Demolition Awards shortlist details anounced

An international panel of industry experts has evaluated the entries from demolition companies around the globe and from these has determined shortlists for the 11 Demolition Awards categories.

Demolition Company of the Year

Cantillon Ltd - Watford, UK

Cantillon is a specialist contractor that combines initiative, dedication and commitment to ensure each of its projects is completed efficiently, safely and with minimal impact on the environment. Backed by 40 years' experience, Cantillon is a leading provider of a wide range of demolition services, from soft strip and structural demolition to enabling works. With a continued focus to exceed client expectations on every project, client satisfaction means that over 80% of turnover comes from repeat business.

Cantillon has developed a number of innovative best practice initiatives. These include a comprehensive Neighbourhood Liaison Policy, a new Health and Safety scheme and superior environmental credentials. This year the company has invested heavily in creating a unique advanced noise, dust and vibration monitoring system, previously not seen in the industry. Traditionally, noise monitoring is handled by third parties and usually involves a site visit once a week. Unfortunately, this only determines how noisy the company has been and not how noisy the planned works are going to be. To Cantillon this system of post event monitoring is inadequate so the company has developed their own pre-event solution.

Cuddy Group, Neath, UK

Since the company's inception in 1983, Cuddy Group has achieved solid year-on-year growth - up last year by 37% - and a hard-earned reputation for being the best. While successful expansion strategies have been aggressive, the team has enviably become the 6th largest of its kind in the world without once compromising the core values upon which Cuddy was first established - scientific precision; outstanding H&S and environmental standards; and robust training and communication mechanisms.

Cuddy's strong teamwork approach - combined with extensive training initiatives, meticulous planning, and maximum respect for the environment - brings in every project (including the 91 undertaken in the last 14 months) not only on time and to budget, but with the utmost consideration for client satisfaction.

EDS, Sheffield, UK

Established for over a decade, EDS has become one of the most successful and major decommissioning contractors in the business providing the skills, resources and flexibility to deliver all types of projects safely on programme and within budget.

From £3.5 million turnover in 2000, EDS has expanded to a projected £45 million for year end 2009. EDS specialise in working on high risk sites for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries with projects ranging from demolition of oil refineries, chemical process structures, and highly contaminated buildings to controlled explosive demolitions of multi storey office blocks and other structures.

Over the past few years, the company has broadened its services into land remediation, recognising that post demolition there is a need to clean the land for redevelopment and reuse. By continuing to develop in line with the needs of the industry and its clients it has ventured into the nuclear decommissioning field and completed some of the first dismantling projects within radioactive sites.

General Demolition

General Demolition's business performance throughout 2008 was based on a balanced project portfolio across several market sectors. This enabled it to remain buoyant in spite of the challenging economic climate).

It secured many high profile demolition contracts in London, notably in the hotel and leisure sector and the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) investment programme.

Its ‘flagship' projects included: Four Seasons Hotel, Park Lane; Kensington Park & Kensington Palace Hotels; Kensington Crowne Plaza, Shoreditch; Theatre Museum, Covent Garden; Marshall Street Regeneration, Soho; Walworth Academy, Southwark; St Aloysius College, Islington; and St Marylebone CE School Westminster.

The company' new logo - Recycle the past, renew the future - represents General Demolition's commitment to excellence in recycling and sustainable performance and the role it plays in paving the way for future developments.

Keltbray, London, UK

Keltbray believes that its approach has enabled it to deliver excellent performance in an increasing progressive number of services, and it has seen its performance improve greatly in the last 18 months. Some of the highlights from this period include Accident Frequency Rate down to 0.13; Incident and Injury Free behavioural health and safety programme in its 3rd year; 100% CSCS trained; Acquired licensed waste transfer stations; Acquired Pectel, Gamble rail, Hunts Waste and Cain White Piling; Training Facility and Assessment Centre; Corporate Social Responsibility programme launched; and 10% reduction on emissions for Plant and Haulage

Two years ago Keltbray undertook a major strategic review to define the company's short, mid and long term goals andstrategies for achieving them. As well as using standard Porter's 5 forces and SWOT analysis, the industry's landscape was also mapped out using a STEEP analysis, to ensure the strategy addressed Social, Technological, Economic, Environmental and Political considerations. Anticipating a down-turn in the commercial development market Keltbray has diversified to gain entry into other sectors including rail and nuclear, to provide further opportunities to maintain business continuity. To this end we have also added piling capabilities, waste processing and remediation.

