Now the nation’s leading manufacturer of self-drilling screws and fasteners, home-grown company Buildex® has been making quality Australian products for 100 years. By Merran White

When Walter Arnold Deutscher began a backyard business making garden equipment in Melbourne’s Ripponlea, he never would have imagined that, a century later, the company he founded would be Australia’s most trusted fastener manufacturer.

The grandson of pioneering German immigrants, Deutscher translated his mechanical aptitude into metalwork and tool-making, fashioning brass hose nozzles, connectors, taps and sprinklers in the 1920s and ’30s, then producing nuts and bolts for General Motors Holden, pivoting to large-scale breechblocks and torpedo primer casings in WWII.

In the ’50s, he formed a cold-heading department, churning out brass screws and rivets and, from 1958, making speciality screws under license for US firm Illinois Tool Works.

The following decade, the Buildex division was created to manufacture and supply self-drilling fasteners to the construction industry, and the company upsized to the 19,500sqm Moorabbin factory it occupies today.

The innovation and breakthroughs continued: Buildex’s HiGrip® design, HiTeks® forged-point self-drilling screw; ShankGuard®; and the company’s revolutionary self-drilling screw, RoofZips®—introduced in 2002 as the first domestic roofing screw for timber and thin metal and “Australia’s favourite” metal roofing fastener today.

Then came a series of Climaseal® corrosion-protecting coatings that continue to set new benchmarks and, in 2016, Buildex’s innovative Roof-Lok® Cyclone Assembly, is able to fasten corrugated and square-rib roofing profiles and provide unrivalled roof holding capability in cyclonic conditions. Today, Buildex is the most-used roofing fastener on Australian steelroofed homes. Its Moorabbin factory produces two-plus million screws a day, all to strict quality-control standards, and Buildex fasteners hold together some of our largest public structures, including Melbourne Convention Centre and Etihad Stadium.

The company exports to 18 countries across Asia, Africa, Europe and the Pacific, recently opening an office warehouse facility in Dubai.

CONTINUAL, CLIENT CENTRED CHANGE

Staying popular and profitable over a century is no easy feat. So how has Buildex done it?

Edi Scarini, who joined Buildex’s Sydney office as Business Manager in June, attributes the company’s ongoing success to its capacity to “change and innovate over a long period of time and  the amazing group of people who have worked in the business”.

Scarini notes that “the business that started in 1917 is much different to the business we have today”. Some fundamental things, however, have stayed the same.

One is Buildex’s client-centred perspective: “We take a customer-back approach, where we focus on building relationships with major customers to develop deep insights around their key needs, and have an ongoing commitment to developing innovative solutions to meet these needs,” he says.

“The quality of Buildex fasteners is proven over a long period of time, and we’ve been fortunate to enjoy the loyalty of our customers, who are also our best advocates for the brand.”

RIGOROUS QUALITY CONTROL

What sets the company apart and keeps customers coming back, contends Scarini, is “superior product performance”.

“The level of manufacturing control means each batch of Buildex fasteners is produced to the highest standards,” he notes. “This focus on quality has earned Buildex the reputation of producing fasteners you can rely on.”

That concern for quality translates into rigorous product testing to ensure Buildex materials can withstand oft-harsh environmental conditions, including extreme weather and moist, salty air. Technical and Product Development Manager David Collinson, a Buildex veteran who thrives on “working for a company that wants to continually improve its products”, is proud to work with a team that has “a range of expertise in corrosion and development of new coatings, polymers and washer technology, and automated fastener installation systems; the latest systems for 3-D computer modelling, rapid prototyping and computer finite element analysis for stress analysis; and 40 years’ experience in the manufacturing and design process for self-drilling screws and quality control processes”.

Collinson and his team conduct extensive pre-development R&D and exhaustive product and prototype trials.

“We start with manufacturing trial parts on production equipment,” he explains. “Laboratory testing … breaks the fasteners and tests the joints to ensure strength [and] compliance to Australian and international standards. Batch and quality-control testing ensures every batch is made to the highest standard.”

And it doesn’t end in the lab. In 1994, Buildex pioneered the use of outdoor exposure testing that’s continued to this day. “Our fasteners and the Climaseal® coating process have been proven to stand the test of time in Australia’s harsh marine environment,” Scarini assures.

TRUE-BLUE AUSSIE SERVICE

As a home-grown company, Buildex has the jump on international competitors Down Under. Its fasteners are tailored to Aussie conditions and available nationwide, Scarini says. “Distribution points in every state, and the capability of painting locally, help Buildex deliver what you need, when you need it, wherever you need it,” he notes.

“Our experienced design, technical and customer service team are all located in Australia, which allows Buildex to be more responsive to any requests and potential issues. So you’re supported every step of the way.”

CONTINUING, CUSTOMER-FOCUSED INNOVATION

Buildex’s tradition of client-centred innovation is set to continue into the company’s second century, Scarini says. “We will continue to work closely with our customers and develop innovative solutions to help meet changing customer demands.”

