Meath man Karl O’Reilly is playing a pivotal role in the rebuild of Ground Zero. Originally from Kells Ireland, the 31-year-old is working as the project manager with Atlantic Hoisting and Scaffolding.
The company provides hoist cars or construction elevators for workers and materials that are being used to rebuild the site that the Twin Towers once occupied.
Atlantic Hoisting & Scaffolding was founded by the Breslin brothers, John and Michael, who also hail from Kells.
O’Reilly first came to New York ten years ago and was working close by the Twin Towers when tragedy hit on 9-11.
With the tenth anniversary of 9-11 just months away, there is a big push to complete the memorial in time for the commemoration.
O’Reilly has vivid memories of that September day when two planes crashed into New York’s tallest buildings and irreversibly changed America.
“I was on a building up on 17th Street that morning, so I wasn’t that far away, probably about half-a-mile or thereabouts,” he told the Meath Chronicle.
“I remember being in my boss’s van at the time, we were just down having coffee, and we heard these snippets of news coming over the airwaves.
“Initially, we thought it was a joke, because we were down on the ground so you couldn’t actually see the towers, but we soon could see the smoke streaming out of the buildings.
“The one thing I will never forget from that day was probably the mass panic by everybody, nobody knew what was going on, that was the big thing. It was a pretty frightening event. We were well safe where we were but because nobody knew what was going on – we were in the middle between the World Trade Centre and the Empire State – and you didn’t know whether the Empire State Building was going to be next; we just didn’t know what could happen next,” he recalls.
“It was panic. We could hear the rumbles in the distance. After the second tower fell, the whole city was on lockdown. No movement in or out of tunnels or subways, or anything.”
Soon after the Meath man travelled home to a booming Ireland, but despite the plentiful opportunities he was once again lured back to the city that new sleeps.
In 2007 he returned to New York with his girlfriend, Geraldine Fox. Who works as a handbag designer.
“When it comes to fashion, there is London, Paris, Milan or New York. I don’t speak Italian or French too well, London was too close so we said we would give New York a shot. It was more coincidence that I was offered the chance to work in America sometime before that and I took it.
We always knew we were going to move away and give it a shot. We left, even though the Celtic Tiger was going strong in Ireland,” he recalls.
According to O’Reilly there are “a lot of Irish guys” employed at Ground Zero currently.
“That has been quite an eye-opener for me because I had been working outside the city where I wasn’t coming into contact with many Irish people and then when I went in on this job, and you meet so many. Even in our own company, there are a lot of Irish. A lot of the foremen are Irish. Basically, all the contractors that are there have a lot of Irish, which is good to see.”
New York life suits O’Reilly for the time being, and he admits that there is little right now to tempt him to return to Ireland.
“You’re not going to work on a 105-storey building at home, they don’t exist. Over here, you’ll meet every walk of life, it’s such a diverse city,” he says. “Anyway, a lot of our friends who lived in Ireland have now gone elsewhere looking for work.”
A DUDLEY scaffolder who complained he was sacked after using the firm’s mobile phone to enable him to do his work after the devices had been withdrawn from employees, has been awarded more than £13,000.
John Weaver from the Priory estate, told Birmingham Employment Tribunal his boss later deducted £204, the cost of the mobile calls, from his wages.
Mr Weaver was seeking compensation for unfair dismissal, notice pay and the £204 against Brierley Hill Scaffolding Ltd of Dudley.
The tribunal was told that the firm, which did not attend the hearing, was now in liquidation.
Mr Weaver, aged 49, said he had been employed by the firm for nine years and sometimes worked on Sundays as well as Saturday mornings, getting paid around £96 a day.
Mr Weaver said his boss withdrew mobile phones from all employees and that he was sacked after he used the firm’s mobile phone to enable him to carry out his work.
He complained that the costs of the calls, £204, was later unfairly deducted from his wages.
Mr Weaver said that he had been put on short time working at one stage and asked the tribunal if he was entitled to redundancy pay.
He alleged that his boss had since formed a new firm.
Tribunal Judge Mrs Sheila Batten said his former boss was legally entitled to form a new firm but that Mr Weaver could not claim redundancy pay.
She said his compensation claims for unfair dismissal, notice pay and the unauthorised deduction of wages – the £204 – had been well founded and she awarded him a total of £13,214, as the firm had sacked him without following proper dismissal procedures.
Mrs Batten said the Government’s Redundancy Office would be responsible for the payment but warned Mr Weaver he was unlikely to receive all the award.
Via: www.dudleynews.co.uk
Seven people have been confirmed dead after scaffolding collapsed on a 30 story building at a construction site in Xi’an NW China.