Safedem, Dundee, UK

Despite the worldwide economic crisis, Safedem has enjoyed an incredible period of financial growth and success. This growth has been underpinned by targeting term contracts with government funded agencies. From this position of strength, Safedem has invested heavily in updating plant and equipment with a dedicated and considerable budget invested in safety, training, resident liaisonand envornmental innovations. To accommodate this growth and success, in April 2009 Safedem completed the acquisition of a new headquarters in Dundee, comprising 1,000m² office space, 1,000 m² workshops and stores and over 450,000 m² yard space.

Over the past 12 months Safedem has added ISO14001 and ISO18001 to its ISO9001 qualification. The company is also accredited members of the NFDC Site Audit Scheme, British Safety Council, Achilles, Considerate Constructors and many more.

Demolition Contract of the Year

Carl Bolander, USA - I-35W Bridge, Minneapolis

On August 1, 2007, the state of Minnesota suffered a devastating tragedy and loss. The I-35W Bridge spanning the Mississippi River collapsed. Thirteen people lost their lives, hundreds of others were injured and a main artery for traffic was gone. The bridge was 2,000 ft long (456 ft of it over the river), and 113 ft wide and it carried hundreds of thousands of cards every day.

Carl Bolander won the contract to remove the debris from the bridge collapse, which was complicated by the fact that there was also the requirement to recover the victims from the river while at the same time preserving the steel and bridge components for examination as part of the identification of the cause of the disaster.

In just three months, Carl Bolander's crew had successfully completed the critical portion of the contract by removing the bridge to facilitate the replacement bridge's construction.

Detecsa, Spain - Plaze de las Glorias, Barcelona

Dismantling of the Plaza de las Glorias in Barcelona was a job involving a great amount of detailed previous planning, in addition to the extensive use of numerous different kinds of equipment. Prevention assessment was performed on risks on subway and underground railway lines. Work was executed during the night to minimise impact on traffic, and carefully executed because the job was a partial demolition and part of the structure had to be retained to be used when a new phase is developed. The entire job had to be carried out in three months.

Plaza de las Glorias is an elevated ring highway, built using a mixed structure of concrete pillars and steel beamsto create a three level structure (ground, internal and upper). The upper level was a part of the traffic highway network built for the 1992 Olympics, as an entrance and exit from the city. The internal level was used for public parking and also as a car pound for the traffic police of Barcelona. A four-lane highway surrounded the entire structure. Underneath Plazas de las Glorias is a subway tunnel and a railway tunnel. This meant that over both tunnels the weight of machinery to be used was limited and no demolition debris could be allowed to fall on the ground either.

General Smontaggi, Italy - Salerno-Reggio Calabria motorway viaducts

This was a major contract to remove old road viaducts on the A3 motorway from Salerno to Reggio Calabria, the main arterial road that connects Sicily and the most southern regions on the Tyrrhenian Sea to the large European motorway network. The demolition operations on the entire stretch of motorway included over 40 viaducts - 15 of which were higher than 50 m and longer than 200 m.

The engineers from General Smontaggi started their work in summer 2006 and finished at the beginning of 2008. They had to carry out a very careful technical-economic study on the basis of a multi-criteria analysis to adopt the best technical choices for each type of viaduct found along the road.

The demolition techniques chosen by General Smontaggi S.p.A. were varied and essentially depended on the height of structures to be demolished, the accessibility of the slopes on which the viaducts rested and the proximity of the new motorway which, in certain instances was immediately adjacent to the viaduct to be demolished or even overlapping.

Keltbray, UK - 20 Fenchurch St, London

Keltbray's demolition on a 26 storey tower block in the centre of London standing on a sensitive location has gained the company a place on the shortlist for this category.. The contract required technical innovation in the form of temporary structural resupport of 22 floors and 3D animation of the complex roof demolition. Understanding exactly how the roof structure supported the building was fundamental to determining the most effective and safest method of demolition.

In addition, pioneering use was made of noise masking, radar and low frequency scanning. Concurrent demolition work was also carried out on two eight storey office blocks while carrying out £7.5 million of asbestos removal and the design and fabrication and installation of 500 tonnes steel work

McGee Group, UK - 122 Leadenhall St, London

Another bottom-up demolition joc in the heart of London has won McGee Group a place on the shortlist.. When British Land Plc received the tender returns for the demolition of 122 Leadenhall Street, they feared the planned construction of their new flagship project would be cancelled as the timescale for the demolition contract in the tender returns was generally six months longer than expected.

