Chocks are always fashionable, (and one should always be fashionable), but operators sometimes don't bother during a quick move. And those rolls often get a flat spot due to the weight when you set them down so they are hard to get rolling on a level surface.
Even large rolls rolls of sheet steel don't roll easily on a level floor.
As someone who spent a few years teaching math, this would be a cause for celebration! I would have had a classroom pizza party the next day. This is creative usage of problem solving math that I could only dream about a classroom of students could come up with.
I think that's often the case for anyone that has spent enough time using Linux. After 20 years, I just can't be bothered with needing to be all that proactive in managing any distro. I just want to use the bloody stupid box. I'm enjoying using Aurora right now. Atomic distros require even less effort from me.
Those machines are referred to as slitters. I designed and built 2 for 3M Abrasive division back in the 1990's. Talk about a process that involves less than reliable hardware, (I never met an air bar or pneumatic web sensor I didn't hate), and enough wishful thinking to achieve the speeds 3M wanted them to run at that would make an Alchemist proud. I was constantly amazed that my designs even worked at all.