So You and Your Company are Ready for Change? Keith Parker You have reached consensus and each staff member understands your vision and that change will bring benefits. Key management has committed to the changes required to move forward. You have sought and obtained “buy-in” from the members of your company and clearly defined (WIIFT)... Read More January 2018 Issue #10222 Page 80
Are You Training for Consistent Customer Experience or Just Hoping It Happens? It seems that fewer companies are training employees to deliver consistent customer experiences; instead, they seem just to be hoping that the people they hire will know what they are doing. While training anyone who deals with customers on the “company way” is not the only tool for... Read More January 2018 Issue #10222 Page 91
From Structural Plans to Truss Designs – Collaborative Effort or Review Nightmare? Kelly Sias In an ideal world, a building is envisioned and a structural engineer begins the structural design. When the decision to use roof trusses is made, a component manufacturer is promptly involved in the design process. Using the loads and design parameters from the structural engineer, the trusses... Read More January 2018 Issue #10222 Page 94
The Last Word: Flying High in the New Year Joe Kannapell, PE With the holidays over and everyone going back to business as usual, I’m drawn to a topic that may help a weary traveler this year. Even if you’re stuck 20,000 feet in the air like I was, you can still get lots of good information to soothe a worried mind. For example, I could see... Read More January 2018 Issue #10222 Page 105
Advertiser Forum: Holiday Favorites Anna Stamm Thank you to everyone who participated in our 2nd Holiday Favorites contest! With 9 questions and 3 options for each, the poll results showed a lot of variation in our readers’ Thanksgiving traditions. Cooking the Turkey in the oven was the clear favorite, but several went onto the... Read More December 2017 Issue #10221 Page 4
Tom Manenti, Outgoing Chairman of MiTek Industries, Inc. Joe Kannapell, PE I know not a steadier and more upright leader than Thomas J. Manenti, who elevated his company from good to great over his 40-year tenure. His characteristic humility and aplomb enabled him to navigate most of his career among strong egos. Tom is the consummate people person who transformed... Read More December 2017 Issue #10221 Page 6
Product Comparisons Sean Hubbard Beginning with the January 2018 issue of The Component Manufacturing Advertiser, we have decided to offer a new look. We will begin to feature product comparisons for the next twelve months. We will be using the following Schedule of Comparisons along with certain limitations. Schedule of... Read More December 2017 Issue #10221 Page 12
BCMC 2017 Raising the Stakes in Omaha, NE April Burt The 36th annual BCMC show took place in late October at CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Nebraska. The location of the venue in relation to the downtown and hotels could not have been better. It was an easy walk across the sky bridge to the event center and a short ride to the old market area... Read More December 2017 Issue #10221 Page 16
Automating Wall Panel Production Joe Kannapell, PE To expedite the adoption of pre-built wall panels, shop labor must be significantly lower than site labor. That means replacing hand-nailing, measuring, cutting, and manhandling with practices that have been proven in truss fabrication. In addition, major builders and reluctant framers demand... Read More December 2017 Issue #10221 Page 20
Mistake Proofing the Communication Quote and Order Process Todd Drummond In lean terminology, there is a term called Poka-Yoke, which, roughly translated from Japanese, means to mistake-proof the manufacturing process. A more accurate translation could be “inadvertent error prevention.” In a nutshell, one tries to make any manufacturing process... Read More December 2017 Issue #10221 Page 30