Hegarty Demolition Ltd was celebrating on the double at the recent 2018 Machinery Movers Industry and Operator Awards when David Richardson and John Byrne were named as Best Plant Manager and Best Long Reach Operator respectively.
The awards, which were presented at a glitzy ceremony in the Mount Wolseley Hotel Spa & Golf Resort in Tullow, Co. Carlow on Good Friday, March 30 last, are great recognition for David and John, and for the entire Hegarty Demolition team. Based in Dublin, Hegarty Demolition was established in 1990 in response to the massive growth in urban development experienced by Sean Hegarty Earthworks which had been founded 20 years earlier, specialising in earth moving, site development, civil engineering and plant machinery hire.
Hegarty Demolition is a complete service provider, being the recognised expert in demolition, basement construction, building conservation and civil engineering. Its involvement in prestigious commercial projects such as the redevelopment of Temple Bar, Croke Park (a stadium close to Sean Hegarty’s heart given his love for Clare GAA) and the Dublin Docklands has since established it as the market leader in these areas.
“It was nice to win the two awards. I have been in the demolition business for over 40 years and John has over 20 years’ experience performing structural demolition of buildings of all sizes and environments,” David explains.
“We were nominated for three awards (Demolition of the Year being the other) so to win two wasn’t bad. We don’t usually do awards ceremonies or anything like that, but when the people at Machinery Movers contacted us, we couldn’t refuse. The awards reflect well on what we do and are good PR for our company.”
Hegarty Demolition’s head office is in Rathfarnham, but David is based in nearby Newcastle where the plant yard and workshop are located. As plant manager, he oversees plant and maintenance among other things.
“It’s my job to make sure the plant yard runs smoothly,” says David, who has been plant manager since 1999.
“My responsibilities include looking after the purchase and maintenance of all plant, making sure our plant is fully certified, general equipment, site supply and hire of all external plant. We have 45 pieces of plant, ranging from .75 tonne up to 60 tonnes. The makes of machinery include Caterpillar, Komatsu, Liebherr and Volvo. We have eight staff in Newcastle, including yard staff, equipment delivery drivers and three fitters, who look after our maintenance and repairs with the help of their apprentices.
“The plant yard is a vital cog in the whole operation.”
As well as having a wealth of experience, John Byrne’s passion for demolition is key to performing the works and assisting in the development of plans etc. The award-winning long reach operator has completed the CPCS training for demolition plant, including material processing and demolishing at all heights. With his excellent hand-eye coordination needed to operate machinery, knowledge of the use of heavy machinery of all sizes and makes, determination to complete jobs precisely, attention to detail and with no oversights, professional demeanour with crew members and site management, he is a vital part of the works.
David has seen many changes in the demolition industry over the past four decades, all of which have been for the better. “Health & Safety conditions for both staff and members of the general public have improved beyond recognition and we’re very proud of our exemplary record in this regard,” he continues.
“Management and staff training, methods of work, dust control measures and noise control, along with electronic systems have also improved. Every machine movement can be seen on computer now.”
Hegarty Demolition, led by managing director Liam Hogan, is committed to attaining the highest possible standards in Health & Safety to ensure the wellbeing of staff and all others who may be affected by its actions and processes. The company’s commitment to ongoing development and maintenance of these standards is of the highest priority.
Its commitment to the elimination of all accidents on site is demonstrated through its continual investment in staff training and best practice procedures in relation to site safety auditing. Hegarty Demolition has invested heavily in all types of both external and in-house task specific training for all employees, from management training through the CIF-run Managing Safely in Construction Course to Safe Pass and CPCS training for all operatives.
The company has received accreditation in the organisation and conforms to the requirements of ISO 14001:2015, ISO 9001:2015 and OHSAS 18001:2007. Over the last five years, Hegarty Demolition has achieved a total of over 1,000,000 hours’ free non-reportable accidents. To achieve this and going forward, plans to prevent injuries and improve safety on all sites, the following will be carried out:
Management safety; integrate safety as a part of the job; take safety into account during the project planning process; ensuring sub-contractors are pre-qualified for safety; making sure the workers are properly trained in appropriate areas; have a fall protection system; developing plans / systems to prevent flying debris in public areas; making safety a part of everyday conversation; review accidents and near misses as well as regular inspections.
Hegarty Demolition has developed its own dust suppression system for effective noise and environmental management. The company uses fan-driven cannons and water sprinkler systems to control dust and minimise its effects on the public.
Hegarty Demolition has undertaken some of the most high-profile demolition / redevelopment projects in Dublin in recent times. These include Boland’s Mill, the ESB headquarters in Fitzwilliam Square, Apollo House, Hainault House in St. Stephen’s Green and the Metro Hotel in Ballymun, which was recently damaged by fire.
The Boland’s Mill project involved the demolition and removal of several in-situ concrete structures along with three large concrete silo structures up to 55 metres in height, the dismantling and salvage for re-use of the old factory building, the design and installation of elaborate temporary works support system to retained structures, the design and erection of scaffolding to most facades and the design and fabrication of a cantilevered steel protection apron over the Grand Canal adjoining the works to safeguard the canal wall and basis.
The ESB headquarters in Fitzwilliam Square project comprised a conglomerate of high-rise structures built within the 1950s-1970s period to be demolished and a number of listed structures from Georgian times, all of which had to be retained.
Hegarty Demolition Ltd
17 Main Street,
Rathfarnham,
Dublin 14.
Telephone: +353 (0)1 490 5058
Fax: +353 (0)1 490 5678
Email: [email protected]
Taken from Building Ireland Magazine, July 2018, Vol 4 No 6
