One day you walk past an old building with obvious signs of deterioration and resulting in the structure being uninhabitable and unsafe. It’s fenced all over and a sign at the front talks about the building being condemned for demolition. Two days later you walk past the same spot and there’s equipment surrounding the building along with personnel dressed in protective gear such as hard hats and reflective vests. The building is halfway gone. Within two weeks, you pass by the same spot again, and you notice that there’s almost no sign of the old building left apart from the markings that served as its base. You get home and ask yourself, “How did that even happen?”
The term demolition refers to the science and engineering in safely and effectively tearing down condemned buildings and other tall, artificial structures. For small, simple buildings such as two or three-story houses or offices, the process of demolition is just simple and can be done manually or mechanically. Larger, taller, and more complex buildings often require the use of a wrecking ball or use the building implosion method, which heavily relies on explosives. This method is very reliable, and the collapse of the tall structure usually takes only a few seconds. But a downside to this method is it can usually take weeks or months to prepare a structure for this method.
Let’s define what is a scope of work first. Scope of work is a business document that outlines an area in an agreement where the type of work to be performed and its corresponding tasks are listed. It brings together everything from work details, schedules, terms, and expected outcomes to not only define exactly what needs to be done in a project but also to avoid a “scope creep” – which is tasks ballooning uncontrollably beyond what was planned. Scope of work should also contain milestones, reports, deliverables, and end products that should be provided by the performing party.
A demolition scope of work lists the tasks that need to be done depending on the type of demolition method, the building, and the equipment used. A demolition scope of work is needed to make the process more efficient and it acts as a useful guide to have clear insight on what should be done.
When a particular structure has reached the end of its lifespan, that structure is now unsafe for occupation and is unsafe around neighboring buildings. The building is now usually condemned for demolition. Here is the planning process that goes into a building demolition:
The methods used for the demolition process greatly vary depending on the building being demolished, its corresponding surroundings, and the equipment that is needed to perform the actual demolition. Here are some examples of demolition methods:
Multiple types of equipment can be seen in a demolition site. Here are some of them that are used in a non-explosive demolition method.
A demolition project, no matter how simple or complex the structure to be demolished is, will always require careful planning. During the process, the personnel involved should also exercise a lot of caution, because no matter how prepared they may be, issues could still surface if there are any overlooked processes.
Here are some steps you can follow in order to create an effective demolition scope of work:
To begin creating the demolition scope of work, first, you should write a simple and comprehensible overview of the project or simply, constructing a scope statement that outlines the entire project. In this step, you can also start to write the basic information about the demolition process such as the building or structure to be torn down, the equipment needed and its respective inspection checklist process, how many personnel are needed, the safety precautions to be observed, and the location of the demolition site.
In this step, write what are the objectives and intended goals of the demolition project. This highly depends on the method being used. You can start with the reason why the structure is to be demolished, then follow with the goals. If it is only a partial demolition, ensure that the goal that should be reached is to only remove a portion of the structure. If it’s a dismantling, the goal that should be reached is to carefully tear the structure down and ensure that many components are to be reused.
In this part, write and outline the steps that need to be done in order to accomplish the objectives or goals listed in the previous step. This can be done as a bullet list or a simple questionnaire style. Afterwards, you can break down the scope in a separate paragraph into more specific tasks. This can also be written and broken down into phases. This is done to ensure that every person in the demolition team is in sync with the whole process.
Including a timeline of the project is necessary to ensure that the major phases of the demolition project’s schedule are properly delineated. The timeline of a demolition scope of work is more than just the start and end dates. This is also a part where you can outline when, where, how, and who will do the tasks in the project. Since a demolition project can be so complex and tedious, milestones can also be added. Having a milestone in the scope of work is a way of monitoring the progress and ensures that it is still on schedule.
In creating a demolition scope of work, it is also necessary to leave spaces for reports, since this is a task that is performed frequently throughout the project. Types of reports can include status reports, progress reports, and many more. Reports serve as a formal record of the progress of your work, and they also let you know if the project is still on schedule or not.
Even though what is not written in the demolition scope of work is already outside the scope of work and should not be done, exclusion clauses can still be written in the scope. An exclusion is defined as a description of tasks, items, and actions that are specifically “excluded” in the project scope of work.
In a demolition operation, the PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) will usually include the following:
These two terms may mean similar things but they’re different. Demolition refers to the dismantling, razing, or destroying any part of or a whole building or structure. Deconstruction refers to carefully taking a building apart with the intention of preserving valuable parts of it for eventual reuse.
When writing a scope of work, it is important that it should include all the necessary details of the tasks in the project. However, it is also important that you should not write too much and go overboard with too many unnecessary factors. A very long scope of work will surely take time for the contractor to read and verify, and will inevitably lead to delays in working the project.
A scope of work is basically written inside the statement of work as it presents the clear and concise process in the accomplishment of the specific smart goals of the project. A statement of work generally contains more comprehensive details about the major goals and objectives of a certain project.
Having an effective and well-written scope of work is valuable to the process of getting the tasks in a project done properly. Have a scope of work also helps to not go overboard and beyond the intended tasks, which can slow down a project slightly or significantly. In a demolition project, having a scope of work keeps every personnel in the project on task and holds them accountable. There may be many tasks in this particular project, but an effective scope of work makes it easier to follow. Examples of a demolition scope of work are present above this article, and it is available to you for reference.
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