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Progess
on our New Site Plans
25th November 2008
Our new development has progressed throughout 2008, from this time last year,
setting out the land and laying the foundations, to recently fixing the windows
to make the building almost watertight. Progress has been relatively slow but
the new year should see a final push to compete the build in time to move in
around Easter. |
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Continuing
Links with the Army
6th October 2008
Throughout 2008, WFL continued to nurture and develop our links with the Royal
School of Military Engineering (RSME) in the Army. In previous years, we have
had senior military personnel from the Royal Engineers carry out work placements
with us on our sites and we have invited them to attend several of our demolition
contracts, particularly those which have involved explosives.
This relationship was strengthened further earlier this year when two engineers
from RSME joined WFL for a month to gain practical demolition experience. They
had been assigned by RSME the task of demolishing a redundant building in Gibraltar
and needed to know the best way to tackle the project, having never carried out
work of this nature before. We tutored them during their time with us, observing
them on some of our demolition sites and helped them to develop task specific
method statements and risk assessments for their project.
When they returned to Gibraltar, they were equipped with the knowledge and confidence to proceed with their assignment and, as a result, the work went smoothly with the building demolished safely and efficiently. |
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Liverpool – Capital
of Culture 2008
8th September 2008
Throughout 2008, events have been taking place in Liverpool to celebrate the
city’s status as the Capital of Culture. The showpiece event of the summer
was a massive outdoor event spanning several days in the centre of Liverpool.
The event involved a large mechanical spider, orchestrated by the French Street
Theatre Company, La Machine and facilitated by Unusual, an Event Rigging Company.
Walter Forshaw got involved in the project in early 2008 when Unusual were looking
for a large building to hang the spider from and it became apparent that the
demolition of Concourse House, a prominent 15-storey office block outside the
main Liverpool Lime Street Railway Station, would coincide with the timing of
the event.
Throughout the spring and early summer, WFL management met with Unusual to discuss the project,
resulting in several modifications to the building and therefore to our demolition programme.
One morning in early September, as commuters arrived in Liverpool, they were greeted with a
large object hanging on the side of Concourse House. The story unfolded that a demolition
crew had “disturbed” a mysterious creature during the preliminary demolition phase of a
project. French scientists were summoned and transported the spider to the Albert Dock area
of the city to try to stir the spider from its sleep. They tried spraying the spider with
water, snow and fire and also tried serenading her with music. Once awake, the spider then
walked slowly back through the streets of Liverpool and climbed back up Concourse House for
one last evening. The following day, she climbed down the tower for the final time and scuttled
off into one of the Mersey Tunnels, never to be seen again!
The event was a major success, drawing in hundreds of thousands of people, despite the weather,
and featuring in local, national and even international news reports (apparently making the
headlines in the South China Gazette!). Unusual, La Machine and Liverpool City Council expressed
their gratitude to WFL for our cooperation, patience and hospitality in allowing the Spider to
reside on the building.
For further information and more photographs of the spider event, follow the link to the BBC’s website:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/liverpool/capital_of_culture/la_machine/ |
The Spider hanging on the side of Concourse House adjacent Lime Street Railway Station
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High
Profile Contracts
21st July 2008
WFL has recently been awarded two high profile contracts. Firstly, the long
awaited demolition of Concourse House outside Liverpool Lime Street railway station.
This work is being carried out on behalf of Liverpool Vision and, following on
from the demolition, the area will be redeveloped into a public realm.
The second contract is the demolition of the former Peugeot Factory in Coventry
on behalf of Vertase FLI. The ultimate client for this contract is George Wimpey
who will redevelop the site once demolition has finished. Phase 1 of the demolition
commences on Monday 11th August to allow a new road to be built through the west
side of the site with phase 2 following on, completing the demolition of the
east side. |
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Trainee
Success
20th June 2008
Planning for the future of the company has been at the forefront of the company’s
philosophy. Training is one area where time and money has been invested in all
disciplines within the company. “Earmarking future potential supervisors
and mangers at an early stage will give Walter Forshaw the structure to ensure
future projects are managed and carried out by trained and competent persons.” says
Andrew Forshaw.
