Specialty Screw Corporation is one of the top fastener manufacturers in the nation. Located in Rockford, IL, they recently upgraded its part cleaning operations by adding a new parts washer utilizing Ransohoff’s latest cleaning technology, PRO-CLEAN DRUM ^TM. This includes the aqueous alkaline continuous part cleaning and additional stages for rinsing and rust inhibiting. An additional oil decanting system for removing oils from the cleaning solution is also included. The result was that all parts were cleaner, processed faster, and reduced downtime.

Aqueous cleaning effectively removes heading and secondary oils from our fastener blanks making feeding and assembly of parts much more efficient. As part of Specialty Screw’s continuous improvement in the area of energy conservation, plans are being implemented for solar thermal heating of the 240 gallon rinse tank. The payback for the solar installation will be accelerated by trading equivalent carbon credits.

The reaction so far by employees of Specialty Screw Corporation has been very positive. The automatic tank filling option allows for much easier monitoring during the day. The larger drum size has allowed the throughput of fasteners cleaned to double. The new technology and tank auto filing will help reduce downtime.

Located in the Midwest and Chicago Land Area, Specialty Screw Corporation is a Rockford Illinois Fastener Manufacturer of: Automotive Screws, Automotive Fasteners, Automotive Bolts, Ball Studs, Collar Studs, Collar Bolts, Double End Studs, Bolts, Metric Bolts, Stainless Steel Bolts, Cold Headed Fasteners, Engineered Components, Fasteners, Precision Fasteners, Special Fasteners, Special Cold Heading, Special Cold Forming, Metric Fasteners, Special Pins, Special Rivets, and Synergistic Assemblies.

Markets served include the Automotive, Electrical, Recreational, Hardware, Outdoor Power Equipment, Lawn & Garden, Distribution, Hand Tools and Molded rubber products, Molded plastic products, Commercial and Construction hardware. Specialty Screw Corporation is also licensed to manufacture MAThread® and MATpoint®. Feel free to visit http://www.SpecialtyScrew.com for more information.

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Using audio visual rental services will provide you with all the benefits of high tech audio visual integration and colaboration, without the costs associated with it. If you are looking Projector rental, plasma rental, laptop, PA system rental, and presentation equipment. Audio visual rentals can provide you with audio visual services for your meeting, technology needs, monitor rental, video projector, flat panel, projection technology, presentation technology, speaker rental, microphone rental, computer, LCD rental, projection rental, audio rental, plasma screen rental, and presentation support.

Providing audiovisual technologies for meeting professionals who need sound, video, presentation, audio visual equipment rental, and multimedia equipment for a hotel, convention, or trade show display. Having a business meeting in a city other than your own? AV Rentals can offer a cost effective and timely service for last minute business meetings and conventions or exhibits that require audio visual rentals.

There is substantial crossover in the computer rental and audio visual rental market. You will find most computer rental companies offer LCD projectors as well as some light audio visual equipment.

Renting Audio Visual gear can take a lot of the confusion out of your business rental needs. Imagine having the right equipment show up when and where you need it, getting set up and working correctly, and being taken down and picked up when you’re finished. This is the reason so many people continually choose have a rental company for their Audio Visual Rentals, Plasma Display Rentals and other business rental needs.

Orlando audio visual company offers a wide selection of brand name rental computers and audio visual equipment; from a basic computer rentals to classrooms of networked computers. Rent projectors for instructors and desktop systems or laptops for training. Your Action representative can provide a custom quote based on your specific need.

Tampa audio visual company has the knowledge and experience with Audio Visual equipment that you require. Action is the #1 source for audio visual rentals, as well as computer equipment rental. Action Computer & Audio Visual has a complete inventory of Audio/Visual Equipment: sound systems, microphones, projectors, video equipment and AV accessories available in the rental industry.

Many audio visual rental services provide audio visual equipment and computers for meetings and events nationwide. All of your equipment is delivered, and if you request, set up at your office, home, or meeting location. Meeting Tomorrow delivers from more locations and has a larger service coverage area than any other national audio visual rental company.

Renting is a better solution for several reasons. For temporary purposes such as tradeshows, corporate events, or any short term effort requiring audio visual or computer assets, renting is lower cost versus capital procurement.

Finding the right items and services you need to make your next project or event run correctly is time consuming and difficult. Whether your next project is a national cross country tour or having a more local all out party with everything imaginable. You don’t have to book though 10 local contractors or 100 across the nation.

