The demolition industry is constantly evolving, and the trends and regulations associated with the remediation side of the industry often appear to be a moving target. Many of the current discussions going on in the industry are centered on two main issues: silica enforcement efforts by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and how to handle polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the form of building materials and PCB bulk product waste.
The key to handling each of these issues effectively comes down to what the contractor has done in the planning stages of the project. The more time and effort that is put into the planning stages, the more it will help to keep the contractor out of regulatory danger and simplify execution of the project.
Standards for silica control
The OSHA final rule on Occupational Exposure to Respirable Crystalline Silica was published on March 25, 2016. Silica is a natural substance found in most rocks, sand and clay, and thus in products such as bricks and concrete. The demolition process almost invariably produces dust with silica included.
There has been quite a bit of confusion about this rule, in part because OSHA initially deferred enforcement on the standard, in fact several times, but finally started enforcement on Sept. 23, 2017.
During the first 30 days of enforcement, OSHA provided compliance assistance in lieu of citations for companies showing good faith efforts toward compliance. Effective Oct. 23, 2017, OSHA started to fully enforce the entire standard.
The new rule brought some clarity to the permissible exposure limit (PEL) of crystalline silica by setting it at 50 micrograms per cubic meter (50 µg/m3) during an eight-hour time weighted average (TWA), and an action level (AL) of 25µg/m3.
OSHA also added a specific set of work practices and mitigation techniques in what is referred to as Table 1 in the standard. Contractors who follow the guidance for the practices contained in Table 1 will not need to comply with the rest of the standard as the listed mitigation methods are considered by OSHA to be effective for the hazard. More on this can be found online at www.osha.gov/dsg/topics/silicacrystalline/construction.html#tableOneTasks.
However, contractors must be aware that if the work being conducted or the tools are different than what is outlined in Table 1, they become responsible for complying with the full standard, including producing a written program, medical surveillance, exposure monitoring and setting up regulated areas.
Planning and preparing means and methods to be used and comparing those methods to those listed in Table 1 of the standard can save the contractor compliance headaches.
If contractors are unable to make their practices mirror Table 1, then OSHA provides several helpful documents to guide their compliance efforts. These can be found at www.osha.gov/dsg/topics/silica crystalline.
These programs are similar to lead and asbestos programs used every day by contractors. If this still seems confusing, contractors should seek out a safety professional or consultant.
The emphasis in the early days of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) was focused on electrical equipment such as the oil in transformers, capacitors and ballasts, but nonliquid PCBs also can be found in building materials.
The EPA has stated that numerous building materials produced before the PCB ban in 1979 must be handled under TSCA guidelines. These products include: cable insulation; thermal insulation material, including fiberglass, felt, foam and cork; adhesives; tapes; paint; floor finishes and caulking.
The management best practices (MBP) for the demolition of buildings that contain or have the potential to contain PCB materials requires that a hazardous building materials assessment be conducted.
This is not limited to the two materials being discussed in this article, and includes asbestos, lead paint, mercury-containing devices and bulbs and ballasts. The testing of caulks, paints and mastics is a must to identify possible PCB contamination.
Building materials found to contain PCBs in an amount greater than or equal to 50 parts per million (50 ppm) in a nonliquid state must be removed and disposed of as bulk product waste. Any materials that have adhered to the PCB-contaminated building material, where PCBs may have leached into the material, must be either cleaned or disposed of as PCB bulk product waste.
Contractors must be careful, however. If the contractor chooses to clean the material and waste is generated during the cleaning process, it will be considered PCB remediation waste and the contractor must follow the specific TSCA disposal requirements. There are currently three options under TSCA for disposal of remediation waste:
The first is self-implementing cleanup and disposal (40CFR Section 761.61[a]). This method requires contractors to notify their EPA regional PCB coordinator.
The second is performance-based disposal (40CFR Section 761.61[b]). This method requires disposal in a TSCA landfill or incinerator through a TSCA-approved disposal method. This method generally does not require approval of the EPA.
The third method is risk-based cleanup and disposal and provides for alternative cleanup or disposal methods not covered in the first two choices (40CFR Section 761.61 [c]). This method requires that the contractor gain approval from the EPA prior to starting work.
The TSCA PCB disposal rules are prescriptive and can cause regulatory headaches for contractors who do not follow the letter of the law. The EPA provides guides to disposal and PCBs in building materials at www.epa.gov/pcbs.
