It is time to forget about using a truss design program, price book, or square-foot multiplier when estimating roof and floor truss projects. For many decades, truss companies have been looking for ways to dramatically improve their design team’s capacity, but every effort has fallen...

Just a couple of years ago, I went back to the commercial modular/classroom/mobile office plant where I had my first GM job in the ’80s. I was 27 then, am much older now, but one thing hasn’t changed much, technology. The stations had the same kind of equipment, home build when...

Eurowood and SYP…the Future! It’s times like the last couple of weeks in SPF-W, when buyers get taken by surprise, and they have one question for sellers. “How you gonna help me?” Two weeks ago, I warned that SPF mills were about to spring surprise, imminent...

Permanent modular buildings are considered real property, built to the same building codes and requirements as site-built structures, and can be financed, sold, and depreciated in a similar manner. As such, the markets for permanent modular construction are similar to the markets for site-built...

Eighteen teams from colleges throughout the Southwest United States and Hawaii gained hands-on experience in wood design and construction during the second annual Timber-Strong Design Build competition. AWC joined APA–The Engineered Wood Products Association (APA) and Simpson Strong-Tie...

It is possible to give your shop employees a raise and actually achieve more capacity through greater productivity and make more net profit for your company by implementing an effective productivity incentive program. However, most of the incentive programs (IP) that are touted in the component...

For the past three years, the housing industry has bemoaned labor as its primary deterrent to increasing productivity, i.e., housing starts. Framing crews suddenly vanished when detainment and deportation of undocumented workers became more prevalent. The initial impact on the housing...

Missing the point could cover a lot of things, but this month it means considering different perspectives during an interview. Employers and candidates can get trapped into looking at things from just one side. Employers are thinking: What skills and abilities do I need in a candidate, does this...

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...

Using Man-Minutes to Manage Your Labor Industrial engineering – “The branch of engineering that is concerned with the production of industrial goods, especially by the design of efficient plants and procedures and the management of materials, energy, and labor.” (Source:...