British Land challenged three of demolition contractors to overcome the problem, so that they could deliver the new Richard Rogers designed Leadenhall Building to their desired programme. McGee Group gained the contract.

The principle of the McGee solution was to construct a temporary deck at mid-height in the tower, to convert the hangers to props and transfer the load into the deck. With the deck at mid-height in the tower, sufficient headroom would be created to allow a Bauer BG40

Piling Rig and attendant crawler cranes to work comfortably and safely underneath. Not only would the deck carry the load of the floors above, but it would also carry the weight of the perimeter scaffold and provide an adequate crash deck to ensure the safety of the plant and operatives working below.

Safedem, UK - Marischal College, Aberdeen

Safedem has gained its place on the shortlist through the work it has been carrying out on Marischal College in the Scottish city of Aberdeen. The project required the retention of what is world's second largest granite facade and the internal demolition of a series of listed structures forming the forming three sides of a quadrangle with an occupied museum that remained in full operation throughout the project forming the fourth side.

With the external elevations fronting busy city centre streets, all the work had to b carried out from within the quadrange with minimal eveidence of the works apparent on the external ornate facades. No retaining towers or scaffolding were allowed outside the building, requirinf all support to be provided from towers located in the quadrangle via heavy duty flying shores. The largest opening available for the removal of debris was a doorway 2.5 m wide by 2.5 m high.

Demolition Safety Award

Cantillon, UK

Cantilon has been shortlisted for this category because of its corporate approach to installing a strong safety culture across all its activities. Over the past two years, Cantillon has made Health and Safety a company philosophy by bringing it into focus for all employees. Cantillon is committed to ensuring that everyone in the company knows, appreciates and acts upon the fact that health and safety are core company values that dictate how they work. With the development and implementation of innovative new systems and procedures the company is also helping to set new standards within the industry.

A self analysis programme determined that Cantillon needed an Operations Manager to work closely with the SHEQ Manager, developing management systems that are bespoke to Cantillon and its core work of demolition.

The Health and Safety management system has been re-written and a training regime that includes all levels of management has been introduced. They have received and continue to receive new and innovative education and instruction commensurate with their appointments and tasks.

DH Griffin of Texas, USA

D.H. Griffin of Texas, Inc. (DHGT) embraces a zero accident performance philosophy and objective. Zero incident performance means error-free project execution: no injuries, illnesses, property damage, community or environmental impacts, or incidents that could have resulted in these occurrences under different conditions. Zero incident performance does not happen by chance: it is achievable through the integration of Environmental Safety and Health (ES&H) into all management systems and individual efforts. This is the first message that each person working for the company hears, and they are constantly reminded of it.

It emphasises the importance of individual responsibility and active participation to achieve ES&H performance success and continuous improvement. Each person has a responsibility to understand how to safely perform assigned tasks, to work safely, to identify potential problems, help fix them, and to stop work if they believe an imminent danger exists. Employees of D.H. Griffin of Texas, Inc. have worked 5,443 Days "without a lost time accident". The company is very proud of this record and continue to strive for zero incidents or accidents. At D. H. Griffin of Texas, Inc. all personnel are trained to be safety monitors. Any employee working on site has the ability to stop any activity if it is felt the task at hand is not being performed in a safe manner or if an unsafe condition exists.

Demolition Training Award

Cuddy Group

Regardless of the economic climate, Cuddy acknowledges that staff development and enrichment is one thing that cannot be compromised, because progressively changing people's mindset to a safe, professional and Cuddy way of thinking, remains paramount.

In the past 13 months alone Cuddy staff attended 547 external training days - covering topics ranging from confined space training to bat protection, accident prevention to noise awareness - at a direct cost of £57,252.32. Combined with a £29,250 investment in CSCS, a £48,750 CITB levy and an indirect balance of £67,220.84 (to cover travel fees, trainee wages and the cost of replacement site workers), this significant outlay is fundamental in allowing us to uphold our prestigious reputation, consistently improve its H&S record and continuously fulfill its ISO19001 (quality), ISO14001 (environmental) and OHSAS 18001 (safety) responsibilities.

Cuddy's comprehensive training programme employs a variety of communication mechanisms - from externally recognised courses to internal briefing sessions, toolbox-talks and monthly safety meetings - each fostering learning, development and continuous allegiance to the company's core values.