Whenever the demolition industry moves into new territory, it feels uncomfortable, restrictive and even at times nonsensical. But regulations rarely, if ever, regress, and it is important to face these issues head on and work to improve techniques to implement the new regulations and practices.
The best way to accomplish this is through a robust planning process including a hazardous building assessment to help identify issues before regulators do. If a contractor develops best practices and revise current methods, then he or she can breathe easy and execute the job with reduced risk.
The author is a technical director with Environmental Resource Management (ERM) Group Inc., Malvern, Pennsylvania. Contact him at Mike.Casbon@erm.com.
Down but not out
Features - Operations Focus // Metal Recovery
When a building is taken down, balers and shears help ensure the metal within does not leave the recycling loop.
The construction industry uses a significant amount of the metal produced or imported each year in the United States, whether in the form of steel beams and plates, aluminum extrusions, copper wiring or red metal plumbing pipes and fixtures.
Likewise, when buildings are demolished, the metal within them serves as a significant source of scrap that creates business relationships between demolition contractors and scrap recyclers where each can profit from the harvested material.
When a demo project is large enough, those involved may need to consider bringing a baler onto the job site. In many other cases, scrap facility managers who know demo projects represent a major source of material will equip their yards properly to handle steel beams and other material stemming from the demolition process.
Portable prospects
Bringing a portable baler to a demolition site involves several expenses, so the decision to do so ordinarily is made only after determining the return on investment will be worthwhile.
Factors influencing the decision include the size and construction style of the building and how near or far it is from the yard of the intended scrap buyer. “The size and type of the building will determine the amount of recyclable material available, and the contractor must make the call on the impact of loose material freight versus baling or shearing on-site,” Bob Pfeffer, a product manager with Helsinki-based equipment supplier Metso, says.
Therefore, large industrial buildings or complexes in remote locations can be candidates. “Examples are factories, mills, large building complexes and energy plants,” Steve Weinberg, national sales and marketing director for Lefort America, Sunrise, Florida, says.
Referring to a large power plant demo job in Florida, Weinberg comments, “Due to the size and type of the job, a tremendous amount of steel scrap was generated, thus justifying the shearing and baling of material for larger returns and greater recovery revenue for every load sent.”
A portable machine that can be moved around the job site also offers benefits, Weinberg says, in that, “you can bring the shear/baler unit to the material instead of moving the material to the machine, which many times cannot happen on difficult terrain.”
Another aspect of the decision is whether to purchase a piece of processing equipment, look for a way to lease or rent it or search for a specialty subcontracting firm that focuses on on-site scrap processing.
Curt Spry of Ottumwa, Iowa-based C&C Machining says fewer such specialty on-site baling companies are in the market now compared with a decade ago, but using one can sometimes be the right approach. “Commercial balers come in with an experienced operator and can usually complete the job very quickly,” he says.
If a demo contracting firm determines its ongoing flow of work makes purchasing a baler or shear worthwhile, Pfeffer recommends the firm start by talking to “a reputable equipment manufacturer that can provide capital costs as well as operating costs.” He adds, “A scrap processor also can assist in explaining any premiums [paid] for prepared scrap as compared to unprepared scrap.”
Photo: Tom Strickland Photography
Cutting things down to size
Often with demolition scrap, if the processing machinery isn’t brought to the job site, the contractor must determine which nearby scrap facility is the right one to ship and sell its scrap to during the project.
When a large industrial or commercial building is the target, a recycler equipped with stationary equipment that can chew through steel beams may be the right one.
Jeff Ham, who is based in Nashville, Tennessee, for Georgia-based Harris, says, “A guillotine shear in the 1,000-ton range is a vital piece of equipment in a scrap yard” and is well-suited for steel beams that comprise part of the plate and structural grade of ferrous scrap.
“This machine will process scrap at a much lower cost per ton than processing it through a shredder,” he says.
Ham says stationary shears provide advantages to operators compared with shredders. “The quality and condition of the knife blades, as well as the adjustment of them to maintain the proper knife gap, is the primary maintenance concern on a shear. Wear liners and normal hydraulics maintenance also are considerations.”
Not all shearing must take place off-site, however. Weinberg says, “The portable type of attachable shears are available” for rent.
Pfeffer says, “If large steel beams and structures are included, the contractor may have to size this material with a mobile shear mounted on a material handler to be able to ship it.”
