Category: Environmental Remediation

INTRODUCTION

Industrial demolition plays a critical role in the upkeep and development of cities around the world. However, it’s also recognized as one of the most hazardous sectors to work in.

Asbestos abatement, waste removal, and hazardous material remediation — which are integral parts of industrial demolition — pose unique dangers that emphasize the critical need for safety measures for everyone involved.

Total Wrecking & Environmental, based in Buffalo, NY, believes that safety is non-negotiable and represents the gold standard of providing top tier demolition services while upholding the highest standards of safety.

According to data from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), workplace injuries and fatalities in the construction and demolition industry have been steadily decreasing over the years, thanks to a heightened focus on safety measures and training programs. These statistics reflect the industry’s recognition of the importance of safety and the greater efforts made by companies like Total Wrecking to protect and promote the well-being of their workforce.

The nature of demolition work, including asbestos abatement, environmental remediation, and the demolition itself – demands a higher level of vigilance and precaution. We are proud of our impeccable safety record and our stringent adherence to industry standards.

How can we ensure that safety is priority in the workplace? Our abatement team is trained rigorously and certified to handle even the most challenging situations, ensuring that our employees, clients, and the environment are safeguarded throughout every project we face.

According to industry reports, the success of demolition projects is often closely tied to the level of professionalism exhibited by the contractors involved.

A study by the National Demolition Association (NDA) found that projects executed with a strong emphasis on professionalism achieved better safety records and experienced fewer delays and cost overruns. This underscores the significance of professionalism in ensuring the smooth execution of even the most challenging projects, and highlights why should organizations prioritize what safety measures they will focus on, and how.

At Total Wrecking, safety goes hand in hand with professionalism. Our commitment to professionalism is reflected in every phase of our projects, from initial planning to final execution.

We understand that working on complex tasks such as industrial plant demolition or building demolition requires technical expertise and a disciplined approach to project management. Our team’s attention to detail, communication skills, and ability to collaborate seamlessly with clients and stakeholders exemplify the professionalism we uphold.

Total Wrecking’s commitment to safety and integrity has earned us a reputation as one of the most reliable and respected names in the demolition and abatement industry in the United States.

Our partnership with organizations like the National Environmental Safety Company Inc. and our affiliation with industry associations like the NDA and OSHA are a testament to our dedication to setting and upholding the highest industry standards. These collaborations ensure that our practices and services are aligned with the latest advancements in safety protocols and environmental responsibility.

With a nationwide presence that enables us to tackle projects of all sizes and complexities, our portfolio includes everything from commercial complete demolition to industrial plant decommissioning services, each executed with the same level of professionalism and safety consciousness that defines our company.

BUILDING A SAFER TOMORROW

How do you ensure safety management? By placing safety and professionalism at the forefront, and by adhering to strict safety protocols, providing comprehensive total safety training, and investing in the latest safety equipment — we contribute to the ongoing improvement of the construction and demolition sector, making it a safer and more efficient field for all.

If you need an industrial demolition company, look no further than Total Wrecking & Environmental. We have extensive experience with projects of all sizes, as demonstrated by our work at the Lakeland McIntosh Power Plant in Florida. Contact us today to get started on your next industrial demolition project.

INTRODUCTION

As Frank & Sandy Bodami look back at the first ten years of Total Wrecking’s relatively short but stratospheric rise in the industrial demolition industry, it becomes clearer and clearer that it’s been as much a personal journey for him as a professional one. After all, Total Wrecking’s inception in 2013 was hardly the start of Frank’s demo career; he looks at it as the culmination of a lifetime of experiences.

“The bigger, the better” is the biggest industry misconception he’s sought to correct with Total Wrecking. Power plant and building owners tend to assume that larger companies are inherently more reliable, wrongly assuming Total Wrecking may not have the depth of experience required to handle the most complex projects in the nation. His company, however, flies in the face of that theory. Combining concierge-like customer service with a deep respect for family and community, Frank has proven that an industry with a reputation for bidding to the bottom is long overdue for disruption.

In other workplace cultures, it’s perhaps become a minor cliche to look at your colleagues as family members, but that steadfast belief is what Frank largely credits with the company’s growth and success over the last decades, with only greater expansion and improvement on the horizon.

