Carol Sanford came of age during the 1920s, inspired by his inventive father, during one of the most inventive periods in American history. He grew up in Canton, OH, then a center of steel and stamping industries. After graduating from the University of Cincinnati and an architectural school in...

As we migrate from ANSI/TPI 1-2014 to ANSI/TPI 1-2022, it is important to discuss and be aware of Chapter 3 updates. These changes impact QC inspections and should be understood by your in-house QC inspector and your truss builders. The changes are in two categories in Chapter 3 — a...

A large part of what MiTek’s Design Engagement team does involves meeting with Structural Engineers, Architects, and Real Estate Developers to advance the use of components. We guide them on best practices early in design so that when construction documents arrive at the truss...

Chapter 7 of ASCE 7-22 (Minimum Design Loads and Associated Criteria for Buildings and Other Structures) introduces significant changes that affect the magnitude of snow loads and, consequently, truss design. While some of these changes reduce snow load values, others increase them. One of the...

Generally speaking, ANSI/TPI 1 makes common sense and is very logical. However, there are several items that can be a little confusing because they seem to defy logic. When we upgrade lumber per ANSI/TPI 1 Section 3.4.2, we know that lumber strength needs to be maintained in order to meet the...

IntelliSheets and dashboards enhance team collaboration and decision-making. Real-Time Access to Critical Job Data Alpine continues to innovate with the latest enhancements (24 series) to IntelliSheets, offering real-time access to job details, item information, and status history through...

Girder trusses are trusses specially designed to carry extra load from tie-in trusses and equipment. If a single ply is insufficient to carry the entire load, the truss designer specifies a multiply girder, that is made of identical trusses and fastened together to act as one unit to support the...

Simpson Strong-Tie’s Component Solutions® Director™ software creates an audit trail of user changes and displays this information on the History Tab for each project you are working on. The following historical Information displays when you click the History Tab: Pricing...

Building engineers rely on maximum gravity reactions (R+) from Truss Design Drawings (TDD) to design structural components. These maximum reactions are calculated based on load combinations specified by building codes, representing the highest downward forces which allow engineers to determine...

Product testing is the backbone of quality control in engineering and manufacturing, ensuring products are reliable, durable, and safe before reaching the market. Over the years, the testing processes have evolved dramatically, transitioning from manual inspections to highly sophisticated...