Recently the company has received Demolition Operative (Top Man) cards for two
employees who have attended and completed the Demolition Operatives Course at
Bircham Newton. Andrew added:
“Craig Steele and Gordon Lucas have worked for
Walter Forshaw Ltd for a number of years and both have proved they have the knowledge,
skills and ability to become future supervisors or managers of the company. It
is my intention to ensure they gain their demolition experience from our more
experienced demolition managers and to ensure that training is carried out at
the relevant stages of their careers.”
Within our new offices, a new dedicated training room will be constructed.
In-house training is carried out every 12 months to all employees within the
company. The training courses are delivered by our Health & Safety Manager
and have been accredited by the NDTG. |
Gordon (far left) and Craig (far right) receive their Demolition
Topman Cards from Managing Director, Andrew Forshaw, and Contracts
Director, Christian Forshaw
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Construction
News Specialists Awards 2008
7th May 2008
The awards’ evening for the Construction News Specialist in Construction
Awards 2006 competition was held on Wednesday 7th May at the London Hilton Park
Lane Hotel. The format for the evening was a gala dinner followed by the presentation
of the awards.
The evening was hosted by Bob Mills with an introductory speech from the editor
of Construction News, Nick Edwards. The judges stressed that the standard of
the entries was the highest so far.
Our entry in to the Demolition category was summed up by Construction News as
follows:
As one of the largest demolition contractors in the north-west of England, Walter
Forshaw offers a competitive service to clients, from tender stage through to completion of contract.
It cites several reasons for its success. Firstly, the firm is a member of various
organisations, including Construction-Skills, the National Demolition Training Group, the Road
Haulage Association and the National Federation of Demolition Contractors (NFDC).
Secondly, it merged its ISO 9001 Quality System with its existing ISO 14001 environmental
system in 2007 to positive feedback from customers.
Thirdly, the company is committed to minimising its impact on the environment,
evidenced by its ISO 14001 accreditation.
And finally, Walter Forshaw continues to invest in its business. Throughout 2007,
it developed plans for a purpose-built facility to consolidate its fixed site facilities onto
one site. This will increase levels of reclamation and recycling. Situated on
a former 1930s coal mine in Lancashire, the new office will create more local
jobs.
As the awards were announced for the Demolition category, Walter Forshaw did
not win but we were encouraged by the comments of the judges and the standard
of competition, with all our fellow finalists in the demolition category being
large national companies. |
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Hitachi
Super-Reach Refurbished
28th March 2008
Our Hitachi EX800 Super Reach demolition excavator has recently been given a
thorough overhaul. Several minor repairs have been carried out in conjunction
with a complete re-spray of the cab and both the short and long arms in Hitachi
colours
With the long arm attached, the equipment can reach heights of 42m giving us
the capability to demolish tower blocks and other tall structures more safely
and effectively than was previously possible. We also have a dedicated steel
shear attachment for the short arm which can process steelwork like a “warm
knife through butter”. |
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Integrated
Quality & Environmental System
13th November 2007
Having achieved the ISO9001 Quality Standard in late 2006, we have spent this
year integrating our existing Environmental System with our new Quality System
with the intention of being able to manage, organise and audit the systems more
effectively.
In November 2007, our Environmental triennial audit was due so we combined this
with another full Quality System audit to fully integrate the two systems. ISOQAR
of Manchester visited WFL to carry out the audit over two days which involved
a site visit, touring our fixed premises and interrogating our systems and paperwork.
The results of the audit were that we passed and have now successfully integrated
the two systems in to one.
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New
Partnership
20th February 2008
Walter Forshaw Ltd has been selected as one of three demolition partners to
undertake all demolition work for the next four years for Salford
City Council.
The work is to be carried out for Urban
Vision Partnership Ltd. Further information
about the Urban Vision organisation can be found at their website www.urbanvision.org.uk.
To become recognised as a demolition partner, we initially completed a thorough
Pre-Qualification questionnaire. This allowed Salford City Council to narrow
the list of potential contractors down and they subsequently invited suitable
candidates to complete a tender process. This was carried out in the summer of
2007 and, once again, allowed Salford City Council to narrow their selection
still further. In July, WFL attended a post-tender interview with Council representatives
and, after analysing all the candidates submissions and interviews, SCC have
recently confirmed that WFL has been successful in becoming a recognised demolition
partner for the next 4 years.
