My advice: talk to a helpful human before you transition to a new PC or cell phone. And make sure they’ll be there when you begin changing. This will spare you the anguish I went through as I was moving from MiTek devices to my own. I had presumed that I could do this on my own as I had in...

Ten years after the Sanford Gantry stormed onto the scene, the DePauw Saw arrived without much fanfare. Their introductions said a lot about their inventors. Carroll Sanford was an ebullient architect, Art DePauw an unassuming machinist. If both men were alive today, they would relish seeing...

With the invention of integrated production methods, one of the greatest evolutions has been the electronic transfer of information from the truss designs to the computerized equipment, eliminating human error and translation issues. Automatic puck systems, lasers, ink jet marking, or shop...

Those of us in the building materials and components industry have probably all seen inkjet printers mounted to our cutting equipment for labeling, framing layout, and other forms of marking. Let’s face it, nobody wants to get a package of cut pieces for framing a truss or a wall and have...

Specifying products into building designs is a daily process for engineers, architects and drafters. Simpson Strong-Tie understands that the specification process can be daunting and complex. And when it comes to the multiple steps involved in importing CAD content into your designs, we want to...

Even with laser projection and auto-jigging, assembly can still be expedited by good material handling and plating. The former can be optimized at reasonable expense, while to improve the latter will require a substantial investment. To calculate the potential impact, we can use data recorded in...

Think beyond the physical investment of trucks, equipment, and buildings when it comes to investments for improving the bottom line for 2021. If a company wants to improve the net profits, improving the project communication process can add serious dollars to the bottom line. Most companies...

In our first installment last month, Sharing Information Without Constraint, we explored the constraints around information sharing in today’s rapid-paced construction cycle. Material prices are high, interest rates are low, and business is booming. But, this rapid pace doesn’t...

Once auto-jigging enabled 4-minute truss setups, some thought we could go no further. Not so, said our Canadian compadres. Their claim was hard to fathom, since our last Benchmark Test results seemed unbeatable. But it was worth investigation, even if the plant involved was 2500 miles away. So,...

Our industry has always been heavily reliant on information and details from our customers. Sometimes a customer is a homeowner, building designer, an architect, or even an engineer. A common constraint for many truss fabricators across the country is the lack of accurate or timely information....