And, while a record breaker is always exciting, I wasn’t able to find a great video of it, so it wasn’t *that* exciting. To be honest*, I haven’t slept since I found that low quality video, especially after Rob and Sarah from Belts & Boxes viciously attacked it on the weekly YouTube show Week in Review. But, fear not, I have not only found a better quality video, I’ve also found some behind the scenes footage of how it was carried out.
In total, there were 5 buildings demolished as part of the Mina Plaza, totaling 125 stories, which were razed to make way for a redevelopment. Safedem, the demolition contractor that carried out the implosion, performed a test blast to make sure their models and designs were accurate before the final blasts.
There’s no doubt that this past year has been a constant back and forth of confusion surrounding the best way to protect yourselves and others from the spread of COVID-19. Incomplete studies and misinformation spread hasn’t helped much either, but some things do take time to properly sort out. A recent published study, which was carried out by a team of researchers from NIOSH and has been endorsed by the CDC, has concluded that neck gaiters can be an effective form of control.
Neck gaiters are a popular choice for the construction industry because they can be more comfortable than other masks over long periods of time, can be more versatile, and some even made with a cooling fabric.
To reflect the results of this study, the CDC has updated their Guide to Masks to recommend the use of double layered neck gaiters as a mask. As you can imagine from reading the chart above, the study – and subsequently the CDC – do not recommend the use of face shield to prevent the spread of the virus.
The study also underlines the fact that cloth masks and neck gaiters are meant to protect other people, not the wearer, from the spread of large respiratory aerosols, which are airborne liquid droplets and dried particles that are spread through talking, singing, coughing, breathing, or sneezing. COVID-19 can be carried through these droplets of an infected person.
It’s important to note that cloth masks and neck gaiters are not considered PPE and can not be used in place of respirators for construction tasks that require them, such as concrete demolition.
If you need to get some heavy mechanical equipment on the roof of your project, you could use a boring old crane – or you could gas up the bird and make that equipment take literal flight. Alright, so cranes aren’t actually boring, but some times a helicopter makes more logistical sense, either because it reduces total lift time or, in some cases, makes economical sense. Either way, there are some important safety precautions to take in case something goes wrong.
During a recent helicopter lift in Oakland, California, something did go wrong, but luckily, it appears that no one was injured – at least not until someone found out what happened to their large, expensive industrial cooling tower.
According to The Mercury News, a Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane was being used throughout the week to lift mechanical equipment to the roof of a construction project on Clay Street in Oakland, when a cable suddenly snapped, sending what appears to be a large cooling tower made by Baltimore Air Coil (BAC) back towards the earth, ultimately landing on the pavement below.
The event was captured on video by a local artist named Rudi Tcruz, which he shared on Twitter. According to Tcruz, there were no injuries to anyone on the ground. He also shared a picture of the damaged cooling tower after it was loaded onto a flatbed after the fall.
One thing to note in the video is that you can see several people on the ground near where the unit fell running out of the way. While the roads had been properly closed, according to reports, it’s still important that nobody should be underneath a suspended load, unless absolutely necessary to load and unload the cargo.
OSHA also has regulations for using a helicopter to lift, specifically 29 CFR 1926.551. Due to the wind, noise, and potential struck-by hazards that are inherent when using a helicopter, there are some unique requirements to remain safe during the process, including the use of hard hats secured by chinstraps, eye protection, a means of communication, and tag lines.
Each year, the CTBUH takes a look back on the tall building progress throughout the world and makes predictions on the current year. While 2019 broke the record for most supertall buildings, defined as 300 meters or more in height, it saw a 13.7% drop in overall tall buildings, defined as 200 meters or more in height. 2020 continued the trend of less tall buildings, with a 20% decline versus 2019, but that shouldn’t be all that surprising given the year we had last year.
2020 Tall Buildings
The CTBUH was already predicting that a smaller amount of tall buildings would be smaller in 2020 at the beginning of last year, but the gap was much smaller than it ended up being. In total, 106 tall buildings were completed in 2020 (vs. 133 in 2019), with 21 of those being supertall buildings. 106 tall buildings is the smallest number of completed tall buildings since 2014.
While the COVID-19 pandemic certainly caused issues throughout the world, including at least 9 tall building project delays in Malaysia, India, and Brazil, an even larger factor of the reduction in completions is the waning interest of China. The report states that China has reduced tall and supertall building projects in order to reduce their debt and they have also created several public policies against the “needless production of exceedingly tall buildings.”
Even with the reduction, China still had the highest number of tall buildings completed in 2020, by far, accounting for 56 of the 106 tall buildings. The UAE was second with 12, all of which were located in Dubai. The United States completed 10 tall buildings, tanking them 3rd for the year.
The US also had the two tallest buildings completed last year: the Central Park Tower and One Vanderbilt, both in New York City. 2020 was the first time since 2014 that China did not have the tallest building completed.