Whether you are giving a simple PowerPoint presentation and video playback to small group at a restaurant, or a large multimedia presentation to the association membership, Audio Visual Florida can provide all your AV rental needs. Count on us to help you understand your options and recommend logical solutions.

Audio equipment rentals including speakers, mixers, amplifiers, and microphones. The sound system professionals at Audio Visual Florida are happy to discuss your needs and develop a package of the audio equipment you need. Things to let your account manager know: if your event is indoors or outdoors, the size and type of audience you will be presenting to. You can always count on Florida Audio Visual for a detailed quote that covers all the aspects of your technical requirements.

Audio Visual Company Florida has years of experience in delivering and setting up audio visual rental equipment in convention centers, meeting facilities, restaurants and special event sites nationwide. Developing a successful audio visual package requires the integration of many types of equipment. Let professionals help you design and integrate your next presentation abroad.

The Beast

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When it comes to dealing with the professional world the occupations and companies that will be hiring employees of course have to make sure that they are taking on the very outstanding people which they will be using to move their companies up to higher levels. We have seen a recent orientation in recent years where increasing numbers of organizations are making use of private investigations to make sure that the people who come into their companies are of the absolute highest ability and quality possible. Due to all of the regulations in the world in which we live we see the so many entrepreneurs and occupation owner have been getting into the private detective field as there is a great deal of monies that can be made from providing this important service to those in need of it.

There are various specific functions that the private investigator course  have to undertake and they go into some depth on topics such as employment checks and background checks  as know this type of information will mean that the employer will be able to rest assured that they have reliable people in their employment as there are enough things to be concerned about as a business owner other than having to worry about the criminal check of employees and whether or not they will be carrying out their tasks as described and for what they were actually hired for. It looks as though we will continue to be making use of (the) private investigator course and also of the employment checks that they perform for business owners.

Once the business owner has used his private detectives  for the criminal check then he can go away and distress on vacation and for that we see that often people look to find cheap airfare so that they can make their monies stretch as far as possible. Because we now live in a borderless globe people want to travel and see other cultures and with that in mind it looks as though the subject of cheap airfare will continue to be something that is more and more popular not just business owners but for us all.

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Obtaining personal injury lawsuit settlements can be tricky. Not all car accident personal injury claim cases are successful but many are. For example, in one of the largest single-victim settlements for personal injury under the Federal Tort Claims Act, the U.S. government has agreed to compensate $5 million in damages to a woman who suffered severe burns and partial amputation of her hand in an auto accident involving a U.S. Postal truck.

personal injury claim amounts should be handled by specialist lawyers who have a few years of valuable experience in such cases. This experience may prove critical when push comes to shove and may be therefore regarded as a priceless asset. A specialist personal injury attorney can help reduce the stress from an already hectic situation by taking care of all the legal jargon and details and help you get a satisfactory sum of compensation from your personal injury lawsuit settlements.

If you suffer injuries due to automobile accidents, slips and falls, animal attacks, explosions or fires because of the negligence of others then you are entitled to compensation from personal injury damages. A competent personal injury claim lawyer can assist you obtain benefits you may not even be aware

of.

Experience in personal injury settlement amounts is a must. Experienced personal injury lawyers will have the confidence to go all the way if need be to press your case in personal injury laywer. A less experienced attorney could settle out of court for a figure that the plaintiff would consider ridiculous. This happens when the your

attorney is not prepared to take the case to court and therefore will propose that you to settle for a last minute sum put on the table by the insurance company attorneys.

It is usual for an individual to want to be kept updated when it comes to legal matters so be sure the lawyer you engage

adopts a client-focused policy. This should certainly ensure that all your calls are appropriately returned and your questions answered. Many good

law firms now offer complementary evaluation and free initial consultations to help you make an educated decision without any pressure. If you are bed ridden or not mobile, some lawyers will make the effort to come visit you instead.

