Next Gen Demolition

New England Contractor Sees New Opportunities with Remote-Controlled Demolition

Recent trends are bringing people and businesses back to historic urban centers, forcing developers and city managers to find ways to reimagine spaces to provide modern conveniences with historic charm. This has given rise to a number of firms specializing in remediation and historic renovation/rehabilitation. Old buildings are rife with asbestos, lead and other hazardous materials. In addition, previous construction wasn’t designed to handle the weight of today’s large equipment.

So, modern contractors — like ADEP Group, a rapidly growing minority business enterprise (MBE) — must find ways to keep employees safe while juggling limited floor loads and restricted machine access. They do so by successfully combining experience, education and cutting-edge technology to tackle remediation and interior demolition.

Faced with a full-scale interior demolition on a tight timeline, ADEP partnered with Brokk to provide a robotic solution to one of the more challenging aspects. During the renovation of a 120-year-old YMCA facility in Beverly, Massachusetts, ADEP needed to remove a 36-inch-deep concrete pool in the basement of the building. With a Brokk 200, ADEP was able to reduce crew size in the confined space while increasing productivity 50% over alternative methods, allowing them to proceed to subsequent phases quickly for an on-time project delivery.

A New Approach

ADEP Group — short for American Demolition Environmental Professionals — is a demolition and remediation contractor founded less than a decade ago. President/Owner Kelvin Severino recognized a need in the local market for a professional, organized, and experienced renovation/rehabilitation response.

Unfortunately, when it comes to the renovation process, clients are often forced to hire multiple firms since most contractors offer remediation or demolition services, not both. To ADEP, this adds unnecessary complexity to projects. So, by cultivating crews with extensive experience in both industries, ADEP is able to provide turnkey solutions in environmental remediation and demolition for customers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York.

ADEP does this by looking for innovative solutions that allow them to provide quality results on time and within the budget. Robotic demolition is one way they knew they could accomplish their goals. They just needed to find the right job to justify purchasing the equipment.

Taking the Plunge

When the Cabot Street YMCA project came up, ADEP realized it was the perfect opportunity to add a Brokk demolition robot to their fleet. The project was part of a $22 million dollar renovation aimed at creating 67 studio-like apartments for low-income residents and those with developmental disabilities. ADEP needed to completely gut the interior of the building —including removal of a concrete pool, tucked away in a 1,300-square-foot (120.8-square-meter) room in the historic building’s basement.

Access presented the key challenge. ADEP needed a mechanical demolition method capable of tackling the pool’s 36-inch (91.4-centimeter) thick concrete that was also compact enough to fit through a standard door. Additionally, the small room made for cramped working conditions. ADEP needed to limit crew size to maintain COVID-related social distancing, as well as limit confined-space liabilities.

ADEP reached out to Brokk and Bob McCabe, the company’s Field Applications Specialist and Regional Manager – Northeast, who has more than 45 years of industry experience and has worked daily with Brokk robots for 35 years. Together they assessed the project requirements and concluded a Brokk 200 was the right tool for the current job — and a fit with ADEP’s growth goals. Within 48 hours, the robot, McCabe and Matt Lyons, Brokk Training and Application Specialist, were on site to provide hands-on training to the ADEP team.

A Powerful Partner

With their operator trained, ADEP was ready to begin demolition. The Brokk robot and mini excavator were lowered into the basement with a boom truck. Each machine had a dedicated operator as well as six additional crew assigned to the asbestos abatement of flooring throughout the building and selective demolition of the gym. To mitigate dust, ADEP used a combination of fans, water and a negative air machine.

“We knew the Brokk had an excellent power to weight ratio, but when we saw it on the job, it was still incredible,” Severino said. “It cut through the concrete like butter, which was good since the concrete ended up being 36-inches deep instead of the 24-inches from initial reports.”

A 7-by-11foot (2.1-by-3.4-meter) breach in an exterior wall provided easy access for material removal. Once the Brokk broke apart the concrete, the mini excavator passed it through the hole to a Volvo 250 DL excavator positioned outside.

ADEP completed demolition in just eight days with a crew of four — well ahead of schedule and 25% under their original budget. Severino estimates the Brokk saved 456 hours of labor on the job. Additionally, there were no complaints from tenants or neighbors.

“As a company, ADEP is always looking ahead,” Severino said. “Small, strategic crews keep our employees safe, most importantly, but they also reduce labor costs and liabilities so our business can continue to grow. Brokk demolition robots, combined with our experience, professionalism, and drive, give us the edge we need to keep moving forward.”