Celebrating 50 Years of Truss Design Innovation, Part XII Joe Kannapell Part XII: Walls Get in the Way Just because two CEOs agree to build a computer model of a house in 3 years doesn’t mean it’s feasible. And barely a year into the agreement between TrusJoist and MiTek to merge software, we realized that we couldn’t do it. Meanwhile our... Read More July 2019 Issue #11240 Page 8
You’re Only As Strong As Your Weakest Link Chris Scott Being only as strong as your weakest link is not only true in sports but also on the production line, whether we are talking about people or equipment. Diagnosing the slowest and least efficient point in any production line is key to having a successful and profitable manufacturing... Read More July 2019 Issue #11240 Page 14
The Last Word: The Second Wave of Automation? Joe Kannapell Are we seeing the onset of a wave of CM automation or is this déjà vu all over again? Are other CMs following the startups chronicled earlier on these pages: Blueprint Robotics (May 2017) or Katerra (Feb 2018)? Big money is driving it, the big wigs are behind it, and high tech machines are... Read More July 2019 Issue #11240 Page 113
Celebrating 50 Years of Truss Design Innovation, Part XI Joe Kannapell Part XI: A Whole House in the New Millennium We truss designers were outfoxed by an unlikely pair of moguls who knew nothing about truss design. Gene Toombs and Tom Denig, CEOs of MiTek and TrusJoist, without our prompting, announced in 2001 that their companies would join forces to design... Read More June 2019 Issue #11239 Page 8
How Your Plant Can Benefit From a Spida Extruder Wall Panel Framing Line Chris Scott Powered by people, a manual line in an average component plant is composed of a rough opening station, a subcomponent station, a framing station, a squaring station, and a sheathing station. In the configuration, typically 8 people are on this line, and 1000 LNFT of output is the average goal... Read More June 2019 Issue #11239 Page 14
Expect Margins and Lead Time to Decrease in Most Markets Todd Drummond Many of us have been in the industry long enough to clearly remember the pain of the ‘08 crash. Before the crash, everyone was very optimistic about their own growth potential because the building economy was on fire, which gave everyone a reason to expand their manufacturing capacity like... Read More June 2019 Issue #11239 Page 22
The Last Word: The Last Word on Wall Framing Joe Kannapell Finally, from top to bottom, the building industry is moving to panelize. National builders, like Pulte, are mandating it. Local building supply yards, like 84 Lumber’s, are building them in backyard sheds. And in between, BMC and BFS are shipping knocked-down versions. We laid the... Read More May 2019 Issue #11238 Page 105
The Last Word: The Last Word on Attached Housing Joe Kannapell Now that one third of owner-occupied housing is tightly packed into metro areas, several challenges face our industry. Estimating requires more attention to architectural features and options. Engineering is critical on taller structures, and often requires consideration of mechanical... Read More April 2019 Issue #11237 Page 105
BCMC Update Sean Hubbard The trip home provided for some much-needed quiet time to reflect on the most successful B.C.M.C. of modern times. I believe the equipment displayed well represented the advancements made by our industry over the last decade or two. It also offered a glimpse into the future where automation in... Read More November 2018 Issue #10232 Page 17
Are Roof and Floor Trusses the Only Components that Need a Quality Assurance Program? Glenn Traylor Roof and floor trusses are important components that need special consideration to insure their correct manufacture. Components built to the IRC and IBC require the manufacturer to adhere to specific requirements. These requirements provide a blueprint to facilitate the manufacturing of a... Read More November 2018 Issue #10232 Page 31