As more and more technology enters the workplace, it is creating new jobs while also making existing jobs easier, as seen at Korellis Roofing.
Roofing long held a reputation as being difficult, physical, and laborious work. In recent years, however, there has been many new tools introduced that makes a career in roofing easier, safer, and more accessible. Korellis Roofing strives to stay on the cutting edge of all advancements to keep their team safe and productive.
“Korellis always does what they can to minimize any stress on our workers,” said Dan Stella, Workforce Development Manager at Korellis Roofing. “They always invest in good equipment and the latest products. It makes things simpler for our workers and gives a better result to our clients.”
Sometimes, the changes are simple. For example, more complex shingles, like ridge caps and hip, used to be hand cut by roofers on-site. Now, premade shingles save the workers’ time and energy, and even help keep the jobsite cleaner and safer.
New machines also dramatically reduce the amount of physical labor a roofer needs to do. In the past, workers would need to manually cut and scrape off old materials before laying down a new roof. Now, there are machines that can do the heavy lifting.
“After you cut the existing roof, you can run a tear-off machine over the cuts and it will pry up all the pieces,” Stella said. “You can put on all of these attachments to collect the old tiles and dump them in a chute for disposal.”
The new technology is the roofing equivalent of cutting your grass with a scythe compared to a modern lawn mower. Korellis’ larger jobsites even make use of an ATV to tow materials and help tear off old roofs. Among Stella’s favorite tools is a machine that does high-speed insulation welding, practically eliminating one of the hardest tasks on any job site.
“These robots help weld hundreds or thousands of feet of seams,” Stella said. “We’ve got everything you can imagine to reduce fatigue for our workers.”
Of course, all the tools and gadgets are only useful if the worker knows how to use them. In addition to the apprenticeship training roofers receive from the local union, Korellis offers more training in their industry-leading onsite training center.
“We train them on everything from installation to detail work to the roofing techniques and materials we use here at Korellis,” said Stella.
Korellis Roofing is hiring new and experienced roofers, learn more and apply at korellis.com.
