CSCS Demolition (Specialist) Questions
Specialist demolition test topic questions.
These questions cover demolition (specialist)for the CITB Health, Safety and Environment (HS&E) test, the exam UK construction workers pass to get a CSCS card.
Demolition (Specialist): practice questions (untimed, instant feedback)
- 50 questions · pass mark 90%
- Untimed practice: you see the correct answer immediately after each question.
- Some questions need more than one answer, and these are clearly marked.
All 50 Demolition (Specialist) questions and answers
These are the same 50 questions as the practice test above, written out with the correct answer and the reasoning behind it. Read them through when you want to revise rather than test yourself.
1. Under CDM 2015, when must the arrangements for demolishing or dismantling a structure be recorded in writing?
Answer: Before the demolition or dismantling work begins
- A) Before the demolition or dismantling work begins (correct answer)
- B) Within seven days of the demolition work starting
- C) Once the structure has been reduced to ground level
- D) At the point the local authority asks to see them
Why: Regulation 20(2) of CDM 2015 says the arrangements for carrying out the demolition or dismantling must be recorded in writing before the work begins. Writing it down afterwards is no use, because the point of the record is that the sequence has been thought through and agreed before anyone starts pulling the structure apart.
2. What standard does CDM 2015 regulation 20(1) set for the way demolition is planned and carried out?
Answer: Prevent danger, or reduce it as low as reasonably practicable
- A) Balance the danger against the cost of the chosen demolition method
- B) Prevent danger, or reduce it as low as reasonably practicable (correct answer)
- C) Reduce danger to a level the site manager finds acceptable
- D) Remove all danger completely before any work is allowed to start
Why: Regulation 20(1) requires demolition or dismantling to be planned and carried out so as to prevent danger, or where prevention is not practicable, to reduce danger to as low a level as is reasonably practicable. Prevention comes first, and reduction is the fallback, not a free choice between the two.
3. Part of a building being demolished is left in a temporary state of weakness. What does CDM 2015 regulation 19 require?
Answer: All practicable steps to stop the structure collapsing
- A) The structure sheeted so no debris can fall from it
- B) Work to stop until the whole structure has been resurveyed
- C) All practicable steps to stop the structure collapsing (correct answer)
- D) A written notice to the local authority within 24 hours
Why: Regulation 19(1) of CDM 2015 requires all practicable steps to be taken, where necessary to prevent danger, to ensure that a structure made unstable or temporarily weak by construction work does not collapse. Demolition deliberately weakens structures, so this duty bites on almost every job.
4. Props and temporary supports are installed to hold part of a structure during demolition. What does CDM 2015 require of them?
Answer: Design and maintenance able to withstand any foreseeable loads
- A) Inspection by the local authority before demolition can begin
- B) Replacement with permanent steelwork within seven working days
- C) Labelling with the name of the company that hired them out
- D) Design and maintenance able to withstand any foreseeable loads (correct answer)
Why: Regulation 19(2) of CDM 2015 says a buttress, temporary support or temporary structure must be designed, installed and maintained to withstand any foreseeable loads, and must only be used for the purpose it was designed for. A prop used outside its design case can fail without warning.
5. Demolition arisings are being allowed to pile up on a suspended floor of a partly demolished building. Which CDM 2015 rule does that threaten?
Answer: A structure must not be loaded so as to make it unsafe
- A) A structure must not be loaded so as to make it unsafe (correct answer)
- B) A structure must be cleared of debris at the end of each shift
- C) A structure must be sheeted to stop debris escaping the site
- D) A structure must be inspected weekly by a competent person
Why: Regulation 19(3) of CDM 2015 says a structure must not be so loaded as to render it unsafe to any person. HSE also warns that debris build up on a partly demolished building is one of the loads that can make temporary bracing or propping necessary.
6. Under CDM 2015, when may an explosive charge be used or fired on a demolition site?
Answer: Only when steps ensure nobody risks injury from flying material
- A) Only when the forecast shows no rain for the rest of the working day
- B) Only when steps ensure nobody risks injury from flying material (correct answer)
- C) Only when the charges have been in position for at least 24 hours
- D) Only when the shotfirer has held a licence for more than one year
Why: Regulation 21(2) of CDM 2015 says an explosive charge may be used or fired only if suitable and sufficient steps have been taken to ensure that no person is exposed to risk of injury from the explosion or from projected or flying material caused by it.