Equipped and ready
The relationship between the demolition and scrap industries has been long-lasting and continues to be critical to equipment suppliers. Metso says its new N-Series is designed for metal recycling companies that “operate on many sites or offer scrap processing as a service.”
Sierra International Machinery, Bakersfield, California, has enjoyed significant market share in the sector. The company’s RB5000 portable baler/logger can process up to 22 tons per hour of “logged” scrap material. The company indicates its SLK shear/baler/logger line has been designed to offer “large shear production at a small price.”
Demo contractors considering investing in scrap processing equipment can get advice by talking with their allies in the scrap recycling sector, Spry says. “I would suggest going to see a baler in operation at either an existing demo site or a nearby scrap yard that is processing material similar to what you would have at the demo site.”
To whatever extent they choose to cooperate on a given project, demo contractors and scrap processors each are likely to benefit as manufacturers compete to serve this critical sector.
A version of this article originally ran in the February issue of Recycling Today, a Construction & Demolition Recycling sister publication. The author is an editor with the Recycling Today Media Group and can be reached at btaylor@gie.net.
Keeping the momentum
Features - Regional Spotlight // NORTHEAST
Demolition contractors and C&D recyclers in the Northeast are coasting off of record construction backlogs in the region.
Anyone who has had to sit through a high school physics class will remember Newton’s first law of motion: Objects in motion tend to stay in motion, unless acted upon by an opposing force. For construction and demolition (C&D) recyclers and demolition contractors working in the Northeast, that’s good news, as the steady economy and booming construction sector have carried the industry’s positive momentum unimpeded into spring.
Setting the pace
The strength of the construction sector is a good barometer for gauging the direction of the demolition and C&D recycling industries. Despite the lack of a much-anticipated infrastructure stimulus package heading into the spring, construction professionals are still reporting strong growth and record backlogs that have carried over to the demo and recycling sectors.
“Construction in this region is booming,” Bernie Laber, executive project manager of Revolution Recovery, Philadelphia, says. “The front end of the business has been exceeding our expectations. We are meeting this demand and growing. We anticipate a continued upward trend in the construction and demolition activity in our market.”
Randy Wolf, director of Conshohocken, Pennsylvania-based L&S Demo Recycling, echoed Laber’s sentiments, stating that its recycling operations have been going strong and appear to be primed for more success in the year ahead.
“2017 continued the upward trend we’ve seen for the past five years,” Wolf says. “We operate a roll-off hauling business as well, and that business has mirrored the general growth [we’ve seen]. The first three months of 2018 seem to be in line with previous years, and we are expecting a solid 2018.”
Scott Knightly, president of Epping, New Hampshire-based EnviroVantage, says that not only has the volume of work been positive for his company, but also the types of projects the company is seeing have been a pleasant surprise.
“Business conditions in the Northeast remained strong through 2017 and continue to build in all sectors through the first quarter of 2018,” Knightly says. “The strongest sectors, for example healthcare, require higher levels of skill and expertise due to the complexity of the projects. For EnviroVantage, who operates throughout the entire Northeast, the volume as well as the quality of work has exceeded expectations.”
While the spring is usually the time of year when contractors’ and recyclers’ businesses start to ramp up in the Northeast, industry participants got a jumpstart on the action this year. The year started out strong and continued throughout winter, which has kept businesses busy.
Anthony Contento, executive vice president of Cortland, New York-based Contento Recycling LLC, says that although Contento is new to the C&D recycling world, its C&D hauling business and demolition division are enjoying unseasonably strong growth.
“Though much of our work is seasonal and takes places mostly in the spring and summer months, we have serviced quite a few long-lasting construction projects throughout the winter,” Contento says. “As the spring of 2018 progresses, Contento Recycling has already secured a full workload for the spring and summer. This leads us to believe that we will have a very active year with both demolition and new construction in our area of central New York.”
Mark Frederico, owner of Rochester, New York-based Frederico Demolition, acknowledges that while the company saw a couple months of slowed growth in late winter, business has been good for the company overall. Frederico attributes part of the company’s recent expansion to its emphasis on cultivating and maintaining relationships throughout the region.