Twelve people was also buried under the scaffolding which fell from the 23rd floor after the supporting chains snapped
Five people was seriously injured and rushed to hospital.
The cause of the accident is under investigation.
Two workers were injured Tuesday morning when they fell nearly 20 feet off of scaffolding at a construction site in Sarpy County.
The two men were both wearing safety harnesses, but one worker hit the ground.
Jared Kirkendall, 27, of Auburn, Neb., was flown to the Nebraska Medical Center with head injuries after his safety harness failed to stop his 17-foot fall, said Sarpy County Sheriff’s Capt. Monty Daganaar.
John Meyers, 44, of Council Bluffs, was taken by ambulance to the Nebraska Medical Center with chest and rib injuries after his harness pulled him up short of the ground, Daganaar said.
By Tuesday afternoon, both were listed in fair condition.
The accident occurred about 10:30 a.m. at Omaha’s wastewater treatment facility in Papillion, 15707 Harlan Lewis Road, south of Offutt Air Force Base and north of Plattsmouth.
Daganaar said the men fell from scaffolding while doing welding work inside the building on the roof of a tank at the facility.
Both men work for John T. Jones Construction Co., which was operating under a contract with the City of Omaha, according to Aida Amoura, spokeswoman for the Omaha mayor’s office.
Authorities are investigating why the men fell and why Kirkendall’s harness did not stop him.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration was contacted regarding the fall, Daganaar said.
A Surrey-based company has been fined after the floor of a marquee collapsed just as 150 guests sat down to enjoy a wedding breakfast.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Block Scaffolding Limited over a scaffold collapse that saw the false floor drop more than four feet at the wedding venue in Newbury.
West Berkshire Magistrates’ Court heard the bridal couple had organised for scaffolding to be erected to counteract the slope of the lawn and keep the marquee floor level, at West Woodhay House.
On Saturday 25 September 2010, catering staff were about to serve the first course of the wedding breakfast to guests when the scaffolding beneath the marquee floor collapsed.
Magistrates were told the floor dropped more than four feet in places, causing the bridal couple and 150 guests to fall to the ground along with tables, chairs, cutlery and glassware. Scaffold poles also fell into the marquee, narrowly missing guests.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Joanne Woodcock said:
“The scene after the incident was shocking, with broken glass and crockery everywhere. The collapse must have been terrifying for the bride, groom and their guests.
“A couple’s wedding day was ruined and guests unwittingly risked being seriously injured, simply because Block Scaffolding Limited overlooked basic health and safety.
“The fact no one was seriously injured is solely down to good fortune. This prosecution should serve as a warning that HSE will take action against anyone failing to build safe scaffolding.”
Block Scaffolding Limited of Myrtle Drive, Blackwater, Camberley, Surrey, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. It was fined £8,000 and ordered to pay costs of £7,370.
The 65-year-old man fell from the scaffolding on a property near Newport at around 10:30am this morning
The man sustained a serious head injury and abdominal injuries in the fall from about 30 ft he was given vital first aid by the First Response until ambulance staff arrived.
A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokeswoman said:
“First Responce arrived first on scene to find a man lying unconscious on the floor after reportedly falling approximately 30 feet from scaffolding surrounding a property. The man had been found by work colleagues who had immediately dialled 999.
“The 65-year-old man sustained a serious head injury and suspected abdominal injuries in the fall and was given vital first aid by the CFRs until ambulance staff arrived.
“Given the seriousness of the man’s injuries, the doctor anaesthetised him on scene to stabilise his condition. The man was immobilised with a neck collar and spinal board and given further emergency treatment before being airlifted to University Hospital North Staffordshire.
“Medics were pre alerted to the arrival of the man who was said to be in a serious condition.”
The NASC (National Access & Scaffolding Confederation) has launched its latest annual Safety Report. The report which is an audit of all NASC ‘Contracting’ members reported incidents and accidents during the last 12 months provides a forensic review of all activity carried out by the membership.
The NASC states that :
The report is acknowledged as a regular performance indicator on how effective NASC members are in scaffolding and submission of data is a compulsory criteria requirement for all contracting members of the confederation.
Despite tough trading conditions for the scaffolding sector, scaffolders working for NASC members increased 12% compared to the previous year, a clear signal that the demand for regulated scaffolders continues to rise.
Though the number of scaffolders has increased the number of incidents and accidents has decreased by 20% compared to the previous year, which represents a significant increase in overall safety standards for the confederation’s members.
