We have recently completed the demolition of Walnut Buildings in Radstock, Somerset. We were awarded the contract by housing association Curo Group to completely demolish the four blocks of buildings, including out-buildings.

During the demolition properties surrounding the site remained fully occupied, and access roads and adjacent garages were open and in use.

Before the works started we erected a 2.4m timber hoarding around the site and created a demolition drop zone to ensure the safety of all workers on site. One of our experienced CCDO qualified Demolition Supervisors was assigned to manage the works. We assigned a team of CSCS/CCDO qualified operatives who were issued with personal protective equipment prior to working on site. Before work started the team attended an induction session. Our health and safety advisor regularly audited the works, and the audits were made available to the Curo Group.

Buildings were worked on block by block. Asbestos identified in the Asbestos Survey was removed by qualified operatives, before the buildings were soft-stripped of loose and non-structural items. Once stripped, the buildings were demolished down to ground level using excavators. The foundations were then broken out. One of our mobile tracked crushers was used to crush all brick, hard-core and concrete to 6F2 specification. The crushed material was then used in the demolition voids to leave a level site. Stone from the demolished buildings was saved during demolition and kept for later use.

We supplied vehicles and skips to remove all remaining material from site to licensed recycling and waste facilities. We aim to recycle as much material as possible and on this project our recycling rate was 99.9%. The cleared and levelled site was left ready for the next stage of the project.

ISO 45001:2018  Occupational health and safety management systems is the world’s first international standard for occupational health and safety. It provides a framework to improve employee safety, reduce workplace risks and replaces the outgoing BS OHSAS 18001 standard. Certification to ISO Standards demonstrates that we work to international best practice, and it demonstrates our credibility and competence to stakeholders and customers.

Having already been certified to the quality and environmental standards of ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 for a number of years, the move to gain ISO 45001:2018 was a natural progression for our company.  

Peter Moore, Director, prides himself on best business practice. He believes that having ISO 45001 certification is a crucial factor in ensuring the safest possible working environment for employees.

As Peter explains “Keeping our workers safe is one of our most important goals. We have always maintained a robust H&S management system, overseen by our H&S Manager, Joe Ready. With the introduction of ISO 45001:2018 , both Joe and I felt that certification would be a natural transition for our business. It allows for continual improvement as the business grows and develops, and ensures we follow best practice”.

Having all three ISO certifications is a great achievement for our company and definitely puts us at the front of the pack.

Every month our client Vistry Partnerships presents an Amazon voucher of £50 to acknowledge the best performance of subcontractor’s site supervisors. This month Vistry Health & Safety director Sally Drew visited Blackberry Hill site and handed the employee of the month award to our own Stuart Meek.

Vistry Partnerships currently has over 100 live construction schemes in the UK so well done to Stuart, we’re all very proud of you! Stuart is one of our most experienced site supervisors, and has worked for L A Moore Ltd for 24 years. He is well placed to deal with the challenges of keeping everyone safe on site even during the coronavirus pandemic. We all agree his employee of the month award is well deserved.

L A Moore Ltd has been working on site at the old Blackberry Hill hospital since 2018, demolishing and soft-stripping a variety of buildings before 346 new much-needed homes are built on the site. 100 of the new homes will be affordable housing, in addition to retail and business units.