The Didcot recovery operation has resumed after 10 remote-controlled robots were used over the weekend to bring down the boiler house structure at the decommissioned site, an “industry first”.
The recovery operation for the for three men killed in the power station collapse has been able to resume after RWE Npower, which owns the site, engaged explosives specialist Alford Technologies.
Alford Technologies has particular experience with remote-operated vehicles and the firm was drafted in as principal contractor to oversee the explosive demolition phase.
It used a number of different-sized robots in conjunction to survey the structure and plant explosive charges and connectors.
A spokesperson for RWE Npower told Construction Manager: “The robotic explosion of this nature has never been used in the construction sector. It’s an industry first and by using the expertise of the company, the collapse and demolition of the building was able to be done to pinpoint accuracy. So work and recovery could begin again immediately.”
In May the contractor Coleman & Co was removed from the recovery operation to find the three trapped following the original incident on 23 February.