Always keep in mind, in case of an accident or injury, you must act quickly or you may lose some of your rights. You have a right to appoint a good. Use it.

www.smart–finances.com

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Utilizing Resell Rights as a way of making money is gaining in popularity. This is only one of the numerous new methods in internet marketing that can be used for your benefit. The main thing is utilizing Resell Rights for Your own benefit. Let me explain how this is done:

More than likely you have already decided upon a niche market you feel comfortable with. The increasing popularity of ebooks, as well as other digital products makes the idea of having Resell Rights to at least one digital product is very appealing. It’s not only from the fact that you can make money from the resale of these products, but also from the fact that they can add additional appeal to your business. People love to learn new stuff, and what better way to make your current customers happy than by giving them an ebook or other digital product on a subject that you already know they want more information on.

If you’re new to internet marketing you should look into Resell Rights as an option. Information products sell quickly in just about every business. And even if it isn’t the most reliable market research method, finding out about the most popular ebooks will give you an idea for the existing demand in the market in question. As you do this, you will also become familiar with what kinds of products are available in your area.

There are a variety of ways you can benefit from Resell Rights. Initially, you can make a profit by selling the product, and even the resell rights if you own them (some even wants you to offer private label rights). This works very well for most individuals, especially if you have gained access to a great product.

The next way having Resell Rights can benefit you is by helping you in establishing your business name with your customers. If you can provide useful products full of information to your customers, they will start seeing you as an expert in your field. If you give them the right to give your ebooks and digital products to their friends, the will even help you spread the word!

Lastly, reselling products can be a business in itself. Although there is definitely a lot of competition in this area, there is still a profit to be had. Keep in mind, however, that quality must come first. The competition in reselling digital items is fierce (to say the least), but you can definitely earn a name for yourself if you can offer a quality product.

Just remember - if you do nothing - you get nothing!

Seeking Your Success,

Anders Eriksson

Make Money Online Site Owner

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Introduction

An enormous number of people work in offices of one kind or another. They may be offices in buildings purpose built or attached to a factory or in business premises. For many self employed business people the office is a room in their home converted for that purpose. Solicitors, doctors, estate agents and insurance agents, in fact any business that you can think of, works from some kind of office or another. You might even say 80% of the adult population work in an office. But I wonder how many of those people have any say in what kind of office they have and whether or not it suits their requirements. Mostly when someone new joins a company or firm, they are given a space for their office usually left by the previous incumbent. I suspect that if you asked occupants how they would like their office to be they would find it difficult to tell you.

When you think of the number of hours we spend in an office, at least eight hours per day and sometimes up to sixteen hours if it’s a busy period. Yes people are allowed out for breaks and rest times, but it is an awful lot of your life cooped up in small space. If at least a third of one’s working life is to be spent in an office, then it makes sound sense to ensure the environment is as comfortable, pleasant and as healthy as possible.

So how much thought goes into the planning of workspaces?

Where a building is purpose built such as an office, then the architects I am sure will have created good designs to suit the purpose. However, it has been known for new buildings to be problematic for the people working it them. For instance, synthetic materials used for carpeting can sometimes give off toxic fumes which cause allergies or illness of the staff. Air conditioning that relies on recycled air has the potential to carry bugs that can lay the whole office off at the same time. So there are many factors to consider in creating an office environment to ensure the staff are productive, creative, energised and remain healthy.

Old buildings, originally built for other uses, when converted to office space will have different issues to resolve. Often old buildings have very high ceilings where the heat rises up so that the inhabitants below are cold yet the heating bills are going through the roof, literally!! How to maximise the space available to provide a comfortable working environment will be a real challenge and this is where often the use of a mezzanine floor and suspended ceilings are valuable.

It is a well known fact for any business that happy workers give better performance and generate more revenue than unhappy workers. The workforce are more motivated, creative, helpful and have less time off work for illness if they are happy in their jobs. I am sure there are statistics available for these details, but it’s basic common sense if you make sure your interior fit out specialists cater for the needs of your staff and their comfort at work then the company will perform better moving forwards.

Ergonomics

Ergonomics is the study of workplaces and the equipment used, to achieve the best design for comfort, safety, efficiency, and productivity. Research has been carried out over the last few years at Nottingham University on office space allocation issues.

Workspace planning is fast becoming a specialist industry because of all of the current regulations and legislation. Formerly known, in the UK as the Factories Act and now known as the Health and Safety Executive regulations are in place to ensure that employees have sufficient working space in which to perform their work. This can be a potential minefield including such things as physical space, usable space, corridor spaces, and minimum light and ventilation regulations. If you are about to commence on an office refurbishment project ensure that your interior fit out specialists of conversant with all of these regulations before you engage them to perform your work.