“Business has been very good,” Frederico says. “I would say that 70 percent of that sentiment is due to us being a third-generation contractor and having some mature relationships that have helped us through what we’ve seen in the recent past, where there have been some challenges. As we’ve expanded our business, we’re on a controlled, slow-growth pattern. So, we’ve also managed to create new relationships with some out-of-city, out-of-state owners in some markets that’ve helped us when our local market in Rochester is slower. Overall, we’ve done very well.”
Understanding the challenges and opportunities
Knightly says that the relative stability of commodity markets has allowed businesses in the region to continue to thrive, but singles out China’s National Sword as problematic for those recyclers dependent on materials impacted by the import ban.
“Commodity pricing within the demolition industry has not been as volatile in the last year as other commodity markets,” Knightly says. “Both steel and copper are fairly stable and easy to project over a long-term or multiyear project. Those commodities dependent on foreign markets such as China are having extensive issues.”
Laber says that although business has been good, fluctuating commodity prices have offset some gains from the booming construction market, keeping margins tight. On a positive note, Laber says the company saw old corrugated cardboard (OCC) markets reach record highs, while metal markets have continued to rebound. Conversely, like most recyclers nationwide, Revolution Recovery has been faced with falling plastic prices and dwindling wood end markets.
“End markets for wood tightened in this region,” Laber says. “Newer sources of cheap natural gas helped finish off outlets for wood-based alternative fuel that had been hanging on through the glut. This happened at the same time as a low-demand season for mulch. While the timing is challenging, adjusting to changing markets is the nature of this business. The more flexible and diversified we are, the stronger we will be.”
Wolf says that L&S Demo Recycling is well-positioned to face some of the industry’s present obstacles, but that simple economics dictate much of its recycling initiatives.
“Our company also operates a scrap metal yard and a paper and plastic recycling company,” Wolf says. “Our ability to internalize many commodities and our ability to produce high-quality mulch insulates us from some of the vagaries of the market, but lower prices still effect the bottom line. Traditionally, we do not believe in recycling for recycling’s sake. We must make an appropriate margin to continue recycling a particular commodity.”
Similarly, Contento says that while fluctuating commodity prices are always something the company keeps an eye on, the nature of Contento’s business has allowed it to remain protected even in the face of changing global trade dynamics.
“The shifting commodity prices have had some effect on the profitability of our scrap metal recycling operation, but other than that, we have remained relatively unaffected,” Contento says. “Being that we do not deal with too much cardboard, paper or plastic, the Chinese National Sword policy has not had a large effect on our business.”
The economics of the region, where a higher density of large landfills makes the need to recycle less critical when values dissipate, has helped Frederico Demolition deal with some subdued prices for recyclables.
“Shifting commodity prices haven’t been that big of a deal for us. Our givebacks on jobs that have larger volumes of ferrous and nonferrous metals allow us to be more aggressive, but when the volumes aren’t there, it doesn’t affect us that much,” Frederico says. “You just have to estimate the job based on what the commodity value is at the time, and that’s all you can do. Our region is filled with landfills in the Northeast, so C&D disposal is easy. There’s no question that we’re recycling, but we don’t function like other areas [because of the economics]. I’m not saying that’s the way it should be, it’s just the way that it is.”
Environmentally conscious building
Green building is an idea that has been slow to catch on in some regions of the country outside of healthcare and education projects. Contractors and recyclers working in the Northeast, by contrast, have seen an uptick in more environmentally conscious building and demolition practices.
“LEED building is very popular in our area,” Contento says. “We operate about 30 miles south of Syracuse where there is a U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) office. Syracuse also has one of the largest LEED-certified buildings in New York state, Destiny USA, a massive shopping center located in the middle of the greater Syracuse area. I think that massive projects like Destiny USA are proving to other developers, both large and small, that building a LEED-certified building is very achievable and is an accomplishment worth striving for.”
LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and is a third-party certification system from USGBC.
Knightly says that with the number of readapted and repositioned mills and industrial buildings in the Northeast, EnviroVantage’s focus is on recycling and reusing 90 to 95 percent of existing materials or structures on its projects. However, he points out there are some challenges with meeting these recycling goals on some projects because of recent environmental concerns with paint.
“In order to be competitive, demolition contractors must recycle the majority of each project for repurpose or reuse. But due to environmental concerns, the challenge to repurpose or recycle painted concrete and painted wood came to the forefront, narrowing recycling options and forcing innovative solutions,” Knightly says.
While green initiatives have increased in popularity in the Northeast in recent years, more work needs to be done to assure companies are following through on these standards, according to Laber.