Scarini says he’s confident that if Buildex’s enterprising founder could see the company today, he’d approve of its evolution.

“I’d hope Walter would be extremely proud of his legacy,” says Scarini. “Of our commitment to Australian manufacturing—and the absolute commitment shown by every Buildex employee to only deliver the best solution available.” 

Sparked by the region’s hottest September since records began, and fuelled by one of the hottest and driest Octobers since records began, the bushfires in New South Wales at the end of last year were deemed the worst to hit the region in almost half a century. The fire emergency lasted two weeks, claimed two lives, 200 homes, and resulted in $156 million worth of damage.

Were it not for the courageous efforts of the professional and volunteer firefighters, the devastation could have been far worse. Throughout the ordeal THORZT reps hit the road donating boxes of THORZT electrolyte mix to the various brigades across NSW. THORZT is a great tasting, scientifically proven mix of cutting-edge branch chain amino acids and low Gi carbohydrates for sustained energy release, combined with a formulated blend of electrolytes for optimum hydration in harsh Australian conditions.

Designed to maintain mind and body function at a cellular level, THORZT can boost your physical and mental potential, relieve muscle pain, cramps and spasms, reduce anxiety and sleep disturbance and improve the body’s stress response.

Encapsulated in heavy flame retardant clothing and exposed to extreme temperatures, firefighters can experience sweat losses exceeding 2.25L / hour. Such heavy sweat rates result in a high electrolytes losses as vital salts and minerals get excreted out through sweat glands at a rate much faster than they can be reabsorbed. Adding a shot of THORZT electrolyte powder to their water bottles helps firefighters rehydrate and restore the correct fluid-to-electrolyte balance necessary for optimal body operation. This helps them stay safe and alert, and ward off the threat of heat stress and fatigue.

A year of records
2013 has seen Australia’s hottest day, month and season, and now data monitoring by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology shows these records have now culminated in the hottest12 month period on record, with each month consecutively recording hotter than average temperatures.

In summary, Australia is getting hotter and we all need to be prepared for the exhaustingly hot weather ahead.

For industrial work sites, this means the provision of palatable fluids such as water and electrolytes drinks to combat heat stress and help workers stay healthy and hydrated.

For safety outlets, this means stocking up on products like electrolyte drinks, bottles, coolers, & cooling apparel, so that these supplies are readily available to meet customer demand when the heat hits hard.

Scientists have found that the thirst sensation does not kick in until we are already two per cent dehydrated (which is about a 1.5L fluid deficit for an aver- age 75kg adult male). At just two per cent dehydration, workers suffer from reduced concentration.

A study of Australian mine sites found that workers who rely on thirst to determine personal fluid requirements typically replace only half of the fluid they lose through sweat. Conversely, workers who engage in program drinking were found to maintain optimal hydration levels and do not become dehydrated.

These results can be largely attributed to the failure of the thirst response. Scientists have found that the thirst sensation does not kick in until we are already two per cent dehydrated (which is about a 1.5L fluid deficit for an average 75kg adult male). At just two per cent dehydration, workers suffer from reduced concentration and alertness, slowed reaction times, and physical work capacity decreases dramatically.

The human body’s maximum rate
of fluid absorbtion is ~1.5L /hr. As such, we have difficulty retaining large amounts of fluid if consumed in a single sitting. In these circumstances, the body, unable to absorb such high volumes so quickly, will pass this excess fluid out through urination. This leads to difficulties rehydrating and leaves workers with an insatiable thirst, forced to consume copious amounts of fluid for minimal net gain.

Program drinking—taking the proactive approach
With program drinking, workers focus on drinking small amounts frequently, over short intervals. Fluid intake requirements are calculated based on average sweat rates and guidelines are put in place to which all workers must adhere. For example, with average sweat rates of 1L/hr, it would be recommended that Australian miners aim to drink 250mls every 15mins. These smaller amounts are more easily absorbed, replacing fluids as they are lost and enabling workers to maintain optimal hydration levels throughout their shifts.

To be successful, program drinking needs to be part of a greater Heat Stress Management Strategy, the cornerstone of which is hydration education.

Studies show that over half of industrial workers in Australia report to work mildly dehydrated, many in a state unfit for working in warm environments.

Find out more at www.thorzt.com.

As a continuation of their innovation and the desire to develop products for the broader market, Bollé Safety has recently launched two exciting new collections. Firstly they have recently launched a range of safety eyewear into the Asian market. Asian fit frames are now available in Australia and New Zealand. The second is their Positive seal collection of spectacles. This was developed specially for the mining industry and others alike that encounter dusty environments and requires full positive seal protection. They see this as part of their on-going commitment to providing the right solutions to their ever growing customer base.

Spectacles are the most used Personal Protective Equipment (P.P.E) device used in the workplace. Wearer acceptance is the greatest challenge to overcome.

Bollé Safety have fashioned the ultimate in protective eyewear, utilizing superior product design and innovative technology that people want to wear!

Their aim is soley to formulate a high quality, stylish range of products that exceeds existing standards and serves a purpose.

