4 ways to Demolish a building
The article “4 Ways to Demolish the Building”, by Rodriguez (2018), states the 4 methods on how to demolish a building. The methods include Implosion, High Reach Arm, Wrecking Ball, and Selective Demolition. The technique use for demolition will depend on the location of the building and the primary building materials. Disposal of debris after demolition and safety of the demolition crew and the public must be taken into consideration.
The first method Implosion uses explosive to knock out a building’s vertical supports causing the building to collapse onto itself from the inside out, it is often used to demolish huge structures in urban areas. The second method is High Reach arm demolition, it uses demolishing tools attached to a base machine to break up the building structures of height more than 66 feet. The third method is Wrecking Ball demolition, it is an old technique used to demolish concrete structures with a wrecking ball weighting up to 13,500 pounds. The ball is dropped onto or swung into the structure which simply crushes the building with repeated blows. The last method is Selective demolition, it strips out selective materials demolition. The aim of selective demolition is to reuse or recycle building materials.
Based on the article, the author provides substantial details on the method of demolition, however, the author could elaborate more on dangers and the importance of risks assessment and site safety in demolition.
Demolition is a highly dangerous task. A better understanding on the risks in demolition work and focusing on demolition safety is therefore needed to avoid unnecessary work accident
First of all, as we understand that demolition is dangerous process, hence demolition sites must be aware of the kind of dangers and hazards that could be exposed to which method employed in the demolition. The common demolition risks include unplanned structure collapse, falling objects, risks from connected services such as gas and electricity which may cause fire hazard. Environmental hazard such as noise and dust is also a safety issue. The article on “Silo demolition in Denmark goes wrong and crushes cultural centre” by Collins(2018) states that a Danish cultural centre being damaged after a 53-metre high silo fell the wrong way during the demolition. Even though no one was injured but damage was done to surrounding building. The onlookers were shocked after seeing the building toppled towards the other building. This incident is a good example of the danger involved in demolition. Hence in order to combat the risks arising from the process of demolition, a better understanding on the safety precautions and risk assessment prior to the process is needed to prevent casualties.
A pre-demolishing risk assessment and management plan is compulsory to prevent accidents. The risk assessment will reveal the hazards and impact arising from the demolition. Only trained and licensed personnel should be deployed to ensure safety measures are put in place to facilitate a safe demolition. The article "Expert behind fatal Canberra hospital blast still holds act license" (2018) by Steven Trask, mentioned that an attempt to implode the Royal Cranberra Hospital in 1997 was flawed, causing debris to fly further than they calculated killing a child and wounding several. The person in charge of the implosion was not qualified and the task was dangerously carried out. The accident caused by dangerous demolition result in costly social aftermath. Therefore, a pre-demolition risk identification and assessment follow by risk control during the process of demolition must be in placed to protect the health and safety of the workers and public.
Safety is always the most important concern in demolition. Accident arising on breaches of safety measures will result in major complications to workers and the surrounding public, it rises to many unwanted social and environmental issues. The article "Disregarding Safety will cost you twice (And so much more)"(2008), reported that breaking the mandated safety law will come with a huge consequences. A deadly explosion at Port Wentworth factory caused by violation of safety standards claimed the lives of 13 employees and cost the company $9million in a penalty. The author emphasis on the importance of safety of a construction site, breaching it will result in a hefty financial and social cost. Implementation and reviewing on safety control measures will need to be put in place to protect the health and safety of the workers and public.
The ultimate goal of demolition is to pull down a building in the safest and most efficient way possible. In order to achieve this, risks assessment and good safety measures and solution implement are the key factors for a successful demolition
Reference:
Rodriguez, J. (2018, June 29). 4 ways to demolish the building
Collins, P. (2018, April 9). Silo demolition in Denmark goes wrong and crushes cultural centre
Davis, G. (2008). Disregarding Safety will cost you twice (And so much more)
Taylor, G. (2017, July 13). Royal Canberra Hospital implosion: 20 years on the lessons are still relevant, family rep says.
Site from: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-13/canberra-hospital-implosion-20th-anniversary/8702712
No comments:
Post a Comment