Some demolition gratification!
So a few weeks ago we had a drone on site to film the progress so far. This is a client directed activity, but something we had to make allowance for on site.
You can probably guess that some of this may not be 100% as per the RAMS.
The tallest of the excavators, an HITACHI Ultra-high reach excavator, is the plant we are having issues with over the tunnels.
Points of interest:
0:12 – The majority of the buildings in this shot will eventually be demolished (except very top left)
0:23 – Ground dust suppression cannon
0:52 – Plant mounted dust suppression cannon
1:25 – Red hose feeding dust suppression cannon (these are quite exposed and often tracked by the plant)
1:44 – Some of the “off-site” works can be seen here, road upgrades and reallignment as part of the development
1:55 – The New Library can be seen here – another Carillion Project which helped them secure this project. (You can also see the Hyatt, the mirrored building, which Andy Bayley has a good story about)
2:10 – This highlights how constrained the site is and why the dust suppression is so important – there is a dedicated liaison manager who keeps all the stakeholders happy
2:35 – The white-roofed, red brick building is currently the site office – although this is going to be demolished
2:45 – The building on the left is the Birmingham Conservertoire (concerts and stuff) and is still in use – more steakholder management.
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Mate, an awesome video, if only everything in life came with a dodgy 80s homage soundtrack. Those excavators are very impressive, I wish I had something like that i my job – it would certainly solve a few issues. Thanks for sharing. what have been your major challenges with the demo job?
The biggest challenge has been the dual carriageway, cut&cover tunnel that runs under the site. This has had to remain open throughout the project.
Further issues include:
Machine down time (hoses mainly)
Getting RAMS approved for demlition
Stakeholder engagement (Believe it or not, the Birmingham City University still use an area under the demolition as a car park)
Dust, noise and vibration (Not a huge issue as the S/C is very good at managing it – there is an active monitoring system in place)
Wow, they are still using the car park! How is your stakeholder management done on site, who is responsible and how do you consult/keep people informed? It seems very adhoc here in S Brisbane. I asked about a comms plan and was told good idea write one (hence the interest) ;-)!
Do you have any example of RAMS that you have used. We use SWMS (called swims) over here that I find a bit loose.
Drop me your email address and I can send you one of the RAMS. The S/C writes the RAMS and then they go through a process of approval by Carillion (everyone from the Project director to the Engineers).
One of the QS guys is called the liaison manager. He likes to be the sole point of contact for all of the stakeholders, although that is rarely the case – it does get complicated. For example the Town Hall has a board of 8 members who all have different opinions on car parking, working hours and impact of the demolition.
Most of the liaison is done face to face. Although email and newsletters are used also. The newsletter this month is going to feature Yours Truly! I’ll speak to the LM and see if there is a ratified comms plan.