These days, to build anything, one has to, most often than not, first, ironically, break some thing to start with. Particularly in the Indian context, where the rate of growth is extremely different in various sectors. For instance, the production of cars/two-wheelers has increased at a pace which is far more than the rate at which roads are widened or laid. This results in nerve-racking traffic snarls in many cities and the need for widening the existing road or laying a new road becomes so pressing that it cannot be delayed any further. Then, the work of widening of the existing road has to start with the breaking of the existing road or buildings outlining the road.

Hence, breaking or demolishing or more auspiciously 'deconstruction' becomes prelude to any building/construction activity and has become very important aspect of any construction activity.

Apart from the above, breaking has been, since time immemorial, prevalent and basic in mining and quarrying industries. Breaking, till very recently, was done either by blasting or manually with chisel and hammer in our country. Now, both have to be replaced by mechanical breaking as blasting is not possible in an inhabited area and manual breaking is so slow that it's irrelevant in modern times.

We will confine to the various types and trends in mechanical breaking in this column.

Again, in India, like in many applications, demolishing is done by machines which are not meant for such work. For instance, a back-hoe loader is normally
used to demolish structures and has become demolishing machine. However, back-hoe loader is neither designed nor built to be one and using it for
demolishing is not only incorrect and inefficient but dangerous to the man and machine itself. Demolishing by a back-hoe loader is achieved by swinging the
bucket against the structure and any mistake on the operator can result in damage to nearby structures which are not to be demolished and also grievous
injury to persons in the vicinity.

The tools that are used for breaking or demolishing are normally the following:

• Breakers (Hammers) - Hydraulic and Pneumatic
• Crushers
• Shears and
• Out of the above,

only breakers are being used now albeit in a very small way for breaking mainly in roadwork. Hydraulic rock breakers are extensively used in mining and quarrying industries. However, they are extremely noisy and may disturb the environment very badly. Hence, 'Crushers' have to be used for demolishing in an inhabited surrounding. But they are very rarely used in view of high initial investment. But, in the near future, they will replace other types of breaking when environment and safety concerns become more critical.

All these demolishing tools are normally mounted on excavators either - tracked or wheeled for the hydraulic power required to operate them and also
mobility of equipment. In India, only tracked excavators are popularly used as they can negotiate any terrain- uneven, rocky, slushy or steep gradients.

While choosing breaking equipment, the following factors have to be borne in mind:

• Application (suitability of machine for a given work at a given jobsite)
• Productivity (cu.m of breaking per hour - time required for completion)
• Efficiency ( cost of breaking - Rs. Per cu.m to ensure profitability of the project)
• Environmental concerns ( particularly reduced or nil Noise polluting machines)

Careful selection based on the above factors will have a telling impact on cost of breaking and time required. Hence, profitable and timely completion of
demolishing activity which is a precursor to the construction activity can be ensured if careful selection of breaking equipment is done.

Completion of very large infrastructure projects of national importance sometimes get delayed by a few months because breaking/demolishing of existing
structure could not be completed in time.

Thus, eventually, better breaking is essential not only to better building (of structures, road, and infrastructure projects) but also to better profitability of the construction company.

V. Karthikeyan BE, MBA, CEO, Vev Ventures