All Bollé Safety eyewear is tested and approved to AS/NZS 1337.1.2010 for medium impact protection. Find out more on their website at bollesafety.com.au.

Looming proud in the heart of Sydney with its impressive swooping roof and all that shimmering steel stands the Olympic Stadium, the jewel in what was once the city’s major renewal project.

Capable of holding four Boeing 747s side-by-side under the span of the main arches of the grandstands, the unique structure, also known as the ANZ stadium, was specifically designed for the Australian environment.

Few designs have surpassed its state-of-the-art environmental features that make it a showcase of ecological responsibility. Natural lights, gas-fired co-generation engines and energy-efficient lighting are among its attributes, whilst all materials have been selected for their contribution to minimising pollution, conserving resources, and their durability.

More than one million masonry blocks were used, 180km of electrical cable and 12,000 tonnes of structural steel.

But perhaps the most important piece of equipment of all was the lowly—but crucial—structural fastener without which the entire structure, capable of holding more than 83,000 spectators, could not have been assembled.

Truck loads of structural bolt assemblies were supplied to the Olympic Stadium construction firms Obayashi Corporation and Multiplex Constructions who deployed teams of riggers and engineers to mount the $690 million structure over three years.

It used to be the case that structural bolting was manufactured in Australia, sadly this is no longer the case as a replacement to ‘Aussie made’ product bolting was initially sourced from Korea and Taiwan. However in the last 5-7 years as a sign of the times the structural assemblies are now mass produced in China. It is vital that the imported bolting is tested to the Australian standard AS1252 before it is released for sale.

Hobson test hundreds of batches
of bolts every year at its new purpose built site in Eastern Creek, 35 km west of Sydney’s CBD.

The firm’s Glenn Daines (Lab Manager) knows only too well the implications of ensuring bolts used are recognised products that have been certified, rather than untested product from unknown sources.

“We have major clients and it goes without saying that given our bolts are used to build bridges, roads, and steel buildings, among other structures, people’s safety is at risk,” says Daines. “If they are not up to standard, we could be looking at substantial injuries and fatalities. No one wants that.”

Further to that point, owner Pete Hobson believes the drive for lower prices has led to a reduction in the quality of fasteners in Australia.

He writes: “The solution we have in the meantime is to only purchase items from very reputable suppliers who have strict quality control. Our product is supplied to the AS1252-1983 dimensions, however, we purchase it to the mechanical and chemical properties of AS1252-1996. This is still not enough for us. We also independently batch test in Australia before the product is released for sale. This adds to the cost of the product but we would rather be a few per cent more expensive and have a quality product than a dangerous alternative.”

On the face of it, a small, unworthy contender in the long list of impressive materials used in construction, the high strength steel bolt, normally no bigger than 12-36mm in diameter, should not be underestimated.

In bolted steel structures, they are critical items on which the integrity of the entire structure depends.

“The high strength steel bolt, normally no bigger than 12-36mm in diameter, should not be underestimated.”

Bremick fasteners
Many are further separated into differ- ent grades to describe specific alloy mixtures and hardening processes, whilst some are available with a variety of coatings or plating to enhance the corrosion resistance, or appearance of the fastener.

Steel is the most common fastener material and are available with various surface treatments such as zinc plating, galvanisation, and chrome plating.

They are commonly available in 4 grades: Grade 2, Grade 5, Grade 8, and alloy steel. Grade 2 is a standard hardware grade steel. This is the most common grade of steel fastener and the least expensive. Grade 2 bolts have no head marking (sometimes a manufacturer mark is present).

Grade 5 bolts are hardened to increase strength and are the most common bolts found in automotive applications. Grade
5 bolts have three evenly spaced radial lines on the head and Grade 8 bolts have been hardened more than grade 5 bolts. They are stronger and used in demanding applications such as automotive suspen- sions and have 6 evenly spaced radial lines on the head.

Alloy steel bolts are made from a high strength steel alloy and are further heat treated. These are extremely strong but very brittle.

The testing of bolts is as important as using the right type for the right structure. The whole quality system means nothing if the product is of inferior quality and does not meet the standards it was sold under. Bremick sales manager John Jamison, based in Melbourne, said: “It’s a long testing process but we pride ourselves in pro- viding top quality fasteners.

“We’ve been in the business for 45 years with 15 factory warehouses in all major capitals in Australia and New Zealand. We also have warehousing facilities in Bangkok and Shanghai.”

The Rockwell hardness test, used by Bremick, is most commonly performed on fasteners as almost all have a specified hardness requirement.

Hardness testing determines a material’s amount of resistance to being permanently deformed under a precise amount of weight. The Rockwell hard- ness testing machine actually measures the depth of the indentation made in the material and converts that to a reading on what is called a Rockwell Hardness Scale. The most commonly used scale is the Rockwell C scale using a diamond indenter under a 150kg load.

A sample is placed in the Rockwell machine and a preliminary load, called the minor load, is applied to the specimen. Next the test load, called the major load, is applied to the specimen. Finally the major load is removed and the number exhibited on the tester’s indicator dial is the specimens Rock- well hardness.