7. What does CDM 2015 regulation 21(1) say about explosives brought onto a demolition site?
Answer: They must be stored, transported and used safely and securely
- A) They must be kept in the site office under the manager's key
- B) They must be logged with the police force for the local area
- C) They must be stored, transported and used safely and securely (correct answer)
- D) They must be delivered on the day of the blast and never held
Why: Regulation 21(1) of CDM 2015 requires that, so far as is reasonably practicable, explosives are stored, transported and used safely and securely. Security matters as much as safety, because explosives taken from a site are a danger to the public as well as to the workforce.
8. HSE information sheet CIS45 says an exclusion zone for explosive demolition is built up from four areas. Which four?
Answer: Plan area, designed drop area, predicted debris area and buffer area
- A) Site area, plant area, welfare area and material stockpile area
- B) Survey area, cordon area, screening area and access route area
- C) Public viewing area, worker area, machine parking area and office area
- D) Plan area, designed drop area, predicted debris area and buffer area (correct answer)
Why: CIS45 sets out the four areas as the plan area of the structure, the designed drop area where the bulk of it is meant to fall, the predicted debris area beyond that, and a buffer area between the predicted debris and the zone perimeter. Each area has to be assessed on its own.
9. Who may be inside the exclusion zone at the moment an explosive demolition charge is fired?
Answer: Possibly the shotfirer, and only from a safe position
- A) Possibly the shotfirer, and only from a safe position (correct answer)
- B) Any worker who has been issued with a hard hat and goggles
- C) The site manager and the client's appointed representative
- D) Nobody at all, including the person firing the charge
Why: CIS45 says everyone, with the possible exception of the shotfirer, should be outside the exclusion zone at the time of the blast, and that if the shotfirer needs to remain within the zone he or she should be in a safe position. Nobody else has a reason to be inside it.
10. According to CIS45, who has prime responsibility for designing the exclusion zone for an explosive demolition?
Answer: The explosives engineer working on the demolition
- A) The client's insurer for the demolition project
- B) The explosives engineer working on the demolition (correct answer)
- C) The building control officer at the local council
- D) The site manager employed by the principal contractor
Why: CIS45 states that the person with prime responsibility for designing the exclusion zone is the explosives engineer. The zone follows from charge weights, the designed collapse mechanism and blast protection, so it can only be sized by someone who understands those.
11. A demolition team assume the exclusion zone for a blast can be set from the height of the structure. What does CIS45 say?
Answer: Zone size is not simply related to the height of the structure
- A) Zone size should equal the height of the structure plus 10 m
- B) Zone size is fixed by the explosives supplier's data sheet
- C) Zone size is not simply related to the height of the structure (correct answer)
- D) Zone size should be twice the height of the tallest wall left
Why: CIS45 says the size of the exclusion zone is not simply related to the height of the structure, because the projection of debris depends on the energy of the explosion and the effectiveness of blast protection. Ground vibration that could damage services can also drive the zone size.
12. After an explosive demolition blast, when may the public be let back inside the exclusion zone?
Answer: Once the all clear has been given for the exclusion zone
- A) Once the dust cloud from the collapse has visibly settled down
- B) Once the shotfirer has left the firing point and stood down
- C) Once thirty minutes have passed since the charges were fired
- D) Once the all clear has been given for the exclusion zone (correct answer)
Why: CIS45 says the public must be kept outside the exclusion zone until the all clear is given. Settled dust proves nothing, because unfired charges, unstable remnants and hanging debris can all still be present after a blast looks finished.
13. Why is top down demolition, reducing a building floor by floor with small plant, often preferred on a town centre site?
Answer: It controls the stability of the structure and the spread of debris
- A) It controls the stability of the structure and the spread of debris (correct answer)
- B) It is by far the quickest way of getting a town centre building down
- C) It removes the need for any exclusion zone around the building
- D) It avoids the need to notify the local authority beforehand
Why: HSE guidance on demolition says top down demolition, progressively reducing the height of a building floor by floor using small plant, allows control of the stability of the structure and of the build up and spread of debris. That is why it is often the preferred method for a town centre site.