What are the Criteria for a good office environment? We are sentient beings, which mean we react with feeling and perception as well as intellectually to our surrounding.

Seeing

The first thing to consider when commencing an office refurbishment project is how does it look? The initial impact on us comes from what we see. The decor and arrangement of furniture, the window aspect and lighting are important in our perception of whether or not it is pleasing to the eye. Does the office have all the necessary equipment, computer, phone and sufficient storage for files and books etc? Plants generate a sense of balance in the space as long as they are discreetly positioned and don’t make it look cluttered. Plants are oxygen generators and help to refresh the air.

Smell

On entering a new place the first thing we take in is the aroma whether we pay attention to it or not. We notice immediately if the air is stuffy or if there is an unpleasant smell such as sweaty bodies. However a pleasant fragrance or no smell at all will be inviting. Baker shops nearly always pump out the fresh smell of baked bread into the street to entice people in to buy the goods. So although we may not be aware that smell plays an important part in our responses, we are still animals and we do use our olfactory senses a great deal more that we realise.

Feel touch

How does the furniture feel? Plastic seats can be very uncomfortable to sit on for a long time. Plastic does not breathe, it draws moisture from the skin so that when you stand up your posterior will be damp and uncomfortable. Padded fabric is warmer than leather for comfort and not as expensive. The desk chair needs to be the correct height for desk and give suitable support, a computer needs to be set correctly to avoid neck and wrist strain of the operator.

The temperature in the workspace is best if it’s not too warm and not too cold. Also when organising on office refurbishment job remember that people work best at a temperature of around 20 degrees centigrade, so temperature planning is also important.

Too warm and we become sluggish and sleepy, too cold and we become distracted and use up valuable energy keeping warm. Fresh air is also beneficial to stimulate the brain cells.

Sound Hear

What can we hear? Is it noisy or quiet? When I was first starting out in business, I went to visit a local manufacturing company to learn about the way they managed their business. At lunch time I was taken into the executive dining area where there was a waitress service and we had a very civilised lunch. Later I was taken to the works canteen. When we walked in I was hit with a blast of noise such as I had never experienced before. The hall was large with a very high ceiling and nothing to damp down the echo. The result was that everyone ended up shouting to be heard and there was loud music playing as well. I was shocked, not just at the noise level but by the contrast between the executive dining room and the workers canteen. I had come from an business which treated all members of the company the same so there were no executive areas and everyone, high and low mingled together for meals and break times. Guess which company had the better worker relationships and higher output?

Where a company utilises an open plan office then noise levels can be very distracting and one solution is to incorporate ‘White Noise’ which is a low level background noise to interfere with the general office talk going on over the phone or mini meetings. Sometimes quiet relaxing music is introduced as background noise but this is not usual in a business place.

Taste

Well we are not going to go around licking the furniture, but another important consideration is to ensure that a there is an area to enjoy a nice coffee or tea away from the desk throughout the day. So is there a pleasant area for making drinks and preparing snacks, or even lunch facilities alongside the office. I once worked in an office where they had a small kitchen area off the main office for making drinks and snacks and there was always a bowl of fresh fruit for employees, as the company recognising the refreshing effects of fresh fruit.

Workspace planning

So as you can see there are many things that can make the work environment a agreeable place to be. However getting the original layout and size of spaces for the employees is a complex process.

How much room does each individual need to work in? According to the Officewise publication from the Health and Safety Executive in the UK employers must provide a minimum of 11 cubic metres for each person permanently occupying a workplace. However there are all sorts of exceptions and caveats to this rule, such as making sure the space is usable space, and clearly if that space were under the stairs with no windows, or ventilation then it would not be suitable. So it is very important to ensure that your new office fit out adheres to all of the current legislation with regards to workspace laws.

In planning good workspaces the industrial fit out specialists may make use of suspended ceilings where possible which makes the installation of services easier and more less expensive. Electrical supply, air conditioning units, water pipes and telephone cables can all run behind the suspended ceiling making access easy if anything goes wrong and repairs need to be implemented.

Positioning of the electrical and telephone outlet is also critical. The computers used in offices today all require their own electrical supply even if they are networked with the system.

Daylight from windows is a requirement for offices. The days of the cupboard office cubbyhole are gone. Light airy spaces make people feel good and doses of sunshine each day lift our spirits. However too much sunshine will overheat an office so the use of vertical blinds is recommended to deflect the rays of the sun without reducing too much the level of illumination.

