Advertiser Forum: Celebrating Milestones Anna Stamm In these uncertain times, it’s nice to seize all opportunities to celebrate, especially milestones. They can lift us up and make us smile. They can remind us of a destination we’re striving to reach, and they can applaud our journey to date. The Advertiser Reaches 250 Drumroll,... Read More May 2020 Issue #12250 Page 6
Sixty Years of Machines, Part VI: Roller Gantries Enhanced Joe Kannapell As housing boomed in the mid-1980s, truss plants needed better equipment. Among those was Heart Truss and Engineering in Michigan. Heart was also benefitting from booming auto plants nearby. Their production head, Bob LePoire, pondered how to keep up. Bob’s boss and Heart’s... Read More May 2020 Issue #12250 Page 10
Moving Forward with Your Team and Spida Wendy Boyd In the wake of troubled times, I’m filled with hope and renewed energy as I review the month that was and all of the things that have been accomplished for Spida Machinery worldwide. Challenges are gifts that force us to search for a new center of gravity. Don’t fight them. Just... Read More May 2020 Issue #12250 Page 15
The Importance of Change Management in Today’s Business Climate Ben Hershey The current global demand for personal protective equipment (PPE) has created a severe shortage of PPE across the world. And while regular distribution channels ramp up, we have seen several creative ways some individuals and companies are making changes to support our COVID-19 response,... Read More May 2020 Issue #12250 Page 26
The Intrinsic Value of Hands-On Quality Assurance Glenn Traylor What makes up a great Quality Assurance Program? As you’ll recall, I listed 9 essential components for good QA in an article last year, “How Does a Fabricator Gain From a 3rd Party Audit?”. It’s no surprise that each one is rooted in the personal, on-site interaction that... Read More May 2020 Issue #12250 Page 37
Making Your PackFeeder Dream a Reality Ed Serrano Packfeeders. Bunk Feeders. Call it what you will, but if you’re like most sites, the idea is nothing more than a pipe dream that quickly disappears once you start to ponder where you might put it. To get any real benefit from them, the perception is that the system you need to carry a lot... Read More May 2020 Issue #12250 Page 43
Rethinking a Linear Saw Linked to Two Workstations Todd Drummond It seems some people are upset that I made such a public statement with my latest advertisement – “Pairing a Linear Saw with Two Workstations with Each Having Two Assemblers will Cost Your Company Millions in Lost Net Profits.” Specifically, I’m talking about linking... Read More May 2020 Issue #12250 Page 48
Better Tools for Intuitive Wall Panel Design Tracy Roe This month, we’re continuing our series on better tools for wall panel design and exploring our Break/Review process. Walls are just walls until they are broken into PANELS. Similar to the way trusses are just profiles until they are designed, the same is true for walls. Beginning with... Read More May 2020 Issue #12250 Page 60
Six Steps of Troubleshooting Methodology and Why It’s Important Brian Zengel As technology advances year after year and Alpine equipment becomes more sophisticated, it’s critical to understand some best practices when troubleshooting equipment. In a perfect world, equipment would never break down and therefore never be a need to troubleshoot. Unfortunately, we... Read More May 2020 Issue #12250 Page 64
The Hiring Zone: Did Someone Shout Fire? If you watch the 24/7 news cycle, then you may think that the world as we know it is coming to an end. Yes, COVID-19 is affecting everyone, everywhere, but to different extents. If you are in a non-essential business, you’re hurting. Some component manufacturers in locked down states are... Read More May 2020 Issue #12250 Page 88