Dorton Group, UK

In the summer of 2007 the organisation implemented a large recruitment drive in an attempt to attract junior, middle and top management personnel to the company. This action was mainly the desire of the present managing director to improve the company's profile, secure better contracts and increase turnover. Several key positions were filled and almost immediately the results were tangible.

The key appointment was that of a new director who would have overall responsibility for Health, Safety, Environment and Training as well as a ‘hands on' approach to office and site administration duties. Many of the improvement that have been made to the organisation's operational processes have had a dramatic effect on the retention of staff and the subsequent recruitment of all categories of employees. The training regime that has been implemented has proved to be robust and is welcomed by all staff who actively participate, even asking for more of the same and or suggesting topics for consideration that could improve their working capabilities as well as the organisations profile.

An organisation's desire to improve turnover, status and desirability in the eyes of their client can be achieved by taking a number of routes. However, when much of this desire is achieved through the efforts of the workforce in promoting the employer organisation it sends a very powerful message to the client and his administrators. This has very much been reflected in an increase in the turnover of work while staff turnover has remained at almost zero levels.

Keltbray, UK

Keltbray recognises that its employees are the significant differentiating factor in its performance. This being its core belief allows the whole team to play an active role in the development of themselves and others. The company is passionate about the industry and endeavours to assist and share knowledge with each other and external organisations such as the NFDC, clients and local authorities to continuously improve its business and make demolition a safer and sustainable industry.

All types of training, development and coaching are as a result of strategic knowledge management researched in our business.

To date, Keltbray has invested £3 million invested in training, carried out 31,500 hours of training, gained a framework training agreement with Local Authorities. In addition, it now has an In-house CSCS touchscreen testing centre, with over 500 tests taken, opened a new 4,000 ft² bespoke asbestos training centre opened and acquired a rail infrastructure training centre

To date 180 NVQs have been completed and 15,345 hours of tool box talks have taken place

Environmental & Recycling Award

Brandis, Denmark

The demolition project on Tuborg's old bottling plant distinguished itself by being a fine example of practising working methods and waste handling in relation to current environmental issues. On this project, Brandis demonstrated how PCB abatement, with as comprehensive occupational safety and health and environmental considerations as possible, can be carried out with the cooperation of the building's owner, advisers and municipality. By exercising careful sorting of the waste, Brandis kept the PCB-polluted waste to a minimum. This resulted in more reusable waste and less waste going to landfill. But most off all, Brandis has gained experience in handling PCB that the company can now share with others.

Cantillon Ltd, UK

Cantillon is a specialist contractor that combines initiative, dedication and commitment to ensure each of its projects is completed efficiently, safely and with minimal impact on the environment. Taking eco-friendly practice to another level, Cantillon, in conjunction with its Behavioral Safety Programme, has embarked upon an Environmental Sustainability campaign. On each project, Cantillon will look at ways to recycle waste material, reduce vehicle movements and other such initiatives to minimise a project's carbon footprint.

The company also advises clients on the optimum method of disposing material from the demolition of their site. This is achieved by enforcing methods that ensure as much of the material produced from demolition and packaging is recycled and re-used. Cantillon has embraced new legislation on SWMPs (Site Waste Management Plan) as the company had already been auditing client's sites to maximise the quantity of recycling.

Cherry Demolition, USA

Cherry believes that a successful demolition and concrete crushing company must adopt solid environmental, social responsibility and sustainability initiatives. A key component of Cherry's overall environmental mission is to recycle its demolished concrete into re-usable crushed concrete. By doing so, Cherry not only significantly reduces the amount of concrete and steel waste that ends up in landfills, but it helps preserve the USA's natural aggregate resources. ]

During the last 18 months, Cherry recycled 2,071,500 tons of concrete. This total equates to the reduction of approximately 1,000,500 cubic yards of landfill and the elimination of more than $11,530,000 in tipping fees. During the same time period, Cherry also recycled 55,000 tons of steel, which has found new life in commercial projects in the USA and abroad.

Costello Demolition, USA

Costello was shortlisted by the panel as a result of its entry that used a specific project to illustrate the care, expertise and effort it expends during all its demolition activities to ensure the minimum of material going to landfill.

