Industry Priorities for the Incoming U.S. Congress Robert Glowinski On January 3, the 115th U.S. Congress convenes for its opening day proceedings and the first orders of official business begin. The annual budget process will commence over the coming months and Congress will largely determine federal spending allocations, including how funds are distributed by... Read More January 2017 Issue #10210 Page 57
Lumber Briefs: Anticipated 2x4 Prices H1-2017 Matt Layman Part Three in the Save Money Series I certainly do not have crystal ball, but I do have something almost as good. I have history and the ability to analyze the market from a fundamental and technical perspective. Together they provide an 86% accurate forecast of when prices will rise and... Read More January 2017 Issue #10210 Page 59
Why Coaching is Important to Continuous Improvement Ben Hershey If you are like me, you spend the later part of the year setting goals for the coming year and planning how to accomplish them. For those who work for me, I always set goals, metrics, and participate in a conference on how we are going to achieve what we want together. Over the last few months,... Read More January 2017 Issue #10210 Page 67
A Tale of Two Houses: Design Loads for Metal Plate Connected Wood Trusses Kelly Sias Take two trusses with identical profiles and environmental surroundings, and they should have the same design loads, right? Early in my career, I recall hearing a story about two identical buildings right next to each other that were designed for two different magnitudes of environmental loads.... Read More January 2017 Issue #10210 Page 72
The Dirty Dozen Subcontract Clauses A. Holt Gwyn Introduction The following subcontract clauses are taken from actual general contractor subcontract forms in use in the Southeast. Most of these provisions are buried within the “General Conditions” of the subcontract form, often in tiny print. While the precise... Read More January 2017 Issue #10210 Page 77
The Last Word: Sales Lessons from the Election Joe Kannapell Watching Trump versus Clinton taught us some lasting lessons in sales. We witnessed the classic competitive duel – two large organizations (political parties) raising loads of money to hype their national brands (the candidates themselves) to make the sale (win the election) on November... Read More January 2017 Issue #10210 Page 85
Advertiser Forum: Giving Thanks, Celebrating the Season, and Striving to Be Better Anna Stamm This is the time of year when we are all reflecting on our lives. We give thanks during Thanksgiving, and we look forward to a shiny and bright holiday season through the end of the year. Over time, some of this may start to feel automatic, as we slip into the same routines we take every year,... Read More December 2016 Issue #09209 Page 4
Purchasing Equipment Online Sean Hubbard Our new online store is up and running! Purchasing Equipment and parts is now even easier! We are adding parts and equipment daily. Providing an efficient way to quickly decipher and order parts for specific manufacturers. The system allows you see all of the products available or sort by... Read More December 2016 Issue #09209 Page 8
A Critical Part Missing from Six Sigma and Lean Practices for Most Companies Todd Drummond It has taken many years, but the component industry has finally caught onto the practices of lean manufacturing and applied them to truss and wall manufacturing. An example is the huge turnout at the sponsored seminars by Todd Drummond Consulting at the 2016 BCMC show of “The Path of Least... Read More December 2016 Issue #09209 Page 22
Is Your Plant Process an Open or Closed Loop Process? Glenn Traylor I remember the introduction of early cruise control in cars. It was fantastic. It allowed the driver to set their speed without having to hold the accelerator pedal down with their foot. The only problem was, when you went up a hill, the car slowed down. When you went down a hill, the car... Read More December 2016 Issue #09209 Page 26