10 Tallest Buildings Completed in 2020
Central Park Tower, New York City, New York: 1550 feet
One Vanderbilt, New York City, New York: 1401 feet
Nanning China Resources Tower, Nanning, China: 1321 feet
Guiyang International Financial Center T1, Guiyang, China: 1316 feet
Hengqin International Finance Center, Zhuhai, China: 1108 feet
2021 Projections
Even with the uncertainty of the global pandemic, the CTBUH still has a positive outlook for tall buildings in 2021. They predict between 125 and 150 tall buildings to be completed this year, which is slightly higher than their 2020 projection. 14 to 30 of those completions are expected to be supertall buildings.
As more and more battery powered heavy construction equipment is being released to help lower noise and emissions on the jobsite, I shouldn’t be that surprised to hear about a battery powered crawler crane – but, I still am.
In December, crane manufacturer – and amazingly cool crane video maker – Liebherr unveiled what they are calling the world’s first battery powered crawler cranes. These aren’t some dinky little mini-cranes either, they can lift up to 275 tons (250 metric tonnes).
Modeled off of their standard versions, Liebherr announced the LR 1200.1 unplugged and the LR 1250.1 unplugged. The 1200 is the smaller of the two, with a maximum lift capacity of 220 tons (200 metric tonnes) and the 1250 can lift up to 275 tons (250 metric tonnes).
The company says that the electric versions do not sacrifice any performance versus their conventional counterparts. With the machine plugged in, operators will see unlimited runtime, but with it unplugged, operators can expect up to 4 hours of runtime.
On conventional power, the batter will take about 4.5 hours to charge, while a higher amperage fast charging setup with fully charge the battery 2.25 hours.
According to the LR 1250.1 Unplugged’s data sheet, sound levels inside the cab peak at 72 dB, whereas sound levels outside of the machine will peak at 105 dB. The non-electric version of the LR 1250.1 states 72.9 dB and 107 dB, respectively.
Presumably due to the weight of the battery, the unplugged version also adds a little over 2 tons to the overall weight. The new machines also produce zero emissions, which can be helpful on sensitive jobsites.
“Especially the year 2020 has shown that one must be open-minded and bold to break new ground. With our unplugged cranes we offer our customers an alternative drive design. As we have already seen with the LB 16 unplugged, the first battery-powered drilling rig, the strategy is a complete success. Strict requirements regarding environmental sustainability in tenders for construction projects increase the demand for advanced technologies. For us, it was clear that we extend and successfully establish the design in further product groups,” says Gerhard Frainer, Managing Director for Sales at Liebherr-Werk Nenzing GmbH, in a press release.
For more information, check out Liebherr’s announcement video below (starting at 5:41), narrated by a guy with either the coolest or most terrifying voice that I have ever heard.
eSUB Construction Software, a mobile and cloud project management system for trade contractors, recently launched the Power to the Trades podcast.
Each week, the show will shine the spotlight on how trade contractors are using technology to power their businesses and protect their profits. The podcast will feature interviews with trade contractors, industry insiders, and technology partners who build the world around us.
The first two episodes have featured Wendy Rogers, the Founder of eSUB Construction Software and Sean McGuire, the Director of Innovative Technology at MCAA.
A few of the upcoming guests include:
Chris Martinez (President of Central Electric)
Jeff Sample (Director of Communications at Join)
Benny Baltrotsky (COO at Msuite)
James Benham (CEO of JBKnowledge and ConTechCrew podcast)
The show launched on January 7th on both the Apple and Spotify platforms. Tune in whenever you are on the go, or a walk, or on your way to work.
Ever since the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act was passed by Congress in 2015, OSHA has been required to increase the maximum penalty they can assess businesses for violations. The intent is to keep the penalty amounts in line with the annual rate of inflation, so as to continue to use the penalties as an appropriate deterrent for not following their regulations.
Serious, Other-Than-Serious, and Posting Requirements: $13,653 (up from $13,494 in 2019)
Failure to Abate: $13,653 (up from $13,494) per day after due date
Willful or repeat: $136,532 (up from $134,937)
OSHA assesses penalties based upon a combination of the severity and probability that a jobsite injury might occur. For example a serious violation with a possible low severity injury and a lesser probability of occurrence would only result in a fine of $5,851. You can find out more about gravity based penalty amounts on OSHA’s website by clicking or tapping here.
In addition to the year increase, OSHA also recently announced a new debt collection initiative to help them actually collect the penalties they assess. Per the new initiative, OSHA will send 3 separate penalty letters 7, 30, and 60 days after a company fails to pay after a final order. OSHA will also call the establishment 14 days after the payment is due as a reminder. Previously, OSHA would not send their first letter until 30 days past the due date.