14. How does the exclusion zone for top down demolition compare with one for a high reach technique?
Answer: It can be smaller, because the spread of debris is better controlled
- A) It is not needed, because the plant used is small and low powered
- B) It can be smaller, because the spread of debris is better controlled (correct answer)
- C) It must be larger, because operatives are working on the floors above
- D) It is identical, because zone sizes are set from a fixed formula
Why: HSE guidance on demolition says top down working gives greater control of both stability and the build up and spread of debris, so exclusion zones can be smaller than for methodologies involving high reach techniques. The zone follows the method, not the other way round.
15. What must demolition work be planned to achieve if the structure collapses?
Answer: Debris stays in a defined area and does not breach the site boundary
- A) Debris is damped down so that no dust at all drifts beyond the hoarding
- B) Debris is sorted for recycling before the next lift can be started
- C) Debris stays in a defined area and does not breach the site boundary (correct answer)
- D) Debris is cleared from the public highway within one working hour
Why: HSE guidance on demolition says the work must be planned so that in the event of a collapse, debris remains within a defined area and a collapse cannot breach the site boundary. That applies to a deliberate collapse and to an accidental one.
16. There is not enough space around a structure for debris to stay inside the exclusion zone. What does HSE say you should do?
Answer: Consider a more appropriate demolition technique for the site
- A) Extend the zone across the pavement and carry on as planned
- B) Erect a sheeted scaffold and reduce the zone to suit the space
- C) Accept the risk provided the work is done outside the busy hours
- D) Consider a more appropriate demolition technique for the site (correct answer)
Why: HSE guidance on demolition says that in the event of a deliberate or accidental collapse debris must remain within the zone, and where space is not available for that you should consider a more appropriate demolition technique. The method has to fit the site, not the other way round.
17. Who must write the method of demolition for a job?
Answer: A competent person, taking account of the site and the structure
- A) A competent person, taking account of the site and the structure (correct answer)
- B) The client, because the client holds all of the building's own records
- C) The plant operator, because they carry out the work on the day
- D) The building control officer, because they grant the permission to start
Why: HSE guidance on demolition says the demolition method must be written by a competent person, take account of all the hazards and risks associated with the structure and the site, and control them correctly. On complex or urban jobs HSE also suggests a third party check that the method is appropriate.
18. What sequence of work does HSE give as an example of one that avoids an uncontrolled collapse?
Answer: Take out non critical elements first, working towards stiff cores
- A) Take out each elevation in turn, starting with the longest one
- B) Take out non critical elements first, working towards stiff cores (correct answer)
- C) Take out the ground floor first so the building settles evenly
- D) Take out the stiff braced cores first to release the structure
Why: HSE guidance on demolition says a sequence should be adopted that eliminates the possibility of an uncontrolled collapse, giving the example of removing elements that are not critical to overall stability first, then working towards stiff elements such as braced cores.
19. How does HSE suggest the need to work at height on a demolition job can be designed out?
Answer: By using a high reach machine fitted with a protected cab
- A) By using rope access teams instead of scaffold platforms
- B) By sheeting the scaffold so nobody can fall through it
- C) By using a high reach machine fitted with a protected cab (correct answer)
- D) By working only from the top floor slab of the building
Why: HSE guidance on demolition says you should try to remove the need to work at height, for example by using a high reach machine with a protected cab. The cab protection matters because the machine is working directly beneath falling material.
20. What should the pre-construction information for a demolition project cover?
Answer: Asbestos, structural stability, alterations and buried live services
- A) Tender prices, contract dates, retention terms and payment stages
- B) Skip sizes, wagon routes, weighbridge tickets and tipping charges
- C) Staff numbers, shift patterns, holiday dates and welfare unit hire costs
- D) Asbestos, structural stability, alterations and buried live services (correct answer)
Why: HSE guidance on demolition says the client, helped by the principal designer, should provide information on the presence of asbestos, the structural stability of the site and nearby structures, any alterations to the structure, and below ground live services in the work area, before work begins.
21. When should a client get advice from a competent demolition engineer?
Answer: Before the contract for the demolition work is awarded
- A) Before the contract for the demolition work is awarded (correct answer)
- B) After the demolition contractor has taken over the site
- C) Only if the local authority refuses the section 80 notice
- D) Only once the structure has been reduced to two storeys
Why: HSE guidance on demolition says the client should get advice from a competent demolition engineer before awarding a contract for demolition work, which is particularly useful for complex jobs or where the site is urban or close to a road. A competent engineer should also review the contractor's scheme before work starts.
