Roof cutting innovation
Efficiency and safety for metal roofing installers is set to increase following the introduction of the Swenson Shear metal cutting tool to the Australian market by BlueScope Steel.
The new shear, invented in the US, offers potential improvements in safety when compared to existing practices of cutting metal roofing sheets on site. Working with WorkCover NSW to further enhance the safety of the tool, BlueScope Steel is liaising with the product’s manufacturer, Swenson Shear, to ensure specific refinements are made to the shear to help with its roll-out in the local market.
As residential roofing gets more complex, often with multiple hips and valleys, the complexity of sheet cutting on site has also increased. The shear is a simple hand operated shearing device requiring no electricity. It discourages the practise of cutting on the roof, further reducing the potential for back injury, lacerations or falls.
The shear is easily transportable and a simple method has been developed to load the tool onto a utility vehicle, allowing it to be easily moved from site to site.
“We see this tool as a key component of our efforts to reduce the total installed cost of residential steel roofing,” says Gary Gavegan, principle technologist at BlueScope Steel Research. “Once the shear is in regular use, we believe that this will also encourage the industry to complete the good work achieved to date on pre-marked roof sheeting.”
14-Mar-2005