If the company is not on an affordable payment plan and fails to pay, OSHA will place the business on a priority list for further inspection.
"These steps will enhance the effectiveness of OSHA's enforcement program," said U.S. Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia, in a news release. "The Department will ensure that firms with safety and health violations are held accountable and pay their debts to the United States Government."
image via OSHA’s Injury Tracking Application web page
Congratulations, you made it through 2020, but now it’s time to do you taxes and turn in your OSHA 300A Form.
By March 2nd, 2021, all non-exempt construction companies must submit their OSHA Form 300A for the year 2020, which is the Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, to OSHA’s Injury Tracking Application (ITA).
All employers across all industries with 250 or more employees must electronically submit their form to OSHA, but construction has some more strict requirements. Since construction is considered a higher risk for occupational injuries and illnesses, any business with at least 20 employees must submit the 300A form.
OSHA began accepting form submissions on January 2.
2020 was a stressful year, so let’s decompress a little bit by reviewing some of the most fun demolition videos from the past year. A demolition that broke a 22 year old record highlights the bunch and I also stretch what the definition of “demolition” is a little bit, because I think the video is so cool. Don’t @ me.
Without further ado, here are the top 7 demolition videos from 2020:
On January 5, CDI took down two towers on the University of Texas’ campus, one a 10-story dormitory and the other a 12-story by way on an implosion. Both buildings were post-tensioned, reinforced concrete buildings according to CDI.
Adding to the excitement was the fact that another building separate from the project sat just 8 feet away from the 2 buildings that were felled. I was not able to find any reports stating that any damage occurred to any nearby buildings.
Back in February, which seems like an eternity ago, demolition contractors had a little trouble bringing down the core of an 11-story structure in Dallas, Texas. What followed were a couple weeks of internet memes, dubbing the failure the “Leaning Tower of Dallas.”
From 1988 to 2017, the Palace of Auburn Hills was home to the Detroit Pistons of the NBA. On July 11, 2020, it was imploded into smithereens, ending a fantastic run for the historic arena.
While much of the building was previously demolished, Controlled Demolition Inc. (CDI) was brought into the site as the Explosives Subcontractor under Homrich Wrecking, Inc, the main contractor based in Michigan, in order to bring down the roof structure -- and they did so in spectacular fashion.
This demolition also lead to the sentence I was probably most proud of in 2020:
Power plants are facing demolition all over the world as country’s move away from less environmentally friendly power sources and abandon older facilities. The good news, for us, is that we get some pretty awesome demolition videos out of the shutdowns.
Power station chimneys are usually pretty exciting to watch, as many are tall and skinny, leading to a pretty dramatic conclusion. When there are 8 chimneys, it makes it even more exciting.
Demolition by implosions videos are obviously fun to watch, but the actual process creates an insane amount of dust. The challenge becomes hoe do you douse an enormous structure that falls within seconds with enough water to control dust effectively? The answer might be more explosives…
When the 15-story Pentagone Plaza tower located in Clamart, France was imploded in August, the demolition team didn’t just set up some hoses, they surrounded the structure in a bunch of small, inflatable swimming pools lined with explosives. The intent is to send a vertical pillar of water into the air right before the explosives inside the building go off in order to create a wall of water that the dust has to fight through.
This is the one that I took a little artistic creativity on the definition of “demolition.” It’s just too cool not to share and did require some demolition work to detach the superstructure from its foundation.
An 85-year old primary school in Shanghai, China was recently relocated 200 feet away and rotated 21 degrees to make way for a new development on its current home. By attaching 198 mobile supports under the support structure of the 5-story, 7,600 ton school, the building is able to “walk” to its new location.
Hard to top a new world record for the number 1 spot on your list…
Back in 1998, the Hudson Department Store in downtown Detroit, Michigan was demolished by explosives. That building stood 410 feet tall across its 29 floors, making it, at the time, the tallest building to ever be taken down by implosion. The dust cloud covered many city blocks and the 20,000 unsuspecting people that came to watch the event. That record was just recently broken by a building over 100 feet taller than it.
Prior to its recent demolition, the tallest building in Mina Plaza Complex in Abu Dhabi, UAE stood at roughly 541 feet across its 46 floors, according to Demoliton News. Scotland based demoltion company, Safedem, carried out the explosive demolition, which landed them in the Guinness Book of World Records.
There were four towers in the complex, totaling 144 stories in all, which were imploded simultaneously, according to Safedem.
2020 is finally in the rear view mirror – although many of its battles are still being fought – but that doesn’t mean there weren’t some good things. Over the next few days, I’ll be sharing the biggest and most interesting stories from the past year, but I’ll first be starting with those that interested you, the reader, the most.