Sydney-based Bremick employs an equally extensive testing process to ensure its structural bolts meets AS/ NZS1252 standards. First they test the hardness of the steel using the Rockwell method, whilst the nuts have to meet Australian 4291 standards.

This is followed by a chemical analysis performed by an X-ray type machine
to identify the alloy. The dimensions tests must conform to the Australian 1252/1983 standard and a visual inspection will check for thread damage and head markings, typically B 8.8.

They then go a step further and carry out external mechanical NATA certified laboratory tests. The other important issue with structural fastening is traceability, says Jamison. “Traceability is a very important aspect of this,” he explains. “What happens is we will have a batch of any given product, and in manufacture that batch number goes through with the product, so at any time we can give you all the information on that bolt: all the hardness, your tensiles, anything you need to know about that product. And that gives the end-user peace of mind as an insurance.”

Manufactured, fully tested and certified as conforming to Australian Standard AS1252, the Bremick range of Galvanised Structural Assemblies have for many years been confidently used to make critical bolted connections in major structural steelwork projects across the Pacific Region. Each Assembly carries the Bremick mark and each box displays the applicable conformance standard and batch number to ensure complete traceability from manufacture to installation. Full conformance certificates are available when requested.

“That only happens at the high end of the market,” Jamison adds, “be- cause we have a quality lab in Sydney, and we have a quality manager who is employed just for the quality assurance of the product, so your smaller companies couldn’t wear that cost of that. We don’t want to cut corners. We want a quality product in the market place, and for the Bremick name to be synonymous with quality.”

Aperennial problem for any- one selling to large building firms for major projects is educating contractors on the most appropriate materials for the job. It’s a problem shared by suppliers like Powers Fasteners. “This is a very competitive business, and you need to be ahead of the curve and innovative,” says Dom Ranaldo, National Engineering Infrastructure Group Manager at Powers Fasteners Australasia. “That is why we developed the Powers Engineering Infrastructure Program (PEIP).”

The PEIP is aimed at commercial construction and infrastructure projects, and involves Powers sending its end-user team consisting of Field Engineers and Major Projects Sales Managers based nationally onto construction sites to help with specifications before any soil has been turned, and during the construction process as well.

“It’s important to talk to the design team,” says Ranaldo. “A large project
will always have a group of engineers designing it, so we conduct a POWERS Technical Workshop (“lunch and learn sessions”) for them. Before the site has turned over any soil, it’s also good to start engaging the key decision makers onsite that would be buying the products, so we do this as well. It really is a two-pronged approach; specification and proactively engaging the contractors onsite.

“Powers Major Projects Sales Man- agers are dedicated to visit sites and end-users. They visit the construction team (builder) and as the project goes on, more trade segments start to be introduced as the phases of construction change. The end-user team is disciplined to visit all trade segments to see what products are required.”

Where this fits with re-sellers is by understanding what the end-users’ needs on site are, the Powers end-user team can pass information back to the re-seller to meet those needs. From the point of view of Wayne Pearce at TJ&H—who worked with Powers on the new Royal Adelaide Hospital (new RAH) development—that relationship is critical for all involved in winning those jobs.

“You need to have trust with the sup- plier,” says Pearce. “If you’re betrayed by the supplier or if you betray the sup- plier, then it damages future work. We all recognise the relationship between a supplier like Powers and an end-user, but just as importantly is the supplier and the reseller. If it’s not there, you don’t win these larger jobs.

“We have a very good relationship with Powers. We work together on leads, we’ll do joint visits, and we discuss the technical issues of various applications with the client directly face-to-face. Part of that is that we can hand over complete cataloguing both in the Powers product and the CSS product range. So long after we leave, we have hard copies of the catalogue in the lunch room, in the purchasing office and anywhere else where it’s necessary. They can use as a reference material rather than having to go on the web to hunt something down.” Currently under construction, the 10 hectare RAH development site is set amongst the parklands at the west end of Adelaide’s CBD. On completion in 2016, it will be the largest, most technologically advanced hospital in South Australia and one of the most advanced in Australia, employing close to 6,000 people and accommodating 85,000 inpatients per year. There are 700 single inpatient bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms and 100 same-day beds. It will have the capacity to treat more than 400,000 outpatients per year.

“That project has a design team to develop the construction drawings and specify products on the project” Dom Ranaldo, National Engineering Infrastructure Group Manager at Powers Fasteners Australasia.

“That project has a design team to develop the construction drawings and specify products on the project,” Ranaldo explains. “So, we engaged with them. POWERS conducted a technical workshop session and explained all the products, the benefits of our products versus other products and the advantages of using them with respect to application fit. On-site product training
of the contractors is important on this project. The designer wants to be confident that the contractor carrying out the installation have been trained by Powers (manufacturer). So, that’s led to them specifying the Powers product onsite.

“We also engage all the contractors onsite with the POWERS end-user sales team covering each trade segment.