Costs

To preserve office space costs some industrial fit our specialists have come up with the idea that instead of having a board rooms for meetings they have their meeting standing up around a special tall coffee table. This reduces the amount of time spent in meetings and the space is reusable for the lunches. Other schemes encourage employees to work from home for part of a week and utilise a system of desk sharing or moveable desks.

Reconfigurable spaces

Another way of economising on the cost of office space is by careful rearrangement of the existing floor area. There may be dead areas which could be released and turned into useable space. The installation of new interior partition walls can rearrange the existing space to create a pleasanter working environment. Sometimes working in an open plan office is beneficial for communication between staff, other times it is a distraction and prevents efficiency. So having the option of both open space and separate offices provides the full range of options which can be easily introduced with new partition walls.

For example one of my clients, took over a set of offices and had various walls moved, so instead of it having two small offices, one without a window, they created one large office for the MD and a really good sized store room which they needed for long term storage of customer files. They then took out another wall and made a good size open plan office space and rearranged another wall to create a board come conference room. Also access to the little kitchen was changed to be more convenient. The choice of subtle colours on the walls and new vertical blinds caused the whole suite of rooms to be transformed into a pleasant and airy working area. Where there is plenty of ceiling height the introduction of a Mezzanine floor generates valuable areas perhaps for storage, private meeting rooms or extra offices.

Other thoughts in workspace planning, is the situation of facilities such as kitchen, toilets, relaxation areas and outside space if available. Sometimes the introduction of a simple partition can create a relaxation/dining area without losing too much of the work area.

All Health and Safety regulations are paramount they have to be adhered to in the workplace and must be incorporated into any plan along with full fire regulations.

Conclusion

Many organisations may feel that upgrading the facilities is a ‘nice to have’ idea and the reality is that it usually comes at the bottom of the list on money allocation. However this is erroneous thinking; office refurbishment is never a waste of time or money. Creating a pleasant office environment by upgrading worn out or old fashioned surroundings and furnishings will make a big difference to the working life of the employees. Improved working conditions may be only part of the picture in achieving real job satisfaction, but it is a good start in the right direction. It also says a lot about what the senior people in the organisation think about their employees. If they ensure that their staff are given the necessary equipment and facilities to do their job effectively then the employees will give better service and can be more efficient and there will be a better working environment all around.

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As a civilian, it’s generally difficult to understand what law enforcement officers have to deal with on a regular basis. Far too often, people make lame assumptions like cops just cruise around eating doughnuts and passing out tickets. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Do you think you could handle realistic police training? If it genuinely is so simple and laid-back, why don’t you pursue a career in law enforcement? Hmm, my guess is that reality deters you from such actions. We all know in the back of our minds that police officers put their lives on the line regularly. This is NOT something most individuals are willing to do. What does it take to enforce the law these days?

Growing up, I had a father in law enforcement. Therefore I was able to hear all about police training and what state troopers deal with daily. If you’re not clear on what the difference between a cop and a state trooper is, I’ll clear things up. Police officers have a jurisdiction, which is most likely a city limit or county. State troopers on the other hand, have jurisdiction in the entire state. Now, there is one aspect of police training that you may have never thought of. It doesn’t involve a physical weapon such as a firearm or pepper spray. It involves a voice.

Law enforcement officers are trained to use their voice. It may sound amusing, but the human voice is a powerful thing. Okay, so you’ve heard that spiel before. But I’m talking about powerful in a different way. An officer of the law is trained to scream orders at a suspect if need be. This naturally causes the human body to react compliantly. The mind is shocked by the shouts, and does as it’s told. My father went through a police training course such as this, and he claimed it worked well for him throughout his career.

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Borrowers who can’t keep up with their debt repayments may be interested to hear they can write off a portion of their debt with an IVA, assuming they meet the strict criteria for an IVA - and assuming they can supply the necessary level of commitment.

An IVA (Individual Voluntary Arrangement) is a form of insolvency, and an agreement between a borrower and their non-priority lenders - so it covers unsecured debts like credit cards, store cards and personal loans, rather than secured debts like mortgages.

Basically, if the individual and their lenders can agree on the terms - with the help of an Insolvency Practitioner or ‘IP’ - they will sign up to a legally binding agreement.