Below were your favorite 10 Construction Junkie posts from 2020:
The sixth annual Best Construction Blog contest was a huge success, with more nominations and more overall votes than ever before. Of the 12 nominees, we crowned a new champion, the Bridging the Gap Podcast, which also set the individual record for most votes received. It really seems as though the medium of podcasting blew up in the construction industry over the past year, which I’m extremely excited about.
2020 was no doubt a challenging and eventful year, with many projects being delayed, canceled, or altered, leading to a lot of uncertainty and even more adjusting on the fly. Throughout the year, I worked hard to find helpful resources to help contractors navigate through the pandemic, like safety guides, webinars, deals on software, technology updates, and more.
I’m admittedly a little surprised by how popular this article was, but it seems as though this is a hot button topic on many jobsites throughout the country. In an OSHA clarification letter, the administration answered a the question, “Is there a specific OSHA regulation that prohibits the use of headphones to listen to music on a construction site?” The short answer is no, but they don’t exactly recommend it, either, for a variety of different reasons.
One of the biggest surprises of the year, for me, was Hilti’s announcement of their new semi-autonomous overhead drilling robot, named the Jaibot. Hilti has been a major player in the commercial construction industry, especially in concrete, and this is just one more creative solution the company has come up with to solve some age old problems.
Every year, Milwaukee Tool organizes an invite-only media event, called NPS, in order to showcase dozens of new products that they plan to release over the next year. Last year, the company had to pivot to an online event – and everyone was invited.
The online event, called Milwaukee Pipeline, was split up into 4 different events over the course of a few months. The second episode focused on their extremely popular modular storage unit, PACKOUT, and fans were certainly not disappointed by the announcement of PACKOUT drawer units (finally). The company also announced they were diving head first into laser lines in this episode.
Even before the Jaibot announcement from Hilti, the company announced another outside the box “tool,” their first exoskeleton. The Hilti EXO-01 wearable exoskeleton provides relief for work performed at shoulder level and overhead by transferring weight from the arms of the wearer to their hips. The 4-pound device includes shoulder and waist straps, as well as forearm supports. The company states that internal and external research has shown that the exoskeleton can reduce the peak load on muscles and shoulders by up to 47 percent.
As mentioned above, Milwaukee Tool pivoted to an online-version of their yearly tool release announcements in 2020, called Milwaukee Pipeline. The first installment showcased a bunch of new M12, M18, and MX Fuel tools, many of which have since been released, with others still to come.
In January of 2020, I spent some time out in Las Vegas to attend the World of Concrete, which is an immersive experience for all things concrete and masonry related. While there, I was able to catch up with the team from Advanced Construction Robotics, the makers of TyBot, the autonomous rebar tying robot.
The TyBot uses a series of cameras and artificial intelligence to identify the intersections of rebar, so no operator or pre-programming is necessary. Once the machine is setup on the screed rails, it can tie up to 1,000 ties per hour. With its typical uses being in bridge work and manufacturing facilities, the width of the TyBot can expand anywhere from 9 feet to 100 feet.
Speaking of the World of Concrete and tying rebar…I was inspired by the many different solutions companies have come up with recently for easing the back breaking burden of hand-tying rebar. In addition to the Tybot, there are several other solutions on the market, including battery powered options, and some in development, like a drone that can tie rebar.
KEEN Utility work boots burst onto the construction scene in 2009, about 4 years after the company was founded. Since then, they’ve brought their signature style and technology to a wide range of boot types to cover all types of work.
At the World of Concrete 2020, KEEN Utility announced several new work boot styles, each offering a different look, but also form and function for feet of different needs. No boot is one size fits all, so you need to match the type of boot with the work that you do.
At the show, Keen had given me a sneak peak of a few of those new boot styles, which have since been released. The rugged Cincinnati boot has become a customer favorite.
With the large amount of people that work in the construction industry and the high visibility of many of these projects, I’m always amazed that television networks never spent any time developing shows about it. The Smithsonian Channel, however, is about to premiere a new show, dedicated to the design and construction of some of the world’s most fascinating structures and the first episode will air on Sunday night, January 3rd, 2021.
There isn’t a ton of information available about “How Did they Build That?” – the title of the show – but the website explains:
“ Across the globe, radical architects, ingenious engineers, and skilled builders are creating structures so outrageous, they defy logic...and often even gravity. From a Manhattan skyscraper that looks like a Jenga tower to a Singapore glass dome big enough to house a mountain to a high rise in Italy with a built-in forest, we examine the world's most extraordinary buildings, bridges, and lifts, reveal their design secrets, and discover the incredible stories of their construction as we try to answer the question: How Did They Build That?”
The first episode will cover Cantilevers and lifts, with a focus on the Bailong Elevator, the world’s tallest outdoor elevator, which is located in China. The description also mentions other structures located in Manhattan, New York and Paris, France.
The only available video I could find is a 10 second advertisement, which you can watch below:
