The Evolution of Glued Trussed Joists Tuomo Poutanen I-joists dominate the joist market due to their high material efficiency and low manufacturing cost. However, this product has disadvantages, including difficulty in HVAC installations and the possibility of bottom chord support only. Therefore, the market would pay a considerable premium for a... Read More August 2021 Issue #13265 Page 86
Giant on the Prowl: What BFS’ IT Investment, Other Recent Moves Mean for LBM Craig Webb BFS says roughly 100 of its 550 facilities make or add value to products, from its ReadyFrame system and truss plants to window making and door shops. BFS’ presentations to analysts regularly emphasize the company’s manufacturing and value-added capabilities, which the company says... Read More August 2021 Issue #13265 Page 106
The Last Word: The Last Word on CM Disruption Joe Kannapell Is component manufacturing ripe for disruption? Two foreign-backed entities came to our shores and tried to do just that for six years: Katerra with billions and Blueprint Robotics with many millions. Both were going to teach us how to build better, but with entirely different approaches. Out... Read More August 2021 Issue #13265 Page 142
Sixty Years of Machines, Part XX: Cyber Success Joe Kannapell Before the Cyber Saw was introduced, I saw its PLC “brain” control the machines on a GM assembly line. From the conference room at General Electric’s PLC factory, I was able to watch a live display of the automation systems it powered. While most were “Greek” to me,... Read More July 2021 Issue #13264 Page 10
The Benefit of Spida’s Lumber Optimization Sean Hubbard As the lumber commodity remains exponentially higher than the previous 5 years, we all question the sanity behind the market. We also ask ourselves: how can we remain competitive within our own markets? Lumber optimization begins at the forestry level, managing the plantations for 40 years or... Read More July 2021 Issue #13264 Page 19
What is Optimization? Tracy Roe Optimization is a crucial part of success and profitability in our industry. It is something that every component manufacturer works at daily in some form or another. At the same time, however, the word has so very many different interpretations that few have exactly the same approach. In this... Read More July 2021 Issue #13264 Page 54
Set Up for Success: The Build Phase of Design, Make, Build Katie Kormann In the Design, Make, Build (DMB) approach to construction, we’ve focused on the importance of collaboration. By bringing together the component manufacturers (CMs) and trades with the designers and architects early in the Design phase, they can provide feedback on what is possible around... Read More July 2021 Issue #13264 Page 60
Sixty Years of Machines, Part XIX: Automation Battles Joe Kannapell An automation battle was brewing in the late 1980s, but the first skirmish wasn’t over machinery. It was over software. Software that would minimize more than just the manual labor, but also the “thinking” done by machine operators. The time finally arrived when, after decades... Read More June 2021 Issue #13263 Page 10
Machinery Choices are a Big Decision Wendy Boyd Spida Machinery is a Global business, drawing on all our production centers for the best of ideas, production diversity, research, development, and supply. While Frame, Truss, Wall builders, and Component Suppliers in different countries are navigating their own patch of turf for future... Read More June 2021 Issue #13263 Page 17
Management Software YOUR Way Tracy Roe In this series of articles focused on job management, the main theme has been adaptability. Component fabricators shouldn’t be required to adapt their operation to a piece of software. Instead, the value is in a software solution that adapts to their needs. No two component manufacturing... Read More June 2021 Issue #13263 Page 52