In the case of the Royal Adelaide Hospital development, there were special design considerations. The Royal Adelaide Hospital was based on experience gained from local and overseas seismic events resulting in respective standards, and Wayne Pearce explains the way TJ&H got involved with it in particular was by deep hole epoxy setting of N32 rebar using the Powers chemical injection system: “And when I say deep hole, I’m talking about a metre and a half deep, which is a difficult thing to do. Powers had the complete system (the Powers Pure 150 Pro) and with local representation, we were able to have the Powers’ product specified, coupled with on-site adhesive installation training of the contractor.”

The design team works typically on the superstructure and services side
of the building, Ranaldo explains, so Powers offers an anchor product range for cast-in services and general post-fix services to heavy duty adhesive and mechanical anchors for the superstructure trades. For example, he explains, “This hospital project has used the Trimble on-site surveying system, which is a 3D BIM – CAD based software modeling system. What this technology effectively does is it marks out all the anchoring points for the services, and the philosophy behind this is that you don’t need to come back to drill and anchor as per the traditional construction method after the concrete has been poured and cured, therefore speeding up productivity.

“The re-sellers are core to the POW- ERS business model,” he says. “Via the PEIP, POWERS is also constantly value adding for the re-seller by strategically concentrating on end-user/site work, and bringing the high end-user technical business (products) to them. Many end-users already deal with the CSS re-seller members nationally so we bring the business back as directed by the end-user via our re-seller network.”

In conclusion, Ranaldo says, “The POWERS end user model (PEIP) is all about driving new business and opportunities to our re-seller partners, which will mutually further strengthen each of us in the Australian construction market.”

In mining everything is amplified—the distances, the sites, the machinery, the dangers, the power and of course, the profits. When you consider the stakes, it’s no wonder that the mining industry is so heavily regulated. In these high-pressure environments, it’s important for equipment distributors to have extensive knowledge not just about their products, but about the specific mining environment they’re made for. Importantly, the products must not only be fit for purpose, but they must be of impeccable quality—huge profits, not to mention workers’ lives, depend on it.

Because of the sheer distance to many big mine locations, mining operations often overcompensate on deliveries of critical supplies—particularly those necessary for compliance with the state health and safety regulations. Sites simply cannot afford to run out of even the simplest accessories—as with most mining considerations, it’s about an economy of scale. Resources Trading, part of the CSS group, supplies large quantities of safety gear such as Mack protective glasses, ProChoice gloves, EGARD earplugs, signs, spill kits and footwear. The company also stocks Bailey and Gorilla platforms and ladders, as well as filters and valves and large tooling for diesel fitters and mechanics.

Supplying safety gear to mines is lucrative if you know your product and can offer the right price—the numbers most mines require certainly stack up. “Safety gear tends to get purchased by the pallet rather than in box quantities,” says Resources Trading’s Ross Wharton. Wharton has a long background in some sizeable gold and nickel mining projects. “It’s very competitive out there so your pricing needs to be spot on in order to win and maintain accounts.

Consumables are treated differently to capital expenditure purchases, which often have to go through a review process prior to sign off.” Sometimes mine operators will pay a premium to get the goods to site without delay, and this can mean air freighting across the country at times. This is true particularly of critical plant items, the absence of which may bring down production. Mine down time on large throughput mines can be in excess of a million dollars per hour—and even the smallest of sites can expect to lose $50,000 per hour in lost production.

“When something goes down, mine operators need to take the appropriate action—it’s not all about costs, sometimes it’s simply about finding the solution and finding the people who can help,” Wharton says. “It’s about weighing up the cost of not having the equipment repaired with the cost of stopping the project, even for a short length of time.

Resources Trading,
part of the CSS group, supplies large quantities of safety gear such as Mack protective glasses, ProChoice gloves, EGARD earplugs, signs, spill kits and footwear.

“If it means—and we’ve done this before—air expressing something from the eastern states because it’s required, then that’s what we do. The costs of that can be quite high, but it’s secondary to stopping production.”

With so much riding on dependable equipment, it’s essential for those providing the equipment to know the industry inside out. In particular, in-depth knowledge across a range of products
is essential. “Often you have to come up with a solution for the customer, or the request might be broad,” says Wharton.

It’s necessary to be able to fill in the gaps and to know the time pressure variables as well as the health and safety regulations. Wharton notes that the temporary, fly-in fly-out nature of the work in mining means product suppliers often have longer tenures in the industry and are well placed to provide advice. “With the nature of FIFO workers you can be dealing with different people on the same job—as with anything, communication is the key,” he says. Fatigue also becomes a factor for workers doing 10-hour shifts—they need reliable equipment supplied by people who know the capabilities and limitations of their products.

Not surprisingly, health and safety is a huge piece of the puzzle, both in terms of what it means for those entering the site and advising on products, and on the market for the products themselves. The tyranny of distance is an issue that is almost unique to the mining industry—some sites are extremely remote.