22. The structural fabric turns out to change part way through a building being demolished. What does HSE guidance say?
Answer: The demolition method may also need to change to suit it
- A) The exclusion zone must be halved for the remaining work
- B) The demolition method may also need to change to suit it (correct answer)
- C) The work should continue as the plan of work first set out
- D) The building control department must re-approve the site
Why: HSE guidance on demolition says the chosen method must be fully documented in the plan of work and communicated to the contract team, and that if the structural fabric changes through the building the demolition method may also need to change. Finding different construction is a trigger to stop and rethink.
23. A scaffold is erected around a building being demolished. What does it do to the exclusion zone?
Answer: Nothing that reduces it, and it may make the zone larger
- A) It removes the zone on the sides where the scaffold stands
- B) It cuts the zone to the width of the scaffold plus one metre
- C) Nothing that reduces it, and it may make the zone larger (correct answer)
- D) It halves the zone, because debris is caught by the boards
Why: HSE guidance on structural stability says a scaffold will not allow a reduction in the size of an exclusion zone and may increase it, because in a collapse the presence of the scaffold widens the area over which debris could fall.
24. Can a standard tied independent scaffold be relied on to restrain a building during demolition?
Answer: No, standard scaffold will not restrain a building being demolished
- A) Yes, provided the scaffold is tied to the building at every lift
- B) Yes, provided the ties are checked at the start of every shift
- C) Yes, provided the scaffold is fully sheeted on all of its outside faces
- D) No, standard scaffold will not restrain a building being demolished (correct answer)
Why: HSE guidance on structural stability says standard scaffold will not restrain a building during demolition or alteration, and is not designed to take the sudden sideways loading a partial collapse exerts. Designing a scaffold to restrain a building is a specialist job for a competent temporary works designer.
25. Sheeting is fixed to a scaffold around a building being demolished. What extra risk does that create?
Answer: Wind loading on the scaffold rises, loading the building more
- A) Wind loading on the scaffold rises, loading the building more (correct answer)
- B) Dust is trapped inside, raising exposure for the operatives
- C) Rainwater is held on the boards, making them slippery to walk
- D) Debris is hidden from view, so the zone cannot be policed well
Why: HSE guidance on structural stability says sheeting increases the effect of wind on the scaffold and with it the load applied to the building. A sheeted scaffold relying on ties to a structure being demolished must be reduced in height using a demolish and strike method so it never acts as a sail.
26. Who should design the bracing and propping used to hold a structure during demolition?
Answer: Experienced temporary works designers appointed for the job
- A) The building control officer for the local authority area
- B) Experienced temporary works designers appointed for the job (correct answer)
- C) The demolition operatives who will install it on the day
- D) The plant hire company that supplies the props to the site
Why: HSE guidance on structural stability says all bracing and propping should be designed by experienced temporary works designers, and installed, checked, inspected, maintained and dismantled in accordance with the designer's specification. A suitably qualified engineer decides whether support is needed at all.
27. What should the survey and assessment of a structure cover before load bearing parts are altered or taken down?
Answer: The age, previous use, type of construction and nearby structures
- A) The skip capacity, wagon movements and weighbridge arrangements on site
- B) The employee numbers, shift patterns and welfare unit locations
- C) The age, previous use, type of construction and nearby structures (correct answer)
- D) The rateable value, ownership history and planning permissions
Why: HSE guidance on structural stability says a competent person should do a full survey and assessment before any potentially load bearing parts are altered, covering the age of the structure, its previous use, the type of construction and any nearby buildings or structures.
28. A facade is to be kept standing while the rest of the building is demolished. What does HSE guidance require?
Answer: Design by a competent person, with third party checks likely
- A) A standard scaffold tied into the facade at every lift level
- B) Removal of the facade first, then rebuilding it afterwards
- C) Approval from the party wall surveyor before work can start
- D) Design by a competent person, with third party checks likely (correct answer)
Why: HSE guidance on structural stability says facade retention, whether from fabricated steel or scaffold construction, must be designed by a competent person and erected, inspected, maintained and modified in line with their instructions, and will likely require independent third party checks of the temporary works.
