BlueScope Lysaght's first mobile roll forming project in Queensland has helped leading roofing contractor, Fultoncote Pty Ltd, complete a major job in minimum time with maximum productivity.

The first Queensland challenge for the BlueScope Lysaght advanced mobile roll forming unit involved the onsite milling of 7,000 square metres of LYSAGHT KLIP-LOK 700 HI-STRENGTH® concealed fix cladding to roof a new Virgin Blue maintenance hangar at Brisbane airport. Fultoncote Manager Chris Brown said his company had accumulated valuable experience throughout the project.

"The size of the hangar was such that there really was no alternative to onsite roll forming," he said. "We were dealing with sheet lengths of 56.5 metres. As a company we have had limited exposure to projects where the roof sheeting is milled on site, but the BlueScope Lysaght specialists we worked with were extremely helpful. Their equipment is first rate. I'd even say that the quality of the sheets I saw roll formed at the Virgin Blue site was slightly superior to standard factory produced cladding."

BlueScope Lysaght Project Manager, Bill Reeve, who supervised the roll forming, has more than 26 years experience in the roof fixing industry. "We don't just turn up at the site, produce the cladding and then leave," he said. "Our aim is to provide a full roof cladding solution and to work closely with roofing contractors to help them extract the maximum benefit from the process."

"The majority of roofing contractors in Australia have never gone beyond a roof span of 33 metres, so our experience helps them to get on with their prime function while we assist them with peripheral issues."

BlueScope Lysaght's mobile roll forming personnel use their building industry practical experience to resolve issues such as site safety, materials handling and even the size and positioning of cladding packs on the roof frame.

"There was definitely less materials handling involved in this job than would have been the case had the roof cladding been trucked to site," Chris Brown said.

"That must help maintain the quality of the sheets from when they are roll formed to when they are fixed. We also saw that more teamwork was in evidence from our fixers. When you have nine or ten fixers working on each sheet it seems to generate an extra level of organisation and co-operation."

The Fultoncote team managed to fix an average of 900 square metres of roofing each day, to complete the hangar's roof cladding in seven days. "We calculate that our productivity increased by approximately 20 percent over what we would have achieved using shorter sheets trucked to site," Chris Brown said.

BlueScope Lysaght's Bill Reeve points out that the increased productivity generated by the use of long roof cladding sheets roll formed onsite is not the only benefit the system offers. "You get a better looking job with long sheets, but the absence of step joints has another even more important advantage," he said. "If you are going to have leakage problems with big roofs then a step joint is often the source. Mobile roll forming of long sheets eliminates step joints and that helps to eliminate call-backs which are annoying for both the contractor and the building owner."

The BlueScope Lysaght mobile roll forming unit is built on a structural cage to eliminate roller distortion and the need for time-intensive adjustments. This means that product quality and tolerances are far superior to the results from a basic roll former without a structural cage.

A spreader bar, which is shipped to job sites with the mobile roll former, can be extended in 12 metre steps to a maximum span of 72 metres. The bar eases material handling issues on site by ensuring that even the longest of sheets arrive safely and in undamaged condition on the roof frame.

But perhaps one of the most important advantages offered by BlueScope Lysaght mobile roll forming is the professionalism and expertise of its operators. The Lysaght mobile unit is managed by key staff from Lysaght Design and Construction, who are extremely experienced at working with site trades and have a comprehensive understanding of site management and safety requirements.