The individual will commit to making a fixed monthly payment for a specified period (normally five years), instead of making any more payments directly towards their unsecured debts. Those payments will be based on the maximum the individual could afford, leaving them enough to pay for all their essential expenses, from mortgage/rent and utility bills to food and petrol.

They’ll also agree to contribute a portion of any extra money they earn in that period: pay-rise, bonuses, commission, etc. And if they’re a homeowner, they’ll be required to release equity from their home in the 54th month (halfway through the final year of the IVA), so they can pay more into the IVA.

In return, the lenders will agree to freeze interest on the debt, and not to pursue any (further) legal action against the individual, including trying to make them bankrupt. What’s more, they’ll agree to write off any outstanding debt once the IVA has come to a successful completion - in other words, only if the individual can stick to their side of the deal and make all necessary payments throughout the term of the IVA.

So, an IVA offers significant benefits to everyone involved. The lenders know they’ll receive a certain amount of money over a certain time period, which will add up to more than they could expect to receive by trying to make the individual bankrupt - although bankruptcy would still be an option if the borrower doesn’t maintain their payments (so an IVA wouldn’t be a good idea for someone whose income isn’t steady, or who has another reason to suspect they won’t be able to commit to making those regular payments).

The borrower knows they won’t receive any more demands from the lenders. They know their monthly payments to the IVA will be lower than the total of the payments they’ve been making towards their unsecured debts. What’s more, those payments will be calculated to leave them enough for all their essential expenses, so they won’t have to worry about being evicted, having their utilities shut off, or being unable to afford food, petrol, etc. They know that the portion of the debt they can’t afford to repay will be written off as long as they stick to their side of the arrangement. And they’ll know there’s a ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ - they’ll be able to look forward to a fixed date when they know they’ll be debt free and able to get on with their life.

Please note: an IVA can’t go ahead unless lenders who collectively own 75% of the total debt agree to the terms set out in the IVA proposal (the formal offer which tells lenders what they can expect to receive).

And it’s important to remember that an IVA is a formal insolvency procedure which will be recorded on the individual’s credit report for six years from the day it begins (so it’ll stay there for one year after the IVA has finished), making further credit harder and more expensive to obtain.

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Disclaimer: This posting is based on information publicly available in the popular press and medical journals that deal with losing fat. Nothing herein is intended to be or should be construed to be any sort of medical advice. For medical advice the reader should consult with his or her doctor or other medical specialist.

With a brief search online, one will find that there are seriously thousands of weight loss methods being promoted online. It is no wonder that search terms such as “how to lose weight” are among the most highly searched in the health/fitness category. Among the most popular are the products that contain some sort of wonder ingredient from another country, such as the brand new guarana pure. With the acai craze dying down, guarana seems to be aiming for the top of the very same niche. Although actual reviews are hard to come by, the product seems to be doing extremely well when used with regular diet/exercise.

The acai buzz isn’t completely over though. There is a new product that has become extremely hot in the niche. It is called acai berry blast scam and it is excellent tasting while helping you lose weight. It is perfect for the coming warm months to look thinner and better around other people especially when in a bathing suit.

Finally, there is a 3rd category of fat burning products that are sweeping the nation by storm known as vegetable cleanses. They apparently work similar to other cleanses but they include the antioxidant powers of vegetables. A new product in this category is called the veggie 9 cleanse which includes numerous leafy green vegetables that are said to have healing properties for the human body.

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Introduction

Taking down old buildings and replacing them with new is a process that has been going on for thousands of years. The destruction of buildings might have occurred during battles or attacks on towns; or due to natural disturbances such as earthquakes or volcanic activity. The resultant ruins would need to be removed and rebuilt. So the idea of demolition would have come about where a population wished to re-inhabit a specific area or site. (One famous example is the Holy Temple in Jerusalem which was deliberately destroyed by the Assyrians around 586 BCE. After 50 years of occupation the Jews returned to Jerusalem and began the re-construction of the second temple which took seventy years to complete.)

However the actual word to demolish only came into being in 1570, and was used from then on to mean the deliberate taking down or destroying of a building or structure.

Preserving the past - preparing the future.

In a country like Britain with very dense populations per square mile, there is a limited amount of land available for building. The land between built up areas of the villages and towns is known as Green Belt and is protected from development to preserve the agricultural and natural heritage which is vital to the economy of the country.