The NASC openly shares this information to demonstrate that regulated scaffolding clearly delivers demonstrably higher standards that that of non-regulated scaffolding.
Bob Whincap, Immediate Past President of the NASC said,
“The vigour with which NASC members continually improve on scaffolding safety is a testament to our commitment to obtain only the highest standards of scaffolding expertise. Non-regulated scaffolding firms are at odds with the demands that industry now expects, if a company cannot meet the criteria of the NASC then you have to question their safety practices and ultimately the very serious risk they expose to themselves and others around them”
The report includes an annual summary against previous years, going back as far as 1975. Plus detailed reports on the causes of any injuries to operatives (site and yard), third parties and members of the public. The report goes on to provide in depth analysis on scaffolder incidents by age, skill grade, size of business and type of injury.
The 16 page NASC Safety Report is available free of charge on request from the NASC, via [email protected] or can be viewed on line at www.nasc.org.uk/safety_reports
A project to create a new, 1,500-seat theatre building on a site with a restricted footprint and limited access has highlighted the industry knowledge, expertise and value which Harsco Infrastructure brings to construction projects. Harsco was able to design and construct an innovative, bespoke support girder system which overcame the restrictions of the site and allowed the construction of a number of key structural elements of the new building.
The new theatre in Bordeaux, France, is being built on a site surrounded by existing buildings. Harsco was asked to provide a support system to carry formwork for the construction of a number of 6 ft wide, 7 ft high, 105 ft long in-situ concrete beams. These beams needed to span the stage area and also support a further 5 floors of apartments and office accommodation being built above. The girder systems supplied by Harsco were to vary in length – with the longest being 30.90m – which needed to be lowered, relocated, and in some cases altered in length before work on the next beam could begin.
Working on behalf of Portuguese contractor BUILDIN, Harsco was able to draw on its wealth of technical expertise and devise a bespoke H33 braced truss-girder system which was sufficiently flexible and reliable to satisfy this demand. The Harsco H33 beam system offers a flexible, robust and reliable solution with the high load-bearing capacity needed for this type of project. Its excellent weight-to-capacity ratio made it ideal for the long spans involved, while the easy to assemble nature of the system components ensured rapid construction of the girders required.
This proved to be a faster, more cost-effective and practical solution than other alternatives which might have been used. However a severe lack of working space on the site meant that Harsco also had to adapt the traditional methods used to construct such a system.
“We actually did much of the construction work on the girders about 10km away from the site itself,” explains Harsco’s Ingo Schnelting. “This meant that we could prefabricate the girder sections under more controlled conditions, which made it far easier to ensure that they complied fully with the drawings. That way we were able to avoid any unexpected problems on site and be confident that the girders would fit neatly into place.”
Harsco was then able to partially dismantle the girders for transportation and deliver them to site. This also minimised the disruption to other trades that would have been caused by fabricating the units on the site itself. Lack of on-site storage space meant that Harsco had to adopt a just-in-time schedule for these deliveries and also co-ordinate this with special permission from the city authorities to operate extended length transport vehicles.
“We had to remain flexible in our approach to every aspect of this project,” adds Ingo Schnelting. “The different lengths of concrete beam that the building required meant that we sometimes had to remove the girders from the building and transport them the 10 km back to the construction area. There we were then able to re-configure their length before delivering them back to site and using hydraulic jacks to raise them into place, ready to support the formwork required to make the next beam.
“This was an excellent example of Harsco’s ‘Insight onsite’ philosophy in action and illustrates the way we are able to develop bespoke solutions that are tailored to the specific requirements of individual projects,” adds Ingo. “The end result of this approach is that we can deliver the highest standards of reliability, cost-effectiveness and safety and that was certainly the case on this project.”
For more information please call. 01372 381 300 or visit www.harsco-i.co.uk
Our In Focus feature this month is on the Berlin based Beta Tank design studio who are currently working on a project called ‘Scaffolding Brut’.
They will be showing off there works at the London Design Festival at the Victoria and Albert Museum between 17th and 25th of September 2011.
Beta Tank has been fascinated by scaffolding for a few years. Although these structures are found on almost every street, their aesthetic form comes from a system of safety requirements and repetitive engineering configurations, rather than any artistic endeavor.
The fact that such a visual construction universally exists untouched by design is an extremely interesting phenomenon that is inspirational.Beta Tank is primarily interested in the following questions, “If scaffolding systems are so impressive without design specifications, how utterly magnificent could they become if the need for beauty was attributed to construction?” And, “Given the fact that they cover large sections of any given city, rather than getting in the way, could scaffolding assist accessibility and mobility?
