Increasing Spotlight on Demolition Contractors

I recently assisted a specialist demolition contractor with a tender proposal. The more I learned about the company, the more I was impressed. They had their ISOs, insurances, and governance procedures all in place. They also employed a consultant Structural Engineer to plan de-construction and demolition processes. To be honest, their management set-up would be on a par with many medium size main contractors.

There is increasingly more focus on main contractors to deliver the Net Zero target. A key area of the construction industry that continues to operate with little attention or recognition given to them is the demolition contractors. Urgent action is needed to reduce the number of buildings being demolished instead of refurbished in Northern Ireland to meet the Net Zero target. I note Joseph Kilroy of the CIOB recently commented, ‘Renovation and retrofitting costs are subject to the standard 20% VAT, but demolition and new build is not, often making it more financially attractive to demolish buildings to the ground rather than refurbish them, despite refurbishment usually being the more sustainable option.’ I think this is going to change as there is going to be increasingly more focus on how demolition contractors can reduce their carbon emissions. I believe there will be less standalone demolition contracts awarded in the years ahead. I envisage demolition contractors will start to work closer with designers and main contractors early in the construction process including the planning stages of projects as more collaboration will be needed to plan refurbishment and redevelopment work rather than pure demolition. Early contractor involvement (ECI), which has become more common place on medium and large size projects, will likely involve demolition contractors too. As always, time will tell.

A tour of a demolition project for construction management students, which I facilitated.