No one really likes having their worked checked. But when it comes to ensuring the highest levels of safety you can never have enough people ensuring that all is going smoothly. That’s the role of independent safety auditors – and General Demolition actively embraces their input. Safety: two heads are better than one
DEMOLITION
Just cut the carbon Construction and its ultimate corollary – demolition – makes up 13% of the world’s economy, but is trailing badly when it comes to pulling its weight on averting climate change. The impacts of climate change are increasingly evident, as is the pressure to meet global emissions targets. Decarbonisation has quickly become an urgent priority in the construction sector as, especially when combined with other initiatives, it has the scope to help significantly reduce carbon footprints.
Let’s face it, demolition work isn’t for the faint-hearted. It’s an arena where precision meets precaution, and where the difference between safe and sorry can be monumental. That’s why the industry demands not just high, but sky-high levels of safety. Even before prioritising the demolition and strip out of structures, GD ranks safety above all else, stamping its mark (carefully, of course) as a benchmark industry leader. The commitment to safety is ingrained in the company’s DNA. ”Safety isn’t just a box to tick for us; it’s the heart of our operation,” says George Stainton, managing director.
External assurance
CDM regulations: The backbone of safety
Project owners and clients also have skin in the game when it comes to ensuring that operations run smoothly and safely. They want to protect all those involved – and their own reputations – from hazard, and reassure themselves and any interested third party that safety isn’t being compromised. This is where independent safety auditors come into play, bringing an unbiased perspective and acting as a crucial second opinion in an industry where risks are as high as the structures being demolished. One such consultant is Safetyform, a UK-based independent health, safety and fire consultancy. This company stepped onto a GD site not as a looming watchdog, but as a partner in safety.
It has maintained an extremely reassuring compliance score of 99.5% across the year, making GD a model of safety in demolition.” Construction Design Management (CDM) regulations are vital for managing health, safety, and welfare on construction sites. Safetyform audited GD’s compliance with these regulations as its basis, and the results are more than encouraging. Gavin Johnson, Operations Manager at Safetyform, praises the company’s commitment:
Currently, the construction sector’s embodied carbon footprint is massive. According to the report Decarbonising Construction: Building a Low-Carbon Future, recently launched by Shell, together with Deloitte, construction- related embodied carbon emissions reached 5.4 gigatonnes (Gt) of CO 2 in 2020. This represents 16 percent of all global CO 2 emissions. To put things into perspective, this equates to more than five times the emissions from a major sector like aviation.
The report, which draws on insights from nearly 100 senior executives and experts in construction and demolition across Europe, North America and Asia, underscores practical strategies to cut these emissions significantly. Key approaches include increasing the use of low-carbon materials, like alternative cements and low carbon concrete, and expanding low-carbon steel production. By adopting such materials and methods on a large scale, the sector can make substantial progress toward decarbonisation, reducing the carbon intensity of buildings and infrastructure over their entire lifecycle. It also emphasises that widespread adoption of these technologies will require both industry-wide demand and supportive regulatory frameworks. Through unified collaboration and systemic change, the industry can accelerate a shift to a more sustainable, low-carbon future, contributing meaningfully to global climate goals.
“
16% Carbon emissions in the construction sector amount to: of all global CO 2 emissions
Not ‘them’ and ‘us’ – just ‘us’
Far from viewing Safetyform as an adversary, GD welcomes the extra pair of eyes. “Having third party auditors such as Safetyform on board is like having a co- pilot in safety; it’s an alliance we value deeply in our ongoing pursuit of safety perfection,” concludes Stainton.
13
www.General-Demoliton.co.uk
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker