Damada Group were instructed by Buckingham Group to carry out the full demolition and Asbestos Removal of the Design Building (Blocks W and Z) at the Former Rolls Royce manufacturing site in East Kilbride. This project involved complex Asbestos Removal, Pigeon Guano Removal, Soft-Strip and Floor-by-Floor Demolition as well as the use of Dry Ice Blasting for Asbestos Sprayed Coating Removal.
Site history
Located at the heart of East Kilbride, the development site on Mavor Avenue was previously used by Rolls Royce and played a key part in the design, service and manufacture of integrated power systems across the world. This previous site was home to a variety of buildings, each focusing on a particular stage of development or specific engine.
In addition, this site, and jobs that it created played an integral part in the development of East Kilbride as a whole, attracting people out of Glasgow’s post-war overcrowded city flats with the promise of a new life in the countryside. Following its closure in 2015 the site earmarked for residential development to cater to the growing demand for housing in the area.
Instruction
Damada Group were instructed by the Main Contractor, Buckingham Group, and worked in conjunction with Barr Demolition to complete the full Asbestos Removal and Demolition of Blocks W & Z, the Design Building, with all waste and building material cleared to slab level.
Damada Group has grown out of East Kilbride since its conception over 20 years ago, and has its Head Office based within 100m of the site, therefore this project was one of key importance to all involved.
the project
Part 1 –Pigeon Guano Removal and Soft Strip
As a result of closure over 20 years ago, Blocks W & Z had fallen into significant disrepair, with various hazards from weather damage to Pigeon Guano and Asbestos contamination throughout.
Damada Group had to initially ensure that the building was pigeon-free, and then secure all windows and doors prior to Pigeon Guano Removal and Soft Strip.
Part 2 – Asbestos Removal (Sprayed Asbestos Insulation to external sheeting and AIB Column and Firebreak Panels)
Due to the construction of the building in the 1960s, Asbestos was heavily used within the fabric of the building.
One of the key factors within this project was the removal of Sprayed Asbestos Coating that was attached to the external Galbestos sheeting, behind the wall cavity.
This had to be removed in stages and was particularly difficult due to access restrictions.
In addition, Asbestos Insulation Board (AIB) was used to protect against fire with AIB cladding used on all columns and firebreaks above non-asbestos suspended ceiling tiles.
Part 3 – External Galbestos Sheeting Removal and Demolition
In order to ensure there was no contamination within the building rubble, all external Galbestos sheets were removed and disposed of as bonded asbestos waste. This was only permitted once it could be proved that there was no-longer any Asbestos Sprayed Coating to the inner surface.Following this, Damada Group then had to work in conjunction with Barr Demolition to demolish the remaining structure to ground level.
Part 4 – Site Clearance
Finally, once the structure was brought to ground level, all waste was then sorted into waste streams to maximise recycled material. This process was continued until the site was clear to slab level and fit to be handed back to the Main Contractor.
Note: A point of note is that during this process, Damada Group found a range of Asbestos within the building that had not been identified in the pre-demolition survey by another contractor. However due to Damada Group also including A UKAS accredited Asbestos Surveying Division, we were able to quickly respond to provide the client with a comprehensive Asbestos Pre-Demolition survey, finding all extra asbestos.
This meant that delays were kept to an absolute minimum, as we were then able to quickly build this additional asbestos into our tight program of works.
innovation
At Damada Group, we are always looking for safer and more effective methods for Asbestos Removal and Demolition. As part of this project, we invested heavily in a new method of ‘Dry Ice Basting’. Initially, Damada Group intended to use the traditional method of Abrasive Blasting using sand/grit to remove the sprayed asbestos to outer walls. This is where the bulk of the asbestos is removed using wet strip injection method, with the residue then removed by blasting sand/grit at high pressures to push off any leftover asbestos.
This method is time-consuming due to the extensive clean-up time required, as well as very dirty and can create its own health and safety issues due to reduced visibility. Therefore, a short time after starting the process, Damada Group made the decision to switch to using Dry Ice Blasting.
The Dry Ice Blasting process follows a similar program, with the bulk of the asbestos still removed using wet strip injection, however the difference is that instead of using sand/grit to push the residue asbestos off, we use compressed CO2 pellets instead. This is highly effective as not only does it allow greater visibility, but also it dramatically reduces the time taken to clean up after the blasting is complete. Dry Ice blasting only leaves the resulting asbestos residue to be cleaned as all CO2 pellets sublimate into their gas form on contact with the blasting surface, with the build-up of CO2 then filtered and removed via the Negative Pressure Units attached to the Asbestos enclosure.
By comparison, when using traditional methods not only must all asbestos be removed, but all sand/grit used for blasting must also be cleaned and disposed of as Asbestos Waste.
This dramatically reduced the time taken to complete each similar enclosure from 33 days at the start of the project, using traditional methods, to 14 days at the end using Dry Ice blasting – Less than half the time!
