GE expert to give keynote as final WDS programme announced

Jim van Nortwick, technical environmenal engineering expert from the Global Operations, Environment, Health and Safety division of GE (General Electric) will get things underway.

Jim van Nortwick is centrally involved in GE’s corporate brownfield programme

It is the first of nine conference papers which - despite travel restrictions remaining in force until the end of the month - feature speakers from Europe and Africa as well as North America. The conference will also feature the WDS’s first ever round table discussion.

James van Nortwick has been a critical component of the GE Corporate Brownfield Programme for the past 15 years.

He is responsible for implementing all aspects of the programme at sites located throughout North America, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Chile, Indonesia, India, Italy, and the Philippines.

This includes developing portfolio-level strategies; providing engineering expertise; promoting contractor health and safety and regulatory compliance; working with regulatory agencies to achieve “fit for use” closure strategies; assisting with community outreach programs and environmental justice initiatives; and supporting developers, lenders, and communities move forward confidently with redevelopment.

James is also the manager of the GE Corporate Property Management and Maintenance Programme (PM&M) tasked with managing GE’s underutilised or surplus properties.

Prior to joining GE, James was director of environmental affairs at IMC Global where he established strategic directions and priorities for the company’s environmental programmes in North America, Europe, and Australia.

More than 300 delegates are already signed up for WDS 2021, which includes a drinks reception on the Wednesday evening as well as the eagerly awaited World Demolition Awards dinner on Thursday night.

The conference will take place between 9am and 4.45pm on Thursday October 21 and the full programme is below. Our thanks to session chair Dan Costello and speaker Doug Thomas for stepping in when the original participants were unable to make the trip from Europe.

Here is the full programme:
0800 Registration

Session 1
0900 Welcome, opening remarks, housekeeping
Karen Multer, host

0905 NDA Welcome
Scott Homrich, President, National Demolition Association

0910 Introduction of Dan Costello, Costello Dismantling, morning session chair

0915 Keynote speaker
Jim van Nortwick
Technical Environmental Engineering Expert, Global Operations, Environment, Health & Safety, General Electric

0940 Optimisation study into 1,000 ft stack demolition at Widows Creek, USA
Dennis McGarel, Vice president sales and estimating, Brandenburg Industrial Service Company
Ahmed Amir Khalil, Vice president international business development, Applied Science international
Roger Waldrep, Vice president major generation projects and fleet services, Tennessee Valley Authority

1005 Demolition of the 165-metre Mina Plaza building in Abu Dhabi
William Sinclair, Managing director, Safedem

1030 – 1110 Coffee break

Session 2
1110 Imploding the Bank of Lisbon building in Johannesburg
(2020 World Demolition Award ‘Best of the Best’ winner)
Joe Brinkmann, Managing director, Jet Demolition

1135 Silica and the new rules in Europe [VIDEO]
Patrick Grandchamp, European Demolition Association Working Group on Hazardous Products

1200 Safety is synonymous with savings
Tim Barker, Principal, Resolute Decommssioning & Demolition Consulting Services

1225 Morning session closing remarks by Dan Costello

1230 – 1400 Lunch

1400 Introduction of David Sinclair, afternoon session chair

1410 Keys to transforming organisational performance in demolition
Devin Bennett, Consultant, Loss Prevention Systems

1435 Round table
Joe Brinkmann, Tim Barker, Devin Bennett

1510 – 1540 Tea break

1540 Challenges and successes in the decommissioning and demolition of the SRP-Navajo Generating Station in Page, Arizona
Doug Thomas, Vice-president, project management, Independence Excavating

1605 Perspectives on leadership and positioning for future growth
Kelly Veit, CEO, Veit & Company

1630 Afternoon session closing remarks by David Sinclair

1635 Final closing remarks
Karen Multer, host

1645 Close of conference