Tropicana is a brand new Anglo Gold Ashanti mine site on the fringe of the Great Victorian Desert, 330km northeast of Kalgoorlie. The site was previously regarded as too remote to be viable, requiring expensive dedicated transport and power infrastructure to make it accessible. Capital expenditure for the site, including pre-production operating costs, is estimated at A$690-A$740 mil- lion. From Kalgoorlie Boulder it’s a six- hour journey to the site, and there are workers who live on site. The dedicated access road into the mine from the nearest township runs for 220km through remote country. The sheer scale and remoteness of the terrain makes it necessary for Anglo Gold Ashanti to observe diligent health and safety protocols. The company’s travel policy requires people to pre-advise their departure time and check in on arrival so that site managers are aware that they have arrived safely and they can be accounted for—so they’re not stranded.

 “We do a lot of everyday equipment, lubrication, hand tools, power tools—and we do a lot of chemical work.” Daniel Freshney, managing director of CSS member Rapid Supply in Tasmania.

Of course, this remoteness means that the transportation vehicles not only need to be fault free, but they need a range of accessories in order to comply with standards. “You’re looking at, for companies like BHP, for compliance onto their site, a standard service utility that has up to 12,000 worth of accessorised safety features on it just to get compliance with BHP standards,” says Wharton. “They’ve raised the bar on compliance. You need aerials, sirens, reflective tape, wheel chocks, the works— just to get on site. There’s a big expenditure of funds just to get to the door.”

Underground mining—for metals such as copper, gold, tin—is more dangerous than open cut, and is therefore subject to much more regulation. “We have a distributorship for drill and blast consumables—the accessories to help make
the explosions happen to get their gold or copper out of the ground—for mining,” says Daniel Freshney, managing director of CSS member Rapid Supply in Tasmania. “We do sometimes have to advise them on how to use the product.”

“They’ve really raised the bar on compliance. You need aerials, sirens, reflective tape, wheel chocks, the works—just to get on site.”
Resources Trading’s Ross Wharton

Rapid Supply stocks specialist items such as Pratt spill containment solutions, specialised Reid lifting systems and Malco saw blades for a range of applications. “We do a lot of everyday equipment, lubrication, hand tools, power tools—and we do a lot of chemical work,” Freshney says. “We set up wash bays for light and heavy vehicles and supply wash degreasers, and a corrosion inhibitor for the bigger mining trucks that cart all the materials and the dirt— the product gives vehicles many more hours of lifetime in their tyres and rims, because the materials that are coming out of the ground can be corrosive.”

There are strict regulations around every aspect of underground mining, and all people entering mine areas must undergo an induction process to ensure that they understand health and safety procedures. “I have to be fully inducted on all the mining sites so that I can get through on to site and into the areas that need the equipment,” says Freshney. “Generally speaking, you can do some stuff through TAFE Tasmania, then you’ve got to do the site inductions for safety.” The course covers the safety gear required for the job, the muster points, and reiterates expectations, such as being drug and alcohol free at all times. Freshney then goes down into the mines themselves. “I don’t do any hands on work, but I often need to check something or advise on the products to use for the job.”

The new XR® Lithium Ion Framing Nailer from DeWalt® combines the company’s brushless motor technology with its new 4.0AH battery pack to produce the first gas-free cordless framing nailer with the power to drive a 90mm ring shank nail in temperatures as low as -15oC. To test it in real-world conditions, the FatMag gave one to Nathan Hall of Mattnat Constructions, Melbourne, and asked him what he thought.

“We found it to be a bit heavier than the ones that we normally use, which are gas-powered nailers, but it’s not too bad. You get used to it after a while,” says Hall.

“One of the things that makes it a lot easier is the trigger, which can be held down when working. With the ones we’ve been using, you’ve got to push the trigger, lock the nose down and then pull the trigger, but with the DeWalt one, you can hold the trigger down and then, you push the nose in and it shoots the nails. And you don’t have to wait for it to warm up; it’s already warming up as you go.

“The size is pretty good—we didn’t find any problems with it. It’s probably a bit smaller, length-wise, and a little bit wider, I think. The thing we really appreciated was the amount of time the battery lasted. It actually lasts a lot longer than what you’d get with the gas-powered ones. We found you get more now with the one battery than you do with the gas cylinders, so you have a lot less problems changing over cylinders and so on.

“I didn’t really time it. It just felt like when we were doing parapet walls, it went all day really. We went through two gas cylinders when we did the parapet, then when we used the DeWalt one
on the next one, we used just the one battery,” explains Hall.

Unlike other nailers on the market, the DeWalt® XR® framing nailer does not rely on combustible fuels (such as gas cartridges) to drive a nail. As a result, there is no carbon build-up, so the nailer doesn’t require regular cleaning, and maintains consistent performance throughout the life of the tool. Users also save money because there is no need to buy costly gas canisters with nail packs.

If a battery runs out while the user is on top of a roof, a battery can quickly be swapped with a cordless drill or circular saw in order to get the job done.

A traditional motor contains carbon brushes which generate friction. The new DeWalt® brushless motor eliminates this wasted effort, maximising the runtime of the tool. A combination of the powerful 4.0AH battery pack, alongside the efficient transfer of energy from the motor, allows the DeWalt® XR® framing nailer to deliver over 600 nails per charge, meaning that even the heaviest users should only have to change their battery once to complete a full day’s work.

