Trusses are complicated yet the fabrication description is quite simple – pick the lumber, cut the lumber, and assemble the lumber. Now try doing this profitably at high volume and you will need to automate some or all of these processes, which all truss plants have done within their current constraints.
So how do you squeeze out even more production within your constraints? By picking the lumber and cutting the lumber so that it ends up better organized in front of the truss jigs. If your truss builders are hunting for truss pieces and truss plates even after all the material has been placed in front of their jig, then there is room for improvement (times the number of assembly workers per jig). [For all photos and images, See PDF or View in Full Issue.]
Don’t pick lumber just to maximize saw output. Don’t cut lumber just to speed up the lumber stacking/catching process. Don’t pick plates in total job/batch quantities just to speed up the plate picker. Truss fabrication is a team sport!
Pick the lumber for the truss assemblers. Cut the lumber for the truss assemblers. Pick collated plates for the truss assemblers. That’s how you Feed the Beast!
Pick lumber with the goal to get lumber better organized in front of the truss assemblers.
Reduce inefficient and expensive forklift lumber picking if this is the constraint to picking lumber organized for the truss jigs.
Cut lumber organized for the truss assemblers. Cut-by-truss and/or symmetrical left and right of truss cutting may take longer but the truss production increase is worth it.
Linear saws excel at cutting by truss and optimizing lumber. Lumber optimizing (lumber stretching) will increase saw piece output, but will need to be descrambled somewhere else down the line or worse at the truss jigs. A dedicated chord saw and a dedicated web saw (traditional batch cutting) will need to have these pieces merged back together somewhere else down the line or worse at the truss jigs.
An auto feeding component saw changes saw shop dynamics and results in high volume cutting by truss. Shown is the amazing auto feeding RetroC automated component saw.Catch lumber organized for the truss assemblers: Depending on truss span, try to limit the walking distance to under 10 ft, which is usually at least a left cart and right cart at the truss jig for a 24 ft truss.
Lumber shown here is well organized for the truss assemblers to minimize travel.
Symmetrical left and right batch cutting is actually cut-by-truss when it hits the truss jigs.
Uncollated plate picking creates a plate box huddle and results in wasted time sorting through plates and unnecessary stacking and re-stacking of plates at the table during “setup.” Take plate picking one step further and collate the plates with the goal to speed up truss production.
Pre-Pick collated plates organized for the Top Chord and Bottom Chord joints to eliminate the plate box huddle which will reduce truss setup times and speed up truss production.
Collated plate picking: One worker is assigned to deal plates around the table just like a card dealer. This example shows standardized plate picking of “Bottom plates from Left to Right” followed by “Top chord joints Right to Left.”
Feed the Beast! with LimTek Process Organization Technology
Would you like to squeeze out more truss production and deliver quality trusses with shorter lead times to better service your customers? LimTek will help you by organizing your truss fabrication processes to maximize your investment in automation and to keep your people engaged and motivated as an important part of the process. We offer 6 separate processes to meet each need independently or as a complete custom solution. https://limteksolutions.com/#solutions