The Civil Engineering Contractor April 2019 | Page 31

Brinkmann’s career
not about to implode
PROFILE
Sectioning of a lowered duct for removal off site.
Jet Demolition won a
second consecutive
award at the annual World
Demolition Awards 2018
at the Aviva Stadium in
Dublin on 8 November.
With an aptitude and
‘fondness’ for explosives,
Jet Demolition director
Joe Brinkmann led this
award-winning project.
T
he premium event of its
kind, the awards are hosted
by Demolition & Recycling
International, published by the KHL
Group, in conjunction with the
European Demolition Association.
What makes Jet Demolition’s win
in the Industrial Demolition Award
category such a major achievement
for the South African industry, is that
it was up against some of the biggest
companies and projects in the world.
There were 10 entrants in this
category. Of the four shortlisted, apart
from Jet Demolition, the finalists were
Brandenburg Industrial of the US
for the Bannister Federal Complex,
Despe of Italy for the former Stefana
Steelworks, and Liberty Industrial of
Australia for the Port Kembla Coal
Terminal Stacker and Reclaimer
demolition. “It was fantastic for us.
www.civilsonline.co.za
We were up against some of the
biggest companies in the world, with
major projects. In the end, we had
the perfect combination of a difficult
and unique project, together with the
best solution that we executed well,”
Brinkmann comments.
Director Liz Brinkmann, who started
the company with her husband 28 years
ago, points out that what differentiates
Jet Demolition from its rivals is a passion
for bespoke solutions, as opposed to
using off-the-shelf equipment, and then
trying to adapt it to the problem in
hand. “In many instances, you simply
have to take a major step back, look
at it from a fundamental perspective,
and then determine what is the best
approach,” she says.
International demolition consultant
John Woodward, who has been associated
with the awards since its inception,
commented that while the scale of the
project submitted by Jet Demolition was
dwarfed in sheer size by some of the
other submissions, the reason it won
was that “it was a unique challenge, to
which the technical response put the
other projects in the shade.”
Brinkmann highlights the numerous
challenges associated with the
project: “We had to contend with a
critically damaged boiler unit, with
attendant safety issues. The timeframe
was highly limited, which entailed
working double shifts on a 24/7 basis.
We had to train up local community
members, which meant incorporating
25 extra workers into our system and
procedures.” The project ultimately
peaked at 145 personnel on site, and
330 373 hours worked without a
single lost-time injury (LTI).
“Our main consideration was that the
boilerhouse structure had to remain
in place, and therefore could not be
damaged in any way. Combined with all
of these elements was the fact that we
were in the middle of a fully operating
The winning project
Jet Demolition’s submission focused
on the contract awarded to it by
Eskom in 2017 for the demolition
of a coal-fired boiler and ancillary
equipment at Duvha Power Station
in Mpumalanga, following an over-
pressurisation event that resulted in
irreparable damage to the structure.
By Eamonn Ryan
Jet Demolition director,
Joe Brinkmann
CEC April 2019 | 29