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Integrated
Quality & Environmental System
13th November 2007
Having achieved the ISO9001 Quality Standard in late 2006, we have spent this
year integrating our existing Environmental System with our new Quality System
with the intention of being able to manage, organise and audit the systems more
effectively.
In November 2007, our Environmental triennial audit was due so we combined this
with another full Quality System audit to fully integrate the two systems. ISOQAR
of Manchester visited WFL to carry out the audit over two days which involved
a site visit, touring our fixed premises and interrogating our systems and paperwork.
The results of the audit were that we passed and have now successfully integrated
the two systems in to one.
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New
Development
7th November 2007
After many months of planning we have finally commenced work on our new development
on James Street in Westhoughton. The site is approximately 25,000m2 and will
house WFL’s offices, maintenance garage and workshop and waste transfer
station. The groundworks are being carried out by R H Mawdsley Ltd of Ormskirk,
who have started on site today. The steelwork is being prepared by B D Structures
Ltd of Westhoughton and will be erected by Christmas.
The site will be developed throughout 2008 with an anticipated completion date
of November.
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New
Crusher
22nd June 2007
After more than six years of loyal service, our mobile Pegson Crusher was finally
retired and replaced with a new model. The Terex Pegson XR400 is able to reduce
hardcore and
concrete down to 6F2 standard
and
its first assignment will be to work at our demolition site at The Rock development
in Bury, Lancashire.
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NFDC
North West Region - Annual Summer Ball
19th May 2007
This weekend saw the North West Region of the NFDC hold their Annual Summer
Charity Ball at the newly completed Hilton Hotel in Manchester. With our Contracts
Director, Mr. Andrew Forshaw currently holding the post of chairman of the North
West Region of the NFDC, the event was organised by Walter Forshaw Ltd again,
as one of the duties of the incumbent chairman.
The black tie evening had the theme of a James Bond evening with all the tables
named after films or characters and a charity casino in the foyer. Live performances
by members of Dawn Dawson’s Bolton Academy of School & Stage followed
by music from the Boogie Men provided the entertainment for the evening.
The charity raffle and auction held during the evening raised over £16,000 for the chosen charities of Bolton Hospice and St. Ann’s Hospice.
Guests for the evening included the national president of the NFDC, the chairmen for the other NFDC regions and representatives from the chosen charities. |
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High
Profile Clients
20th April 2007
We have recently secured contracts with the following clients:
Alfred McAlpine plc
Thornfield Properties
Cruden Property Services
Willow Park Housing Trust
Morgan Ashurst
Birse Build
University of Huddersfield
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Strines
Chimney Blowdown
15th January 2007
WFL carried out the successful blowdown of a 240ft chimney at the former Goyt
Mill in Strines on Saturday 13th January. The event was witnessed by over 1000
locals who had been made aware of the event by the Strines Residents’ Association.
The SRA had also organised a brass band, catering, and a bouncy castle as well
as organising a raffle to win the chance to press the detonator.
The implosion took place at 2pm and went without a hitch. The remainder of the
factory will now be demolished and removed from site to make way for an exclusive
housing development built by Harrow Estates.
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Quality
Award
18th December 2006
After almost a year of preparation and with much help from our consultants,
Tony Wright Consulting, ISOQAR carried out an initial audit on WFL’s quality
system and in mid-December we received confirmation that we had been successful
in attaining the standard. Our system will now be audited in conjunction with
our Environmental Management System every 6 months.
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NFDC
Site Audit Scheme
15th November 2006
As part of the continuing development of the National Federation of Demolition
Contractors, it has been proposed to introduce a mandatory bi-annual site safety
audit for all members to ensure the high standards set by the Federation are
being maintained.
As such, WFL agreed to take part in the pilot scheme earlier this year and a
site safety audit was undertaken at our site at the former Goyt Mill in Strines,
Cheshire. The audit was carried out by The Health And Safety People and WFL became
the first company in the North West region to gain the award.
The award lasts for six months, after which time a further audit is carried out.
A copy of the certificate is attached.
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Contract
Journal Awards
6th October 2006
As reported earlier, WFL were shortlisted to the final five in the Demolition
of the Year category for the Contract Journals Awards 2006.