29. What survey must a commercial client give the demolition contractor before work starts?
Answer: A refurbishment or demolition survey by a competent surveyor
- A) A refurbishment or demolition survey by a competent surveyor (correct answer)
- B) A management survey covering only the areas in daily use
- C) A condition survey prepared by the building's own insurers
- D) A measured survey drawn up by the client's own architect
Why: HSE guidance on demolition says the client must give the contractor a refurbishment or demolition survey carried out by a competent surveyor. A management survey is for premises in normal occupation and does not look hard enough for hidden asbestos to be relied on before demolition.
30. What does a refurbishment and demolition asbestos survey involve on site?
Answer: Destructive inspection, with the area vacated during the survey
- A) A desk study of the original construction drawings on their own
- B) Destructive inspection, with the area vacated during the survey (correct answer)
- C) A visual walk round, with the building still fully occupied
- D) Air sampling only, taken from outside the shell of the building
Why: HSE says a refurbishment or demolition survey must locate and identify asbestos containing materials, including those hidden within the building fabric, before structural work begins. It involves destructive inspection and potential disturbance, so the area must be vacated and then confirmed fit for reoccupation.
31. Under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, what must an employer do before demolition work liable to expose workers to asbestos?
Answer: Carry out a suitable and sufficient assessment for asbestos
- A) Issue every operative with a disposable dust mask to wear
- B) Take air samples in each room of the building beforehand
- C) Carry out a suitable and sufficient assessment for asbestos (correct answer)
- D) Give the enforcing authority at least 28 days written notice
Why: Regulation 5 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 says an employer must not undertake work in demolition which exposes or is liable to expose employees to asbestos unless a suitable and sufficient assessment has been carried out as to whether asbestos is present, what type, in what material and in what condition.
32. There is real doubt about whether asbestos is present in a building due for demolition. What must the employer do?
Answer: Assume it is present, and that it is not chrysotile alone
- A) Assume it is absent until a laboratory result proves otherwise
- B) Assume it is chrysotile, which is the lowest risk asbestos type
- C) Assume it is confined to the roof sheets and rainwater goods
- D) Assume it is present, and that it is not chrysotile alone (correct answer)
Why: Regulation 5(b) of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 says that where there is doubt, the employer must assume asbestos is present and that it is not chrysotile alone, and must observe the applicable provisions of the Regulations. Assuming the worst type keeps the controls at the right level.
33. What must the written plan of work specify for the final demolition of premises containing asbestos?
Answer: Asbestos is removed before any other major works begin
- A) Asbestos is removed before any other major works begin (correct answer)
- B) Asbestos is removed after the roof has been taken down
- C) Asbestos is left in place and crushed with the concrete
- D) Asbestos is removed once the site hoarding is completed
Why: Regulation 7(3) of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 says that in cases of final demolition or major refurbishment the plan of work must, so far as is reasonably practicable, specify that asbestos is removed before any other major works begin, unless removal would cause a greater risk than leaving it in place.
34. What must be in place before any work with asbestos starts on a demolition site?
Answer: A suitable written plan of work detailing how it will be done
- A) A clearance certificate issued by an accredited laboratory
- B) A suitable written plan of work detailing how it will be done (correct answer)
- C) A verbal briefing given to the gang at the morning start up
- D) A signed order from the client accepting the removal costs
Why: Regulation 7(1) of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 says an employer must not undertake any work with asbestos without having prepared a suitable written plan of work detailing how that work is to be carried out, and regulation 7(2) requires a copy to be kept at the premises while the work continues.
35. How much notice must the enforcing authority be given before licensable asbestos work starts on a demolition site?
Answer: At least 14 days before the licensable work is undertaken
- A) At least 48 hours before the licensable work is undertaken
- B) At least six weeks before the licensable work is undertaken
- C) At least 14 days before the licensable work is undertaken (correct answer)
- D) At least 28 days before the licensable work is undertaken
Why: Regulation 9(1)(a) of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 requires the particulars in Schedule 1 to be notified in writing at least 14 days before licensable work with asbestos is undertaken, unless the enforcing authority agrees a shorter time. The 28 days is the lead time for applying for the licence itself.
36. Which of these asbestos jobs on a demolition site must be done by a licensed contractor?
Answer: Removing sprayed asbestos coating from a structural frame
- A) Removing an asbestos cement sheet from a boundary fence
- B) Removing an asbestos rope gasket from one door opening
- C) Removing an asbestos cement gutter from a single lean to
- D) Removing sprayed asbestos coating from a structural frame (correct answer)
Why: Regulation 8(1) of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 says an employer must hold a licence before undertaking licensable work. HSE lists removing sprayed coatings, often called limpet asbestos, as licensable. Asbestos cement and gaskets are usually non licensed work because the fibre release is far lower.
