hoarding was blown to the ground by a gust of wind but were unable to stop it.”

Ironically they were able to attach the billboard because the company had increased the height of the existing barrier fencing, to stop debris flying over it into the public areas and hitting people walking past. We await the inevitable civil cases which will surely follow this prosecution.

For more technical information remember that hoardings are temporary works and must be designed in accordance with BS5957.

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.

IDE Autumn Seminar announced for 26th September

The IDE Autumn Seminar has been confirmed as taking place on the 26th September. IDE President Steve Jack is inviting members to join him at the seminar, which is being held at One Great George Street, Westminster, London SW1P 3AA.

Refreshments and lunch will be served in the Great Hall, with presentations happening in the Telford Theatre. The programme is as follows: (clikc the image to see it full size)



If you would like to attend then please complete the booking form.

Source: IDE

We are growing fast

Business continues to grow at C&D with the award of a number of high value contracts earlier in the year that commenced on site in July resulting in the company's highest ever monthly turnover figures which shows an increase of 85% from the same month in 2014.

The additional orders are for prestige works in London, where we have 8 projects on site, Glasgow, where we have 10 projects on site and the North West with 3 projects on site.

We are delighted that our hard work in the previous six months has now resulted in the increase in turnover and we look forward to building on that increase as we move into quarter three of 2014.

Construction News Specialist Awards

Tonight sees the CN Specialist 2014 Awards in London so here at C&D we wish "Best of Luck" to all of the companies shortlisted in the Demolition Category. They include.

• Cantillon
• Erith Group
• Hughes & Salvidge
• Forshaw
• Thompson's of Prudhoe
• Masterton

As readers of this site will know, John was one of the three judges for this category and took part in the "Dragon's Den" type interviews on 30th January when all of the companies interviewed well. The three judges marked their score cards and put them into sealed envelopes for submission to Rebecca Evans, Editor of Construction News, who collated the scores to establish the winner announced on the night.

John cannot be there this year as he is currently on his way back from the USA, but he hopes all of the companies have a great night and enjoy the experience of an excellent awards ceremony.

Remember, to be shortlisted is a great achievement to be proud of and to win is a bonus.

Finally we also would like to wish all the best to AR Demolition who, although not shortlisted in the Demolition category, are shortlisted in a number of other categories on the night and we sincerely hope that, this time, they come home with an award to sit proudly on the desks of Richard Dolman & Andrew Thompson.

Source: CN Specialist 2014 Awards

So how are they demolishing 20 Fenchurch Street from the bottom up?

Anyone with an interest in demolition heard about the 25-storey building at 20 Fenchurch Street in London back in 2010. It's unusual because Keltbray found that the best way to demolish the building was from the bottom up. To the onlooker passing the building regularly, they got the unusual site of the building disappearing from the ground up rather than the more conventional top-down approach.

So why did Keltbray choose such an unusual method? The answer lies in the roof structure, which is huge because it was used to suspend all the floors from above. The roof took up 3 floors worth of space and used post-tensioned concrete beams more commonly seen in bridges. By doing this, the designers maximised the interior space, but also posed a problem for anyone tasked with demolishing the building.

If you'd like to know in great deal how exactly the 20 Fenchurch Street building was demolished, then head on over to the great article at Building.co.uk, which takes you through the whole process.

Victorian terrace in Hackney suddenly becomes unsafe

The Victorian terrace houses on Amhurst Road in Hackney Central suddenly became unsafe late last week. At 8pm on Saturday the Fire Brigade was called to 1-5 Amhurst Road after residents felt like the building was about to fall over and cracks had appeared in the structure.

Eight residents were evacuated from the terrace, with a structural engineer confirming the structure was no longer safe and couldn't be saved. The road has since been closed and an urgent controlled demolition organized by Hackney Council.

The road will remain closed until further notice and an investigation is underway to figure out what caused the sudden structural change. On the opposite side of the road a new 80-room Travelodge is currently being constructed.


Source: Hackney Gazette

Most expensive demolition project in Britain may also be most profitable

A house and stable on Mount Row in Mayfair, London, is being called Britain's most expensive demolition project. That's because the property is up for sale for £35 million, but the new owner will be almost guaranteed to demolish the house and stable as soon as possible.

The reason they'd destroy a property just acquired is the fact there is planning permission in place to build a new 16,000 square foot mansion in its place. Such a building would be larger, modern, and is expected to take the value of the property up to £65 million. It's also fair to say if you can afford the asking price you'll also be able to afford the demolition and build costs.

Source: The Telegraph