Thinking Ahead: How Rio Plans to Reuse 2016 Olympic Structures in the Future

August 24, 2016 Shane Hedmond

Rio's Olympic Aquatic Stadium.  Photo by Leandro Neumann Ciuffo, CC BY 2.0 — Rio's Olympic Aquatic Stadium. Photo by Leandro Neumann Ciuffo, CC BY 2.0

Billions of dollars are spent by cities and countries to prepare for summer and winter Olympics. Many stadiums, housing and other infrastructure are built to not only be able to handle the games, but also the enormous amount of people that will eventually inhabit the city for a few weeks. But, that’s just it, it’s only for a few weeks. What happens after the games are over and there’s no longer a need for an International Broadcast Center or a handball venue? In the past, the answer has been to let the area rot away and be a hotbed of vandalism, but Rio has taken a different approach.

A Reminder About the 11 Construction Workers Who Died Building the Rio Olympics Sites

August 15, 2016 Shane Hedmond

Maracana Stadium in Brazil, location of the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2016 Rio Olympics and a location of the 2014 World Cup.  Photo by Rodrigo Soldon, CC BY-ND 2.0 — Maracana Stadium in Brazil, location of the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2016 Rio Olympics and a location of the 2014 World Cup. Photo by Rodrigo Soldon, CC BY-ND 2.0

Though the venues of the Rio Olympics may look great on camera, the behind the scenes issues that occurred left Olympic officials stunned. It seemed that Rio was behind schedule from the start, which may have fueled some of the job site conditions that resulted in 11 construction workers’ deaths over the course of the project. Even back in 2014, John D. Coates, the Vice President of the Olympic Committee told reporters that Brazil was not ready for the Olympics “in many, many ways” and also called their preparation worse than Athens, Greece in 2004. Brazil was also the host of the 2014 World Cup and 8 construction workers were killed on the job, including 2 that were killed by a collapsed crane at San Paulo Stadium. Zero deaths were reported during the building process for the 2012 London Olympics.

Report: North Korean Construction Workers Given Crystal Meth to Finish Building on Time

August 11, 2016 Shane Hedmond

Meth pipe.  Photo by Drew Stephens, CC BY-SA 2.0 — Meth pipe. Photo by Drew Stephens, CC BY-SA 2.0

OK look, there are certainly a lot of pressures to get buildings completed on time, but I’d never thought I’d hear of construction workers being GIVEN crystal meth in order to finish a building on time. But, that’s what multiple sources are telling Radio Free Asia (RFA) is happening right now in North Korea. According to RFA, the project managers working on a “showcase” construction project in Pyongyang, which includes many different buildings, are under extreme pressures to finish on time.

[VIDEO] New Safety Gloves Can Keep Your Fingers From Being Smashed By A Hammer

August 9, 2016 Shane Hedmond

Keeping your feet safe on the job site is a no brainer and boots with toe protection are almost always required. The problem with gloves has always been trying to find a balance between adequately protecting hands and maintaining dexterity and functionality. Too much protection could cause your hands to be immobilized or reduce your ability to actually use the tools you’re being protected against. But gloves that are too comfortable may only act as an extra layer of skin and you’re left nursing a black and blue index finger.

A $350 Million High Rise Condo in San Francisco is Sinking, Tilting its Way Towards a Lawsuit

August 5, 2016 Shane Hedmond

Imagine buying a condo for millions of dollars only to find out that the building the surrounds it has sunk over a foot and has tilted 2 inches. You probably wouldn’t feel too good about your purchase, would you? The Leaning Tower of Pisa (or, as I thought it was called when I was 7, “The Leaning Tower of Pizza”) wasn’t supposed to lean either, but they were able to turn lemons into lemonade and make it into a gigantic tourist trap. That’s a luxury that I’m not sure the Millennium Tower in San Francisco has, unfortunately.

Initial Investigations and Theories Have Begun After Crane Collapse on New York Bridge

July 28, 2016 Shane Hedmond

Photo from Tappan Zee Bridge in New York by Raellyn & Melissa, CC BY-ND 2.0

On Tuesday, July 19th, a crane, with its boom extended 25 stories high, buckled and collapsed onto the active Tappan Zee Bridge in New York. Thankfully and amazingly, no one was killed and only a couple people sustained minor injuries, but traffic on the bridge was stopped for hours. All but one lane was re-opened on the bridge within 8 hours of the collapse. After the collapse, work began to try to determine the cause of the accident.

Review: Helly Hansen Aims to be the New Standard in Construction Apparel

July 27, 2016 Shane Hedmond

Helly Hansen isn’t just an apparel brand – it’s an institution. For 140 years, the company has been designing and manufacturing high quality performance apparel and is amazingly popular within the skiing and sailing industry. We all actually have Helly Hansen to thank for the world’s first supple waterproof fabrics and the world’s first fleece. If anyone could possibly know how to keep people warm and dry, it’s them. Fortunately for all of us in the construction industry, they also put their knowledge and unparalleled style into designs worthy of the jobsite as Helly Hansen Workwear (HHWW). Their goal? To create workwear that not only performs on the toughest jobsite, but also looks like something you’d wear out after work.

The City of Detroit Has Now Demolished Over 10,000 Buildings Since 2014, Here Are All of Them

July 26, 2016 Shane Hedmond

Well, it’s certainly a good time to be a demolition contractor in Detroit, Michigan right now. After receiving $50 million dollars in order to fight blight within the city limits, the city has successfully demolished 10,171 buildings (as of July 24th), with thousands more to go.

Construction Foreman Builds Life Sized ‘Where’s Waldo?’ to Cheer Up Kids in Hospital

July 21, 2016 Shane Hedmond

Nobody likes to see children in the hospital, it just doesn’t seem fair that such a young life should have to spend time inside of one for an injury or illness. It seems, though, that job sites near children’s hospitals can bring the best out of construction workers. For example, some construction workers who were on a job across from a 2 year-old leukemia patient last year, wrote a get well message for her on a steel beam that touched her and her family. But, this year, a construction foreman in South Bend, Indiana has created a real life ‘Where’s Waldo?’ to play with the pediatric patients across the way.

[VIDEO] Crane Collapses On Busy New York Bridge

July 19, 2016 William Lucus

A crane being used to construct the new Tappan Zee Bridge in New York has collapsed across active lanes of traffic. The collapse happened on Tuesday and is blocking all lanes of traffic on the bridge that it was replacing. So far the news outlets report 5 people are injured due to the incident.

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