“Revolution Recovery’s growth came at the same time that LEED became more widely accepted in our region,” Laber says. “At this point, the ability to offer services that meet LEED requirements is less of a competitive edge because both companies that legitimately meet the standard and those that do not have entered the game. While acceptance of green building standards has grown, the need for the public to stay engaged and ensure the intent of the standard is met remains as important as ever.”
Naomi Cooper, vice president of Cooper Tank Recycling in Brooklyn, New York, seconds the idea that more work needs to be done to verify that what is being touted as LEED or green building recycling meets the recycling criteria.
“In the New York City market, there is definitely an increased focus on LEED, and green building has become a higher priority for many developers and architects,” Cooper says. “However, LEED v4 requires source separation of five material streams, and in New York City, that is nearly impossible to achieve due to space constraints at construction sites.”
Cooper says save for a few materials, such as gypsum wallboard, ceiling tiles and carpet, source separation is a “fruitless exercise” if the end goal is recycling or reusing the material.
“[Our company] accepts mixed materials and has sophisticated equipment to sort it out, but even a source separated load is likely to get dumped on a mixed pile at a transfer station, re-comingled and processed with everything else,” Cooper says.
Cooper says LEED should be used to verify that material being reported as recycled is recycled.
Continued movement
The Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), Washington, recently reported its Construction Backlog Indicator (CBI), an index used to determine the pipeline of construction work throughout the country, indicated contractors in the Northeast were enjoying the most substantial work backlog ever recorded. This steady stream of work promises to keep recyclers and demolition contractors busy for the rest of the year.
“2018 looks like it will be a year full of demolition and redevelopment in central New York,” Contento says. “Our partner company, Contento, has a full schedule of demolition and there is a lot of money funneling into central New York to fix up rundown buildings and neighborhoods. There is a particularly large amount of development in the housing sector in our region. This will likely provide Contento Recycling with a lot of C&D material to process.”
Knightly says he thinks the coming year will bring ample opportunities for longer-term, large-scale projects and subsequent small- to medium-sized projects, but that both offer pros and cons.
“There are challenges with both the large and the small to medium projects,” Knightly says. “Large projects equal large risk and a longer schedule, whereas small- to medium-sized projects have large numbers of bidders creating a more difficult environment to win work.”
Although the strong economy and steady stream of work have operators in the Northeast optimistic about the year to come, there are forward indicators that could dampen the industry tailwinds for some materials.
“Sales are shaping out to be strong in 2018,” Laber says. “Rising oil prices in 2017 have been more volatile in the first quarter of the new year but remain an exciting indicator for the recycling markets. However, a flux of cheap natural gas in this region threatens that. Outlets for wood-based alternative fuel are closing down, unable to compete with the Marcellus Shale prices. Finding and creating new outlets for this material will be a main challenge as well as opportunity for 2018. Overall, landfill prices are still too low to foster more robust recycling markets and have given no indication of changing soon.”
Variables like a new infrastructure bill could further accelerate industry growth, while the fallout from China’s National Sword imports ban and the proposed tariffs on steel and aluminum could lead to unexpected hardships. However, for the time being, stakeholders in the Northeast are setting their sights on riding out the positive momentum.
“I think we’re in the same boat as everybody. The future is looking good, but that’s from a distance,” Frederico says. “Only time will tell how well we do, we just have to stay consistent and do our part looking for work. It doesn’t always just come right to you. However, we have seen some good things in the marketplace and in the economy that has us optimistic.”
The author is editor of Construction & Demolition Recycling and can be reached at aredling@gie.net.
Ups and downs
Features - Commodity Focus // Shingles
State regulations are causing a Pennsylvania shingle recycler to look outside the box for new end markets.
Whether they come from demolition sites and roofing projects or from a toss-away pile at a manufacturing facility, shingles have a variety of second uses. Asphalt shingles can be included in hot mix asphalt, cold patch, used as dust control on rural roads or as an aggregate road base and fuel, but several circumstances can get in the way of shingle recycling success.
According to Shinglerecycling.org, a website run by the Milwaukee-based Construction & Demolition Recycling Association (CDRA), the cost of virgin asphalt and aggregates and the cost of petroleum are economic factors that help determine the viability of shingle recycling. When these prices are high, the demand for recycled shingles increases. Conversely, when costs of these materials are low, the demand for shingles decreases.