Total Wrecking’s unique culture and approach is too multifaceted to list out in a single sentence, but a few of the biggest touchpoints are an earnest spirit of collaboration, support, and ongoing education; the importance of transparency and open communication in avoiding conflicts and misunderstandings; employees given feedback and opportunities to improve their performance; and a unique understanding that his customers represent partnership that extend far beyond transactions.

It takes a team to build an entity as large as Total Wrecking. When word began spreading that Frank had a bold new vision for an industrial demolition company, several former colleagues reached out to express their belief in his leadership and a willingness to work without pay to help get the business off the ground.

Inspired by their faith and dedication, Bodami began the new venture from zero with no external funding. Fortunately Frank was later able to secure a line of credit from a bank and a bonding company, providing the necessary financial backing to not only get off the ground but to begin operations.

Frank’s vision was twofold: to create an environment where his team could flourish and pursue their passions, and to build a dynasty within the demolition industry known for its honest, high-quality work and a strict dedication to safety. This commitment to both people and performance has been a cornerstone of Total Wrecking & Environmental’s ethos and a huge contributor to its exponential growth and success over the past decade.

Armed with a robust business plan and deep industrial knowledge from his team, the company bid for small, industrial projects in Buffalo and secured $1.5 million in its first year. With that, they were officially off the ground.

Inspired by the book “The Speed of Trust”, Frank cannot emphasize the importance of trust, honesty, and confident decision-making in his daily operations enough. Every decision is guided by a tripartite question – is it right for the client, is it right for the community, and is it right for the company?

These principles also extend to their relationships with partners in the development industry, where the ’30-Second Trust’ rule allows for fast, informed, and reliable decisions.

Operationally, Total Wrecking & Environmental has managed to distinguish itself through their dedication to value engineering, particularly in the environmental field. They work with clients to isolate different levels of contamination, minimize costs, and offer transparent, fair, and honest solutions. Frank understands first-hand what a massive differentiator that is in an industry known for companies who often exploit issues arising on projects. He once heard a competitor’s say that “there’s opportunity in chaos,” a concept that couldn’t be farther from the heart and soul of Total Wrecking’s culture.

Instead, Frank and his team of experts minimize clients’ problems, holding fast to their core values of transparency, honesty, and integrity. A happier client base has organically led to ongoing and repeat business.

Clients trust them, at least in large part, because of how clearly they convey a willingness to do the right thing and take the higher road that most demolition companies won’t. Every single job has hitches and unforeseen issues, but how they manage these situations is precisely what sets them apart. Exceptional problem management skills are crucial to the job.

Total Wrecking’s core pillars of safety and integrity originate from top management and permeate throughout the entire organization. These values are constant and everyday, not opportunistic, or dependent on circumstances.

Frank’s wife Sandy, or as we like to call her, the “real boss, introduced a fourth pillar that’s embedded in Total Wrecking & Environmental’s philosophy: family. Despite the size of the company, now with 120 employees and counting, everyone is considered part of the ‘Total family.’ This workplace idea is often preached but rarely practiced, but under the Bodamis’ leadership, it’s a palpable commitment.

This family approach extends beyond rhetoric. Total Wrecking provides sincere care for its employees in tangible ways, like financially supporting staff through extended illnesses and organizing events like safety summits. Frank believes employees who are fully valued and supported will reciprocate with loyalty and hard work, essential ingredients for any company’s success.

All employees, regardless of their role or position, can reach out to the top management, including Frank, directly. Although there is an established chain of command, this open-door policy allows everyone to be heard and offers employees a sense of security knowing that they can bring any concerns directly to Frank if they feel something is going wrong.

The very first project for Frank Bodami and Total Wrecking & Environmental was at the Riviera Theatre in Buffalo, NY, which signified their initial foothold in the industry and established a lasting relationship with the theatre’s director. This inaugural project was a small-scale industrial demolition project that marked Total Wrecking’s first earnings, a humble but earnest starting point for Frank’s ambitious start-up.