The outcome of this policy is that there is a constant shortage of land for housing and industry, so the developers have to be more creative when providing structures for the population. One of the ways of doing this is to find places where the buildings are no longer commercially viable or have been abandoned, and re-use the area for different purposes. These areas are known as brownfield, or greyfield sites. In some cities, particularly Leeds and Manchester, the old warehouses or factories have been converted into apartments, retaining the original shell and reconfiguring the internal dimensions into valuable living accommodation.

Brownfield sites are disused industrial and commercial facilities where the land may be contaminated with hazardous waste or pollution. They are potentially valuable for significant redevelopment once they have been cleaned up. Greyfield sites are urban properties that have been underutilised or abandoned, but do not have the environmental issues of brownfield sites. They were termed greyfield sites because of large areas of asphalt that covered the land. These sites are valuable because they already have the infrastructure such as water, sewage, electricity and gas in place and do not need remedial work to utilise the site.

When a structure is to be removed there are different ways of approaching the task. The size and construction of the building, the new use of the site and whether there are valuable elements suitable for re-use, will all determine how it is to be demolished.

Traditional Demolition

Traditionally, once all the services were disconnected, the machinery and men would go in and just knock down the walls which caused the roof to collapse and then drag all the debris away. Any concrete hard standing would be broken up ready for removal. The old style of excavation would involve the clearing of rubbish to landfill sites. However modern demolition practices are very controlled and are subject to strict planning, safety and monitoring regulations.

Small structures such as two or three storey houses can be dismantled quite easily with hydraulic excavators and bulldozers using an undermining process. The walls are undermined at the base, in order to topple the structure; at the same time the manner and direction of the fall is controlled. Clean-up and safety issues are also taken into account when determining how the building will be undermined and demolished.

Larger buildings such as tower blocks and chimneys require more specialist techniques, and are outlined below.

Deconstruction

A new approach to demolishing buildings is deconstruction - a green approach. The aim is to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill sites by carefully preserving valuable materials for reuse. The work may be a painstaking task of dismantling by hand - brick by brick - or beam by beam. The reclaimed materials are then recycled or re-used for future buildings. The results of deconstruction can save in excess of 90% waste from going to a landfill site. When the farmer opposite to my house sold his farm yard with barns for housing, the builder demolished the barns, cleaned up the bricks and reused them for the perimeter wall of the farmhouse. At the time I was looking for some rubble as a base for a path and the builder let me take several barrow loads off his pile.

Recycling

Historically when old buildings were ruined from disuse or war damage the local people would gradually remove the stone and use it to build their new structures such as houses or barns. Hadrian’s wall between Carlisle and Newcastle has mostly gone because after the Romans left, the local population made off with the beautifully dressed stone the Roman craftsmen had used in the building of the wall. So even in those days people understood the value of recycling because it was much cheaper than having to quarry and dress the stone themselves.

At one time the rubble resulting from a demolished building would be taken to a landfill site for disposal. Now however concrete can be rapidly broken up with the latest machine called a guillotine and the resultant rubble can be crushed and used as sub-base material for the foundation of the new building which is to replace the old, or sent to other construction sites. These days this crushed rubble is called 6f2 crushed stone or 6f2 crushed material.

Modern machinery and techniques allows the demolition companies to efficiently segregate waste types on or off-site. Wherever possible construction materials are recycled and re-used in the new structure. Recycling of waste contributes to a substantial savings in project costs and is good for the environment.

When we renovated our bungalow 20 years ago the builder, who was a bell ringer, found an old beam from a bell tower that was being renovated, and after carefully treating it, installed it in the kitchen. It gave the room some badly needed character and has never needed any further treatment.

Copper pipes, wiring, roof tiles or slates, floor tiles and doors, and wood panelling are some of the valuable objects that are saved for recycling and re-use. There are specialist yards in many towns where reclaimed old or antique artefacts are available for purchase.

Tall Buildings

The building demolition work on very tall buildings requires real experts. In some cases a wrecking ball on a crane may be used to demolish the top part of a tall building until it is down to a manageable height. However this process is rarely used by professional demolition companies today due to the uncontrollable factor of the swinging ball and the proximity of other buildings.

Other methods of demolition of tall buildings are by implosion using explosives, controlled collapse and piecemeal. Also ‘High Reach’ demolition excavators are used where explosives are not appropriate. Once the building is down to a more manageable height demolition continues in the usual way.