The high capacity 4.0AH battery pack is also interchangeable with over 20 other tools in the XR® range, meaning that if a battery runs out while the user is on top of a roof, a battery can quickly be swapped with a cordless drill or circular saw in order to get the job done.

Battery power also delivers a range of health and safety benefits: no gas canister means no storage/leakage
of highly flammable gases, and no
toxic emissions in a confined working environment. There is also a significant reduction in noise output, because the tool operation is mechanical rather than explosive.

DeWalt® nail gun users have the choice between two firing modes; Bump fire mode—unique to the DeWalt® XR® framing nailer—allows the user to fire up to two nails per second, while Sequential fire is ideal for more accurate nail placement.

The DeWalt® XR® framing nailer is powerful enough to drive a 90mm ring shank nail flush in temperatures from -15 to 50oC, making it ideal for all heavy-duty woodworking professionals, such as general builders, joiners and roofing contractors, as well as installers of decking and fencing.

Ergonmically designed for ease of use, XR® framing nailer measures just 345mm long and so will fit easily between 400mm centre studs when erecting partition frameworks. Design features include: a tool free depth adjuster; a profiled nose piece for good visibility and grip when firing at an angel; and fault indicator lights that instantly show why a nail has not been fired —either a low battery or nail jam.

There are two executions available in the range: DCN690N-XE and DCN690M2-XE. The bare unit ‘N verstion’ (supplied without batteries, kit box and charger), allows professional trade users who operate the DeWalt XR® Lithium lon battery platform to expand their tool systems, without buying additional battery packs or charges. The ‘M2 version’ is supplied with 2 x 4.0Ah battery packs, multi-voltage charger and kitbox.

From far above, a large construction site—such as a high-rise or infra- structure development—would look like a complex, and perhaps chaotic, machine. The larger the site, the more potential for chaos, with logistics
of trades and materials to deal with, but when you talk to the project managers who look after such jobs, understanding the machine often comes down to simply knowing how to manage people.

Glen Nicholson came from the twin training grounds of a building degree at the University of New South Wales and a stint with multi-national builder Lend Lease, and now runs Niccon Pty Ltd, his own project management company. The secret to keeping the machine running, as it were, is ‘PLOC’.

“P for planning, L for leading, O for organising, and C for controlling,” he explains. “You have to have really good planning skills to actually project manage a large, multi-million dollar project these days. The key skills you need are commercial skills, planning skills, managerial skills in terms of managing people—and that’s what it’s all about because what you’re doing at the end of the day is looking after people—and you have to have technical skills. You’ve got to know how a building goes together from a design and a construction point of view.”

Nicholson says the training for such
a role can only really be hands-on. As a graduate engineer you work on site in a managerial role. Then you see how the various teams on site are led, and you progress through the managerial stages.

“If you break a big project down into its elements, you will have people who look after those various elements. It might
be the earth works, civil works, you’ll have a specialist team that looks after a structure, you’ll have a specialist team that looks after building services, and a specialist team that looks after building finishes. And it’s the project manager’s responsibility to manage those teams.”

Risk is managed, he says, by the fact that most of the major builders have their preferred subcontractors which are strong relationships built up over many years. When it comes to dealing with suppliers, “As a builder, it’s all about co- ordination,” he says. “It’s about planning, and it’s a little bit of the just-in-time scenario—you can only have things come on site as and when you need them because most sites can’t accommodate a lot of storage.”

Tony Halikos, general manager of the Halikos Group, Steeline GRP and NT Fasteners, knows how this works from both sides of the street—as a builder and as a supplier.

“I’m managing supply for the building group so I have a nice and personal relationship with both avenues,” he ex- plains. “Most of the time you’ve got your own staff saying, ‘We need this. You’re slowing us down.’ And the other side saying, ‘Well, we can only offer what our suppliers can give us, or hold the supply for only so long, with the little notice that they give us.’ There’s an argument for both sides and no-one’s ever truly at singularly fault but the role requires a delicate balance.”

Where any tensions arise between builders and suppliers, he says, is in
the specifications for the construction done by the project’s engineers. “They might specify something that you can’t source in Australia or that I can’t supply, for example, through NT Fasteners. It’s then my job to go and find an alternative product that I do supply that meets those specifications, and then go through the process of trying to change that specification with the builder. Engineers and certifiers have an unlimited and diverse range of data they can use on a daily basis, given to them from suppliers all over the world. Half the time it may not be applicable to Australia but that’s what they’ve got in their system, so they just use it. They say, ‘Well, this is what I want. This is what I certified. It meets the specifications. You’ve got to find it.’ And that could mean using international sources and buying things from some- where overseas.”

He adds that these problems are compounded with the size of the project. “For example,” he says, “if the engineers have specified materials for a green five star-rated building that needs low volatile organic compound (VOC) requirements for the entire building, that will present challenges. Recently we supplied materials for a five-star green-rated project in Darwin, and the specifications were that it had to have no volatile organic compounds in any of the products, from concrete to silicon to sealants.