Another notable project was the Jacksonville Electric Authority (JEA) job in Florida, a monumental 8-figure job in the late 2010’s that remains their largest to date. Given the scale and complexity of the project, this gargantuan undertaking provided them with significant notoriety and helped solidify their position in the industry.

Beyond their professional achievements, however, Frank and his team take even more pride in their community outreach and philanthropic endeavors. Witnessing the heartfelt and emotional response of a recipient of their U.S. veteran fundraising efforts deeply moved Frank and encouraged him to make greater efforts to give back more and more.

On a more personal level, Frank was also deeply humbled to receive a ‘rank coin’ from the head of Western New York Heroes. This exclusive token is traditionally reserved for military personnel, but the head of the organization felt compelled to acknowledge the exemplary support that Total Wrecking & Environmental has provided to the military community.

No worthwhile journey is ever without its hurdles.

One of the main challenges for Total Wrecking & Environmental from the outset has been proving their capabilities in an industry dominated by larger companies.

Despite the high volumes of his larger competitors, Frank understands that this doesn’t necessarily translate to quality service or accessibility, a lesson he’s tried hard to preach for the last 10 years. Frank worked hard to demonstrate that although Total Wrecking was relatively new, their deeply experienced team had been working in the industry for 40 + years. They weren’t just the same team with a new name; they were better, smarter, unburdened by the problems of their past partnership, and ready to tackle the future.

Total Wrecking & Environmental is fully committed to placing their best teams on all projects, ensuring top quality and comprehensive safety on every job. Frank’s bid strategy is also far more selective than most of his competitors – he only bid on jobs he is confident they can manage safely and effectively, a stark deviation from other companies that often overextend their resources and open the door to accidents and injuries.

Hiring and retaining the right personnel was another initial challenge, like most companies both inside and outside of the demolition space. Over time, as their people-centric approach became a more widely known cornerstone of their brand, this obstacle also slowly faded. That said, despite having a loyal core group from the outset, sourcing the best talent remains an ongoing issue in an industry with a massive workforce labor issue, particularly in recent years.

One of the more unique approaches that Frank has introduced is the “lessons learned” methodology. Here, the Total Wrecking team documents any and every mistake or problem, analyzes what went wrong, and pinpoints precisely how to prevent it in the future. Taking this a step further, Frank’s larger goal is to create a platform to share these findings industry-wide to improve safety and efficiency efforts industry-wide. A safe space where companies can share their lessons without revealing sensitive information could significantly help train younger professionals while preventing injuries.

This “lessons learned” concept is even more relevant given the ongoing workforce issue throughout every corner of construction. Documenting and sharing these lessons can help train future professionals and safeguard knowledge continuity along the way.

By sharing these lessons, businesses are not just fostering a more informed workforce but also potentially saving lives by preventing accidents or fatalities.

Despite the potential benefits, Frank understands the industry’s general reluctance to share such information due to fears about reputation or legal concerns. Nevertheless, he advocates for a culture of openness, hoping to change this mindset for the betterment of the industry as a whole. At trade shows and beyond, Frank is committed to leading conversations about this topic with demolition peers to encourage a more open and collaborative culture for all.

To stay at the top of the demolition game, Total Wrecking & Environmental continually upgrades equipment and explores innovative jobsite tools to ensure they’re working at peak operational efficiency. Frank and team actively collaborate with vendors to develop wholly unique attachments for machinery and enable seamless tool transitions to improve safety and productivity. Just this year they invested in a new fleet of CAT excavators and equipment, in addition to regularly attending trade shows to learn about and incorporate cutting-edge demolition techniques.

Participation in trade shows and conventions, in fact, is one of Frank’s biggest keys to maintaining active engagement in a people-centric industry. Among many other benefits, attendance provides opportunities to share ideas with peers and learn from them, which in turn contributes to healthier operational developments and thought leadership throughout the industry.

CONCLUSION

When Frank & Sandy Bodami reflect on the last 10 years, the ongoing themes of his vision are the importance of controlled growth, fostering an immutable safety culture, and remaining dedicated to constant training. He aspires for his team to reach a level of proficiency where safety becomes second nature, where diligence and protection always take precedence over the pursuit of perfection.