“Beta Tank is working on his second book Scaffolding Brut, which looks at scaffolding from all over the world and discusses its effect on cities, also providing possible futures for scaffolding, aesthetically and even on an engineering level.Scaffolding Brut will be a visual and animated investigation of the phenomenon of scaffolding, discussing the beauty of the fact that it is yet undesigned and exploring the possibilities of using the scaffolding system as an artistic medium, which one could use to design, with the hope of improving the aesthetics of urban life taken for granted.
Porcelain Scaffolding Couplers
These studio prototypes are two different types of porcelain scaffolding couplers; one rotates completely to create any angle, the other creates a 90 degree angle. Hand-made from glazed porcelain, each set includes a shortened pole and comes with either a gold or a platinum leaf nut and bolt. The Scaffolding Couplers Set are part of an edition of 50, each one numbered and signed by Beta Tank.
To find out more visit www.londondesignfestival.com/events/scaffolding-brut-eyal-burstein or www.betatank.net
Paul Hogan (Film Star)
The former pool lifeguard, union organizer and Sydney Harbour Bridge scaffolder who stumbled onto the telly in 1972 when his workmates dared him to enter a talent show.
That character (who never wore a suit save in jest; who talked, Hogan said, “like the guys down at the pub”; and who could spot a poser a mile off) was assertively working-class, unashamedly Australian, and enormously popular. As Hoges the footy-loving pub philosopher of The Paul Hogan Show, and as Michael J. “Crocodile” Dundee, the bushman who conquers New York with a grin, a “G~day” and a big knife, Paul Hogan made himself into an emblem of Australianness–and sold it to the world.
Adrian Chiles (TV Personality)Chiles was born in Quinton, Birmingham, to an English father and Croatian mother, and moved a few miles away to Hagley, Worcestershireat age four.
A feature of his presentations is his Birmingham accent. He also speaks Croatian, despite having a self-confessed imperfect understanding of the language’s verbs, declensions, and cases. Chiles started his education at Haybridge High School, and then worked in his father’s scaffolding business, before graduating with a degree in English Literature from the University of London (studying at Westfield College, now part of Queen Mary, University of London).
Richard Dunn (Boxer)Richard achieved his 15 minutes of fame in May 1976, when a brave but futile assault on Muhammad Ali’s world heavyweight title that ended after five one-sided rounds. Despite the beating, Dunn fondly looks back on the night in Munich as ‘the greatest thrill of my sporting life’.
Dunn earned his opportunity following a run of success that yielded British, Commonwealth and European titles. His achievements were sufficient to have a sports centre in his native Bradford named after him.
However, five months after the Ali defeat, Dunn lost all three titles to Joe Bugner.
The intervening years have been difficult. After losing most of his ring earnings when a hotel venture collapsed, Dunn returned to scaffolding, a decision which almost cost him his life.
In December 1989, while working on an oil rig, he fell 40 feet, shattering both legs below the knee. The injuries have responded poorly to treatment and he will undergo further surgery in July.
Now a grandfather, he lives in Scarborough with his wife.
Tom Davis (Comedian)Tom spent most of his adult life as a market trader and scaffolder; his first break into comedy came in April 2005 by answering a newspaper advert for people with interesting stories about the 1980’s.
Tom thought it would be a perfect platform to try out one of his comedy creations on the unsuspecting public – Steve Matthews, a luckless loser from Salford. He managed to blag the whole day as his alter ego and was hooked. Since then, Tom hasn’t looked back and has been able to create a world of characters, which he can slip in and out of at the drop of a hat.
Gary Wilmot (Actor)Wilmot’s father Harry was a member of The Southlanders and died in 1961, when Gary was six years old – his father was the bass voice that sang the famous line “I Am A Mole And I Live In A Hole”.
Despite these show business roots, his upbringing was outside of the limelight, and his first jobs were relatively low-key occupations; he was employed as a scaffolder, forklift truck driver and messenger before entering show business.
Richard Cole (Music Promoter for Led Zepplin)Cole was from Kensal Rise, in the north London borough of Brent. His father was an architect who worked for Rolls Royce vehicle design, and later in aircraft assembly during World War II.
At age twelve, Cole became interested in music after hearing Elvis Presley and The Everly Brothers. At age fifteen he quit school and with his first job working at a dairy factory in Acton, earned enough money to purchase a drumkit, to which he practiced along to Buddy Rich and Gene Krupa records.
The low wages forced Cole to take up an apprenticeship in sheet-metal working whilst also working as a scaffolder on construction sites. He was also very interested in the fashion industry, at one point harbouring plans to be a fashion designer, and he claims to have designed the shirts worn by John Lennon and Ringo Starr on the Revolver album cover.
