INNOVATION
The risk of fire means that conventional
demolition methods are not always not
suited to the petrochemical industry.
“We normally make use of large
excavators with specialised attachments
like shears,” Botes highlights. “We have
also developed quite a few specialised
attachments to work in these zero-flame
areas, where we cannot risk any spark
or any emission due to the volatile
nature of the surroundings.”
Botes expands on the method
involved in creating zero-flame
areas, “We have developed cocoon
cutting areas with a positive pressure
atmosphere to ensure that gases will
not be pulled into the cocoon and ignite.
Our methods ensure that the risk is kept
as low as possible by using cutting torch
sets and cutting in a manner that does
not allow sparks (ignition sources) to
escape the safe working area,” he says.
“We focus on a customer’s needs
and develop equipment as required
for a specific application. These might
be the conversion of current shears,
steel-handling equipment for larger
equipment, or modification to buckets
to ensure zero ignition when excavating
highly-contaminated soil,” adds Botes.
Cold Cutting in a highly-restricted working area carries safety risks.
what make us leaders in the demolition
industry,” he adds.
Focus on safety
Diversified fleet
The company’s fleet includes a selection
of diverse demolition shears and ripping
tools of various sizes and weights
for added flexibility in flammable
environments. The demolition shears,
in particular, range from a few hundred
kilograms to more than 12t including the
largest version in Africa at present.
“We have large range of Hydraulic
shears, from a 2.5-ton shear that is
carried by a 20-ton carrier to a 12.8-ton
shear that is carried by an 80-ton carrier.
We also have a few mechanical shears
ranging in sizes. These shears are used
in areas where the client requires the
majority of work to be completed by
cold cutting due to the equipment or
plant being in a highly volatile area or the
equipment / plant may still have product
in the lines, or the risk of having any
person close to the equipment / plant
may be too high. Shears are the future of
the demolition industry and we use them
not only at the client’s request, but also to
have our work areas running at lower risk
and be more productive,” explains Botes.
Pioneering technology
“Our state-of-the-art cold-cutting
equipment means we can carry out
demolition work in the most volatile
environments without impacting our
www.plantonline.co.za
Jet Demolition owns the largest
demolition shear in Africa.
clients’ operational processes, which
is critical in terms of downtime and
productivity,” says Botes, adding
that Jet Demolition has effectively
pioneered cold-cutting technology in
South Africa.
“We have been in the demolition
industry just short of 30 years. The
experience and the highly technical
approach towards all demolition works is
Botes says that Jet Demolition has a
fully-fledged safety department that
deploys safety officers to all sites, and
often more than one depending on the
complexity of the project. “In addition,
we have developed specific safe work
and operating procedures for the
petrochemical industry,” Botes stresses.
“Our safety department has developed
with our business over the past 30 years
and they have been at the forefront of
keeping our staff safe and our clients
satisfied with our service. Jet Demolition
has developed Safe Work Procedures and
Safe Operating Procedures over the years
with our clients’ specifications in mind,”
adds Botes.
Botes says that performing
demolition works in confined spaces
within large operational facilities (highly
flammable areas) is always a challenge.
“We overcome these challenges
through having an experienced team of
employees, state-of-the-art demolition
equipment and the support of our
clients,” he says.
A typical petrochemical demolition
project takes four to eight weeks
to carry out, with all the necessary
equipment usually moved on-site two
weeks’ prior. While Jet Demolition has
carried out successful petrochemical
demolition work in Africa, Botes
comments that there is a lot more
scope in the rest of Africa, especially
with the oil price on the increase.
JULY 2019
33