The NZDAA would like to congratulate all winners of the 2021 awards.
We would also like to thank everyone who took the time to enter.
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Award Winners 2021
Health & Safety Best Practice
Winner: Harcourt Insulation
Harcourt Insulation has been committed to strategies to provide for their staff member’s well-being in terms of both physical and mental health. In 2020, Harcourt Insulation started to pursue the ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety standard. Within this standard, ‘wellness’ is a quantifiable set of markers to be achieved. In pursuing this standard, Harcourt Insulation expanded its Health and Safety procedures. They began to provide in-house online video training, quick and easy in-app reporting through google forms with the inclusion of physical and mental discomfort, and extended days of sick leave. These actions have improved staff participation in training, increased reporting, and provided staff with an avenue to go to for help. This is all the result of Harcourt Insulation’s commitment to health and safety, as seen in their annual Health and Safety Report. These efforts have been especially helpful given Covid-19 lockdowns and their toll on staff.
Environmental Best Practice
Winner: Ward Demolition
Ward Demolition introduced a dust suppression attachment to their diggers on a Wellington project to decrease their environmental impact. This project aimed to minimise the environmental impact on the populous surrounding community by preventing dust from polluting the air. The dust suppression tool innovates from old methods, producing the same result of keeping dust down but with efficient and safe water usage. The old method involved water endlessly running, wasting water unnecessarily. The new method consists of spraying a fine mist to trap dust immediately as the digger operates, reducing the water required to trap the dust. Trapping the dust kept the community safe from silica and silicosis and reduced the required water by half. Another benefit of this new practice is the water released is so tiny that it binds with the dust and immediately drops to the ground without creating slippery mud. Ward Demolition significantly reduced its environmental impact with efficient and innovative practices.
Asbestos or Demolition Practice Award for Projects Under $20k
Winner: Taggart
Taggart was tasked with deconstructing and demolishing the Christchurch Cathedral Visitors Centre. The job was initially to remove contamination built up since the 2011 Christchurch Earthquake and deconstruct the Visitors Centre. There were two primary challenges of the job. First, the adjoining building was a Category A Heritage listed building with extensive earthquake damage. Second, the location was busy with restoration crews as well as tourists and pedestrians close by. In addition, unexpected difficulties arose in uncovering unknown contamination and that the basement wall acted as the retaining wall for the Cathedral. Taggart approached these challenges with practices that kept the public and the Cathedral safe. Such as ensuring the site gates were kept closed at all times and using a Demco DMV25W multiprocessor head to reduce shock load and vibration to the Cathedral. In the end, Taggart completed this project effectively and was praised by the client for their work.
Winner: Ceres NZ
Ceres completed the demolition of an Invercargill CBD block with special difficulties due to the building’s heritage status. The overall site area was approximately 19,400m2, including thirteen identified on the Invercargill City District Plan's Heritage Record. As part of the project, Ceres had to retain the façades of three heritage buildings. The façade retention was a challenge overcome by working collaboratively with an experienced subcontractor. The location created added difficulties as a nearby cinema and hotel operated as usual during the demolition process. Ceres NZ minimized interruption to the surrounding businesses with an experienced traffic management subcontractor and an effective traffic management plan. Another difficulty was the demolition of a 25m high building on the corner of two busy streets. But Ceres NZ overcame this by completing the demolition overnight and using shipping containers to contain the debris. Ceres NZ completed all this while maintaining regular communication with the client on issues of concern and demolition progress. Ceres NZ exhibited excellent practices to overcome the challenges faced in completing this project.
Winner: Ward Demolition
The Contractor of the Year Award is chosen by the judges from across all the entries that were received. The winner may be selected for the range and quality of projects they entered and not necessarily because they won a specific category.
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Winner: ATL
In 2021 ATL completed the demolition of a small building in Wairarapa. The building was constructed of native timber with Pinex softboard on interior linings and non-native timber on the floor. The intention of ATL was to trial a procedure of deconstruction with a high level of recycling. ATL made use of relationships with timber specialists and joiners to create avenues to sell the product quickly and efficiently. In the end, ATL achieved a 90-95% recycle or repurpose of the materials with the help of local recyclers with expertise in deconstruction. ATL accomplished this within the project budget. This project is an exceptional example of demolition practices that can divert waste from landfills. ATL intends to grow its deconstruction skills and proficiency for future deconstruction projects.