John O’Brien, LCMB founder and MD presented the business innovation of the year award to Alford Technologies at last month’s Construction News Specialist Awards.
In February 2016, part of the Didcot A Power Station Boiler House collapsed unexpectedly, killing 4 demolition workers. The accident happened during the pre-weakening phase of the demolition process and as a result, all work was stopped. The condition of the remaining Boiler House was considered unsafe and so the UK HSE placed a 50m exclusion zone around the entire structure.
Following the disastrous partial collapse, Alford Technologies were approached by the owners of Dicot A Power Station and asked if we could provide an alternative method of demolition. After many consultations, Alford Technologies mobilised a specialist team of explosive engineers and Remote Operated Vehicle technicians and formulated an innovative method of “remote demolition.”
On Sunday 17 July 2016, the remaining structure was successfully demolished using new and innovative demolition techniques.
Alford Technologies won the award for their entry “Innovation in Explosives Demolition using Remote Methods”.
“I have been a judge of the Construction News Specialists Awards for the last three years. This year I had the added bonus of presenting the Business Innovation of the Year Award to Alford Technologies for their impressive work in safely bring down the Dicot A Power Station structure. I would encourage businesses which have something to showcase to get involved in the awards as the process of completing your entries and presenting to the judges will help you explain what really differentiates your project or business”. John O’Brien, LCMB
