‘TOPDOWNWAY’ OFFERS INNOVATIVE SKYSCRAPER DEMOLITION METHOD

‘TopDownWay’ Offers Safe, Innovative Urban Skyscraper Demolition Method

Despe, best known in New York City for its hydraulic selfclimbing Kokoon that currently is providing structure around the steel frame of the in-progress Two Manhattan West and before that 50 Hudson Yards, recently completed the floorby-floor demolition of the world headquarters of Danish multinational brewer Carlsberg Group, which moved to a new location a few hundred meters away.

A new skyscraper with housing will rise instead where the now demolished Carlsberg silo once stood.

Contractor P. Olesen selected Despe for the job due to the unique nature of the 288 ft. tall building’s position, with a school, stores and houses adjacent to the building and city regulations which required minimal disturbances including dust and noise from the demolition.

Yet, while rules between European and American cities differ, metropolitan cities globally all have the same needs: that of growing vertically by replacing energy-consuming, structurally obsolete buildings by erecting higher, eco-friendlier, anti-seismic and extraordinary skyscrapers.

Because in Europe explosives are banned in most densely populated urban areas, Despe decided to create an innovative, safe, eco-friendly and swift solution for the controlled demolition of urban skyscrapers: TopDownWay, a modular self-descending machine that can be adapted to suit the requirements of all types of structures to be demolished.

It is an intelligent containment system as it retains all the material generated by the demolition works within the structure (glass, rubble, debris, noise, vibrations, dust and sprayed water).

TopDownWay allows operators to work simultaneously on the three floors it occupies, in which it is possible to carry out different operations at the same time, such as the dismantling of the façades, the demolition of the floor and the removal of debris.

As the work progresses, the platform descends in a controlled manner until it reaches zero level, and the building has been completely demolished.

Assembly and disassembly of the structure takes place in situations of total safety for the environment and very swiftly: the different parts of the TopDownWay are assembled on the ground, hoisted with a crane and then assembled directly on the top of the skyscraper. After completing the demolition work, the structure is dismantled and disassembled.

There are many advantages when using the TopDownWay system: • Improves safety for those who live in the city, safety for the surrounding buildings and monuments, safety for the roads, safety for the employees working at great heights and safety for the environment.• • Improves speed — using the example of a building of 25 floors, Despe’s system can be assembled in 20 days and in three months has completed the demolition. Using traditional demolition procedures with scaffolding, the assembly time increases to 3 months and the demolition time to 6. Gaining time in the property market means generating savings in project finance and resources. • TopDownWay is a zero environmental impact system. Which means 100 percent protection against rubble, debris, dust, noise and vibrations. In fact, the system adheres perfectly to the structure to be demolished and ensures 100 percent containment. • Improves visibility — The demolition of a skyscraper does not go unnoticed, but with this system the contractor avoids total coverage of the structure because only the three upper floors are enclosed within the system itself. This space, which is highly visible but not cumbersome, can be used for advertising, both day and night due to the use of LED illuminating systems. For more information on Despe, visit http://www.despe.com/and http://selfclimbingkokoon.com/. 

TopDownWay, a modular self-descending machine that can be adapted to suit the requirements of all types of structures to be demolished, is an intelligent containment system as it retains all the material generated by the demolition works within the structure (glass, rubble, debris, noise, vibrations, dust and sprayed water).

CISCO EQUIPMENT

www.cisco-equipment.com 1706 South 1st Street, Artesia, NM 88210 575-748-1314 Odessa, TX • 432-550-9181 Lubbock, TX • 806-745-9595 San Angelo, TX • 325-653-2121

FOUR SEASONS EQUIPMENT, INC.

www.fourseasons-equip.com 8111 Mills Rd., Houston, TX 77064 • 800-234-5007 Dallas TX • 866-270-1700

NUECES POWER EQUIPMENT

www.nuecespower.com 7510 IH-37 Access Rd., Corpus Christi, TX 78409 361-289-0066 Laredo, TX • 956-725-0066 San Antonio, TX • 210-310-0066 San Benito, TX • 956-361-0066 Victoria, TX • 361-576-0066 El Paso, TX • 915-541-0066

PORTER GROUP USA

www.portergroupusa.com 13013 Temescal Canyon Rd, Corona, CA 92883 951-674-9999 Pacoima, CA • 818-834-0102 Newark, CA • 510-713-7368

MECOM EQUIPMENT

www.mecomequipment.com 4546 N Wilson Way, Stockton, CA 95205 209-466-5135

JET CITY EQUIPMENT

www.jetcityequipment.com 33345 SR 20, Oak Harbor, WA • 360-675-4441 Marysville, WA • 360-651-9079 Wenatchee, WA • 509-888-8181

