Once auto-jigging enabled 4-minute truss setups, some thought we could go no further. Not so, said our Canadian compadres. Their claim was hard to fathom, since our last Benchmark Test results seemed unbeatable. But it was worth investigation, even if the plant involved was 2500 miles away. So, we engaged our timekeeper, and headed to Vancouver, British Columbia.
In late 2007, we traveled from the airport, through the big city, and arrived at Maple Ridge Truss in less than an hour. There we met the ebullient owner, Mark Monkman (now unfortunately deceased). Mark described the highly competitive, fast growing market he served, which included Seattle and the prosperous Puget Sound region. As we entered his small building and viewed the single-sided gantry line tight against the wall, we had our doubts. But the enthusiasm of Mark and his crew, and the genius of his spare setup, soon erased those doubts.
We observed the cut parts of the 14 Benchmark trusses neatly arranged and in the proper sequence on carts in front of the truss table. This was the fourth test we had conducted (see Part XI: Auto-Jigging Innovations for test details), and on each iteration, an independent expert, Mr. Ed Buck, insured the uniformity of the test conditions, and kept accurate account of the times.
As the clock started, the three-man crew sprang into action. One member triggered the auto-jigging while simultaneously bringing up an image of the first truss on a large screen opposite the setup. The two other crew members fed the truss parts into the laser-projected outline of the truss, even as the automated jigging was moving into position. We noticed that they often “stole” glances at the screen on the wall to determine where to place the truss members onto the table.
After the wood was largely in place, a wooden tray was fetched from a vertical rack and placed mid-center of the setup. In the tray, the connector plates were carefully placed, mimicking their position in the truss (see drawing below). Then the crew placed the plates precisely in their laser projected outlines on the table and rolled the stubbed scissor truss. In just 2 minutes 25 seconds, they were ready for the next truss. And they continued methodically until each one of the 14 disparate truss shapes were racked outside.
Their remarkable result was a 40% reduction in setup time over our last test which used auto-jigging without the Virtek laser. The Maple Ridge crew averaged less than 3 minutes per setup, with dramatically improved truss quality. But just as important to their success was their thorough preparation of materials to minimize handling time. All cut parts were clearly marked and stacked on carts in the order in which they would be placed in the jig. And the connector plates were uniquely organized for efficient placement.
One of the most impressive aspects of this drill was what the crew didn’t do. They never looked at the 8.5x11 truss drawing. When taking materials to the table, they used the screen on the wall. When placing the cut parts and plates into their final positions, they focused on the laser projected image on the table surface. Their eyes never seemed to be distracted. All the information they needed was located where it needed to be, right in front of them.
The efficiency of this small operation was a glowing tribute to the ingenuity of the late Mr. Monkman and was the culmination of many years of his painstaking development work. Five years earlier, he took the first major step by installing the Virtek laser system. Quickly he realized that there was no substitute for seeing the truss outline, the member identification, and the precise plate locations on the table, especially as a training tool for new hires.
After we completed the tests, Mr. Monkman showed us a stack of conveyors and fixtures he would soon employ to automate the delivery of cut parts to the table. And, less than a year later, he had completed an automated delivery system. All this, ten years ahead of the rest of the industry.
Next Month:
What’s Next in Truss Assembly