37. When must notifiable non licensed asbestos work on a demolition site be notified to the enforcing authority?
Answer: Before the work starts, with no minimum notice period set
- A) Before the work starts, with no minimum notice period set (correct answer)
- B) Within seven days of the work being completed on the site
- C) At least 14 days before the work is due to start on site
- D) Only if the control limit is exceeded while work goes on
Why: HSE guidance on notifiable non licensed work says notice is required before the work starts and there is no minimum notice period, and that the online form is the only way to notify. It is not the same as the 14 day notice that applies to licensable work.
38. How long must the register of work, or health record, be kept for notifiable non licensed asbestos work?
Answer: Forty years, because asbestos disease takes decades to appear
- A) Twelve months, once the demolition contract is finished
- B) Forty years, because asbestos disease takes decades to appear (correct answer)
- C) Three years, matching the interval between medical checks
- D) Five years, matching the usual retention for site records
Why: HSE guidance on notifiable non licensed work says registers of work, that is health records, must be kept for 40 years, and that workers need a medical examination repeated at least every three years while they continue to do such work. The long retention reflects the decades of latency for asbestos disease.
39. Before demolishing premises, what does HSG47 say must happen about the gas, electricity and water services?
Answer: Give notice and wait for written confirmation of disconnection
- A) Cut the supplies back to the boundary using an approved tool
- B) Ask the site occupier to confirm by telephone before starting
- C) Give notice and wait for written confirmation of disconnection (correct answer)
- D) Cap the supplies at the meter and record it in the site diary
Why: HSG47 paragraph 173 says anyone concerned with demolition work should give adequate notice to the relevant gas, electricity and water services of their intention to demolish, and must not start work until those services have confirmed in writing that the supply has been disconnected or other appropriate safeguarding action taken.
40. A demolition contractor is working on an industrial site. Who else besides the utilities should be contacted about services?
Answer: The site owner or occupier, who may own services on the site
- A) The waste carrier who will remove the demolition arisings
- B) The insurer who covers the structure being demolished
- C) The landowner on the far side of the neighbouring road
- D) The site owner or occupier, who may own services on the site (correct answer)
Why: HSG47 paragraph 174 says underground services on industrial or commercial sites may be owned by the site occupier, so a contractor demolishing buildings or plant on such a site should contact the owner or occupier as well as the utilities and other service operators, to ensure all relevant services are isolated before work starts.
41. The supplies to a building due for demolition have been disconnected. What does HSG47 still warn about?
Answer: Services crossing the site that are not part of its own supplies
- A) Services crossing the site that are not part of its own supplies (correct answer)
- B) Meters that have not yet been collected by the utility company
- C) Water left in the drainage runs that may need pumping out first
- D) The smell of gas that can linger in cellars for several days
Why: HSG47 paragraph 175 warns that even where supplies have been disconnected you should beware of services that run through sites and are not part of the site supplies, and of pot ended or bottle ended cables. If in doubt, treat services as live.
42. Notice of intended demolition has been given to the local authority. How long is the relevant period before demolition may start?
Answer: Six weeks, unless the authority serves its own notice sooner
- A) Ten days, unless the authority serves its own notice sooner
- B) Six weeks, unless the authority serves its own notice sooner (correct answer)
- C) Two weeks, unless the authority serves its own notice sooner
- D) Six months, unless the authority serves its own notice sooner
Why: Section 80(2) of the Building Act 1984 says demolition must not begin until notice has been given and either the local authority has served a notice under section 81 or the relevant period has expired. Section 81(4)(a) sets that relevant period at six weeks from the giving of the section 80 notice.
43. Besides the local authority, who must be sent a copy of a section 80 notice of intended demolition?
Answer: The occupier of any adjacent building and the gas and electricity suppliers
- A) The environment regulator and the highway authority for the adjoining road
- B) The fire and rescue authority and the water undertaker for the area
- C) The occupier of any adjacent building and the gas and electricity suppliers (correct answer)
- D) The insurer of the building and the owner of the neighbouring land
Why: Section 80(3) of the Building Act 1984 places a duty on the person giving the notice to send or give a copy to the occupier of any building adjacent to the building, and to the gas and electricity suppliers for the area. Neighbours and utilities need warning before a structure next to them comes down.