“We actually did much of the construction work on the girders about 10km away from the site itself,” explains Harsco’s Ingo Schnelting. “This meant that we could prefabricate the girder sections under more controlled conditions, which made it far easier to ensure that they complied fully with the drawings. That way we were able to avoid any unexpected problems on site and be confident that the girders would fit neatly into place.”
Harsco was then able to partially dismantle the girders for transportation and deliver them to site. This also minimised the disruption to other trades that would have been caused by fabricating the units on the site itself. Lack of on-site storage space meant that Harsco had to adopt a just-in-time schedule for these deliveries and also co-ordinate this with special permission from the city authorities to operate extended length transport vehicles.
“We had to remain flexible in our approach to every aspect of this project,” adds Ingo Schnelting. “The different lengths of concrete beam that the building required meant that we sometimes had to remove the girders from the building and transport them the 10 km back to the construction area. There we were then able to re-configure their length before delivering them back to site and using hydraulic jacks to raise them into place, ready to support the formwork required to make the next beam.
“This was an excellent example of Harsco’s ‘Insight onsite’ philosophy in action and illustrates the way we are able to develop bespoke solutions that are tailored to the specific requirements of individual projects,” adds Ingo. “The end result of this approach is that we can deliver the highest standards of reliability, cost-effectiveness and safety and that was certainly the case on this project.”
For more information please call. 01372 381 300 or visit www.harsco-i.co.uk
Chiles was born in Quinton, Birmingham, to an English father and Croatian mother, and moved a few miles away to Hagley, Worcestershireat age four.
A feature of his presentations is his Birmingham accent. He also speaks Croatian, despite having a self-confessed imperfect understanding of the language’s verbs, declensions, and cases. Chiles started his education at Haybridge High School, and then worked in his father’s scaffolding business, before graduating with a degree in English Literature from the University of London (studying at Westfield College, now part of Queen Mary, University of London).
Richard Dunn (Boxer)
Richard achieved his 15 minutes of fame in May 1976, when a brave but futile assault on Muhammad Ali’s world heavyweight title that ended after five one-sided rounds. Despite the beating, Dunn fondly looks back on the night in Munich as ‘the greatest thrill of my sporting life’.
Dunn earned his opportunity following a run of success that yielded British, Commonwealth and European titles. His achievements were sufficient to have a sports centre in his native Bradford named after him.
However, five months after the Ali defeat, Dunn lost all three titles to Joe Bugner.
The intervening years have been difficult. After losing most of his ring earnings when a hotel venture collapsed, Dunn returned to scaffolding, a decision which almost cost him his life.
In December 1989, while working on an oil rig, he fell 40 feet, shattering both legs below the knee. The injuries have responded poorly to treatment and he will undergo further surgery in July.
Now a grandfather, he lives in Scarborough with his wife.
Tom Davis (Comedian)
Tom spent most of his adult life as a market trader and scaffolder; his first break into comedy came in April 2005 by answering a newspaper advert for people with interesting stories about the 1980’s.
Tom thought it would be a perfect platform to try out one of his comedy creations on the unsuspecting public – Steve Matthews, a luckless loser from Salford. He managed to blag the whole day as his alter ego and was hooked. Since then, Tom hasn’t looked back and has been able to create a world of characters, which he can slip in and out of at the drop of a hat.
Gary Wilmot (Actor)
Wilmot’s father Harry was a member of The Southlanders and died in 1961, when Gary was six years old – his father was the bass voice that sang the famous line “I Am A Mole And I Live In A Hole”.
Despite these show business roots, his upbringing was outside of the limelight, and his first jobs were relatively low-key occupations; he was employed as a scaffolder, forklift truck driver and messenger before entering show business.
Richard Cole (Music Promoter for Led Zepplin)
Cole was from Kensal Rise, in the north London borough of Brent. His father was an architect who worked for Rolls Royce vehicle design, and later in aircraft assembly during World War II.
At age twelve, Cole became interested in music after hearing Elvis Presley and The Everly Brothers. At age fifteen he quit school and with his first job working at a dairy factory in Acton, earned enough money to purchase a drumkit, to which he practiced along to Buddy Rich and Gene Krupa records.
The low wages forced Cole to take up an apprenticeship in sheet-metal working whilst also working as a scaffolder on construction sites. He was also very interested in the fashion industry, at one point harbouring plans to be a fashion designer, and he claims to have designed the shirts worn by John Lennon and Ringo Starr on the Revolver album cover.