Library

I freely admit that I have watched more than my share of house-hunting shows. My favorites fall into two categories – seeing homes (and prices) in US cities where I would consider moving next and seeing homes in international locations where I know I’ll never go (e.g., Southeast...

An automation battle was brewing in the late 1980s, but the first skirmish wasn’t over machinery. It was over software. Software that would minimize more than just the manual labor, but also the “thinking” done by machine operators. The time finally arrived when, after decades...

Spida Machinery is a Global business, drawing on all our production centers for the best of ideas, production diversity, research, development, and supply. While Frame, Truss, Wall builders, and Component Suppliers in different countries are navigating their own patch of turf for future...

There are so many challenges leaders face within our industry today that are ever-changing and, quite frankly, unprecedented. Whether your position of leadership is overall, departmental, or team level, the challenges are never-ending. Too often in our industry, people are in a position of...

The simple answer to the title question, can designs be changed during manufacturing, is yes. But, the situation is rarely straightforward and simple in reality. The better question is: What considerations are necessary when making modifications to the design while manufacturing a truss? To...

In this series of articles focused on job management, the main theme has been adaptability. Component fabricators shouldn’t be required to adapt their operation to a piece of software. Instead, the value is in a software solution that adapts to their needs. No two component manufacturing...

If you Google images of “automated production lines,” the results are filled with pictures of robot arms and conveyor lines. What you won’t see – people. Why? Because in automated production lines, humans tend to touch the work in progress as little as possible. Why?...

Software used to be an afterthought, using whatever software your truss plate provider had. In the past, most companies thought software was given to them for free with their machine purchase, when in actuality it was rolled into their pricing. Whether you used Comsoft’s Wall Builder...

In December 2019, Structurlam Mass Timber Corporation, the leading mass timber manufacturer in North America, announced the expansion of its operations into the United States, with a plant in Conway, Arkansas, set to open in mid-2021. The Canadian-based company, in which Walmart has made an...

Infrastructure: the basic systems and services, such as transportation and power supplies, that a country or organization uses in order to work effectively – Cambridge Dictionary Lovely weather for a road trip! “OMG,” as my kids would say, or “Oh My God,” as...