Another factor that affects the viability of shingle recycling is regulation, which varies from state to state. Regulations may restrict what types of shingles can be used in the state Department of Transportation’s (DOT’s) hot mix asphalt or dictate what types of permits are necessary to open a processing facility. Currently, it seems that state regulations are hindering the shingle market.
By the book
There is a permitting mechanism known as a general permit for authorizing the processing and reuse of shingles in Pennsylvania, Shinglerecycling.org says. The state allows preconsumer shingle scrap—shingles that may have been rejected from the manufacturing line or stockpiled in a warehouse before being sold—to be used in hot mix asphalt production. However, the state does not allow the use of tear-off shingle scrap from roofing projects or demolition sites. Because of this, companies like Crushcrete, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, have stopped accepting shingles to recycle.
“The shingles recycling industry is hard,” Tony Medei, general manager of Crushcrete, says. “At some point, we were almost trying to give the material away. We have customers that use it, but the volume they use is just nowhere near the volume that we can take in. The need for a dumping facility other than a landfill is huge, but without the state’s backing of using [this material], the end market just isn’t there right now in Pennsylvania.”
Crushcrete is a family-owned and -operated business that started in 1998 as a concrete recycling center. Medei says it is Pennsylvania’s first Department of Environmental Protection-approved tear-off shingle recycling center. The company processes concrete, stone and masonry debris into aggregate and pre- and postconsumer asphalt shingles.
“We are proud to be doing our part in contributing to a greener environment and conserving resources for the future, and we are committed to keeping landfills clean,” Medei says.
According to Medei, Crushcrete started to explore shingle recycling in 2007 after both seeing its potential market and experiencing a slowed concrete recycling business in 2008. The company submitted its permit to take in shingles in late 2007 and received the permit and began processing shingles in 2009.
“We started researching it [in 2007] and saw there was no one in our area that was actively doing it,” Medei says.
The daily grind
Crushcrete closely inspects its shingle loads before processing. Every load is inspected for contamination, whether it’s asbestos or unrecyclable material.
“Anything with an excessive amount of trash or nonrecyclable debris is immediately rejected and anything that raises the slightest flag of asbestos-containing material is rejected,” he says.
Every 200 tons coming into the facility are sampled and tested for asbestos, and Medei says so far there have been no positive results. Anyone bringing in postconsumer shingles fills out a specification sheet that includes when the roof was built and certifies that there is no nonrecyclable material in the load. Since any roof that was built after 1975 is not as likely to contain asbestos, it makes the initial testing easier. The loads are tipped onto a concrete floor and inspected by Crushcrete crews. The shingles then go into two separate piles where they are staged until clear test results are received. The pile of cleared shingles is fed into the system using an excavator.
The material is hand sorted and placed in a staging area where it is dumped into a RG1 grinder from Rotochopper, St. Martin, Minnesota. The Rotochopper grinds the shingles and feeds the material directly into a customized trommel from McCloskey International, Keene, Ontario. The trommel screens the material into its ¼-inch-minus product. Any material above the ¼-inch mark is returned to the same pile the picked material is returned to and sent back through the Rotochopper.
Any nails from postconsumer shingles are separated out in the Rotochopper. Medei says Crushcrete collects about 10 tons of nails for every 1,000 tons of shingles. The nails are shipped to a scrapyard for recycling.
The facility can process an average of 500 tons of material per day. Medei says because of Crushcrete’s location, the facility processes more postconsumer shingles than the preconsumer variety.
An alternate route
Medei says the shingles Crushcrete processes are primarily used in hot mix asphalt, but because of the declining demand in that market, the company is also looking into converting the shingles into alternative fuel for cement kilns.
“We’re meeting with several people in the industry about possibly using RAS (recycled asphalt shingles) as a fuel source in cement kilns, which is being done elsewhere in the U.S. and overseas,” he says. “We’re getting companies on board with using it here for fuel for heating and energy units used in the cement-making process.”
Medei says there are five major producers within 100 miles of Crushcrete, creating an opportunity to explore the alternative fuel market.
While the company is rallying for change from the DOT, Medei says multiple “political roadblocks” are getting in the way. “Unfortunately, DOT tells us we need to tell people to go to the landfill with [shingles],” he says.
Although some customers outside of the hot mix asphalt market are still taking the recycled shingles from Crushcrete, the DOT specification is hindering the amount leaving the facility.