It’s exactly why the company remains actively engaged in employee training, including OSHA 10 and construction courses, a commitment lacking in many other companies. Training seminars extend beyond baseline requirements and go the extra mile to include CPR, leadership, and active shooter training to ensure employee safety even outside of work.

He believes in educating clients about their capabilities and affirming that they are the best demolition and environmental company in the country, plain and simple. The growth of Total Wrecking and Environmental has been historically tied to its commitment to safety and the unique ability to attract the best and brightest minds in the industry, an approach Frank only plans on further fostering.

Aiming to stay at the cutting edge, the company has proactively invested in new technology, prioritized safety education, and maintained a strong presence in trade shows and industry associations. The deeply-embedded “lessons learned” approach he created to avoid repeating past mistakes and improve operations is a practice he hopes to spread around the nation. Central to the company is a dedication to integrity and collaboration, where employees, clients, and even competitors are viewed as partners.

That’s why ten years from now, while maintaining a thriving, safety-obsessed, forward-thinking company culture and close-knit relationships, Frank and team anticipate Total Wrecking and Environmental being covering an even larger (and more successful) footprint than ever.

INTRODUCTION

Some industrial demolition contractors, and construction companies in general, use safety as a selling point rather than a fundamental workplace practice. Agencies like the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or “OSHA,” however, are one of the few groups that not only define universal and industry-specific safety standards but also conduct workplace inspections and publish public reports to hold businesses accountable.

But how do these safety procedures affect industrial demolition contractors on both day-to-day and long-term levels? And what relevance do their inspections or recorded incidents have over the viability of a business?

Take a deep dive into our comprehensive OSHA overview to learn the importance of the agency’s work within the industrial demolition contractors community and how crucial they are in determining a business’s level of safety. 

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, known more commonly as “OSHA,” is a regulatory agency within the United States Department of Labor. Their primary job is to ensure that employers are providing safe and healthy working conditions for their employees, along with any relevant training, outreach, education, or assistance that enables them to work safely and comfortably.

OSHA was established in 1970 under the Nixon administration and originally had federal visitorial powers to perform random workplace inspections. Today, their universally upheld guidelines and workplace examinations continue to show quantifiable reductions in overall injury rates without any adverse effects on employment, sales, credit ratings, or business viability.

The easiest way to concisely outline OSHA’s role is to look at all of the rights and responsibilities that are detailed in the OSHA Act Law.

At the highest level, the OSHA Act Law summarizes an employer’s responsibility to provide a safe workplace that poses no serious hazards and adheres to all of OSHA’s Safety and Health standards. This also means employers have a legal obligation to eliminate or reduce hazards by making adjustments to the working conditions before relying on personal protective equipment to mitigate risks.

In the context of industrial demolition, this means that contractors are required to use safer chemicals whenever possible, enclose processes that may produce errant fumes, and/or use ventilation systems to clean the air. These are just some examples of how employers can (and should!) be taking effective steps towards eliminating or reducing overall risk to employees.

Diving into the more granular specifics, the Act Law stipulates that Employers have the responsibility to:

• Inform workers about any and all potential hazards
• Provide safety training in relevant areas and in all necessary languages
• Record all work-related injuries and illnesses
• Perform regular health and safety tests within work environments (ex. air quality)
• Provide personal protective equipment (PPE) for free to all employees
• Provide medical tests (when required by OSHA standards) for free to all employees
• Publically post OSHA Job Safety & Health poster that describes rights and responsibilities
• Post all OSHA citations, including annual summaries of injury and illness data, in a public place visible to all employees
• Notify OSHA within eight hours of a workplace fatality, or within 24 hours of all work-related inpatient hospitalizations

In addition to the employer’s responsibilities, the Act Law also details how Workers have the right to:

• Working conditions that pose no risk of serious harm
• File confidential complaints to OSHA to have their workplace inspected
• Receive information and training about hazards, harm prevention methods, and OSHA standards relevant to their workplace
• Receive records of work-related injuries and illnesses, workplace medical records, and workplace testing and monitoring
• Participate in OSHA inspections and speak privately with OSHA inspectors
• File a complaint if they face discrimination for requesting an inspection
• File a complaint if punished for “whistleblowing”

Yes! The rights of employees and responsibilities of employers listed above are applicable to any and every work place across the United States, but there are supplemental stipulations unique to specific industries that cover more granular and unique circumstances.