R & S INDUSTRIES, INC.

www.rsindinc.com 951 CR G, Clovis, NM 88101 575-769-8659

HONNEN EQUIPMENT CO.

www.honnen.com

5055 E. 72nd Ave., Commerce City, CO (303) 287-7506 • (800) 646-6636 Durango, CO • (970) 247-4460 Grand Junction, CO • (970) 243-7090 Ogden, UT • (801) 627-0049 Salt Lake City, UT • (801) 262-7441 St. George, UT • (435) 652-8003 Casper, WY • (307) 266-4474 Cheyenne, WY • (307) 316-9800 Gillette, WY • (307) 685-4288 Rock Springs, WY • (307) 382-5284 Idaho Falls, ID • (208) 523-9915

THHIS IRRON W WILL AS VE. V

he fuelT l-efficient Isuzu engine and no diesel no diesel

par a ticula ork sou to ww yte filter allo smarter

and mor er befov re efficiently than e re.

onstruction.comachiCHit

Being Part of Digital Ecosystem Raises Safety, Uptime, More

TECHNOLOGY from page 18

measures the weight of the load to the most accurate degree and only once the goal weight is reached, is the truck driver told to drive to its specific destination.

There also is significant value in being able to access all load data through the cloud based portal — allowing for convenient monitoring to ensure the project delivers on time. And without the need for administrators to manage this process, it allows for a significant cost saving. 3. Automated grading for double the productivity

The perfect grade is in reach with an ingenious machine control system that automates boom and bucket movements to achieve the exact depth and angle at the touch of a button.

Volvo Active Control boosts digging accuracy allowing jobs to be completed up to 45 percent faster. With single-lever grading, the arm speed is manually adjusted by the operator while the machine automatically adjusts boom and bucket movements to maintain an even grade and create the desired shape.

The steer-by-wire solution also can easily set swing fence, height limit and depth limit to avoid contact with side obstacles, overhead obstacles such as power lines, and underground hazards such as pipes and cables. All of which not only helps operators be more productive behind the wheel, but also makes construction sites that much safer. 4. Stay on top of fleet management

It’s easy for fleet managers to become overwhelmed by the mass of data being produced by modern construction machines. What good are all these numbers if it’s not easy to make sense of them and take actionable insights to improve the work environment?

Volvo ACTIVE CARE has been rolled out globally to proactively take on the burden of monitoring and reporting machine health, freeing customers to get on with the job in hand. It is an intelligent telematics service that bundles together the monitoring of machine health and the provision of weekly reports that together help reduce downtime.

Remote analysis delivers multiple benefits, including catching problems before they become failures and helping smooth service scheduling. By knowing what the problem is, dealer technicians need to make fewer trips to the customer site and arrive with the right tools, parts and expertise to increase the opportunity for a first visit fix. This all amounts to increased uptime and reduced cost for the customer. 5. Get the full view with 3D modeling

Volvo CE’s Dig Assist machine control application for excavators has been updated with new features that make it even faster and easier to create plans and put more information at operators’ fingertips — raising the bar once again on productivity, efficiency and safety in digging operations.

Via the Dig Assist app on the Volvo CoPilot interface, operators can choose from 2D, In-Field Design and 3D tools right from the comfort of the cab. While the 2D app is intended for site levelling and profiling slopes, and the In-Field Design option allows operators to go from a paper drawing to a digital excavation model in minutes via GNSS and RTK navigation technology, it is the 3D option that is the ideal choice for complex and larger infrastructure projects.

Providing full three-dimensional functionality, Topcon 3D-MC and Trimble Earthworks for Dig Assist allow designs to be uploaded directly into the Volvo Co-Pilot — this ability to offer both solutions is unique to Volvo. Simply import a project file and get to work.

6. Reach the next level with gamified operator training

An app which helps operators make small but important improvements every time is taking its cue from the world of gaming. Operator coaching forms part of the Load Assist family and is now available in select markets across the world.

The latest upgrade gives operators of Volvo’s L110H to L260H wheel loaders real-time information so that they can better understand how their actions influence output. A bit like chasing a top score on a computer game, the new feature allows operators to set targets and objectives for continual performance improvement. Even experienced and proficient operators benefit from the advantages of the new app, as early adopters have reported that it helps them to see their behavior reflected back in a nonjudgemental way, to analyze their productivity from a pure efficiency standpoint and then to suggest areas of improvement they would never have considered before.

Operator coaching is just one example of how gaming trends are influencing the world of construction.

For more information, visit www.volvoce.com. 