Crushcrete has shipped its material out of state by rail in the past, but the price of rail transportation has spiked over the years because of a decrease in oil transportation. “They replaced that lost revenue by raising everybody else’s prices,” Medei says. “That made the savings our customers were getting moot because it was not effective to use it.”
Finding the light
Despite all the obstacles, Medei says a turnaround in the hot mix asphalt market is possible if the asphalt cement index increases. “We have verbal commitments from several customers, but producers that use our RAS see it as more beneficial when the price index is between $550 to $600 per ton,” he says. Currently, Medei says discussions with producers lead him to believe the current index in Pennsylvania is around $450 per ton.
The increase in the price index and DOT approval can help the shingles market in Pennsylvania, according to Medei. He says 90 percent of producers currently make state-approved mixes, so producers currently aren't using tear-offs in their product.
Local producers are looking into using recycled shingles in asphalt mixes for larger parking lots and other similar projects, but “not at the speed that any of us hope for,” Medei says.
“If that number comes around a little more and the virgin asphalt cement costs a little more, we’ll see some movement in our local area,” he says. “If we can get the state on board with it, we would have customers and it’d be used in our area significantly.”
The author is the assistant editor for Construction & Demolition Recycling and can be contacted at hcrisan@gie.net.
Hitting the Mark
Features - Cover Story
Precision Demolition’s client-first focus has helped the company become one of the nation’s largest demolition contractors.
When you have a name like Precision Demolition, details matter. Which might be one of the reasons why Aaron Smith, owner and president of the Lewisville, Texas-based demolition company, puts so much emphasis on doing the little things right. Whether it’s taking extra time to “engineer out” potential complications on the front end of a project or investing in stringent continuing education programs to ensure safety compliance within its workforce, Smith says Precision Demolition’s exacting standards have allowed the company to flourish over the last 20 years.
“We approach each project as a team and specialize in projects where preplanning, high-level safety precautions and due diligence are paramount. No project is ever too big or too complex,” Smith says.
The company, which Smith founded in 1999 just a couple years out of college, has expanded to include approximately 480 employees and new offices in Houston and Austin. Smith says Precision Demolition is currently the largest privately owned demolition contractor in Texas and the seventh largest demolition contractor in the country.
Precision Demolition completes roughly 300 projects a year in Texas, that includes a range of services, such as implosion, wrecking, selective structural demolition, interior demolition, exterior demolition, saw cutting and coring.
Smith attributes the company’s expansion to its focus on the basics and a mentality that underscores the need for investing in what’s important rather than what’s convenient.
“We have implemented safety standards that exceed industry standards, developed continuing education programs for our labor force and invested in the most technologically advanced fleet of equipment the industry has to offer,” Smith says. “These commitments, along with the core principle of creating clients for life, have enabled Precision Demolition’s [growth]."
Investing where it counts
Smith says that the company’s typical projects range anywhere from $5,000 to $15 million in scope, with a focus on contracting with general contractors and developers performing projects in the commercial, healthcare, education and airport sectors. Precision leverages its team of more than 400 field professionals, plus its 80 preconstruction, operations, safety and administration staff, and its large fleet of equipment to keep up with demand.
While Smith says that its staff is Precision’s biggest asset, the company isn’t immune to the workforce crunch that has swept over the construction and demolition industries.
“As it sits today, a labor shortage is the largest hurdle we are currently facing, and this is not localized with only demolition companies but with the entire construction industry in Texas,” Smith says. “The unskilled, and especially the skilled labor force, seems to be shrinking while the industry's demands continue to grow. With the largest demolition workforce in the state, this challenge has been on the forefront of our concerns for some time.”
To combat this issue, Precision has stressed the importance of strengthening and educating its existing workforce. It has also partnered with organizations like the Construction Career Collaborative, Houston, to help in building a safe, skilled and sustainable craft workforce they can rely on. Smith says part of Precision’s investment in its team is giving workers the tools they need to succeed. That’s why the company has doubled down in recent years in employing the industry’s latest equipment.
“Precision Demolition has been actively implementing technology into our operations such as more efficient equipment and on-site computer systems to utilize our workforce in a more efficient manner,” Smith says.
When it comes to investing in equipment, Smith says the company’s philosophy is simple: buy whatever it takes to get the job done.
“We buy any equipment as needed so our customers and our team members can obtain the greatest success,” Smith says.