In its entry, Costello described the demolition and subsequent processing of demolition waste (wood and granite) arising from the demolition of an old textile mill in Fall River, Massachussetts. The site consisted of 800,000 ft² dating back to 1895. An abundance of very valuable, salvageable building materials made well-planned removal and recovery techniques were an essential component of the demolition plan and worker training for the project. The structures on the site were a mix of timber framed, granite walled buildings structural steel and concrete manufacturing buildings.

The timber buildings were dismantled, with the wood being segregated and brought to a processing centre on site for grading, denailing and packaging to economic shipping quantities, with the total volume reaching well over one million board feet, which was sold to buyers from 10 states and foeign countries. The granite was screened and classified to grades of highest to lowest value, Concrete was crushed on site and will be used as fill during the development of the now vacant site. The porject yielded 100,000 tonnes of stone, concrete, brick, metal and wood that were recycled, with only 2,000 tonnes of non-recyclable material being sent to landfill.

General Smontaggi, Italy

The judging panel selected General Smontaggi based on its entry for this category that illustrated its approach to environmental and recycling issues by way of describing the way it carried out an industrial demolition project at the Vinavil factory site at Villadossolo in Italy

A wide range of hazardous substances had been abandoned within the various process plants of the factory when it ceased operation and these had to be removed before the site could be propeared for other uses.

General Smontaggi planned and carried out the regeneration of all materials containing asbestos in a compact and friable matrix, leading to the disposal of more than 30 tons of this extremely hazardous mineral.

There followed the internal clearance of the plant: here again General Smontaggi removed all hazardous substances in the factory that had been lying abandoned inside the structures for years and represented an insurmountable obstacle to demolition. The huge furnaces were still filled with carbide, a substance that is inflammable when in contact with water. More than 4,000 tons of such material were cleared out of the premises and disposed of.

Explosive Demolition Award

Safedem, UK

The entry that has led Safedem to be shortlisted by the panel of judges describes the work the company carried out using explosives to demolish the 12 storey Broomview House in Scotlands capital city of Edinburgh.

Structural evaluations had revealed that standard mechanical demolition using high reach equipment would potentially lead to an uncontrolled collapse and dynamic energy release from the contracting tendons in the concrete members of the building so explosive demolition was considered the best method for the structure's removal.

Safedem developed an innovative technique for the placement of light explosive charges to disrupt the columns and release the energy within the tendons at predetermined locations. This involved diamond saw cutting of vertical slots, positioned to avoid the prestressed tendons. These slots allowed the 12 mm diameter detonating cord to be centrally positioned within the columns. Once in position, the slots were grouted to the column face to contain the cord and achieve maximum coupling and efficiency of the explosive cord.

Prior to the blast, 300 houses were evacuated from the 200 m exclusion zone by the Safedem community liaison team. This was completed safely ahead of schedule and the final firing and security checks were carried out in advance of the initiation. Following the demolition, the debris pile was inspected where it was clearly visible that the tendons had been successfully cut, releasing the energy from the stressed members in a safe and controlled fashion.

TDS, UK

Technical Demolition Services' work using explosives to bring down a multi-story building in another Scottish City, Glasgow, has seen it shortlisted for the 2009 Explosive Demolition Award. Two 20 storey buildings were brought down using what the company says is the world's first auto-programmable electronic detonation system called Hotshot.

The blow-down was undertaken just 8 m from Network Rails main Glasgow-Edinburgh railway on one sie and a fully glazed school assembly hall just 17 m away on the other side. Defined, intricate planning by TDS, working in conjunction with all relevant parties from Network Rail and the local School Authorities, ensured that the job was handled professionally, safely and expertly, ensuring no damage to either structure before, during or following on from the demolition.

The time schedule was established to minimise disruption to train services, which in turn allowed night filming of the blowdown by the Discovery TV channel.

Although this type of detonation system has never been attempted before for high rise demolition, TDS and its subcontractors were immediately impressed with the technology that offers the ability to precisely set detonator timings to within one millisecond.

Thueringer, Germany

Thueringer has been selected for the shortlist as a result of the work it carried out to demolish Germany's second highest construction - Berlin's 385.5 m tall transmitting tower. A relic of the cold war, the 358.5 m tall mast used for directional telephone call transmission between Berlin and the Federal Republic of Germany. With German unification it was now obsolete.

The pole was constructed from high solid steel (steel 52) and had a square section of 4.3 m x 4.3 m and a mass of 920 tons. The anchoring cables in four levels of three cables had a cumulative length of 3.8 km and weighed an additional 250 tons.

