Member Article

Demolition industry brought to book by Wolverhampton expert

A Wolverhampton demolition expert has penned a new book designed to get more children thinking about a possible career in the sector.

C&D Consultancy’s John Woodward – the former president of the Institute of Demolition Engineers – has used his 30 years experience to put together a unique insight into the industry.

‘My Dad Does Demolition’ is ideally suited to children from five to eight years-old and uses a mixture of pictures and words to show the skills you need, the size of projects you can work on and how materials can be recycled.

“I wanted to write a book that showed children what demolition was all about, how safety is vitally important and how it can be a very rewarding and skilled job,” explained John.

“Perhaps the biggest challenge was making the sector seem as interesting as possible, without making it sound so intriguing that children viewed sites as potential playgrounds.”

He continued: “Many children today are intent on becoming footballers or pop stars. I wanted to show them that there was an alternative within the demolition industry and depicting a weekly routine is a great way of doing that.

“Hopefully, this book will go some way to helping children understand what goes on behind the site hoardings.

‘My Dad Does Demolition’, which is available for £4.99 + postage and packing, has been designed to allow parents, grandparents, carers and teachers to read it with children, to look more deeply at the subjects covered and to encourage questions.

It tells the story of Taylor’s Dad demolishing his old school to build a new one and how he would go about safely completing the process.

John, who also delivers classroom talks for the Primary Futures initiative, concluded:

“The book ticks all the key industry boxes. Obviously, I need to explain just what demolition is, but I also touch upon materials recycling and the role of demolition in making progress possible. And, of course, there is an over-riding safety-first message.”

John formed C&D Consultancy in 2003 and has seen it become one of the leading demolition specialists in the country, coordinating a host of projects across the UK and Europe every year.

A team of 8 experts advises on initial planning, project management and one-off consultancy, as well as being brought in to turn around crisis jobs.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Russ Cockburn .