Big Changes are Coming to Our Industry Todd Drummond The winter months are normally the time to make changes to your processes within your area of influence. Depending on how your company is structured for decision-making, your influence and actions to stay competitive in the face of ever-increasing challenges will determine the long-term... Read More February 2024 Issue #16295 Page 24
Can Eased Edge Lumber Usage Impact Truss Design? Glenn Traylor Originally intended as an improvement in lumber manufacturing, most dimensional lumber used for framing has a radius corner created during the planing process. The rounded corner radius is intended to make the lumber easier to handle and can improve the lumber’s performance because sharp... Read More February 2024 Issue #16295 Page 33
Accommodating Your Catch-as-Catch-Can Edmond Lim, P.Eng. Catching and stacking lumber can make or break productivity at the truss build tables. In an imaginary world where money is irrelevant, a linear saw in front of each automated truss jig would be ideal, cutting pieces in order from, let’s say, 60 ft finger-joined lumber, and robots grabbing... Read More February 2024 Issue #16295 Page 42
What’s the Difference Between a Lease and a Loan? Carl Villella The question of what’s the difference between a lease and a loan comes up often, and there are some clear differences that can affect how a client decides to finance their commercial equipment. When a client decides to lease equipment, they make regular lease payments for the right to... Read More February 2024 Issue #16295 Page 59
A Mixed Start to 2024 Lesko Financial Services Team Beginnings always feed the temptation to look ahead and make predictions, and recent economic news, podcasts, and websites have featured their fill. 2024 went out on a fairly positive note and it was tempting to try to extend that optimism beyond the first few weeks of January. But despite... Read More February 2024 Issue #16295 Page 64
Navigating Employee Consolidation After an Acquisition: A Blueprint for Success In the dynamic landscape of corporate growth, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) have become a common strategy for companies aiming to expand their market presence and enhance their capabilities. While these endeavors hold promises of increased efficiency and amplified market share, the process... Read More February 2024 Issue #16295 Page 72
Design Connections: Designing the Unusual Structures Geordie Secord Over the course of 38+ years in the truss and component business, I’ve had the opportunity to see many unusual approaches to designing single family homes. Some I’ve thought were interesting, some were puzzling, and some were just odd – at least to my eye. Here are some that... Read More February 2024 Issue #16295 Page 82
AWC Releases New Wood Design Standards Madison Stephens The American Wood Council (AWC) released its three new 2024 wood design standards: the National Design Specification® for Wood Construction (NDS®), Wood Frame Construction Manual (WFCM) for One- and Two-Family Dwellings, and Fire Design Specification for Wood Construction (FDS). These... Read More February 2024 Issue #16295 Page 90
iModel’s Dynamic New Tool to Simplify Truss Load Application Alpine Team Applying special load conditions to trusses is a tedious, repetitive, and time-consuming task for designers. Without a visual representation of the load in relation to the trusses on a plan, it can be a challenge to position the loads and determine the load magnitudes required for each truss. As... Read More February 2024 Issue #16295 Page 94
A New Wood Construction Connectors Catalog for the New Year Bryan Wert We just released our updated Wood Construction Connectors catalog (C-C-2024) which features our product line that has a legacy that started in 1956. This year’s 372-page version begins with a colorful, attention-grabbing cover design and is packed inside with all the technical details that... Read More February 2024 Issue #16295 Page 100