44. A local authority notice under section 81 of the Building Act 1984 can require a demolition contractor to do what about the utilities?
Answer: Arrange disconnection of gas, electricity and water with the undertakers
- A) Pay any outstanding charges on each account before work can begin
- B) Fit new isolation valves on every incoming supply that serves the building
- C) Read the final meters and send the figures to the local council
- D) Arrange disconnection of gas, electricity and water with the undertakers (correct answer)
Why: Section 82(1)(h) of the Building Act 1984 says a notice under section 81 may require the person to make arrangements with the relevant statutory undertakers for the disconnection of the supply of gas, electricity and water to the building. It sits alongside the CDM and HSG47 duties, it does not replace them.
45. A section 81 notice requires a demolition contractor to disconnect and seal a drain. How much notice must the local authority get first?
Answer: At least 48 hours before the drain is disconnected and sealed
- A) At least 48 hours before the drain is disconnected and sealed (correct answer)
- B) At least 24 hours before the drain is finally disconnected and sealed
- C) At least seven days before the drain is disconnected and sealed
- D) At least six weeks before the drain is disconnected and sealed
Why: Section 82(3)(a) of the Building Act 1984 requires at least 48 hours notice before complying with a requirement to disconnect and seal, or to remove, a sewer or drain. The 24 hour period in section 82(3)(b) applies to making good the ground disturbed by that work, which is a different step.
46. Demolition rubble is being put through a mobile crusher. What engineering control does HSE sheet CN4 call for?
Answer: Water suppression jets at the crushing and transfer points
- A) A sealed cab on the loading shovel that feeds the crusher
- B) Water suppression jets at the crushing and transfer points (correct answer)
- C) Local exhaust ventilation ducted away from the crusher jaws
- D) A dust curtain hung around the crusher discharge conveyor belt
Why: HSE COSHH essentials sheet CN4 on crushing and screening demolition material says to provide water suppression jets at crushing and transfer points, ensure there is enough water, and confirm it is working and flowing at the right rate before starting. The dust can contain respirable crystalline silica.
47. A worker has to go onto the access platform of a crusher processing demolition material. What does CN4 say about RPE?
Answer: It needs an assigned protection factor of at least 20
- A) A nuisance dust mask, because the crusher works in the open air
- B) None at all, provided the water suppression jets are running
- C) It needs an assigned protection factor of at least 20 (correct answer)
- D) It needs an assigned protection factor of at least 4
Why: HSE sheet CN4 says to provide RPE with a UK Standard assigned protection factor of at least 20 when working on a crusher platform, that tight fitting RPE needs face fit testing, and that wearers must be clean shaven. Water suppression reduces the dust but does not remove the need for RPE on the platform.
48. A passenger lift is being dismantled in a building due for demolition. What does the HSE safety bulletin single out?
Answer: Stored energy in the counterweights, car and suspension ropes
- A) The weight of the landing doors when they are lifted off by hand
- B) Dust released when the plaster in the lift shaft is broken out
- C) Noise from the lift motor when it is run for the very last time
- D) Stored energy in the counterweights, car and suspension ropes (correct answer)
Why: The HSE safety bulletin on demolition and dismantling of lifts says the work must be planned by competent people with knowledge of the specific lift machine, and must account for suspended masses and stored energy in the counterweights, lift cars and ropes. Exclusion zones should cover the motor room, pulley rooms, landings and the lift well.
49. Old steelwork coated in lead paint is being hot cut during demolition. What do the Control of Lead at Work Regulations 2002 require first?
Answer: Exposure to lead prevented, or adequately controlled if it cannot be
- A) Exposure to lead prevented, or adequately controlled if it cannot be (correct answer)
- B) A disposable half mask respirator issued to every operative on the site
- C) A blood lead sample taken from each operative before cutting starts
- D) The painted steelwork washed down before any of the burners are lit
Why: Regulation 6(1) of the Control of Lead at Work Regulations 2002 says every employer must ensure exposure to lead is prevented or, where that is not reasonably practicable, adequately controlled. Regulation 6(3) puts work processes and engineering controls ahead of protective equipment, so respirators come last, not first.
