A UK demolition company celebrated its 49th birthday with a successful chimney blowdown.

At 10 am on Sunday 5 April 2009, Widnes-based J Bryan (Victoria) Ltd, successfully demolished the redundant 105 metre-high, reinforced concrete chimney stack at The Hanson Castle Cement Plant in Clitheroe, Lancashire. The demolition of the 2,500 ton structure made a good ending to the week in which the company celebrated its 49th birthday.

The stack was dropped into a confined area defined by buildings and live plant, and only minor damage to two cladding sheets was reported. The demolitions generated around 400 tons of asbestos for landfill, 11,000 tons of scrap metal and 5,000 tons of concrete for recycling. The removal of the chimney will be welcomed in the Ribble Valley, a beautiful rural area in North East Lancashire.

Thousands of spectators watched the event both from the viewing areas at the site, and from on top of the nearby Pendle Hill, reputed to be the home of the Pendle witches.

The project was the latest in a long list for this client that has seen J Bryan (Victoria) Ltd demolish three stacks, five kilns and other structures, at two factories during the last two and a half years.

A three-handed play with a demolition engineer as a central character has opened in London.

I don’t normally write about my own personal life in these pages – let’s face it, who wants to read about me – but last night I had the good fortune to be invited to attend a production of Jez Butterworth’s Parlour Song at the Almeida Theatre in North London, a play in which the central character is, in fact, a demolition engineer.

Toby Jones, fresh from his role in the Oscar-nominated Frost Nixon movie, plays the central character and demolition man, Ned, a man for whom precision is everything. Jones is ably supported by Andrew Lincoln who plays Ned’s next door neighbour Dale, and by Amanda Drew as Ned’s long-suffering wife.

As someone who is not a regular theatre-goer, I will not attempt to do justice to the set (which is superb), the script (which is even better), nor the play itself (which is well-observed and funny, sad, dark and poignant in roughly equal measure).

However, what I can comment upon is the industry feel that Toby Jones brings to his role. Jones is quite clearly a very talented actor but, speaking to him after the show, it was clear that he had drawn a great deal of inspiration from his pre-production discussions with C&D Consultancy’s John Woodward. Indeed, having greeted Woodward like a long-lost friend, Jones explained how Woodward had helped with the thought process that had gone into creating his character, Ned; how Woodward had explained the thought processes that take place before, during and after an explosive demolition contract.

Speaking after the show, John Woodward (who even gets a mention in the production thank yous section of the programme) explained that he had been invited to meet Jones, his fellow actors and director Ian Rickson several months ago, to offer suggestions on script changes but to also explain the mindset of a demolition engineer. “They picked up on such minute details; it was incredible,” Woodward says. “Little things like the fact that demolition men tend to eat on the road, the fact that successful demolition men have a love of good quality wrist watches, and even that split-second delay between starting an implosion and the blast actually happening.”

As I have said previously, I am not a theatre critic. But if you’re close to London and want a good night of demolition-related entertainment, I would highly recommend Parlour Song.

Coleman’s ultra-high reach excavator brings end to slip-form chimney.

Birmingham-based Coleman & Company has demolished a 60 metre high slip-form concrete chimney as part of their works with BNHJV. Due to the extremely close proximity of busy railway lines and high pressure C.I. water mains explosive demolition was not an option. This very difficult project was completed without incident during night time possessions using Coleman’s Ultra High Reach excavator, the largest of its kind in the United Kingdom.

Semi-automatic quick hitch alarm system offers low-cost solution to a burning issue.

Every once in a while, a product comes along that you just think is RIGHT; an iPod moment, if you will. Well here’s the latest.

It doesn’t look like much but the semi-automatic quick hitch alarm is clearly the result of a considerable amount of homework by inventor Tony Bianchi. The result is a product that simply does what a thousand health and safety inspectors and a million toolbox talks have summarily failed to achieve – Ensuring that the retaining pin is in place on a semi-automatic hitch.

The video is pretty self-explanatory – An electronic system sounds an exceptionally irritating alarm if the retaining pin is not inserted. It’s worth noting that the tried and tested method of replacing the pin with a lump of rebar will not fool the system.

As we have discussed previously here at www.demolitionnews.com, European manufacturers have agreed to cease production of semi-automatic couplers. But this agreement is NOT retrospective, leaving a good many demolition contractors operating semi-automatic hitches whose safety can be compromised by a lazy or forgetful operator. In these instances, the Quick Switch appears to provide the answer.

Joint -Venture ramps up fight against demolition equipment theft.