The presentation evening was held on Thursday 5th October in The Great Room at
the Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane in London. The format for the evening
was a gala dinner followed by the presentation of the awards.
The evening was compèred by Bill Bailey the comedian, and the judges noted
that this was the best year yet with a record number of entries.
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Successful
Bridge Blowdown
4th August 2006
On Saturday 29th July, WFL successfully demolished the former Dig Gate Lane
Bridge over the M62 near Rochdale, as part of the new Kingsway Infrastructure
Development for Costain.
The bridge was a rural all-purpose single carriageway bridge for access to a
local farm and footpaths over the M62 between junctions 20 & 21 and needed
to be demolished as one of its piers was in the path of the proposed new motorway
slip road. A new replacement bridge has been built just 4m to the west.
The old bridge was demolished during an overnight closure of the M62 from 20:00
on Saturday to 09:00 on Sunday.
The 3 piers were prepared during the week before and as soon as the road closure
was in place on Saturday evening, a protective layer of geotextile, plywood sheets
and sand was laid on the carriageway. Services were protected with additional
steel sheets.
The bridge was detonated at 22:30 and the all clear given by our explosives engineer.
Four of our demolition excavators fitted with breakers then proceeded to fragment
the bridge structure still further. The bridge material was cleared away to an
adjacent lay down area for later processing. Once all the protection had been
removed, the motorway was swept clean and handed back more than 1 hour ahead
of schedule.
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Contract
Journal Awards 2006
4th July 2006
Further to our recent submission in to the Demolition category of the Contract
Journal Awards 2006 competition, it has just been confirmed that we have been
short-listed down to the final five.
This year’s awards attracted more entries than ever before and the announcement
of the winners will be held at the Award Ceremony and London’s Grosvenor
House on 5th October.
All shortlisted entries will now be sent to the Awards auditor, who will contact
referees provided to verify each company’s claims. Once this is complete,
the final judging will take place in early autumn to identify the winner in each
category.
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Another
Bridge Blowdown
12th June 2006
WFL have recently secured the demolition of another motorway bridge – this
time on the M62 near Rochdale as part of the new Kingsway Infrastructure Development
in the area for Costain. The bridge is a rural all-purpose single carriageway
bridge for access to a local farm and footpaths over the M62 between junctions
20 & 21.
The bridge will be demolished during an overnight closure of the M62 on Saturday
29th July. The motorway will be closed in both directions at 20:00 and reopen
at 09:00 on Sunday 30th July.
The method of demolition is to reduce the 3 piers on the bridge using controlled
explosives and then process the bridge material once it is on the ground with
our demolition excavators fitted with a combination of breakers, concrete shears,
metal shears and buckets.
Please click on the Highways Agency logo to visit their website containing more
information on the whole redevelopment project and diversion information
for
the motorway closure.
http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/projects/5863.aspx
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Construction
News - Specialists in Construction Awards 2006 Awards Evening
15th May 2006
The awards’ evening for the Construction News Specialist in Construction
Awards 2006 competition was held on Thursday 11th May at the London Hilton Park
Lane Hotel. The format for the evening was a gala dinner followed by the presentation
of the awards.
The evening was hosted by Chris Barrie, of Brittas Empire and Red Dwarf fame,
with an introductory speech from the editor of Construction News, Aaron Morby.
The judges were at pains to stress that the standard of this year’s entries
was very high and noticeably better than last year.
Our entry in to the Demolition category was summed up by Construction News as
follows:
“Based in the north-west, Walter Forshaw has completed
several high profile contracts in the past year. These include the demolition
of parts
of Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool and the removal of several motorway bridges
by explosive demolition.
With a staff of 75, the company has a commendable approach to ‘people’ issues.
it invests a lot in recruiting and training and last year the company trained
its first female crane operator (thought to be the only female crane operator
in the UK). Walter Forshaw has also developed several in-house training courses.
Last year, the company re-wrote its health & safety manual and introduced
new initiatives, such as its ’10-minute stop’ idea, whereby operatives
all stop work for 10 minutes (usually at around 2pm) to look around and check
for hazards.”
As the awards were announced for the Demolition category, Walter Forshaw were
Highly Commended with the judges saying: “An excellent all-round performance.
