NDA CONVENTION: Planning Pays Off

There is a lot to consider when preparing a demolition site, but overlooking just one thing can yield negative results, attendees of a session of the National Demolition Association (NDA) Annual Convention learned.

According to Jerry Myrick of contractor Robinette Demolition Inc., Oakbrook Terrace, Ill., the NDA is working closely with the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to help its member companies be aware of site preparation best practices.

When such best practices are ignored, the consequences can range from hefty fines if inspectors arrive on a job site to an adjacent structure collapsing, as Myrick demonstrated courtesy of a news clip from a Milwaukee, Wis., television station.

Myrick noted that after a workplace accident occurs and OSHA inspectors arrive on the scene, improper site preparation fines are a common result.

The NDA has worked with OHSA to develop a document called “OSHA Technical Manual Chapter 1, Demolition Preparatory Operations.”

The document calls for such things as an engineering survey, utility location procedures, first aid availability, and a “fire plan” that addresses prevention and suppression.

Myrick remarked that the utility location survey is particularly critical. Unplanned contact with utility lines are the number one cause of demolition job site injuries, he stated, surpassing falls or collapses.

Such hazards include natural gas lines “located with a backhoe” or overhead electrical lines that meet up with an excavator. Locating all such utility lines and cutting and capping when appropriate is critical, according to Myrick.

Other considerations include fencing off and placing signage in pedestrian areas and managing storm water runoff at job sites.

The NDA’s Annual Convention took place at the Gaylord Opryland complex in Nashville in late March.