At SED 2009, Enigma Vehicle Systems PLC and Meck Lock UK will announce a new collaboration in security and tracking products for the UK demolition and construction equipment industry. The companies have jointly developed a new system that provides the benefits of the Skyline advanced GPS satellite tracking and telematics system from Enigma and the hydraulic anti-theft system from Meck Lock simultaneously. The new system will be demonstrated for the first time on the Meck Lock Stand No 140P in the Blue Pavilion at SED.

Mike Ford, Managing Director of Meck Lock UK, said: “We have been examining the satellite tracking market for some time now and found that the Enigma system and service was top of the tree. Unlike many of the tracking companies out there, Enigma has a strong focus and an excellent track record in the construction equipment market and could provide the intricacy we needed. Through our new collaboration, customers now have a system that combines the best of two very good products to provide a truly formidable barrier against equipment theft.”

Ian Keam-George, Chief Executive of Enigma Vehicle Systems, said: “A number of our customers specify the Meck Lock system, which is one of the leading anti-theft products of its type on the market. Our new collaboration is in response to requests to combine the systems, but we have taken this a stage further so that Skyline not only provides tracking and telematics information, it also allows customers to communicate with and operate the Meck Lock system remotely. We believe the combination of the systems adds a new element to the protection of remote assets in the construction equipment industry.”

In an exclusive podcast, www.demolitionnews.com discusses the subject of quick couplers.

The issue of semi-authomatic quick couplers is a problem that simply refuses to go away. In this exclusive podcast, www.demolitionnews.com’s Mark Anthony discusses this thorny topic with David Jones of CDM2007.org.

Please note that the podcast has been split into three parts of less than 10 minutes each to make viewing (and uploading) more manageable). We look forward to receiving your comments and feedback.

Quick Couplers Part I

Quick Couplers Part II

Quick Couplers Part III

Caterpillar cuts working hours at Desford backhoe/mini plant still further.

UK Trade magazine Contract Journal is reporting that Caterpillar has agreed even shorter working hours for staff at its Desford plant in Leicestershire which assembles mini excavators and backhoe loaders. From 1 June, the working week for the staff of around 500 is being reduced to 25.5 hours over three days from the current 34 hours over four days. However, the workers will still be paid for 30 hours.

Click here for the full story.

New series of The Detonators available to preview now.

Our good friends (and sponsors) C&D Consultancy have advised us that a new series of the Discovery Channel series “The Detonators” is about to start and that some preview footage is now available online.

Although C&D’s work on the blowdown of Sighthill Flats, Glasgow is not yet released, the preview footage is well-worth a viewing.

Thank you for all the site visits and comments yesterday.

The recession is in meltdown, the G20 are in town and there were rioters on the streets of London. But here at www.demolitionnews.com, we were enjoying our most successful day since we launched last year.

Thanks to a ridiculously stupid April Fool’s prank, this site achieved its highest ever number of visits in a single day. Interestingly, our sister site (www.demolition-job.so.uk just experienced a 1,038% increase in site visits, although such a level of interst does not bode well for the industry).

So for all of you that took the time out of your busy schedules, we thank you.

The Health and Safety Executive has announced radical steps to reduce site accidents.

With on site accidents static or rising, the Health and Safety Executive is recommending radical steps to prevent injuries from slips, trips, cuts, scrapes and broadsword attack.

Effective 1 April 2009, the HSE is recommending that all workers be supplied with a highly polished suit of armour that is impervious to all forms of likely damage. “We are recommending highly polished as, aside from the glare, it offers exceptionally high levels of visibility; far higher than those cheap and nasty high vis’ vests which, let’s face it, are very difficult to accessorise,” the HSE says. “Furthermore, there will no longer be an excuse for workers not having the correct PPE equipment with them at all times as they will be welded into these suits at the start of each working week and have no form of escape other than, perhaps, a sturdy can opener.”

The HSE says the new suits are being introduced in advance of the instigation of the Falling Over/Object Law (FOOL) later this year.

Although this latest move is designed specifically to reduce site accidents, the HSE believes that the new suits will have additional, day-to-day benefits. “Many demolition jobs take place in potentially rough inner city locations where there is a constant threat of physical violence,” the Executive explains. “Wearing these new suits, demolition workers can walk the streets of the UK safely and without fear of anything other than public ridicule and rust.”

Union representatives and other trade bodies report that they are currently preparing a response to the introduction of the new suits although www.demolitionnews.com understands that there has been a sudden, inexplicable and significant increase in sales of WD40 and Brasso.

“Our Medieval forebears knew a thing or two about safety,” concludes the HSE spokesperson. “So long as demolition workers remain constantly aware of potential arrow-induced eye injuries, these suits will reduce site accidents significantly.”