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CONSTRUCTION WORLD
MARCH
2017
STEEL CONTRACTORS AND ROOFING
SASFA director John Barnard says that
the successful training programmes
undertaken by SASFA have been key in
the promotion and growth of light steel
frame building (LSFB) in Southern Africa.
“Education is the foundation for getting the
advantages of a new method understood as
well as for protecting and enhancing quality
of building through the growth phases and
beyond,” says Barnard.
The latest to come on board is the
SANDF to whom, on their request, SASFA
presented a five-day training course for
LSFB contractors at the Old Fort Rd Military
Emphasising SANDF’s interest in LSFB
The Southern African Light Steel
Frame Building Association (SASFA)
reports that there has been an
encouraging growth in Southern
Africa in the past two to three years
in the awareness of light steel frame
building as an environmentally
friendly and sustainable building
method and that training has been
fundamental to this growth.
Base in Durban. The intention of the course
was to qualify their foremen and artisans in
LSFB, in preparation for a building project
comprising five three-storey blocks of flats
and offices.
The students of Regional Works Unit
KwaZulu-Natal – under the command of
Capt S. Mashigo – who enrolled for the
course included, amongst others, plumbers,
electricians, and project managers. Col E
Jacobs coordinated arrangements for the
course from the SANDF’s side, while the
SASFA members who supplied support
for the course and made it possible were
Saint-Gobain, Martin and Associates, and
Simpson Strong-tie. Bosch Tools illustrated
its wide range of equipment suitable for use
in the LSFB industry.
The course was in two parts
Steel frame materials, components, and
erection (3,5 days), covering introduction,
the steel making process and properties of
coated steel sheet, followed by sections on
foundations, manufacturing of light steel
frames and trusses, construction tools, wall
frame set-out, handling, loads, floor framing,
wall framing, roof structures, planning and
the installation of services, and
Internal lining, external cladding and
insulation (one day), covering the properties,
manufacturing and benefits of glasswool
insulation, acoustics, energy efficiency,
environmental issues, storage and
handling of glasswool and tools and
installation methodology.
This was followed by a section on
gypsum plasterboard, covering properties,
storage and handling, cutting, tools and
application for walls, ceilings and finishing.
Fibre cement board for external cladding
was addressed, including the installation
of the vapour permeable membrane, sizes
and availability of fibre cement – boards
and planks, fixing accessories, installation
guidelines, and door and window frame
installation detail was presented.
As part of the course, the students
had to write two tests to assess their
understanding of the subject matter.
Certificates of successful completion were
issued to those who passed the tests.