Great on health and safety; great on training, showing real commitment.” |
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NFDC
North West Region – Annual Summer Ball
13th May 2006
This weekend saw the North West Region of the NFDC hold their Annual Summer
Ball at Shrigley Hall Hotel in Pott Shrigley, Macclesfield. The event was organised
by Walter Forshaw this year, as one of the duties of the incumbent chairman.
The black tie evening involved a champagne reception, followed by a three course
meal with a close-up magician moving between tables. A Frank Sinatra look-and-sound-alike
providing live musical entertainment with a disco following. The charity raffle
and auction, held during the evening, raised approximately £10,000 for
the chosen charity, the Special Care Baby Unit at Hope Hospital in Salford.
Guests for the evening included the national president of the NFDC, the chairmen
for the other NFDC regions and representatives from the charity.
Judging by many peoples’ comments, the most popular section of the evening
were the bacon butties served at midnight! |
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Construction
News - Specialists in Construction Awards 2006
3rd
April 2006
Further to our recent submission in to the demolition category of the Construction
News Specialist in Construction Awards 2006 competition, it has just been confirmed
that we have been short-listed down to the final five.
Quoting from the Construction News press release: “With a record number
of entries this year, competition was fiercer than ever and making it to the
shortlist is therefore a real achievement.”
The announcement of the winners will be held at the Award Ceremony and Gala Dinner
on 11th May 2006 at the London Hilton Park Lane. |
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New
North West NFDC Chairman
24th March 2006
Having completed 2 years as vice-chairman for the North West Region of the National
Federation of Demolition Contractors, Mr. Andrew Forshaw recently took over the
role as chairman. Andrew was formally sworn in to the position at the recent
NFDC Annual General Meeting at the Royal Horseguards Hotel in London and will
hold the post for the next 2 years.
His duties involve attending bi-monthly National Council meetings in London on
behalf of regional members; chair for bi-monthly regional meetings where members
are updated on recent changes to legislation within the industry & federation
matters and members can air their own views and concerns on relevant topics relating
to demolition; promoting the NFDC at a regional level. |
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Construction
News - Specialists in Construction Awards 2006
10th
February 2006
We have recently submitted an entry into the demolition category of the Construction
News Specialists in Construction Awards 2006. In the inaugural awards last year,
our entry was short listed to the final five. We are hoping to go one better
this year ... watch this space! |
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High
Profile Clients
18th January
2006
We have recently secured contracts with the following clients:
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Shell
Research Ltd |
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Harrow
Estates plc |
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Cerestar
(UK) Ltd |
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Trafford
Housing Trust |
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City
of Salford Council |
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English
Partnerships |
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INEOS
Silicas |
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Quality
Assurance
9th January 2006
Following on from our recent success in achieving the ISO14001 Environmental
Award, we have committed to achieving the ISO9001 Quality Award.
The Environmental award allowed us to formalise many of the activities that we
already had in place and has given the company recognition for its environmental
responsibilities. The quality assurance award will fulfil the same function in
relation to our other processes and activities.
We are utilising the services of a local management consultant to facilitate
our progression towards achieving the ISO9001 award and aim to accomplish this
by the end of 2006. |
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Update
on New Premises
8th December
2005
During the past few years, WFL has expanded steadily, both in
terms of our number of contracts and number of employees. As
a result, we are outgrowing our current
facilities of head office, reclamation yard, waste transfer station and maintenance
garage and have purchased a plot of disused wasteland, a 1930’s coal mine,
where we intend to construct a purpose-built facility.
This new development will consolidate our current facilities onto one site, giving
us more operational control, and will also allow us to increase the amount of
reclamation and recycling that we carry out.
The new land is 1/2 mile from our current offices and will create more local
jobs with the proposed expansion of our reclamation division. Our waste transfer
station
has dedicated staff who salvage and clean materials for re-sale to the public
and recycle hardcore using our own crushing plant.
Architect's Impression
of WFL's Purpose Built Facility
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Walter
Forshaw Ltd - Long Reach Team
10th
October 2005
During the demolition and site clearance of the former LG Phillips factory, we
had the rare opportunity of having all three of our long reach machines on the
same site at the same time due to the nature of the demolition required.
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