Another transmitting mast that had to remain in operation stood 72 m away along with another building housing technical equipment 102 m distant and a gas pipeline 220 m away.

Because of the limited space a folding of the tower using explosives was planned. This was achieved by creating a blast zone at an altitude of 93 m. The side plates of the anchor cables were blasted simultaneously with linear shaped charges (linear cutter), of which more than 16 m was used.

To guarantee the demanded direction of fall ballast with a mass of 2 tonnes was fixed in the middle of the lowest cable in order to pull the structure the right way. A exclusion zone was secured by more than 200 policemen and assistants.

The blast was totally successful and the mast tilted and collapsed as planned. The length of the resulting debris was 85 m + 65 m = 150 m. That is less than half of the original length of the tower.

Industrial Demolition Award

Cuddy Group

A prime example of Cuddy's multi-disciplined approach to partnership working and flexibility in overcoming obstacles caught the eyes of the judges and resulted in the company being shortlisted for this category. This was its 2008 project to demolish Mansfield Brewery - a challenging site comprising structures varying from an eight-storey production building, laboratories and office works, to a steel flume, bottling plant and bridge.

The variety of design forms constructed throughout the site's 146 year history, resulted in the combined deployment of traditional demolition methods, plus the controlled use of explosives to bring down a 450 tonne, 42m high brick chimney within extremely close quarters, and in just three seconds. Whilst this multiplied the project's potential risk, the 16 week contract was brought in on time and to budget and with no disruption to the neighbouring residential site, police station or ring road.

The site had been targeted by vandals, arsonists and drug addicts since its closure seven years ago leaving unstable structures littered with hypodermic needles.

Given the brewery's rich heritage, and as a long-standing Mansfield employer, intense debate surrounded the future of the site, meaning Cuddy's work was under constant - sometimes disapproving - scrutiny from residents and media.

Although the contract created 20,000 tonnes of rubble, in keeping with company policy of recycling at least 95% of all materials, Cuddy retained all steel and wood for reuse on site, and crushed brick and concrete at the company's dedicated crushing facility for use as backfill. The iconic brewery sign was also carefully salvaged and donated to the town's museum, in order to preserve the brewery's heritage for future generations

General Smontaggi

The industrial project carried out by Italian contractor General Smontaggi during the demolition of an oil refinery at Ravenna, Italy, impressed the panel and resulted in the company being shortlisted for the 2009 Industrial Demolition Award.

The contract featured aspects that were particularly complex to execute (due to its location deep inside an industrial zone) and involved a wide variety of different demolition methods. As well as this, exact timing of operations was essential in order for the redevelopment project for the area to go ahead immediately.

Demolition of the Ravenna refinery fell within a more general land reclamation and improvement operation, in a manufacturing area that was at the centre of the local and Italian economic boom starting in the 1950s.

The refinery covered approximately 35 hectares, and was divided into two distinct zones connected by a walkway and a pipe rack:

• the northern area, containing the accumulation tanks and all the production plant;
• the storage tank area, 160,000 square meters containing four of the largest accumulation tanks in Italy

Demolition of an industrial complex of this size required the assignment of staff, machinery and equipment over a period of approximately 30 months. During these 30 months, approximately 36,000 tons of iron, 19,000 tons of cement and smaller amounts of other materials were demolished, all in a selective manner so that each material could be subjected to disposal or recycling operations suited to its chemical and physical composition, and in full compliance with current regulations.

Lee Demolition, UK

The UK's Lee Demolition was selected by the judging panel for the Industrial award as a result of the work it carried out when it decontaminated and demolished the former Goodyear Dunlop factory in Wolverhampton.

Many of the vacant buildings on the site were heavily contaminated after many years of use. Lee cleared all buildings of hazardous waste prior to structural demolition works, which was carried out largely by mechanical means using excavators mounted with shears, crushers, pulverisers and grapples. Explosives were used to bring down a 55 m high chimney on the site.

The presence of a live factory complex abutting the demolition zones complicated the job, with these areas having to be individually assessed prior to demolition work being carried out.

The most complex structure demolished was the main boiler house with a gable end rising 25 m above the live factory complex. Scaffolding was erected to the full height of the wall prior to for access as well as for protection before its demolition began. A crane was brought on site and high level structural steel elements and primary items of plant were dismantled and lowered to the ground in a controlled fashion.