“So any product that was specified, we made sure that it had a very low VOC to meet their requirements, and therefore, build it to their standards. There are a few things that are advertised as a low VOC product. But as a supplier, we go and do our homework and find it. And when you do find the product, it’s got to be applied a certain way to actually meet those requirements set out by the engineers. You can’t just get the products, and put it on wrong.”

One of the ways large construction firms are tackling some of the logistical (and related cost) pressures involved in ensuring the right sub-contractors and the right materials are in the same place at the same time is Building Information Modelling (BIM) systems, says Rick

“First of all, we would find the project and finding the right people to talk to on the site, whether it’s going be the site foreman, project engineers or anyone else” Tony Halikos, general manager of the Halikos Group

Spargo from Simpson Strong-Tie. “BIM
is a 3D computer model of the project and all service providers involved. For example, on a major multi-storey construction, everything’s going to this BIM type program—which includes all the specifications—and I can walk onto the site and say, ‘This is what it’s going look like, and here are the windows, here’s the elevation, here’s where the sun will be in the afternoon,’ and so on.

“We have one small product which is an insert which goes into concrete forms. So, when the concrete is poured, say for the floor/ceiling of level 3, they’ll have a threaded insert into the concrete for all their services to hang up to the ceiling; electrical, plumbing and mechanical fixings. And using a GPS, the contractors can actually mark it out to within a couple of millimetres before the concrete’s poured. They’re talking about weeks and months of savings in time and labour on major construction sites.”

But that system isn’t used by all large builders (even if it points to the future of the industry). At present, the challenges for suppliers involve meeting the specifications from the engineers, or convincing them to change specifications to an available product.

“First of all, we would find the project and find the right people to talk to on the site, whether it’s going be the site foreman, project engineers or anyone else—the challenge is finding out who looks after what parts of the project,” says Tony Mohr from AGM Fasteners. “We conform with specification. But the case may be that if it has the words ‘or equivalent’ which it should have on the plans, it gives you the opportunity to try and get that specification changed to an equivalent product. It can depend on the architect, engineer, whether he accepts that, but basically they can do that for you. You can get a specification changed if you’re early enough.”

The trick to managing that process is having the right contacts, says Peter Corstorphin from Kencor Sales. “We can do it because we’ve been in the business for 20-odd years and know a lot of people,” he explains. “So mostly it’s our contacts that we start to deal with. Sometimes you need a little bit of luck. You need to be at the right place at the right time so that the people who are actually on the project have enough time to be able to see you before the project gets into full swing.”

The challenge from the suppliers side is ensuring you have a good relationship with the project’s engineers in the first place so your product is specified. The way to do that, says Bill Sullivan of NT Fasteners, is just “a lot of ground work”.

“You need to be at the right place at the right time so that the people who are actually on the project have enough time to be able to see you before the project gets into full swing.” Peter Corstorphin from Kencor Sales

“You really have to get in on the ground floor when the jobs are going up and
who the contractors are. Then either use the people who are working for you, or use any connections you may have with subcontractors if they’ve done work with the builders before, especially in a small town like Darwin.

“It does create more of a challenge
to get in on the ground floor when these projects are being planned, to know whether the actual engineer has said he wants a Sika product or he wants a Ram- set anchor or he wants a particular floor coating… It’s quite interesting.”

But while there are always factors one has no control over (the weather being an obvious one), in general, says Glen Nicholson from Niccon, the organised chaos of a construction site is planned long in advance and down to the smallest possible detail, if for no other reason than maximum efficiency.

“The gestation period of a project varies and could be from somebody’s bright idea to actually turning a site; it might take two years,” says Nicholson. “But in terms of, I guess, procuring the project and getting the sub-contractors, you do that as early as possible to get your main people locked away, so they can gear up and hit the ground running. That’s all part of the whole issue of planning and coordinating.”

The annual CTME, which was held last year in Darwin, showcases and demonstrates the latest and widest range of construction industrial and mining related products and services. CTME promises to be the most informative and interactive trade exhibition held in Perth for a long time.

Certainly, if feedback from the 2013 Darwin CTME is any indication, the show promises to be a great success. “It was a fantastic concept,” says Bill Sullivan from NT Fasteners. “In con- junction with Paul and Jeff from CSS, we put on a fantastic show using all the suppliers and just advertising it through Chamber of Commerce and government departments. We even had a boat—a $12,000 boat—as a door prize.

“You’ve got a large and fundamental base over in Perth, so I think you’ll probably get a lot more people, and it will be run a lot differently. But as far as the show itself went, it was fantastic.”

With over 70 national leading brand suppliers to the industry, CTME promises something for everyone, as this is a trade-only ticketed event, you must register to attend. It will be on 19 March from 12.30pm to 6pm, at Belmont Park Racecourse in Burswood, and many of the advertisers in this magazine will be there supporting and demonstrating the tools you see in this magazine.

Find out more and register online at CTME.com.au.