The steeplejack Fred Dibnah became famous in the late 1970’s for his work on demolishing tall chimneys without the need for explosives. He would cut an ingress at the base of the chimney, use wooden props to support the brickwork and then burn the props so that the chimney toppled hopefully in the right direction.

The tallest building to be lawfully demolished was the Singer Building of New York in 1967/8. More recently the collapse of the World Trade Centre after the 9/11 attack in 2001 shows the terrible devastation that could occur if the demolition is not controlled and very carefully contained.

In the demolishing of tall buildings and large structures water hoses and spray equipment is used to control the dust and would is termed a wet demolition.

Explosions

What comes to mind for many people when they think about demolition would be the dramatic collapse of a tall building using explosives. However it is usually the process of implosion, using explosives, that brings down a tall building so that it does as little damage as possible to the surrounding environment. Implosion is essential for dense urban areas and is very fast, the collapse taking only seconds, with the building falling inwards into its own footprint.

Using explosives is specialist work and is a very skilled process and getting it wrong can be devastating. If an implosion is not prepared correctly the danger may be damage to neighbouring structures or even killing onlookers from flying debris. Even more dangerous is a partial collapse of a building where the remaining structure is unstable and there are still primed explosives that failed to go off. Workers are in great danger if or when continuing the demolition.

Other hazards of working with explosives occurs when the atmospheric pressure from low cloud above the implosion site will cause the shockwave to spread outwards instead of upwards. The wave of energy and sound created will break windows and cause other damage to the surrounding buildings.

Because of the dangers of working with explosives, implosion will only be used when other methods are too costly or impractical.

Health and Safety

Demolition of any building is highly dangerous and is a much more complicated and technical process than most people would realise. Experienced and skilled operators are essential to ensure safety for both workers and public alike. The stability of any structure is reliant on the interdependence of its component parts, so an incorrect sequence of dismantling could result in an unplanned collapse.

Health and safety is paramount in demolition work so personnel working in the industry have to be thoroughly trained. It is advisable for operatives to have gained a Certificate of Competence in Demolition to ensure they have the necessary skills and safety awareness. All demolition work is regulated by the Construction, Design and Management Regulations.

Sequence of Demolition

There has to be a sequence of actions before any demolition can take place. Each area council will have their own specific list for planning approval, but a typical order would be as follows:-

• Provision of Information
  The demolition company must provide information about the construction to be demolished, its previous use and the appropriate demolition method to be applied including disposal of hazardous substances.
• Survey of Demolition
  Identification of any structural problems as well as risks associated with hazardous or flammable substances ,indications of asbestos presence require an asbestos survey is carried out.Where petrol has been stored, in a disused garage for example, precautions need to be taken to prevent a fire hazard.
• Preferred and Safe Method of Work
  A reputable company involved in demolition will be able to select the appropriate method of disposal. Planning and outlining the dismantling process is necessary for assiduous monitoring. A detailed statement outlining the safety process needs to be agreed by all parties involved before any demolition can take place.
• Preparation and Planning
  There is a lot of preparation to be done before starting work on demolishing the building itself. Issues such as asbestos abatement, disconnecting utilities, rodent baiting, dealing with hazardous substances and making safe any electric, gas or other services have to be resolved.
• Protection of the Public
  Where demolition is carried out in heavily populated areas the protection of the public is paramount. Safety cannot be compromised. Temporary services may need to be arranged, health hazards assessed and people disturbed will need to be informed.

Conclusion

The word ‘demolish’ is interpreted as the deliberate and controlled collapse of a structure. Demolition work is a very risky business and demolishing any building is a complex and skilled process. The aim in demolition is to remove an unwanted building as safely and quickly as possible, recycle or re-use most of the old material, and clear the site ready for the subsequent use.

In the centre of Nottingham over the last few years there has been a major reconstruction of what was an old car park into a brand new shopping complex. While this was going on the public were only really aware of the boarding around the area, a change in traffic direction and maybe some big lorries going in and out of the site.

So the next time you see houses being demolished to make way for the new, give a thought to the company involved who’s team are daily working in a dangerous environment, adhering to all of the regulations and carefully and meticulously carrying out the project to bring us the modern conveniences we have come to expect and clearing the way for the future.

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