Urban Demolition

Keltbray - 20 Fenchurch St, London

Keltbray's demolition on a 26 storey tower block in the centre of London standing on a sensitive location has gained the company a place on the shortlist for this category.. The contract required technical innovation in the form of temporary structural resupport of 22 floors and 3D animation of the complex roof demolition. Understanding exactly how the roof structure supported the building was fundamental to determining the most effective and safest method of demolition.

In addition, pioneering use was made of noise masking, radar and low frequency scanning. Concurrent demolition work was also carried out on two eight storey office blocks while carrying out £7.5 million of asbestos removal and the design and fabrication and installation of 500 tonnes steel work

McGee Group, UK - 122 Leadenhall St, London

Another bottom-up demolition job in the heart of London has won McGee Group a place on the shortlist.. When British Land Plc received the tender returns for the demolition of 122 Leadenhall Street, they feared the planned construction of their new flagship project would be cancelled as the timescale for the demolition contract in the tender returns was generally six months longer than expected.

British Land challenged three of demolition contractors to overcome the problem, so that they could deliver the new Richard Rogers designed Leadenhall Building to their desired programme. McGee Group gained the contract.

The principle of the McGee solution was to construct a temporary deck at mid-height in the tower, to convert the hangers to props and transfer the load into the deck. With the deck at mid-height in the tower, sufficient headroom would be created to allow a Bauer BG40

Piling Rig and attendant crawler cranes to work comfortably and safely underneath. Not only would the deck carry the load of the floors above, but it would also carry the weight of the perimeter scaffold and provide an adequate crash deck to ensure the safety of the plant and operatives working below.

Schijf Group

Schijf Group has gained its place on the shortlist because of the work it is carrying out during the redevelopment of a residential complex at Gooilaan in The Hague. The main contractor on the job, Smits Vastgoedzorg, stipulated that all demolition work should be carried out with minimum of dust being generated since work is being carried out in occupied buildings and residents must be able to carry on with their activities with no inconvenience. Schijf is using a mix of Hilti hand tools, all equipped with an advanced dust extraction system and dust control has proved so efficient that the Schijf team are able to carry out their work without the need for any form of respiratory protection. All involved in the contract, and the residents themselves, have reported that it would be more accurate to call the work dust free. It is this that impressed the judging panel.

Innovation Award - Series Product

The 2009 Innovation Award for series product is intended to recognise individual products from the industry's suppliers of equipment or tools. The judges were looking for entries discussing a new innovation or product of any sort that has improved, or will improve, the performance of the demolition industry, which will be available to anyone wishing to use them in their daily work. A number of entries have been shortlisted by the panel, as detailed below

Case Construction Equipment for the establishment of its R&D centre that will design and produce booms for special applications, including the demolition role

Dehaco for the introduction of the De-Dust Pico for dust suppression during indoor demolition applications

Hilti for its ranges of vibration reduced hand tools for the demolition sector

Omlock for its mechanical/hydraulic boom coupling system

Volvo for its Stadard Demolition Solutions range of demolition specified machines that feature all all essential options in the standard build.

Innovation Award - Custom Product

The 2009 Innovation Award for custom product is intended to recognise individual products from the industry's suppliers of equipment at tools. The judges were looking for entries discussing a new innovation or product of any sort that has improved, or will improve, the performance of the demolition industry, which has been developed as a solution for a specific customer-driven demand. Two entries have been deemed of particular note by the panel for the 2009 award, as detailed below. Of interest is the fact that both entries cover the development of special high reach demolition equipment

Liebherr

Liebherr entered its 65 m high reach demolition machine that was developed for Coleman & Company in the UK by Liebherr working together with telescopic boom specialist Kocurek. The panel considered this machine of special note.

Rusch Special Products

Netherlands based Rusch Special Products has been the subject of considerable coverage in the press with its development of several very special high reach machines for the demolition industry. It is no surprise that the company's 90 m high reach has made it onto the shortlist.

Service & Support Award

The Service and Support Award will be awarded to a supplier or manufacturer who has introduced high standard support systems to maintain its demolition equipment in the field. Single instances where a supplier or manufacturer has gone to extreme lengths to supply support during an individual demolition contract were also considered as part of the judging process. Two entries stood out, according to the panel of judges.

Hilti AG for its approach to the market, which allows it to function as a partner with specific users of its tool ranges.

Liebherr for its range of demolition options on its excavators, allowing customers to tailor machines to their specific needs as well as the degree of service and support offered.