Because industrial demolition falls within the larger “Construction” umbrella, the OSHA outline for Construction, General Industry, Maritime, and Agricultural Standards was specifically created for the construction industry to protect workers from a wide range of serious hazards.

Some of the most pertinent standards listed in the Construction Industry outline include:

• Fall-protection measures such as safety lines, safety harnesses, and guard rails
• Prevention of trenching cave-ins
• Prevention of exposure to deadly diseases
• Prevention of exposure to harmful chemicals
• Additional safety measures for workers in confined spaces
• Additional safety precautions for dangerous machinery
• Providing respirators or other safety equipment
• Providing additional training for certain dangerous jobs

It’s OSHA’s sole responsibility to regulate and enforce their own standards. With a staff of around 2,400 inspectors nationwide, including state partners, this is a relatively small team charged with the responsibility of keeping around 8 million workplaces and 130 million employees safe.

Inspections are performed by trained compliance officers, either on-site or over the phone, and without any advance notice to the employer. These random inspections are scheduled based on their level of perceived danger and prioritized based on the below categories:

• Imminent Danger
• Catastrophes (Fatalities or Hospitalizations)
• Worker Complaints/Referrals
• Targeted Inspections (Hazards/High Injury Rates)
• Follow-Up Inspections

In an average year, OSHA conducts roughly 83,000 workplace inspections where they identify and assess violations and issue fines of up to $13,000 per offense. That may seem like a drop in the bucket compared to how many workplaces exist, but the proof is very much in the pudding. These efforts have had a positive workforce-wide effect since their inception, resulting in an overall reduction in workplace injuries, illnesses, and fatalities.

Tracking and investigating workplace injuries, and making those records both available and accessible to the public, plays a massive role in preventing future injuries and illnesses. In fact, OSHA’s record keeping regulation require employers in high-hazard industries, like industrial demolition, to prepare and maintain all records of workplace injuries. This information is the bedrock of employees’, OSHA’s, and the employer’s understanding of how safe their workplace is. Access to these records, and a fundamental understanding of their importance, is crucial to understanding the safety of a work environment and implementing protections, procedures, and regulations in place that reduce, or ideally eliminate, the risk of future hazards.

An Experience Modification Rate, or EMR, is an insurance company metric that quantifies the likelihood that a business will incur worker’s comp claims. In simpler terms, it’s a comparison of a business’ injury rate versus other businesses within its industry.

The average EMR within any industry, including industrial demolition contractors, is a 1.0, where contractors with lower injury rates fall below 1.0 and those with higher injury rates will rise above a 1.0. To calculate an EMR, the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) divides a company’s payroll classification by 100, and then divides that figure by a “class rate” that reflects the business’s potential risk factor.

OSHA violations, or “recordables,” have a direct impact on an industrial demolition contractor’s EMR rating. Much like any traffic violation will have an affect on your car insurance premium, each workplace incident has a direct impact on your EMR, no matter how small. If an incident is reported by OSHA, your EMR will absolutely be affected.

As will the viability of your business. After all, no one wants to work with an unsafe industrial demolition contractor with a history of reported incidents, which is exactly what any contractor with a high EMR will project. Not only will their insurance rates skyrocket, if they’re still able to be insured at all, but potential clients will almost certainly want to work with a safer and more trustworthy contractor.

CONCLUSION

Total Wrecking & Environmental is extremely proud of its flawless safety record and industry-low EMR rating. We are one of the very few companies in the entire industrial demolition business who can confidently say that we have not had any permanent recordables in our company history.

The more we shared this fact with potential clients, however, the more we were met with a “yeah, right” indifference, as if it was a tired line used by every nationwide demolition contractor they’d spoken with. So rather than continue to “tell” our customers, we looked for an opportunity to “show” them and let the publicly available data do the talking for us.

Click here to see all public recordables for Industrial Demolition Contractors across the country. Simply search the company whose history you’d like to see and the search tool will do the rest for you.