A Sustainable Problem

It is a crying shame that the site accident statistics for the demolition industry in the United Kingdom are combined with those from the overall construction sector. If they weren’t, it would be plain for all to see that the demolition business has probably made the greatest strides of any industry sector in the field of workplace safety.

Ever-improving levels of training have, unquestionably, played a role in the continual decline in site accidents, incidents and fatalities. But a change in work practices and a continuously increasing mechanization have been the primary drivers, with high-reach excavators and remote-controlled mini-excavators largely replacing the operator with a sledgehammer of yesteryear.

Certainly in the past 20 years, since the high-reach excavator was introduced and embraced by U.K. demolition contractors, the annual count of accidents and fatalities has been reduced as the popularity of these machines has grown.

But if the focus 20 years ago was the removal of people from harm’s way, then the focus today is recycling and materials resource efficiency. And while we all want a cleaner, greener world, this drive toward sustainability threatens to put operatives back in the danger zone.

RADICAL RETHINK
During a recent presentation to the Institute of Demolition Engineers, President Terry Quarmby revealed that an initial study suggested that the growth in recycling had been mirrored by a growth in reportable, on-site incidents.
While these were, thankfully, of the non-fatal or non-life-threatening variety, any increase in accidents needs to be taken very seriously indeed. And in a hard-hitting presentation, Quarmby also stated that:

• architects and designers are undermining sustainability initiatives by an increasing use of non-recyclable and composite materials;

• demolition industry waste return figures are combined with those of the construction sector to help bolster the construction sector’s less-than-impressive statistics; and

• the construction industry is unlikely to achieve government targets to reduce waste to landfill by 2012.

“As an industry, demolition is bombarded with new directives and recommendations from the likes of WRAP (the Waste Resources Action Programme), the BRE (Building Research Establishment), CIRIA (Construction Industry Research and Information Association) and a multitude of non-governmental organizations, all of whom are keen to fight the sustainability cause,” Quarmby says. “But I firmly believe that what we really need is a radical rethink on the primary use of materials on new build to facilitate the ease of re-use and recycling.”

[Those wishing to hear an audio podcast of Institute of Demolition Engineers president Terry Quarmby’s presentation can go to: http://tinyurl.com/mrpb7y.]

MATERIAL ISSUES 
Quarmby says that the demolition business’s livelihood has long hinged upon its ability to find a home for the materials generated by its activities. However, this ability is being undermined by the use of new building materials that are either difficult or prohibitively costly to recycle or that no one actually wants.

“Twenty or 30 years ago when we were demolishing Edwardian or Victorian properties, all of the materials could be passed on very easily for re-use,” he says. “Today, we’re dealing with a very different range of products, including a large number of composites. We need to go back to the drawing board to reduce the use of these non-recyclable materials, and it is the architects and designers that must take the lead. Designers have a huge responsibility but, at present, they’re sitting on the fence, following client instructions, and not thinking about the ramifications of the materials they choose and specify.”

Quarmby is similarly critical of what he considers the construction sector’s still-poor record on waste and recycling. “According to current statistics, approximately 50 million metric tons of construction, demolition and excavation waste is sent to landfill each year,” he remarks. “According to figures from the National Federation of Demolition Contractors, the demolition sector is achieving recycling rates of more than 95 percent. That landfill input material is coming from somewhere and it’s not from demolition. We find the thought of sending aggregates to landfill abhorrent, yet it remains commonplace within the construction field.”

Against this background, Quarmby believes that the construction industry will fail to meet government targets to reduce materials to landfill by 2012, even with the figures from the demolition sector bolstering the statistics. “This is a hugely ambitious target and it’s only three years away,” he asserts. “Demolition is sending a miniscule amount of materials to landfill, even if we include the arisings from soft strip (interior renovation) operations. But construction has a long way to go and, based on present figures, I would personally question [its] ability to meet these targets.”

MINIMIZING HAZARDS
Quarmby’s greatest fear, he comments, is for the safety of his fellow demolition workers. “Thanks to the development of modern work practices and the increasing use of highly specialized equipment, many parts of the demolition process have become a one person, one machine operation and that man is largely isolated from the demolition area,” states Quarmby. “Aside from a few blips along the way, this has been reflected in a steady but marked decrease in the number of accidents on U.K. demolition sites,” he adds.

But not all signs are positive, Quarmby notes. “The problem with the level of recycling and materials segregation that we’re now being asked to achieve is that not all of it can be accomplished mechanically. This is forcing men back into potential danger areas. Even with the level of training this industry now provides, that is bound to lead to an increase in accidents.”

Concerned over this potential danger to his fellow demolition workers, Quarmby has conducted his own initial research. And while the findings are not entirely conclusive, he says the signs are plain to see. “The sustainability drive began in earnest at the turn of the new millennium. At the same time, the number of accidents in the demolition industry began to increase,” he states. “And the figures are significant. Over a 10-year period, site accidents were up by as much as 60 percent.”

Although he’s convinced that the increase in recycling and the increase in accidents are linked, he has called upon demolition contractors to maintain records on the precise cause of any accidents that might occur.

“We need to gather as much information on this subject as we possibly can,” Quarmby concludes. “As an industry, we are totally committed to the sustainability cause. But if it is causing harm to our workers, then we need that information to share with government and to help them steer future work practices.”