The company’s catalog of equipment is extensive. Currently, they own four backhoe loaders from Caterpillar, Peoria, Illinois; six Caterpillar track skid steers; 33 Caterpillar wheeled skid steers; 20 tracked excavators from Caterpillar and Volvo, Shippensburg, Pennsylvania; three Volvo high-reach excavators; 10 telehandlers from JLG Industries, McConnellsburg, Pennsylvania, and Xtreme, Henderson, Nevada; three JLG Industries manlifts; three Caterpillar track loaders; four Caterpillar wheel loaders; 13 original equipment manufacturers floor strippers, 18 flat saws from Merit, Prescott, Arizona, and Husqvarna, Charlotte, North Carolina; and six wall saws from Pentruder, Sweden.
Implementing a client-first mentality
One of Precision Demolition’s mottos is centered around “creating clients for life,” Smith says. This mentality is based on understanding and working to fulfill the needs of Precision’s industry partners on every job.
“Precision Demolition treats every client as a partner,” Smith says. “What this means is, the development and implementation of the demolition scope should revolve around the project’s success as a whole and not only what is best for the demolition contractor. Whether we perform a single-level interior renovation or dismantle a group of multistory buildings downtown, we believe in developing an honest and open relationship allowing for a safe and efficient project completion that focuses on exceeding the expectations of their client, not just ours.”
Smith says that meeting the expectations of the client begins long before the actual demolition starts, as Precision works to craft a comprehensive strategy for each project to minimize on-the-job risks.
“We believe in developing an honest and open relationship with our clients, allowing for a safe and efficient project completion that focuses on exceeding the expectations,” Smith says. “In an industry where unfavorable logistics and demanding time constraints intersect with unforeseen and dangerous conditions, Precision Demolition has taken the approach to engineer out the hazards during preconstruction rather than constantly adapt in the field. This has been led by an in-house safety department that provides training, documentation and implementation throughout every life cycle of a project.”
Smith says the company’s training and compliance measures have paid dividends for the company through greater workplace safety, which has garnered Silver & Gold Safety Training Evaluation Process (STEP) awards from the Associated Builders and Contractors, Washington, and a Top 200 safety award from Texas Mutual, Austin, Texas.
“This dedication of [trying to build] the most well-trained and safest demolition labor force in the country has resulted in an experience modification rate (EMR) of .87 and no deaths in the history of the company,” Smith says.
Raising the bar on recycling
Part of Precision Demolition’s philosophy on preparing for and getting the most from each project is centered on maximizing its recycling opportunities. According to Smith, the company’s environmentally conscious mentality also helps Precision Demolition fulfill its clients’ expectations.
“Our experience in recycling is extremely advanced,” Smith says. “We come from a long history of green building projects and recycling requirements of almost every type of material on the job site. We are experts at accounting for and recycling just about every material you can think of that might be in a building. Our customers, cities, state and federal requirements demand that level of expertise, and we deliver.”
The project, which began in September 2014 and lasted three years, included the removal of a multitiered concrete structure with more than 225,000 square feet of interior space and more than 125,000 square feet of pavement. Along with the sheer size of the project, Precision Demolition had to contend with a number of environmental concerns, including more than 150,000 square feet of interior asbestos and 31 tons of exterior asbestos, polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs), lead paint, mercury and radioactive material.
“Winning the Excellence in Demolition Award for Precision Demolition is a great honor, one that recognizes the effort of our entire organization,” Smith says. “Having a team with the right experience and collaborative thinking, along with a conscious attitude towards environmental impacts and safety, has allowed us to be recognized by the National Demolition Association. On this particular project, we were able to implement a system that reclaimed the water used for dust suppression that allowed it to be refiltered and reused. Not only were we recycling thousands of gallons of water during the demolition, we also implemented a sorting system that allowed us to recycle over 96 percent of the structure.”
Smith says the collaboration exhibited during the UT EERC project is emblematic of the team-first ethos he dreamed of fostering when he founded the company two decades ago.
“As I transitioned from college to the business world, I enjoyed the synergy of people and relationships and what can be accomplished when the right group of people, the right vision and planning come together,” Smith says. “Twenty years later, we have had tremendous growth and tremendous success. We are looking forward to the future.”
The author is editor of Construction & Demolition Recycling and can be reached at aredling@gie.net.
Brian Taylor
Adam Redling
