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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...

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...

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...

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...

It’s true that, by nature, the materials currently used for wood trusses can vary in strength and properties. Given a specific lumber size and grade, truss builders often need to evaluate lumber picked, cut, and provided to build the specific job at hand. After verifying the lumber grade,...

Part 9 in our TIMWOODS Series Hey TimWoods, it’s time to take a pause with your Gemba walk and talk about a Waste Reduction plan using what we learned in this series. Throughout this series, our friend TimWoods has helped us focus on the wastes of Transportation, Inventory, Motion,...

When this quote by John Ruskin appeared on a recent LinkedIn post, it led me to think about the best approach for a business considering changing suppliers.  It’s unwise to pay too much, but it’s also unwise to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money,...

The American Wood Council hosted a webinar in July sharing best practices for fire protection during construction to help mitigate and reduce construction fires. The 90-minute presentation introduced attendees to several recent major construction fires and their reported causes, the many...

We’ve heard the old adage, “This isn’t your father’s business anymore,” implying that things have changed since the “old days.” Well, things are going to have to change in the housing industry if we ever intend to get out of the corner of this room we...

You have reached a tipping point and have come to the realization that continuing down your current path will only yield greater pain and more of the same results. Change will bring benefits, you and the senior staff have identified what is in it for the key drivers, and management has committed...