In last month’s article, We’re ‘Not Slowing Down’ Until We Reach BCMC 2022, I talked about many of the reasons why you should come visit our Spida booth in September. This month, I’ll quickly remind everyone of some of the other reasons to attend this year’s...

As a change agent for lean manufacturing best practices, it is extremely satisfying when I see a company embrace best practices despite their challenges. Too often, it is stated, “we (I) cannot implement or do the suggested improvement practice because _____” from so many claiming to...

This year’s BCMC theme is “No Slowing Down” and that sums up the activities at Spida! We’re now in full production mode with the exciting task of putting together our booth for the next Building Component Manufacturers Conference being held September 12–16 in...

The article I published in April, Record CM Building Industry Net Profits are Coming to an End Sooner Than Most Believe, predicted that the construction industry would start seeing negative market changes around August of this year. Wow, was I right about calling that one? The continued...

With high lumber costs and volatile pricing, it is very reasonable to look for options to normal resources. Many fabricators and lumber manufacturers have been experimenting with using non-regular channels for lumber, including some choices that have created problems and issues with their...

One of the most common questions I hear from my customers is: How do we solve our employee shortfalls, while increasing production and safety, so we can increase our market share? How efficiently a company can leverage its assets to generate a profit is what keeps a business successful and...

Is your company having problems finding good employees to fill all the needed positions within your company? Are you thinking wage inflation is getting out of hand? Perhaps you should look at it from a different perspective. Multiple case studies have shown that companies with low employee...

To answer the question of which is the better method, we should start with a little background. A critical plate is a plate with a Joint Stress Index of 80% or greater. The ANSI/TPI 1–2014 Standard stipulates that critical plate inspections must be conducted when completing the three...

Decisions, decisions – how do you decide between a retrofit for your plant or upgrading to a new truss line? It’s all about the options. Let’s Start with the Retrofit Retrofitting an existing table is not for the faint hearted, so it’s important to know you have...

One of my clients’ most often asked questions is, “How exactly do we track and implement an incentive program?” Most companies are willing to pay their manufacturing employees more wages (incentives) based on greater output. Yet, the vast majority of wood truss component...