The term “audit” generally induces visions of tax audits. You imagine endless questions and boxes of records, as you attempt to produce documentation to defend what you’ve done. Importantly though, these visions are not what should come to mind when you think of a quality...

Do you prefer using a linear saw or a component saw? Both saws can cut lumber cleanly, so other factors need to be considered, especially when batching your cutting. Often, batching decisions are made solely on cutting quantity. While this is a very important factor, the decision is more...

Purchasing the correct grade of lumber to match your design drawing requirements is only one step in selecting the right lumber. Previously, we’ve discussed lumber quality in “Who is Responsible for Lumber Quality in Your Trusses?,” but let’s expand that discussion with...

Do you understand deflection and deflection differential — and how your truss systems and, more importantly, your clients’ perceptions will be affected? Deflection has been around for an exceptionally long time and always needs to be considered and addressed. To do so, however, we...

Sometimes, a designed and engineered connection will appear to look like a member to member gap. Because of that, we need to ask the question: should the truss designer always try to eliminate a member to member gap in a truss? Generally speaking, yes, it’s always worthwhile, but there are...

Quality Assurance continues beyond the truss plant, so it’s important to keep that in mind as you’re preparing your products for handling and use by someone else. For example, this article poses the question: should component manufacturers (CMs) mark the ends of trusses? For that...

Early in my career, I had the opportunity to teach woodworking. For five years at North Carolina State University, I served as both a student and a faculty member within the University Student Center. I arrived with extensive knowledge of woodworking, and during my first week, I met two...

I’ve been asked: do you always need a shop drawing or the engineering to inspect a truss? The quick answer if you are conducting an ANSI/TPI 1 Chapter 3 audit is that you must have a design drawing that specifies plate sizes, placement, and lumber grade requirements in addition to overall...

Inspirado por las frecuentes solicitudes de una referencia rápida, he creado una hoja única de la guía del Capítulo 3 de ANSI/TPI 1, similar a una versión de CliffsNotes del estándar. Tenga en cuenta que se omiten detalles importantes; para una comprensión completa, consulte el estándar...

We enjoyed a productive week at BCMC in Omaha, strengthening relationships and renewing our commitment to the truss industry, and we hope you can say the same! Timber Products Inspection (TP) returned with our popular ANSI/TPI 1 Chapter 3 challenge truss, designed to test participants’...