50. What does a CCDO card tell you about a demolition operative?
Answer: Their competence, under the NFDC scheme with cards issued by NDTG
- A) Their membership of a trade union that covers demolition workers
- B) Their competence, under the NFDC scheme with cards issued by NDTG (correct answer)
- C) Their entitlement to drive any item of plant on a UK building site
- D) Their attendance at a one day demolition awareness briefing course
Why: CCDO stands for Certificate of Competence of Demolition Operative. The scheme is owned by the National Federation of Demolition Contractors and the cards are issued by the National Demolition Training Group. A red Demolition and Refurbishment Operative card must be converted by NVQ level 2 within three years.
What this topic covers in the CSCS test
Demolition is one of CITB's specialist tests, adding demolition questions to the five core Operatives knowledge areas. In law demolition is treated the same as any other construction work, so CDM 2015 applies in full, with the extra requirement that the arrangements are written down first. Most marks come from what you must find out about a structure, and what must come out of it, before the first bite.
- Surveys done first: the structural survey and the asbestos refurbishment and demolition (R&D) survey
- Pre-construction information: asbestos, stability, past alterations and buried live services
- Written arrangements and the demolition method statement
- Method and sequence, including top-down demolition and high-reach machines
- Exclusion and debris zones, and keeping any collapse inside the site boundary
- Notifying the local authority and protecting the public and neighbouring structures
- Controlling dust, noise and vibration, and segregating waste
Key facts worth memorising
- Written down first
- CDM 2015 regulation 20 requires demolition to be planned so as to prevent danger, and the arrangements recorded in writing before work begins.
- R&D survey, not a management survey
- The client must give the contractor a refurbishment or demolition asbestos survey by a competent surveyor, and asbestos must be removed so far as is reasonably practicable before demolition.
- 14 days for licensed asbestos work
- Licensable work with asbestos must be notified to the enforcing authority on form ASB5 at least 14 days before it starts.
- Six weeks to building control
- You must give notice to the local authority, usually building control, at least six weeks before you intend to start demolition.
- Debris must stay in the zone
- Exclusion and debris zones are sized on the technique, the space around the structure and how far debris can fall. If a collapse could breach the site boundary, the technique is wrong.
- Dust is a killer, not a nuisance
- HSE believes over 500 construction workers die every year from silica dust, so water suppression, on-tool extraction and RPE belong in the method statement.
What people get wrong
An asbestos management survey is enough before demolition.
It is not. A management survey covers a building in normal occupation. Before demolition you need an R&D survey, which is intrusive and looks for asbestos hidden in the fabric.
A scaffold round the building lets you shrink the exclusion zone.
HSE says the opposite. A scaffold does not allow a smaller exclusion zone, and must not be used to support a structure unless designed as a support.
The structural survey can be done as the job goes along.
The structure must be understood before the sequence is chosen: load paths, floor loadings, shear walls, lift shafts, overhangs and past alterations. Surveying later is guessing.
The site manager alone carries responsibility.
Site managers supervise and enforce safe working, but duties run through the whole chain, from the client who appoints competent people and supplies pre-construction information to the worker who must follow the plan.
Answering these questions in the test
The demolition test rewards a strict order of events: find out what is there, write down how it will come down, remove the asbestos and isolate the services, set the zones, then demolish. Any option that has work starting before a survey, a written method statement or a notification is wrong. Where a question names a document, match it to its job: the structural survey tells you how the building stands up, the R&D survey tells you where the asbestos is, and the method statement tells the gang the sequence and the precautions.
Sources
Written from the following. Where a figure could not be verified against one of these, it has been left out rather than approximated. Our sources and methodology explains how we date and re-check them. Spotted something wrong? Report an error and we will fix it.
- hse.gov.uk/construction/safetytopics/demolition.htm
- hse.gov.uk/construction/safetytopics/admin.htm
- legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/51/regulation/20/made
- hse.gov.uk/asbestos/duty/arrange-asbestos-survey.htm
- hse.gov.uk/asbestos/licensing/licensed-contractor.htm
- hse.gov.uk/construction/healthrisks/hazardous-substances/construction-dust.htm
- hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/hsg150.htm
- citb.co.uk/courses-tests/health-safety-and-environment-hse-test/specialist-test
Topics that come up alongside demolition (specialist)
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