Construction News has learned Dartford-based demolition contractor Brown and Mason will replace Coleman to continue recovery attempts at Didcot and will be on site within a month. Coleman & Co managing director Mark Coleman tweeted that he was ”so disappointed…a decision which prevents us recovering our men, Chris, John and Kenny”. The decision to remove Coleman & Co and replace them with Brown and Mason in the next few weeks comes as authorities continue efforts to recover the missing men, Christopher Huxtable, 34, from Swansea, Ken Cresswell, 57, and John Shaw, 61, both from Rotherham. The men have been missing since part of the boiler house collapsed on 23 February, more than two months ago. Michael Collings, 53, from Cleveland, was found dead following the collapse.  Coleman & Co has remained on site, assisting with the ongoing investigation being carried out by the police and Health and Safety Executive. It was announced this week that the remaining part of the boiler house at Didcot A Power Station would be demolished using explosives to aid the recovery operation. It has not yet been confirmed whether the demolition will be carried out by Brown and Mason. The decision to use explosives to demolish the remaining part of the structure has been criticised by relatives of the deceased. Steve Hall, the son-in-law of Ken Cresswell, told BBC Oxford: “We want the men back in one piece, not many pieces.” He added: “We are totally against it and we will fight and do whatever we have to to stop that blast. “It could fall on the pile that’s there which means the men will be buried under more material and metal. “I don’t know how they’ve come to the conclusion that the only way is to blast it.” Site owner RWE said; ”Having explored other manual options, our experts have made it clear that the quickest and safest way to bring the building down is by controlled explosive demolition.” Coleman & Co has not been replaced as principal contractor for the wider site, but will shortly hand over work on the rescue attempt and demolition of the remaining part of the boiler house to another contractor. It said: ”We will remain on site as principal contractor, for the wider site, and over the coming weeks we will play an active role in supporting the recovery by working collaboratively with a team of industry experts, assisting in any way we can. Once the recovery is complete we hope to resume our works to complete the contract.” RWE confirmed to Construction News it had appointed Brown and Mason to assist in the recovery operation. Coleman & Co statement We have now reached a stage where we will be handing over the remaining recovery operation to another contractor within the next few weeks. This is of course hugely disappointing as we all wanted to recover our friends and colleagues and return them to their families.  We wish to make it clear that this decision in no way diminishes the excellent work that everyone involved in supporting the recovery has done. The praise we have received from RWE, the police and HSE for how we have conducted the recovery since it began, in these tragic and difficult circumstances, reflects the dedication and commitment we have to each other and the business.  It has been explained to us that this decision has been made for reasons of safeguarding employee welfare and the preservation of critical evidence. We understand these reasons and our immediate focus is to ensure that we continue with the recovery operation for as long as we are permitted and at the same time, work collaboratively to facilitate a seamless transition so that the recovery operation going forward proceeds without delay.  While the sequence of future recovery operations is not our decision, all stakeholders are agreed that the safety of those involved in the process going forward is of paramount importance.    We will remain on site as principal contractor for the wider site, and over the coming weeks we will play an active role in supporting the recovery by working collaboratively with a team of industry experts, assisting in any way we can. Once the recovery is complete we hope to resume our works to complete the contract.  Our overwhelming priority remains the welfare of the families, and we are committed to doing whatever we can to support them during this extremely difficult time. Source link

A businessman formally based in Cornwall illegally carried out annual gas safety checks at tenanted properties despite not being a registered gas engineer. Sven Biesterfeldt, aged 41, who uses a number of other names including Tom Williams, potentially put tenant’s lives at risk by carrying out the safety checks and fraudulently filled out a landlord’s gas safety document using another companies Gas Safe Register number in May 2014. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Sven Biesterfeldt at Bodmin Magistrates Court after his work was investigated following a complaint from a landlord. The court heard that Mr Biesterfeldt used the Gas Safe Register logo on his work vehicle and also told the landlord that he was a member of Gas Safe Register and could carry out the gas safety checks at the landlord’s tenanted property in Troon, near Camborne. The checks should only have been carried out by a registered Gas Safe engineer to ensure the highest standards were met. The landlord became suspicious when he checked on the Gas Safe Register number that Mr Biesterfeldt had used on the safety certificate that he produced and discovered that it was for a company in Essex. Sven Biesterfeldt, who has previously lived in Carnkie, near Redruth and then in Breage, near Helston, pleaded guilty to two breaches of gas safety legislation and was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for one year and ordered to undertake 180 hours unpaid community work. He was also disqualified from being a company director for three years and ordered to pay £4,000 in costs. HSE Inspector Simon Jones, speaking after the hearing, said: “Mr Biesterfeldt should never have carried out gas safety checks and compounded this by fraudulently using the Gas Safe Register logo on his work vehicle and by using a properly Gas Safe registered companies details on safety documents he produced. This was a calculated and deliberate attempt to deceive the public into believing he was competent and registered to undertake gaswork and this could not be further from the truth. “Mr Biesterfeldt put the lives of tenants at risk as he has no training or skills when it comes to gas safety and essential gas safety checks. Such checks are vital to protect tenants from death or injury caused by potentially dangerous gas appliances.” Further information on landlords’ responsibility for gas safety visit: http://www.hse.gov.uk/gas/landlords/ Notes to Editors: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice, promoting training; new or revised regulations and codes of practice, and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. www.hse.gov.uk More about the legislation referred to in this case can be found at: www.legislation.gov.uk/  HSE news releases are available at http://press.hse.gov.uk   Journalists should approach HSE press office with any queries on regional press releases. Source link