Marco Gagnon

Get to Know Element Equipment at BCMC

Marco Gagnon

If you’ve been seeing our ads and reading my articles, including last month’s cover story, “Celebrating Growth at Element Equipment,” then you’ve gotten to know a little about Element Equipment. An original equipment manufacturer based in Grand Falls, NB, we are...

#17314 Cover image
September 2025
Issue #17314
Page 83
Jeff Brown

See What Panels Plus Has to Offer at BCMC

Jeff Brown

As I discussed in my May article, “Setting Our Sights on Innovation and Expansion at Panels Plus,” we’ve begun implementing a 2025–2027 strategic plan to raise the bar with a renewed focus on innovation, customer support, and improvements to our existing machines. These...

#17314 Cover image
September 2025
Issue #17314
Page 88
Steve Shrader

Automation is Here, and It Doesn’t Need a Supervisor to Nudge It Along

Steve Shrader

In an industry long defined by hard work and incremental improvement, a new chapter is being written. But not everyone seems to realize it. Some are still telling companies to squeeze more productivity out of crews by reorganizing work paths, tracking stopwatch data, and optimizing jobsite...

#17312 Cover image
July 2025
Issue #17312
Page 48
Joe Kannapell, PE

The Last Word: Discovering Excellence in Germany

Joe Kannapell, PE

In late May, I was fortunate to travel to Germany on a quest to discover processes that could advance the state of the art of component manufacturing. Driving 90 miles from Munich’s 6 million people, I passed several quaint villages with businesses bordering the Autobahn, each separated by...

#17312 Cover image
July 2025
Issue #17312
Page 170
Steve Shrader

Is Your Downstream Crew Still Solving Problems Created Upstream?

Steve Shrader

Too often, systems that claim to be “automated” still rely on people to direct the flow. That reliance on people rather than true automation means you’re still solving problems downstream that were created by things happening upstream. A picker is still compensating for a...

#17311 Cover image
June 2025
Issue #17311
Page 46
Steve Shrader

It’s Not About Layout—It’s About Logic

Steve Shrader

When companies consider adding automation to their plants, often they’ll focus on certain details and think that’s all there is. But true automation is about more than just reorganization, and it can take your company to a new level of production and success. [For all images, See PDF...

#17310 Cover image
May 2025
Issue #17310
Page 70
Joe Kannapell, PE

Home Building Technology, Part IV: The $6,000 Question

Joe Kannapell, PE

Unions opposed it, builders dismissed it, but the American homebuyer would embrace prefabricated housing as soon as they could afford it. Despite fierce opposition, the government made it a reality by allowing FHA financing on prefabricated homes with loans of $6,000 or less. In announcing this...

#17309 Cover image
April 2025
Issue #17309
Page 10
Ed Serrano

A Fork in the Road

Ed Serrano

“My only regret is that I didn’t do it sooner.” (— You, probably) It’s a common refrain from recent automation adopters, and you might just find yourself saying it one day. So, what makes that initial step feel like such a big leap and not just another step...

#17309 Cover image
April 2025
Issue #17309
Page 54
Steve Shrader

Labor Tweaks Won’t Save Manufacturing—Automation Will

Steve Shrader

Manufacturing, in truss production, means transforming lumber and plates into engineered components through machinery, labor, and precise processes. In 2025, it’s more than labor—it’s automation. Some cling to the old beat, stacking bodies and tuning schedules as if headcounts...

#17309 Cover image
April 2025
Issue #17309
Page 62
Joe Kannapell, PE

The Last Word: Material Handling, Saw to Table

Joe Kannapell, PE

What’s inside your home today, and what will be on top of your house in the future, was or will have been handled by Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs). These are the small under-riding robots that carry all sorts of items from point A to B in plants or warehouses, eliminating manual...

#17309 Cover image
April 2025
Issue #17309
Page 176
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